Sports Bar Review: Padonia Station in Timonium
Hey everyone, Randy here. I know I usually report on the Orioles, but baseball season is coming to an end. This entry is focused on Padonia Station where I went last night to watch the opening games of Monday Night Football for this NFL season.
I got there around 8 or so to a somewhat packed bar. I came with one friend and met another there. We luckily managed to secure the last remaining table in the main room near the center bar. Here are some of my thoughts and reactions from last night.
Food (8) My two friends and I all ordered the AUCE (All U Can Eat) wings for $9.59. The wings were very tasty and for the most part came out hot. Most people that go there on Monday nights for the games order the wings. It’s a very popular item for the football games.
Service (6 then 9) This is the main issue in my opinion with Padonia Station. Our table had two different servers last night. The first server was slow in getting our orders at first. She came over to check on us a few times and we had to flag her down for some things. As the first game was coming to a close for the doubleheader, we got the news that our server had been “cut”. For those of you who do not work in restaurants, cut is another way of saying finished for the night. Out of all the times I have eaten at Padonia, the same situation has happened, no matter what time of the night. With that said, the server that replaced her was very much on top of things and kept checking on us multiple times and got us our check with no problems. My one gripe was that I wish I had that second server throughout the night, instead of one who didn’t seem as concerned with us to start out with.
Viewing Experience (9) Padonia Station has lots of televisions prominently placed around the restaurant dining areas and bar areas. There were also two large pull down projector screens in the middle of the bar that had the games on. There were no televisions in the bathroom or anything fancy but as a sports bar, Padonia holds up its end on being able to view many different games at a time.
Drink Specials (7) The major drink special on Monday nights is Yuengling pints for $2.25. While this is not the best drink special I’ve ever had, I was satisfied. All three of us took advantage, buying 3 beers each. The only negative here was quantity of specials.
Bartenders (6) The bartenders here are typically hit or miss for me. They have 4 different bars in the building, which works out well. During busy nights, it can be near impossible to penetrate the crowd to get to the center bar in the main room to order. Last night, I did not deal directly with the bartenders, but I have tons of times previously. They are friendly and talkative, barring it not being too too busy.
Atmosphere (6) When the Ravens play night games, all of Padonia Station is packed. For the first night of Monday Night Football however, most people had cleared out by the 4th quarter of the Patriots and Dolphins game. There were both Miami and New England fans present, but it seemed like they were not die hard fans. I could definitely hear the conversations my friends and I had so there was not a high noise level. In conclusion, I expected a better turn out, even for a non-Ravens game.
Overall (8) I have been to Padonia for many football games, not just Ravens ones at that. In previous years, they have had buffets and strippers at half time. There are good food specials (I’m biased towards the wings) and there are sports jerseys hanging up all around as well as other memorabilia. The service could be better if we would have one server the whole way through. Food has always been good and it’s a place I fully recommend to come watch sports. It just has the real feel of a sports bar. They also have pool tables, arcade games, and even a dance floor (on certain nights). All in all, I will continue to go to Padonia Station as I personally feel it’s one of the best sports bars in the Baltimore area. I hope those of you who have gone enjoy it like I do and for those who have yet to give it a shot, go for it!
