The Kartal is such a vibe.....music is always on point. Adorable decor.....many different options to sit or stand while enjoying a fab martini. Service is consistent and welcoming. Turning into one of my go to spots with friends.
Greg Simoneau
Reposting my review as it was mysteriously removed..Extremely rude unprofessional behavior by all staff including the manager Lucia and bouncer, who came from a dark corner and put his hands on me as soon as I walked in.Bar staff seems to struggle to make a vodka soda, so don't bother ordering anything more complicated than that. At $20 + a drink, you'd expect some level of skill. Really weird place.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Ekin Alper
They lost my jacket as they have no coat check numbering system, and they make you pay for that freaking coat check. They then blamed me and told me I chose to leave my jacket there.. most rude staff I ever met in Boston since I moved here in 2017. DO NOT GO THERE - YOU WILL EITHER HAVE THE WORST CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE OR HAVE YOUR COAT STOLEN. the coat check lady is the worst and she is so unprofessional and petty.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
n tobar.
The place itself is nice. But honestly, I have never seen so much disorganization since I’ve been to frat parties. Even in those frat parties the jackets were accounted for. In Kartal you have a 50% chance of getting a ticket and a 50% chance of losing your good winter jacket. When I went, half of my friends lost their winter jackets because the staff gave them away to other people due to their disorganized nature. When we talked to the staff, they blamed us for leaving our coats in the coat check, and sincerely have been the most disrespectful staff I have every met in Boston, and I’ve been in Boston 7 years. I would not recommend at all, would love it if the management would be different and not disrespectful, and accounted for mistakes that are inherently theirs
Otavio Dutra Carneiro
UNACCEPTABLE OWNERS/MANAGERS. THEY LET STRANGERS STEAL YOUR CLOTHES.This is the first and only time that I’ve been to a bar where the coat check service DOES NOT label and give out numbered tickets for coats and jackets. Their useless staff just tells you to describe your coat once you go back to get it, but good luck…because there are thieves lying, snatching, and getting others peoples coats in all the mayhem. For $2 you could print 2,000 paper labels and prevent people from losing thousands of dollars worth of clothes like my group did. So save yourself and your clothes from this unprofessional establishment and its dubstep Mama Mia remix hurting your brain as much as the pain of dealing with these idiots
Service: 1
Emily M
Such a fun spot to go out in South end. Music, atmosphere, and drinks are top notch!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jacqueline Guelli
Great atmosphere, people, and music. A go to- south end spot.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
James Croci
I wouldn't recommend going here on a weekend night and definitely do not use the coat check.We went here on a Saturday night in the winter - they had a coat check (nice!) but they don't give out a number/ticket for the check... They had a few full racks of coats so once ours got hung up, they blended right in with all the others. We didn't have much of a choice to hold the coats because of how crowded/hot it was in the bar.When we went to leave, we were given the wrong coats. So either they lost ours or gave ours away to some drunks who just left with them.The drinks were also very expensive (~$20 w/ tip) so we ended up spending a lot on a few and losing our coats.
Atmosphere: 3
Service: 2
Lindsey Callahan
Such a weird experience here Saturday night. I have never had a GREAT experience with the service but the atmosphere is cool enough to keep coming back. Probably not again. Service was so strange, the bartender acted like we were ruining her night by being there. She was hiding in the back on her phone the whole time, and we were the only ones in the bar for over 30 mins. The drinks being tiny and almost $20 doesn't help either. Bummed because it could be such a great spot but there are many other spots in the South End that deserve my biz more!
I want to love this place for the aesthetic but the drinks weren't good. If you're looking to go out and meet people though, this is a good and chatty spot Friday and Saturday night. Sometimes they have a DJ. Bartender was nice but too much syrup in both drinks
Vincent L.
The Kartal sits at a prominent South End street corner in the former Eagle venue. To some, it reflects the ongoing replacement of LGBT safe spaces with ones aimed at a more general, gentrifying crowd. Still, I found the cocktails to be quite solid when I stopped by, helped by a fun bartender who most recently worked in Fort Wayne. To start, the Barely Legal was a nicely citrusy and spritzy combo of Malfy grapefruit gin, a splash of St. Germain, lime juice, and prosecco. I then opted for something slightly boozier, but still fruity, in the form of the 12:30, which combined Milagro reposado tequila, apple cider, ginger beer, a splash of lime, and a cinnamon/sugar rim. To finish, a Ketel Christmas espresso martini was a nice seasonal twist on a familiar drink thanks to the presence of peppermint bark and rumchatta. Together, a solid, delightfully boozy round set of cocktails. One note: while the cocktail menu is available by QR code, it is marred by spelling errors ("expresso"), zero punctuation (a brain dump of ingredients - without commas to distinguish among them), and little attention to detail (correctly spelling it "Ketel" in some places and "Ketle" in others). It might help your credibility if you bother to get things right.
Ash Comer
Cool vibes. Delish cocktails.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Stephon M.
Short answer: not worth it Came here midweek as I have a business colleague visiting from out of town. Bartender was never behind the bar! Either MIA or just on his phone off to the side. Vibe seemed like it had potential with good music playing. Weird that the door was wide open in the middle of November with only 10 people inside. Drinks were overpriced, mediocre made with zero presentation on top of it. Of course, recommendation from the bartender was useless in the process. This was a let down as I had it on my hit list of places to go.
Katie C.
Came here for the first time tonight and had an amazing experience. All of the bar staff was so kind and attentive. Will be coming back!!
The Kartal is such a vibe.....music is always on point. Adorable decor.....many different options to sit or stand while enjoying a fab martini. Service is consistent and welcoming. Turning into one of my go to spots with friends.
Reposting my review as it was mysteriously removed..Extremely rude unprofessional behavior by all staff including the manager Lucia and bouncer, who came from a dark corner and put his hands on me as soon as I walked in.Bar staff seems to struggle to make a vodka soda, so don't bother ordering anything more complicated than that. At $20 + a drink, you'd expect some level of skill. Really weird place.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
They lost my jacket as they have no coat check numbering system, and they make you pay for that freaking coat check. They then blamed me and told me I chose to leave my jacket there.. most rude staff I ever met in Boston since I moved here in 2017. DO NOT GO THERE - YOU WILL EITHER HAVE THE WORST CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE OR HAVE YOUR COAT STOLEN. the coat check lady is the worst and she is so unprofessional and petty.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
The place itself is nice. But honestly, I have never seen so much disorganization since I’ve been to frat parties. Even in those frat parties the jackets were accounted for. In Kartal you have a 50% chance of getting a ticket and a 50% chance of losing your good winter jacket. When I went, half of my friends lost their winter jackets because the staff gave them away to other people due to their disorganized nature. When we talked to the staff, they blamed us for leaving our coats in the coat check, and sincerely have been the most disrespectful staff I have every met in Boston, and I’ve been in Boston 7 years. I would not recommend at all, would love it if the management would be different and not disrespectful, and accounted for mistakes that are inherently theirs
UNACCEPTABLE OWNERS/MANAGERS. THEY LET STRANGERS STEAL YOUR CLOTHES.This is the first and only time that I’ve been to a bar where the coat check service DOES NOT label and give out numbered tickets for coats and jackets. Their useless staff just tells you to describe your coat once you go back to get it, but good luck…because there are thieves lying, snatching, and getting others peoples coats in all the mayhem. For $2 you could print 2,000 paper labels and prevent people from losing thousands of dollars worth of clothes like my group did. So save yourself and your clothes from this unprofessional establishment and its dubstep Mama Mia remix hurting your brain as much as the pain of dealing with these idiots
Service: 1
Such a fun spot to go out in South end. Music, atmosphere, and drinks are top notch!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great atmosphere, people, and music. A go to- south end spot.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I wouldn't recommend going here on a weekend night and definitely do not use the coat check.We went here on a Saturday night in the winter - they had a coat check (nice!) but they don't give out a number/ticket for the check... They had a few full racks of coats so once ours got hung up, they blended right in with all the others. We didn't have much of a choice to hold the coats because of how crowded/hot it was in the bar.When we went to leave, we were given the wrong coats. So either they lost ours or gave ours away to some drunks who just left with them.The drinks were also very expensive (~$20 w/ tip) so we ended up spending a lot on a few and losing our coats.
Atmosphere: 3
Service: 2
Such a weird experience here Saturday night. I have never had a GREAT experience with the service but the atmosphere is cool enough to keep coming back. Probably not again. Service was so strange, the bartender acted like we were ruining her night by being there. She was hiding in the back on her phone the whole time, and we were the only ones in the bar for over 30 mins. The drinks being tiny and almost $20 doesn't help either. Bummed because it could be such a great spot but there are many other spots in the South End that deserve my biz more!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 2
Great atmosphere!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
I want to love this place for the aesthetic but the drinks weren't good. If you're looking to go out and meet people though, this is a good and chatty spot Friday and Saturday night. Sometimes they have a DJ. Bartender was nice but too much syrup in both drinks
The Kartal sits at a prominent South End street corner in the former Eagle venue. To some, it reflects the ongoing replacement of LGBT safe spaces with ones aimed at a more general, gentrifying crowd. Still, I found the cocktails to be quite solid when I stopped by, helped by a fun bartender who most recently worked in Fort Wayne. To start, the Barely Legal was a nicely citrusy and spritzy combo of Malfy grapefruit gin, a splash of St. Germain, lime juice, and prosecco. I then opted for something slightly boozier, but still fruity, in the form of the 12:30, which combined Milagro reposado tequila, apple cider, ginger beer, a splash of lime, and a cinnamon/sugar rim. To finish, a Ketel Christmas espresso martini was a nice seasonal twist on a familiar drink thanks to the presence of peppermint bark and rumchatta. Together, a solid, delightfully boozy round set of cocktails. One note: while the cocktail menu is available by QR code, it is marred by spelling errors ("expresso"), zero punctuation (a brain dump of ingredients - without commas to distinguish among them), and little attention to detail (correctly spelling it "Ketel" in some places and "Ketle" in others). It might help your credibility if you bother to get things right.
Cool vibes. Delish cocktails.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Short answer: not worth it Came here midweek as I have a business colleague visiting from out of town. Bartender was never behind the bar! Either MIA or just on his phone off to the side. Vibe seemed like it had potential with good music playing. Weird that the door was wide open in the middle of November with only 10 people inside. Drinks were overpriced, mediocre made with zero presentation on top of it. Of course, recommendation from the bartender was useless in the process. This was a let down as I had it on my hit list of places to go.
Came here for the first time tonight and had an amazing experience. All of the bar staff was so kind and attentive. Will be coming back!!