Fun place, great ambience and waiters were friendly. Food is good, including the sushi rolls. Drinks were decent.Verdict: Come here for the ambience, stay for the food.
Tolani T.
First time I came with one of my friends and the sushi rolls were delicious and the drinks were good as well. They were strong enough but not too strong. The only thing I didn't like was the yellowtail, as the presentation didn't seem appetizing nor did it come with any type of dipping sauce. Overall, I did enjoy myself so I will definitely be making a return.
Lauren H
Varying experiences. Recently under new management. Didn't like the shrimp Gyoza at all. They have decent sushi. Upstairs was nice a few weeks ago but I believe they are making some changes. Don't get your hopes up in thinking you getting the same XS that you may have been used to.
Sasha Jones
I’ve been coming to XS for about 10 years and was really happy when they reopened but new management is running this place into the ground! On Saturday, I dined in for the first time in two years. I usually get carry out which is normally fabulous. To start off, my server was DRUNK, sloppy and frankly quite aggressive. He took a long time checking on us while he was talking to people I assume were his friends and not paying customers, judging by the unprofessional way he was communicating with them. When I asked for the manager, he said “Oh, the manager’s here” but lo and behold SHE WAS DOING BLUDCLART SHOTS INNA DI RESTAURANT! I will definitely not be returning to dine in with them ever again under this management. I will only to take out with the cute guys from downstairs. One used to be my server, I wish I could “dine in” with them.
April Jackson (CoCo)
I went for my birthday. It was happy hour. The vibe was cool. The dj was on point. I had a rolling ocean roll, fried calamari, beef bulgogi, and my bf ordered salmon fried rice. We also had 2 specialty cocktail. One was Japanese whiskey the other was something valley.So it was like 30 minutes before we even were able to put our orders in, apparently the system was down but no one told us that until we asked. I had to repeatedly ask for water.Ron was our server and despite some hiccups he was awesome. They were out of the orange chicken tho so that was disappointing. The sushi was amazing. The fried rice was good. The bulgogi was burnt and the calamari was fried soft. Also it was happy hour and they still charged us regular prices. My bf didn't complain but he did have to go to the bar and get my water even though it wasn't that busy. This is black owned. Would I go back yes, I live in the neighborhood and I would give them another shot. Hopefully they'll have orange chicken next time. And I can change my review to 5 stars. Oh the valley cocktail was delicious. Bf spent about 115 plus 25$ tip and I was still hungry though
Cheryl Bennett
Food was good. Large servings. We didn't know what to order from the bar, so the bartender made us a custom drink. Muh! Good time today!
Chyno The Blue Bearded Foodie
Totally love the new management and direction. Food still slaps and the music nights on the weekends are everything.And their m-f happy hour is ???
Designer Look book
We was visiting from VA and came upon this place and fell in love. it was great music, good food, and our server Ron was the best. Even tho the WiFi went out he tried his best to make sure he stayed on top of everything we was very understanding. I will be back anytime I come to Baltimore.
Jay -.
Have only ordered takeout from here but every time was worth it. I'd def recommend this spot for a good meal.. The only knock I'd give this place is that it doesn't allow takeout for all of their menu options (e.g. their vegan menu isnt available for takeout)
Newby N.
First time dining at XS in years... I vividly remember it's heyday around 2009-2013. It was the place to be. I don't know what happened inbetween but I heard that they "reopened" so I decided to check it out. My first complaint is the music. I remember there always being a DJ who played house music at respectable levels. Now, the music is so loud you can barely hold a conversation. They need to bring it down a few notches. XS is a restaurant, not a club/lounge. Second complaint: I never received my food!!! The service was great, my drink was a little too sweet for my liking, but decent. Food was just okay. I ordered Calamari for myself, and Avacado and Cucumber Rolls for the table. Calamari wasn't the best I've had. Sauce was good though. Avocado Rolls were tasty but they're hard to mess up! We never received the Cucumber Rolls. After making our sever aware several times, she finally expressed in so many words that we weren't going to get them. Instead we were comped and received free shots. Never in my life has a restaurant refused to give me food that I ordered. I thought that was the weirdest thing. We wanted our Cucumber Rolls! Like I stated previously... the service was good. I added an extra star for that. Otherwise, I don't have to go back to XS.
The Good: The food here is very good. I got drunken noodles and my wife got beef fried rice with a few apps on our date night. They dont use flat noodles like a traditional drunken noodle but it was still very flavorful. The place is also full of beautiful art and I like the ambience of the place with the brick walls and laidback lounge. The Bad: The music was too loud and explicit for a restaurant. I doubt I will be bringing my kids or visiting parents here. I'm mixed but sometimes have a thick Italian accent because I grew up there so I know that does not help. However I have been in the states for a long time but it was still a struggle trying to order food because my waiter could not hear me and had to get close to take my order which made my wife uncomfortable because efn covid and he was not wearing a mask. On another note, his breath reeked. Keep reading to see why. It was also a struggle trying to just have a conversation with my wife. We just had to eat. The Ugly: Got our food fast but our waiter disappeared after that. I had to get up and go to the bar so we could get refills on our drinks. This took a long time but understandable because the bar was full. Also discovered my waiter there taking shots. We locked eyes but he didn't come over to see why I was waiting by the bar. I guess he totally forgot we were his customers. Eventually the lady who gave us menus came over and said she'd bring our drinks to us. Was nice to see someone working here. When it was time to pay my wife had to flag him down and even that took 15 minutes or so because he got distracted again with his coworkers NOT other customers. We wanted dessert but were already too displeased to order. Also the bathrooms were also atrocious. Please hire someone to clean them routinely because the lax staff isnt going to keep up with them. 2/5 Because the food was good but walking up 3 flights of stairs to get subpar service and a headache in a glorified frathouse was not worth it.
Mwelwa Kostrick
Great experience overall. Everyone was very kind, had a great server. Drinks came out a little late but the food and drinks all were delicious and great potions for what you pay. Always a favorite spot of ours.
Siir Rowe
I haven't been to XS in sooooo long and I will NOT be returning. The menu is completely different , not very vegan friendly. They messed up my order and the person I was with ..TWICE , drinks included. The GM came out said she would fix it and messed it up as well. I didn't even eat the food I got..which means I wasted money. The service was terrible , one waiter said she didn't know we were her table as we sat and watch them pass over us majority of the time we were there. The best part of the experience was the music
Kura. Cee
Visited tonight. Service was not great. Ordered drinks and food and waited long for each. Ordered a main dish, waited 30 minutes without being checked on, then was told the kitchen closed and no drunken noodles will be coming out. No offer for something else. No apology for the wait abs sudden close of kitchen during dinner hours. Asked for the bill and waited another 20 minutes for that to come. Not pleased with my service.
Olakunle O.
A friend of mine randomly invited me here on a Tuesday evening. I hadn't been in years so I was happy to visit again. In a lucky turn, it just so happens that Tuesday is karaoke night. Nevertheless, it wasn't too packed and you could still hear your conversation even as people performed in the other room by the third floor bar. I was starving so I ordered the beef bulgogi and their drunken noodles with beef. The bulgogi was excessively salty and I didn't especially enjoy it. The drunken noodles used thin rice noodles rather than the flat noodles you're accustomed to and were sweet and spicy. They didn't taste like your traditional Thai drunken noodles but they were good in their own way. The bartenders were very attentive--my glass was never empty--and good conversationalists. The bar occasionally broke out into a group sing along which was extremely fun. I would certainly come back to see what their happy looks like and on a weekend to see if they're as lively as they were back in the day.
Fun place, great ambience and waiters were friendly. Food is good, including the sushi rolls. Drinks were decent.Verdict: Come here for the ambience, stay for the food.
First time I came with one of my friends and the sushi rolls were delicious and the drinks were good as well. They were strong enough but not too strong. The only thing I didn't like was the yellowtail, as the presentation didn't seem appetizing nor did it come with any type of dipping sauce. Overall, I did enjoy myself so I will definitely be making a return.
Varying experiences. Recently under new management. Didn't like the shrimp Gyoza at all. They have decent sushi. Upstairs was nice a few weeks ago but I believe they are making some changes. Don't get your hopes up in thinking you getting the same XS that you may have been used to.
I’ve been coming to XS for about 10 years and was really happy when they reopened but new management is running this place into the ground! On Saturday, I dined in for the first time in two years. I usually get carry out which is normally fabulous. To start off, my server was DRUNK, sloppy and frankly quite aggressive. He took a long time checking on us while he was talking to people I assume were his friends and not paying customers, judging by the unprofessional way he was communicating with them. When I asked for the manager, he said “Oh, the manager’s here” but lo and behold SHE WAS DOING BLUDCLART SHOTS INNA DI RESTAURANT! I will definitely not be returning to dine in with them ever again under this management. I will only to take out with the cute guys from downstairs. One used to be my server, I wish I could “dine in” with them.
I went for my birthday. It was happy hour. The vibe was cool. The dj was on point. I had a rolling ocean roll, fried calamari, beef bulgogi, and my bf ordered salmon fried rice. We also had 2 specialty cocktail. One was Japanese whiskey the other was something valley.So it was like 30 minutes before we even were able to put our orders in, apparently the system was down but no one told us that until we asked. I had to repeatedly ask for water.Ron was our server and despite some hiccups he was awesome. They were out of the orange chicken tho so that was disappointing. The sushi was amazing. The fried rice was good. The bulgogi was burnt and the calamari was fried soft. Also it was happy hour and they still charged us regular prices. My bf didn't complain but he did have to go to the bar and get my water even though it wasn't that busy. This is black owned. Would I go back yes, I live in the neighborhood and I would give them another shot. Hopefully they'll have orange chicken next time. And I can change my review to 5 stars. Oh the valley cocktail was delicious. Bf spent about 115 plus 25$ tip and I was still hungry though
Food was good. Large servings. We didn't know what to order from the bar, so the bartender made us a custom drink. Muh! Good time today!
Totally love the new management and direction. Food still slaps and the music nights on the weekends are everything.And their m-f happy hour is ???
We was visiting from VA and came upon this place and fell in love. it was great music, good food, and our server Ron was the best. Even tho the WiFi went out he tried his best to make sure he stayed on top of everything we was very understanding. I will be back anytime I come to Baltimore.
Have only ordered takeout from here but every time was worth it. I'd def recommend this spot for a good meal.. The only knock I'd give this place is that it doesn't allow takeout for all of their menu options (e.g. their vegan menu isnt available for takeout)
First time dining at XS in years... I vividly remember it's heyday around 2009-2013. It was the place to be. I don't know what happened inbetween but I heard that they "reopened" so I decided to check it out. My first complaint is the music. I remember there always being a DJ who played house music at respectable levels. Now, the music is so loud you can barely hold a conversation. They need to bring it down a few notches. XS is a restaurant, not a club/lounge. Second complaint: I never received my food!!! The service was great, my drink was a little too sweet for my liking, but decent. Food was just okay. I ordered Calamari for myself, and Avacado and Cucumber Rolls for the table. Calamari wasn't the best I've had. Sauce was good though. Avocado Rolls were tasty but they're hard to mess up! We never received the Cucumber Rolls. After making our sever aware several times, she finally expressed in so many words that we weren't going to get them. Instead we were comped and received free shots. Never in my life has a restaurant refused to give me food that I ordered. I thought that was the weirdest thing. We wanted our Cucumber Rolls! Like I stated previously... the service was good. I added an extra star for that. Otherwise, I don't have to go back to XS.
Restaurantji Recommends
The Good: The food here is very good. I got drunken noodles and my wife got beef fried rice with a few apps on our date night. They dont use flat noodles like a traditional drunken noodle but it was still very flavorful. The place is also full of beautiful art and I like the ambience of the place with the brick walls and laidback lounge. The Bad: The music was too loud and explicit for a restaurant. I doubt I will be bringing my kids or visiting parents here. I'm mixed but sometimes have a thick Italian accent because I grew up there so I know that does not help. However I have been in the states for a long time but it was still a struggle trying to order food because my waiter could not hear me and had to get close to take my order which made my wife uncomfortable because efn covid and he was not wearing a mask. On another note, his breath reeked. Keep reading to see why. It was also a struggle trying to just have a conversation with my wife. We just had to eat. The Ugly: Got our food fast but our waiter disappeared after that. I had to get up and go to the bar so we could get refills on our drinks. This took a long time but understandable because the bar was full. Also discovered my waiter there taking shots. We locked eyes but he didn't come over to see why I was waiting by the bar. I guess he totally forgot we were his customers. Eventually the lady who gave us menus came over and said she'd bring our drinks to us. Was nice to see someone working here. When it was time to pay my wife had to flag him down and even that took 15 minutes or so because he got distracted again with his coworkers NOT other customers. We wanted dessert but were already too displeased to order. Also the bathrooms were also atrocious. Please hire someone to clean them routinely because the lax staff isnt going to keep up with them. 2/5 Because the food was good but walking up 3 flights of stairs to get subpar service and a headache in a glorified frathouse was not worth it.
Great experience overall. Everyone was very kind, had a great server. Drinks came out a little late but the food and drinks all were delicious and great potions for what you pay. Always a favorite spot of ours.
I haven't been to XS in sooooo long and I will NOT be returning. The menu is completely different , not very vegan friendly. They messed up my order and the person I was with ..TWICE , drinks included. The GM came out said she would fix it and messed it up as well. I didn't even eat the food I got..which means I wasted money. The service was terrible , one waiter said she didn't know we were her table as we sat and watch them pass over us majority of the time we were there. The best part of the experience was the music
Visited tonight. Service was not great. Ordered drinks and food and waited long for each. Ordered a main dish, waited 30 minutes without being checked on, then was told the kitchen closed and no drunken noodles will be coming out. No offer for something else. No apology for the wait abs sudden close of kitchen during dinner hours. Asked for the bill and waited another 20 minutes for that to come. Not pleased with my service.
A friend of mine randomly invited me here on a Tuesday evening. I hadn't been in years so I was happy to visit again. In a lucky turn, it just so happens that Tuesday is karaoke night. Nevertheless, it wasn't too packed and you could still hear your conversation even as people performed in the other room by the third floor bar. I was starving so I ordered the beef bulgogi and their drunken noodles with beef. The bulgogi was excessively salty and I didn't especially enjoy it. The drunken noodles used thin rice noodles rather than the flat noodles you're accustomed to and were sweet and spicy. They didn't taste like your traditional Thai drunken noodles but they were good in their own way. The bartenders were very attentive--my glass was never empty--and good conversationalists. The bar occasionally broke out into a group sing along which was extremely fun. I would certainly come back to see what their happy looks like and on a weekend to see if they're as lively as they were back in the day.