OctoBar

Our waitress was very friendly & attentive. Food was fresh & looked nice, came out in decent amount of time after ordering. I liked the presentation of the octopus ceviche & tasted great. We liked everything we ordered. My husband picked this place bc of a menu he saw online but unfortunately none of those items were on the current menu. The garlic sauce with the shrimp was delicious. The tres Leche would be better without the strawberry & chocolate sauce. We order that whenever we see it out & like it traditional.

It has been a long while since I have been to a place this hit or miss food-wise. The Moroccan lamb skewers and wild mushrooms were great, the manchego tortellini and grilled street corn were memorable, but everything else we ordered at one Michelin star prices (our food was about $200 including tip) was mid, forgettable, or just plain weird. I would skip the 5 pan con tomate, stuffed pepadews, beef empanadas, and octopus ceviche next time, because, in my opinion, they were competent but had no real spark to them. I would skip the Spanish mussels since they were next-to-impossible to get out of the shell and just order the gambas al ajillo only if really in the mood for shrimp, as the sauce was mid. What was so weird to me is that the gambas, mussels, and paella valenciana (!) were all dr

Good news, bad news. The croquettes and tuna tartar were delicious. The olives and octopus were okay. The paella was terrible. The menu lists all these ingredients that were clearly not included. The chicken breast on top was hammered. The dish was very oily and there was no socorrat which is the quintessential paella characteristic. I'm sure it's not easy to train staff how to do this well so take it off the menu until you get it right.

Octobar is one of my favorite spots in Federal Hill! Not only for its incredible food and drink selection, but for its truly outstanding service. I had to plan a last-minute going-away party, and Octavio made the entire process completely seamless. He handled every detail, from arranging the bartender to creating a custom drink menu featuring our favorite cocktails, and even made it easy for everyone to pay their tabs individually. The experience was truly one of a kind. I highly recommend booking Octobar whether you’re planning a night out for dinner and drinks or hosting a special gathering.

We decided to check this out during the Olympics so that we could watch the events but also get some slightly fancy dining on a Saturday. The interior is cozy but well decorated and has plenty of seats for a smaller bar. We didn’t explore the upstairs but there is a staircase in the center. They also had plenty of outdoor seats. We decided to focus on the specials and tried the grilled octopus dish which was fantastic, it came with some nicely grilled veggies and a delicious spread of hummus which all came together for a very balanced and flavorful bite. As a side we opted for the couscous instead of fries or rice. The couscous was nicely seasoned and came with veggies as well. All in all it was a delicious, balanced and healthy meal that was excellently prepared!