HARLEM BAR B Q

Good soul food is easy to find in Harlem, so it didn’t come as a surprise when I happened upon Harlem Bar B Q. You can have fried chicken and red velvet waffles for brunch or fried cat fish bites as an appetizer before dinner. Enjoy their sweet cornbread with its buttery smell. The cornbread is warm and moist. Their mac & cheese is ooey, gooey good and it’s a perfect combination with a side of their collard greens.

I really like the food at Harlem Bar B Q. Although I’m not a fan of the batter and spices used for the fried chicken, everything else is spot on. The restaurant’s atmosphere, however, is not as appetizing as the food. Dining with my 14 year old, there was a table of twenty-somethings directly adjacent from our table. The conversation amongst them was deplorable for a public venue. One girl spoke as though she was on a megaphone. She spoke of oral sex and armed robbery. I was mortified! To top it all off a fist fight breaks out between two patrons. One of the patrons was seated directly behind us. You could see that she didn’t get to finish her meal as she was thrust into hand to hand combat in a Harlem restaurant. The fight was so intense between these two females who were knocking over tables while the male host had the most difficult time parting them. It was like the first UFC match at the Garden. It was a memorable event in sports history.

I will likely never dine at Harlem Bar B Q again. My experience there was not pleasant despite the good service and the great food. I remained on edge the entire time I was in the restaurant. Unsure of retaliation after the fight and still able to hear a supposed to be contained conversation that was completely inappropriate for common spaces. The entire experience made it hard for me to love this place and for that reason, I’m out!