I have been going to GL Shacks for maybe 15years, as it was down the road from our ministry, and offered good food at decent prices. I moved out of state but returned to the Catonsville area last week and stopped in for lunch. I had the reuben sandwich and have to say--all nostalgia aside--it was the best it's ever been. The corned beef was tender and stacked high, it was not over-sauced, the kraut was sweet..it was simply fantastic. My brother got the basic burger and fries and I couldn't believe how thick the pattie was and the plate overflowing with fries. while some establishments can get lazy in their hometown familiarity, GL Shacks seems to only be getting better! read more

We really enjoyed our lunch at this quaint little restaurant. The service was attentive, and our food came out fast, which is always a plus. I went with the Half Soup/Half Sandwich combo, the Shrimp Salad Sandwich and the Ham & Navy Bean Soup was delicious. The shrimp salad was really good with big juicy shrimps; really well-prepared and seasoned perfectly. The soup had great flavor with way to much ham (yes I said, to much ham) I would loved to have more beans in the mix! My husband ordered the Shack Burger (medium rare with cheddar and bacon) and said it was a total winner. He loved the char-grilled flavor and said the patty was a great size. He did mention his hand-cut fries could have been a little hotter, but the texture and crispiness were spot on. We're already planning to come back to try other dishes, hopefully on a Monday to catch "Burger Day"! read more

G L Shacks Grill - The Original Shack Burger. - American Near Me - Catonsville, Maryland

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I have been going to GL Shack off and on since the early 2000's. The quality changed during covid, so I started only focusing on shrimp, wings, burger, and their salads. Over the last few years their side salad went from having bacon and eggs to just lettuce , a couple carrots shavings, two sliced tomatoes and maybe two or three cucumbers. Saturday I was craving a steak and traffic was so backed up going to the restaurant I was originally going to, that I instead decided to just go somewhere close to my house. Upon sitting down I was told they has a berry mojito special so I ordered. It was not good so I only had two sips. Next I ordered the sirloin dinner that was on special. As soon as the sliced steal was placed in front of me I knew it would not be goid. It looked unappealing. Sort of like boiled meat instead of a grilled steak. I took a bite. It was so bad I asked for steak sauce. It was still horrible. I only ate two of the pre-cut slices and told the waitress it was by far the WORST steak I ever had and said I would have wings instead. The wings were good as always. This horrible meal ended up costing me $56 for the uneaten steak dinner, horrible mojito I did not drink, and the wings. The bartender was nice. I use to bartend and if I noticed a customer not drinking a drink I made, i would have asked if they wanted anything else, or I would have remade the drink. The bartenders were nice so I left an $8 tip . This ended up being the most expensive buffalo wings I ever had. I was exhausted after having a long work week and not having eaten breakfast or lunch so I just paid and left without complaining. read more

Really enjoyed our lunch here! It was a great overall experience with attentive service and fast food delivery. My wife did the half soup/half sandwich combo with the Shrimp Salad Sandwich and the Ham & Navy Bean Soup. She really enjoyed the shrimp salad and said the flavors in both dishes were well-prepared and seasoned. The soup had a ton of ham, though she noted she would have loved a few more beans in the mix. I ordered the Shack Burger (medium rare with cheddar and bacon) with a side of hand-cut fries. The burger was a winner, a good-sized patty cooked perfectly to temperature with a nice char-grilled flavor and perfectly melted cheese. The fries had great texture (crispy outside, soft inside) and flavor, though I do wish they had arrived a little hotter. Our waitress was attentive and kept checking in on us. We will definitely be back to try other dishes, ideally on a Monday for "Burger Day"! read more

G L Shacks Grill - Ham and Navy Bean Soup with Shrimp Salad Sandwich and chips Half Soup Half Sandwich - American Near Me - Catonsville, Maryland

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Cool little bar! It's a little tight for seating but we found some space at the bar. Plenty of TVs for sports and good drinks- I had an ipa and my friend had a white wine. The food was good bar food, we tried the Reuben egg rolls and the chicken wrap- they did run out of grilled chicken somehow but subbed tenders which actually made it taste really good. read more

G L Shacks Grill - Reuben egg rolls - American Near Me - Catonsville, Maryland

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Sat at the bar for happy hour and was pretty happy with their happy hour specials! $8 food options is a pretty good deal! I had the wings and shrimp specials. Everything was delicious. Could use more seasoning on the shrimp. The vibe is local dive bar which I like for a chill HH. Parking is in the back and enter through the stairs under the awning. read more

G L Shacks Grill - Happy hour menu - American Near Me - Catonsville, Maryland

Walkable to eat at good food good entertainment on the TVs food customer service they have good healthy food to eat there

Really yummy food and quiet atmosphere in the restaurant. My family thought the pot roast was great and the seafood pizza was decent- wishing there was more seafood on it for the price and something to cut through the cream sauce like lemon. Loved the cauliflower crust. The waitress was great! read more

Our waitress ( Jordan? ) was efficient and super thoughtful. At first we wondered if she could pull it off with alot of tables and a room full of hungry people. Not a problem for her. The food was tasty and filling. Pleasant atmosphere and an open seating arrangement that did not crowd each table. . There is alot of good food in this neighborhood. Make sure you add GL Shacks to your list. read more

Referencing the 'bar', not the restaurant. Catonsville. If you like useless 'bar tenders' that are drunk and only 'see' regular customers and completely ignore new customers, this is the place for you ! ! ! read more

G L Shacks Grill - American Near Me - Catonsville, Maryland

Savannah is a great waitress and the Hamburgers are excellent. They have homemade desserts as well.

So I ran across this restaurant just looking for something different. This restaurant has a setup for a restaurant, and then you have your bar side with the tvs. The people were very friendly and had a nice atmosphere. The food was good. I had a burger that was juicy and cooked well with a side of French fries. It was a nice place for me to stumble across. Stop by and check them out. read more

G L Shacks Grill - Light Lunch Sandwich - American Near Me - Catonsville, Maryland

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Went here before a comedy show and they did not disappoint. We ordered the Three Amigos Dip Tray and could not stop eating it. This tray had the right amount of Chips for the 3 dips and made you want more. My sister ordered the Buffalo Salad and I ordered the Rueben...yummmmmy. The buffalo chicken on the salad was tender and juicy with fresh lettuces and toppings. My Rueben was made to perfection. Tender with each bite, fries are the best I have ever had, salted lightly and crispy. We forgot we had margaritas to drink...lol. Our waitress stayed on top of things and we gave her a great tip. Will be going again when in the area. read more

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I've driven by ths place for the last 3 years and finally decided to stop in. The Parking lot is behind the building. There is a small driveway up the hill/behind. Kind of tight but big enough for 30+ cars. They have an outdoor tent set up for persons who would rather dine outside. You go DOWN the stairs to enter the Grill. Once met there, there is a small hallway and the waitress led us to our table. The dining area was really clean. had the perfect ambiance of light and decor. We esp. loved the painings of Baltimore. Farther down the hallway were the bathrooms and at the end was a Bar. There is also an area at the front of the bar that looks like a porch- where ppl can go outside to. I'm assuming it's for people to smoke (this area can be seen while driving by) Came on a Friday night around 8PM. The bar was pretty full and lively. Dining area had silent TVs playing. Jamie, our waitress, was super nice! I had a Blackberry Sangria, which was good. Had a bit of fizz to it. I also had the Steak salad $14, with vinegrette on the side. Steak seemed to be medium well. A few times I couldn't chew thru the steak lol and almost had to spit it out because I was tired of chewing and afraid of swalling because I might choke. I wasn't completely hungry so it filled me up but I wouldn't get it if I came in starved. My niece had something like a Sheppards Pie. Came with a crisp side salad. Then the pie was delivered in a cast iron skilled on a plate warmer. It was hot! But she said it was really good and ate it all :) The kitchen staff were rather loud and we could hear every. single. cuss. word they were saying back there. We sat at the first table at the entrance from where you walked in. The dining room tables were pretty spacious. the bar area looked full with no social distancing. I would like to try the bar area on a warm day (post covid) read more

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Great food! The crab salad is the bomb, burgers are good, and the turkey blt is huge! A go to spot for us in Catonsville

The place is hidden, parking in the back of the building. I used the back entrance in the parking lot , no host. A waiter just told us to sit anywhere and she'd get to us. My social anxiety not knowing where to sit or who to ask for help lol but thats a me issue. The place overall is nice , they have a bar section with sports playing on the tvs , even the dining area has tvs playing. The waitress was really nice and gave my husband and I refills on time. She checked in multiple times and was in good spirits. We had the wings for appetizer and they were THE BEST wings we've ever had 100000000/10 . Will definitely go back just for the wings. I ordered the chicken sandwich and my husband ordered a bacon cheese burger which were both good. Chicken sandwich was a 8/10 and the burger was a 6/10 just a basic burger nothing to stand out. We will definitely go back again to try some other items on the menu. The price was good too. We paid 42$ for our meals & drinks. read more

G L Shacks Grill - Wings (hot) - American Near Me - Catonsville, Maryland

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so I've lived in Catonsville for many years. I have never been to this restaurant. So, a group of high school friends from the 70s gathered there for a BI monthly lunch. I was totally blown away as to just how good of a restaurant it is especially one with such a local flare and bar crowd. food was well presented and beautifully served by Kelsey. A great waitress though a group of 12 still gave Independent checks. My ham and turkey club was perfect. The french fries were great and the small was the best I've had in a local restaurant in many years the shrimp salad was marvelous and we had a wonderful time and will be coming back, I encourage anyone regardless of where they live to stop by and have a great lunch or dinner at this super restaurant read more

G L Shacks Grill - American Near Me - Catonsville, Maryland

I've passed by this restaurant many times and never went in. I decided to visit along with a friend and I was very pleased with the food and the service. They have a nice bar in front if you want to sit at the bar and restaurant seating in the back. The service prompt. They give you free soda refills which is nice. We had the chicken quesadillas appetizers which were very good and filling I had the mushroom burger with slaw , my friend had the salmon. We loved them both I also got a carryout order of the Ruben egg rolls and fried pickles, yum One of the best part of lunch was our waitress Savanah, she was awesome! Very kind and patient, knowledgeable, always present when we needed her and took the time to converse with us. Very pleasant personality So glad I stopped in today I will definitely recommend to all read more

We found this place on a U turn out of a shopping center. Best part of our experience was their HOME MADE CHIPS. so so so so so so fresh and perfectly seasoned. I was impressed. Altogether it is clean and we sat next to an elderly gentleman who had been going there for years. and we will return. read more

The food was good. The service was excellent. The drinks were well done and it's just a fun place to hang out with friends.

First time at this spot and it was great! The menu for lunch was pretty limited so not everything from the site was on it. Kelsey was our waitress and she was amazing. Very helpful and friendly. Old bay wings were crispy and meaty. The dressings we had tasted home made. I'm usually a blue cheese fan but I loved the ranch. Crab dip was very good. Not jumbo lumps of crab but I could still see the crab in it. I got the French dip sandwich which was SO delicious. My fave part of the meal. The Comet pie was ok my Bf thought it lacked a little flavor but said it was better as he ate it. All in all I will absolutely be back. read more

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GREAT FOOD! Great (top-notch) service and attitude(s) & ambiance abound! Prices are reasonable!

My husband and I decided to try G.L. Shacks even though they have a 3.9 rating. I'm so glad we did!! Food is amazing! We first tried it last Friday (August 25, 2023) and we have been back 2 more times since! Blackened Chicken Pasta = Amazing!; The Shacks Burger = Another hit!; Crab cake Platter = Superb!! Taylor has been our waitress twice since we've been and she's outstanding! Great personality, beautiful smile, and just an all-around excellent server!! I believe Savannah served us on Monday and she too was fantastic. Sweet and very helpful! She even let me sample the Cream of Crab and Maryland Crab soups together. Oh, btw, the Maryland Crab soup is incredible! A must try!! A+++++++ Thanks Taylor and Savannah! read more

Just passing though, looking for a casual place on our route to grab a bite and a cocktail. There is a parking lot and street parking and two entrances: one directly into the bar at the front and one in the back (where the parking lot is.) From the front it looks like a quaint, old tavern. The back entrance is a little fancy, with an awning that leads to the stairs taking you down to the restaurant below. Though it was a Saturday night, I was still surprised to find the place packed. The restaurant had a 20 min wait and the bar was shoulder to shoulder with no seats. I didn't get a good look at the restaurant area, but it appeared nondescript, with a mix of couples (old and young) and families. We put our name down and went to the bar to wait. Another mixed bag here: lots of millennials, couples (old and young again) and friends of all ages laughing and enjoying themselves. It was very Cheers-like as everyone seemed to know everyone else. There was one seat at the bar that a man was saving for a friend; but when he saw us standing there, he offered up the seat. I sat down and the man on my other side, noticing that I was sitting, but my husband was standing, gave up his seat as well. How nice! We bought him a beer and ended up staying there to order/eat our meal. There were only two bartenders working and as it was super packed, order-taking was slow. It really wasn't the bartenders' faults. There were simply too many people. But finally I got to order an Orange Crush (love when establishments promote crushes on their menus and this place has a few!) I was disappointed when I got my drink, however, as my husband pointed out that I basically bought a glass of orange juice. I mentioned the lack of alcohol to the bartender, who made it right. The husband ordered the Maryland Crab Soup, loved it: tasty and chock full of real crab. I got a crab cake sandwich and it, too, was loaded with real crab. At first glance, menu items look like standard pub fare, but when you read the descriptions, you see that many actually contain some unique, high quality additions. For example, pesto chicken rub, Gouda cheese, Creole tarter sauce, Hawaiian BBQ glaze, homemade gravy, and more. I see why it was so packed! Good food at a fair price, one of the friendliest places I've been, and the local patrons were just delightful. Great place, will stop again. read more

G L Shacks Grill - Saturday night! - American Near Me - Catonsville, Maryland

I went to GL Shacks in Catonsville on 6/2/23 to use one of my Restaurant.com coupons. The waitress said "we no longer expect those coupons, we cannot verify them". I got home and checked the Restaurant.com website and GL Shacks is still advertising and selling coupons on the website. I called Restauant.com and they said GL Shacks is still an active registered participant and that there is nothing wrong with the Restaurant.com verification site/process. Restaurant.com is going to investigate why GL Shacks is selling coupons and refusing to honor them. It appears GL Shacks is just taking advantage of Restaurant.com to advertise but does not except the coupons. I feel like I was taken advantage of by GL Shacks. read more

Awesome local pub. Had beers and wings with the Boys and watched some college football. Not a student hangout. Good place for day drinking read more

Loved this place! Was looking for someone different for date night eats and this restaurant came up on my radar. The first thing I noticed that I love is that the bar and dining area are in separate sections. It was happy hour when we arrived but you could barely hear the patrons at the bar and the restaurant area was empty except for us. The ambiance was cozy with a radio station on that played a nice selection. The TVs all had on sports but it is a bar and grill so that didn't bother me. The young lady that helped us was friendly and attentive without being overbearing. For food, we started off with the Buffalo chicken dip which was bomb. It came with tricolor tortilla chips, pita wedges and celery. My gripes with this were that the menu said toasted pita chips and they were not toasted, and the kitchen put wet celery on dry pita and it made the otherwise yummy bread a bit soggy. For dinner we both had burgers. My husband had the New Yorker which was basically a burger with a rueben on top of it. I had the 'shroom and Swiss which was awesome, except for the brioche bun that seemed stale . I did, however, love the garlic parmesan aoili that was on it. Overall we loved this restaurant and will definitely be back. Not only does it remind us of our favorite place to eat when we lived in WI, but hearing the young lady that helped us greet and say goodbye to people by name was awesome customer service. And that is pretty hard to find these days. read more

I've dined in and grabbed carry out here several times. I ordered a Caesar salad, hot wings, and California fries. Picking up the order was a breeze but I was unable to check it because it was so tightly packs and picking up from the bar is hard as it is. The wings were cooked the way I like them but no blue cheese was given, it was really needed! The fries were missing the ranch and had way to many tomatoes on it. It also really needed salt. The most disappointing was the salad. It was really sad looking and just over all a bad choice. Over all for the price I would think twice about grabbing food here again. read more

Left happy with a belly full of the pork nachos and fish & chips! Beer is decently priced compared to restaurants downtown - a plus.

This place was great. The dining room was relaxing but we could still watch the game since there were several TVs in the dining area. The menu is pretty large and there are a lot of options. The shrimp salad sandwich was great and the jambalaya was flavorful. The sandwich came with a delicious sauce that was very good. Our sever, Bradley, was friendly and made good suggestions on the menu items. The onion rings were his best suggestion. He was also knowledgeable about the menu options. We would come back. read more

I work in the same building right above Shacks and have always loved the food here. However, most of the time the order is for pickup. Shacks always has a different special running every week. Today's special soup was seafood gumbo. I order my usual (turkey club with fries) for my entree. Soup: The soup was well made. Not too salty like some gumbos. I particularly enjoyed the shrimp in it. Entree: Their turkey club has always been a favorite of mine. It's light on the wallet and packed full of turkey! I've never seen a place that gives so much meat. Customer Service: Since I always order take out, I mainly deal with the bartenders. Julie the bartender is always eager to assist and very helpful. She's definitely the best! All in all, this place seems to be a great hangout spot for locals. If you're ever in the mood for sports, beer, and food, this is definitely a great spot. read more

G L Shacks Grill - Turkey club! - American Near Me - Catonsville, Maryland

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Good local bar in the heart of Catonsville. Tuesday nights feature the $7 cheeseburgers which are big and juicy. Thursday night is shrimp night and when you order one pound it comes with a heaping portion of boiled potato's. They have TV's in the bar area and it is a popular Catonsville hangout read more

I am going to go with 3 stars here, even though I was close to giving 2-- but the friendliness and efficiency of the servers saves it. Mr. X and I do dine here somewhat regularly, but there is definitely much room for improvement. I am going to review the restaurant area only, as we do not go to the bar area. Shacks used to be much better around a decade ago with the old kitchen crew. The original chef passed away and frankly it's never been the same since. Today, it's nowhere near what it was food-quality wise. A lot of this stems from the fact that the owner is an absentee, and pays little attention to the place (note that this Yelp business listing has never even been claimed!). You can't run a restaurant and not be there every day. Everything about the food is always just a little bit wrong, but again, not really too badly. I'll explain... There's still some good. The servers are generally very personable and nice. The place is clean and attractive, although they could do without all of the televisions in the dining room. I just don't understand that. It's tacky and ugly. But let's move on to the reason we are here... the food. I still think this place has one of the best cream of crab soups around. It's an old recipe that Shacks has had forever, and it works. It's thick and rich and delicious, I could eat it every day. My only gripe is that within the past few years they have dropped the amount of crab meat chunks in it, and also when I got it last night, the chunks were still cold. It was O.K., but cold crab meat in hot soup doesn't go well, and it would have certainly bothered some folks. We ordered chicken wings with the orange chili sauce. That was a huge mistake. The sauce seems to be orange marmalade in which is mixed chili sauce. It's thick, gloppy, way too sweet, and doesn't go well AT ALL with wings. In fact, I can't think of anything it would go with. We sent them back and got then remade with regular hot sauce, which was fine. The special soup of the day was Italian wedding soup, and although nothing special, it was really good. The beer-battered onion rings are crunchy, thick, and delicious-- no problem at all there. Ask for a side of their dipping sauce. The burgers are house-made and always good here, though mine was ordered medium rare, and it came close to well. It was still fine, too well done for me but I finished it anyway, no big deal. The roll was excellent though. I ordered it with everything, but it came out with just lettuce and tomato. No pickle, onion, or a cup of mayonnaise on the side. See what I mean about everything being just a little wrong? The dessert we selected, the brownie cheesecake, was just a small chocolate brownie with some cheesecake looking stuff swirled in it. I found it disappointing, unappealing looking, and worst of all it was obviously a frozen product which you could tell from the taste. Not good at all. Desserts should be very special, always attractive looking, not an afterthought, or look like someone just threw something onto a plate. All that aside, the food is O.K. and we continue to go here. If you live nearby and need a place to eat and have a few drinks, this is a good choice but I wouldn't go out of my way. It's the serving staff who save this place, which is definitely running on autopilot. A little attention by the owner once in a while could possibly help, but what they need here is a daily manager. read more

I came here for a casual lunch with friends. I ordered the Santa Fe Burger, which was topped with smoked bacon, pepper jack cheese, & avocado slices. The food was ok, and not very memorable. The best part of the burger was the tangy BBQ sauce, because it added a boost of flavor. Besides the sauce, the burger would have been better if the bacon was crispier and the avocado was served as a relish or guacamole. However, the fries were delicious, hot, and well seasoned. read more

G L Shacks Grill - Santa Fe Burger & Fries - American Near Me - Catonsville, Maryland

First time I went it was a great experience. Friendly fun environment. Descent service. Great wings and onion rings. The second time I went horrible wings it was as if they dumped the entire bottle of old bay seasoning on them. They were extremely salty. Horrible orange chili wings smothered and swimming in some kind of jelly like goo that had absolutely no flavor. Had to wonder how the quality of the wings could be so drastically different. The drinks were also pretty watered down. The server was nice and again so were the people who frequented the place. Liked the atmosphere. read more

Really good food and service! The inside smelled of old smoke, but there were cute tables outside. The bartender was very kind and attentive. The food was delicious and the restaurants saving grace. I would definitely go back for the food. The food was expensive, but delicious. $14 for the Santa Fe burger read more

G L Shacks Grill - American Near Me - Catonsville, Maryland

Foods good..waitress was good even through. Atmosphere is nice and family friendly. I saw that the California fries were recommended so I ordered and loved them. read more

G L Shacks Grill - Whats left of the Fries.... - American Near Me - Catonsville, Maryland

Went to the restuarant part. We attempted to order several items, non of which were available. After 3 or 4 attempts to order we gave up and left. No one else was in the restuarant. I can see why. read more

This is a new found gem for us. The service is great and the food is excellent! I've loved everything I've eaten from here. The veggie powerhouse panini is excellent. The broccoli was perfectly cooked. They have some awesome house made chips with Old Bay that were delicious! Crab cakes are some of the best I've had. The bartenders do a great job of making sure everyone is taken care of. The only bad thing is that they have a large window that is usually opened out onto the patio and the cigarette smoke comes into the bar. read more

The only reason I even gave three stars was because the food is pretty good. Every time I go here I feel super uncomfortable. I've DoorDashed multiple times to this restaurant and have been made uncomfortable due to employees making comments towards me. Talked to my sister and she had the same thing happen to her... very weird read more