Always great service, fresh & delicious food, highly enjoyable. Fun for family or just adults

We have been here a few times and it is one of the best restaurants in Eldersburg. This review is for our most recent visit on Valentine's Day. For Valentine's Day, they had reservations only for a 4 course pre-fix meals for $50 per person that did not include wine. My husband and I ordered different items (except dessert) to try a variety of dishes. We did order a great bottle of wine to go with our meal, County Cork has a nice selection to choose from. 1st course: lobster bisque - awesome ; salad - above average 2nd course: lamb chops - awesome; seafood rockefeller - okay 3rd course: filet with potatoes - above average; chicken ragout - below average and dry (I actually felt really bad that my dish was so much better than my husband's) 4th course: sliver of red velvet cheesecake - good but really, it was the tiniest sliver of cake I have ever seen? Both of our slivers together would still not make a half piece of cake you would normally get at a restaurant. My real issue of the night was that I had actually ordered the fish as my main entree and not the filet. The waiter insisted I ordered the filet and I ended up accepting the entree since it was definitely a rushed experience and it was my second choice of entrees offered. As we were seated we were told we had a limited amount of time due to being Valentine's day. Overall, it was a great meal but a bit on the pricey side for what we received and we felt rushed to finish our meal in our allotted time. The fact that County Cork Wine Pub is one of the best and definitely one of the more intimate restaurants in Eldersburg, it is not surprising that the restaurant was booked and some of it's normal quality may have been sacrificed to accomodate the large number of patrons. read more

We visited The County Cork Wine Pub mid afternoon during the week so it wasn't busy at all. The server and bartender were both very attentive. The hummus was fresh and tasty. We both ordered the black and blue beef tips which were very flavorful, satisfying, and had a bit of a spicy kick. We both had a dark and stormy to drink. I thought it was a bit sweet for my taste but my husband thought it was great. I opted for a glass of wine instead and the server informed me that it would only be $4 more to get a bottle since it was half price bottles on Tuesdays! Woo Hoo! Overall, a great first experience and a pleasant surprise given the location. We will add this to our list of regular places to visit. read more

I met a friend here for Sunday brunch - the place was packed. Service was excellent - friendly and efficient. We both had benedicts - mine was crab - it was ok/fine and filling. The best part of the meal were the fried potatoes sprinkled with a little brown sugar - yum! Those potatoes were yummy! read more

I enjoyed my food here. We had salads and appetizers. All things were very good. Service was also good. We liked the menu selections also. Good restaurant! We'll be back. read more

The princess is the best attendant we ever had. Food was excellent and the atmosphere fantastic! We will defo be back, recommend to anyone in the area as the place to go! read more

The County Cork Wine Pub - New American Near Me - Eldersburg, Maryland

Stopped by here on Easter morning for the Sunday brunch and it was awesome! The portions were okay for the price. I wish that they would've given more home fries because they had a sweet glaze on them which made them amazing! Service is great and very fast, and the theme of this place is welcoming and clean! Stopped here again recently in August 2017. I am highly impressed by The Cork. Their food is always outstanding along with amazing customer service. Never a disappointment. read more

The County Cork Wine Pub - Eldersburg scramble - New American Near Me - Eldersburg, Maryland

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This place is a hidden gem, part of me didn't want the word to get out, but who am I to deny the public great, affordable food?! Cozy setting for almost any occasion. Great for intimate bday gatherings, happy hours, or leisure weekend lunch/dinner. Wonderful selection of wine, ranging from rare finds to popular favorites. On Tuesdays, wine bottles are half price and Wednesdays, free apps! Get excited. Don't miss the Crab Brie fondu appetizer... excellent for Crabtree cheese lovers. WARNING foodgasm may happen after the first bite! (Saver the moment!!) Service is efficient and staff is friendly. Hungry for more? Check out my blog! read more

The County Cork Wine Pub - Crab and Brie Fondue - New American Near Me - Eldersburg, Maryland

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Great food. Great service. A lot of wine choices by the glass. Good cocktail choices as well. I especially love Bad Girl and Chocolate Martini. I like the fact that the menu always changes and I get to try new things. Although the atmosphere of the restaurant is simple and it looks more like a bar, the food is pretty sophisticated. I personally think that it's a hidden jewel of Eldersburg. One thing it can do to turn my five stars into six is to have at least some dinner choices available for lunch. Sometimes I work from home and I want to order carry out for lunch, but I don't like sandwiches, so the lunch menu doesn't look as appealing to me. If I could order lunch from the dinner menu, I'd be there a lot more often. Highly recommend. A+ in every way. read more

The County Cork does it again. The Cork participates in the Howard County restaurant week and the menu they prepared is off the charts delicious. I opted for the potato leek soup with crab meat (it was a tough call because the grilled watermelon salad was an option as well) My appetizer was a smoked chicken salad served with avocado and mango and it might be the best chicken salad I've ever eaten. My entree was an amazing curry rubbed sauteed salmon filet served with palak paneer and a coconut coriander sauce. ( This was a tough call because the very French provincial Bistro Tenderlion was also an option.) You can't go wrong with the Cork's heavenly creme brulee. That entire meal was $39. (You can also order al a carte if you don't want 4 courses but you should go for it.) All paired nicely with the Ruffino pinot grigio. Bon vivant! It's a fantastic menu. The Cork is absolutely on fire. Well done folks read more

Enjoyable local haunt. Yummy selections of entrees, salads, great, creative, tasty appetizers. Complete wine menu as well as local brews plus the usual suspects. Casual atmosphere and relaxed service. We're going back next week. read more

First visit in maybe a 100 years for us, but definitely worth the wait. 17 minutes from Owings Mills. Delightful menu with tasty treats and choices. Terrific wine selection as well as local and big brand brews. Large bar. Comfortable, relax service. Nice portion size. Everyone enjoyed their meals. We had perfectly seared ahi tuna, short ribs and burger. Next time, I'm getting the steak with crab & mac chees and Brussel sprouts. read more

Today's brunch was OK, good/OK even, but not as great as I had hoped. Got the fried green tomato eggs Benedict. I was really excited about this veg option, so perhaps that's why I wasn't as impressed with the food as I hoped to be. The FGTs were kind of flavorless. It needed salt, which did bring out a bit more flavor in the tomato crust, but the tomato itself might as well have not been there at all. So, without that, it was just a poached egg and English muffin. The hollandaise was not a rich/thick as I like, but the egg was cooked beautifully. The home fries were ok as well, but there's something about them (can't quite put my finger on it) that kept them from being amazing. Maybe it's that they were very soft and not at all crispy/crunchy and I missed that texture you want from home fries? My friend enjoyed her meal, especially the bloody Mary's!! Lol read more

The County Cork Wine Pub - Fried Green Tom Egg Benadict - New American Near Me - Eldersburg, Maryland

Valerian is the best answer this restaurant has to offer. She is atentative without being intrusive. You might recognize her by her sparkly hair band. We came here for Howard County Restaurant Week, and once again found everything to be excellent. There was one issue with the quality of the sources of their steak that was rectified immediately. The management is extremely attentive, and stopped by our table to fix. I cannot recommend this restaurant more. They truly care about their customer. If you have a problem with anything on the menu, they will make sure they fix it. read more

Great experience. Went there for a date night. The wine flight was delicious and it was nice to be able to taste a few different wines. The food was great, service was wonderful. read more

My hubby and I went for our Anniversary: excellent food and service. Can't wait to return! read more

The County Cork Wine Pub - New American Near Me - Eldersburg, Maryland

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I just picked up a filet for the ride home. It was excellent!! Very nice bartender gave great conversation while the food was prepared. Really good place. The food is as good as it looks in the pictures. read more

We came here with as a group as one of the couples lives in the area. We called ahead and they were able to put together a table for the 7 of us. Service was great and the food was good. Lots of options to meet everyone's taste buds. Portions were very generous! read more

We normally have great food and experience at. this restaurant, unfortunately this was not one of those times. Our waitress, Danielle, was either totally overwhelmed with her 5 tables or she just had a very, very bad day. It took over 40 minutes to get our cold food and she forgot our appetizers. She admitted to forgetting to put in our orders. I get it we all make mistakes but the prices at this restaurant should warrant a caliber of service above Burger King. read more

Love love love the shaved lamb French dip. Can't wait to go back and try something else.

Where to begin? A reviewer earlier mentioned that there "isn't much going on in Eldersburg" and she is definitely correct... but the "Cork" is definitely changing that. Why go to Baltimore or DC when this TREMENDOUS establishment exists? Truth be told - i've gone twice in two weeks now - praying that my first visit wasn't a fluke. And thankfully - it wasn't. The Service: Great...Friendly and willing to go that extra mile to ensure you have everything you might need. Bartender, wait staff, and management all really seem to ACTUALLY CARE. The food: Wow. Try their crab and (i think) brie dip? Was excellent. Ordered their steak dinner - and cooked perfectly. Want to know the real shocker on the menu though? It's their shrimp and grits 'thing' ... Wish i could remember their name for it ... At any rate - i am definitely NOT a fan of grits, but am of shrimp. Somehow they put the two together - and it was almost like magic. Harry Potter might be jealous! The drinks: Yum, yum, and more yum. For a wine bar i think they've priced their drinks very reasonably. My favorite thusfar? Capasaldo Moscato? It's a slightly fizzy, sweet riesling. Gotta try it! The Price: For Eldersburg? Definitely high. But worth every penny. With drinks and a meal for 2 - I'd expect to spend $100 or so depending on how many wines you'd like to try. The only setback: If you don't have reservations - you're going to be waiting on a busy night. Not a million tables - its a nice quaint little place - so expect to wait a little bit, people arent jumping out of their seats to leave quickly! All in all - a really great place with a really pleasant atmosphere. Try it out! read more

Quick Take: The County Cork Wine Pub has been on my list of restaurants to visit for several months now. I had heard a lot of good things about the place from my friends and so while I was really looking forward to the visit and my expectations were high I was prepared for a little bit of a let-down. (You know how friends can sometimes oversell something.) Well I finally had the chance to visit on Saturday evening, May 21st with a few of those friends who were so enthusiastic. All I can say is "Wow!" The folks at "The Cork" totally exceeded every expectation I came in with - from the cocktails to the food, from the wine list to the service to the ambiance. Seriously, this place at these prices is not to be missed. Note that this is a $$ restaurant but the bang for the buck here is tremendous. The biggest hurdle to their success is going to be getting past the preconceived notion that something this nice is located in a strip mall in Eldersburg. (You'd expect to find it in an old, upscale row house in Fells Point or Georgetown.) But let's face it, they'd be a lot more expensive if they were located elsewhere. So consider this, for now at least, a "best kept secret". I don't often take the time to write many reviews online and when I do I'm stingy with 5-star ratings, but this place really made an impression on me. I hope you give it a try and share your experiences as well! Positives: The food, the drinks, the service, the portion sizes, the value. Negatives: Nothing that I can think of. If I named something I'd just be nit-picking. Drinks: Jim and Jeff were the bartenders the night I was there and you can only describe them as "classic". Well-crafted drinks, made quickly and correctly by guys that are only too happy to have a conversation with you while they work. The bar is very well-stocked, BTW. While I'll usually opt to have a glass of wine with my meal we chose not to on this night. They have a more than adequate wine list and offer a reasonably priced "1st Tuesday" wine/food pairing menu. And every Tuesday is half-price bottles when you purchase food. Sweet! Food: Don't let the words "Wine Pub" scare you. This is totally gourmet fare. The items we tried were sophisticated and complex featuring premium ingredients with an upscale presentation. We made our meal out of appetizers and all of it was "to-die-for". (Mussels in an ale and blue cheese cream sauce, the roasted baby beets, the rosemary fries, and a cheese plate. Next time it's gonna be the Seared Ahi Tacos and the Rocket Salad.) One of the truly awesome things about The Cork are their specials. The chef (who also writes the blog) creates regular specials that are only available for a limited time. And if the others are half as good as the roasted baby beets then this place could seriously become a habit. If you get a chance to try this one before it's over, make sure you and your dinner partner decide who gets the last beet. And the other person should get to lick the plate - believe me, you'll want to. And we're talkin' beets, people! Service: OK, here's the weird thing about this place. The staff was not just friendly and attentive; they actually seemed to be happy. The bartenders, the waitress (Sally, maybe? I can't remember now), the hostess. These were people who really seemed to enjoy doing what they were doing and that somehow puts the whole restaurant in a good mood. Our drink and food orders were taken promptly we never felt rushed even though the place was packed. Our water glasses were always full. Our check was correct. Not sure what the policy is regarding "splitting the bill" but I'd say just ask up front and I bet they'll work with you if they can. Of course, all the major cc's are accepted and I even saw a traveler's check while I was there. Setup: Attractively lit and laid out with a long L-shaped bar and lots of wood. TV's above the bar showing different content. All sports as I recall with the audio muted which is OK by me. There is live entertainment on the weekends starting at 9pm. Sat. was two guys with guitars who did a good job of keeping the place hopping until well after midnight. The volume level was such that I had very little trouble holding a normal conversation. Seating options include booths, pub tables, and bar seating.There is also patio seating but it faces the parking lot. Restrooms are single occupancy. I saw a short wait for the Ladies' Room Saturday night after 10pm but there was never a line for the Men's room. The Men's Room was clean and attractively decorated. I have to assume the Ladies' Room is as well. Summary: What else can I say? I'll be back for sure and I wish them every success. If you're in the Eldersburg area do give this place a try. If you're not, plan a day trip and do some antiquing in Ellicott City or some hiking at the Liberty Reservoir or something and take advantage of the opportunity. You won't be disappointed. read more

My sister and I decided to check this place out, since we were in the neighborhood. It's location is very unassuming and unexpected for what you will find once you enter. It's located in a strip mall between a mattress store and radio shack, but their atmosphere is very cozy and inviting. They had extensive knowledge about wine, and an excellent selection also. I ordered braised short rib, and they were absolutely amazing. They were very tender, and extremely flavorful. I also had a spinach salad there that I still have dreams about. I wish I could remember the name of the salad, but it had walnuts and cranberries with a dressing that was homemade. It was great. This is our new place to be. Love it! read more

Just moved nearby and have already eaten here many times. The food is consistently great (always order the burrata to start), the service is exceptional, and prices are very reasonable. The servers are very knowledgable. Ask for food and drink pairing advice! Fiancé and I will be back many more times to come. read more

My wife and I love this place! We live in Owings Mills but make the drive to the Country Cork Pub The food is fresh and the service is pleasant I love the atmosphere, it's warm and inviting. The wine and the the Long Island ice teas!!!!!!!!!!!! read more

We chose The County Cork Wine Pub for Valentines Day and we had a great time! The food was excellent and our server did a fabulous job. We will be back next Valentines Day read more

Based on its 4.5 star Yelp ranking I expected a treat; unfortunately, The County Cork failed to deliver. I've been to hundreds of restaurants over the past 30 years on 3 continents and our experience was one of the top 10 worst dining experiences I've had. We had a completely thoughtless and uninterested waitress who performed the absolute minimum possible without having us walk out. Our appetizer order was unfilled, we never had a drink refill, and we had to fetch our own drink coasters. Based on other Yelp reviews, we thought the food would at least redeem the poor service, but The County Cork struck out again. My wife was delivered a cheeseless cheeseburger, the 'hand cut' fries were amazingly uniform, and obviously weren't hand cut at all, and the food was average at best. This was such a lousy experience, I was compelled to write my first Yelp review. I guess that is the only positive that resulted from our visit. read more

I went to County Cork with a bunch of women from work on a girl's night out. I have to say everything was pretty darn good. No specific complaints I just don't give 5 stars unless I really get my socks knocked off. It took awhile for our whole party to arrive and the waitress was very patient with us. She had to go over the wines of the month several times as each person would arrive...you'd think at some point they'd print a menu of that? Guess it's more fun to make the wait staff memorize it and relay it repeatedly. Once everyone finally arrived and we got our drinks we started with the crab and brie fondue for an appetizer. VERY delicious. The little bowl it was served in was piping hot, it was definitely made fresh! For dinner most of us got the burger which was very good. A beef burger with all the toppings on a pretzel roll. Served with garlic and rosemary shoestring fries (one of my favorites) and some aioli which I didn't use at all b/c it just looked like a small cup of mayonnaise from the jar. One person in our group got the veggie pizza and she loved it and another person got the corned beef sandwich. That was a huge portion and she took at least half of it home if not more. Overall it was great, definitely a perfect ladies night out, let's gossip over some wine kind of place! read more

We came for a light dinner. Had the ahi tacos- relish on this is very non-appealing. They do give a good portion of tuna though. The margharita flatbread is no good! Asked for it extra crispy- came out extra soggy. They drenched the thing in balsamic vinegar- pretty much the only thing you could taste on it. Service was good but food is slacking. May give it another try. read more

I had been to the Cork several times, and was very unpleasantly surprised this morning. My daughter's eggs were raw (the white ran out from under), and they are now serving the oddest hash browns I have tasted. They are seasoning the hash browns with a combination of brown sugar and Old Bay. I did not enjoy the taste. My Corned Beef hash was also odd -- tiny, tiny bits of corned beef mixed in with another portion of the Old Bay/brown sugar hash browns. Although the manager was gracious about making my daughter new eggs (thank you), and the waitress did take off the odd hash browns from the check, it was very unsatisfying and poor execution from a cooking standpoint. We ended up visiting Starbucks afterwards for a breakfast sandwich. :( Would not return at this point. read more

Visiting from upstate NY, this was our first time dining at The County Wine Cork Pub. It's located in a mini strip mall, didn't know what to expect. We stopped for lunch on the 17th, great environment. Staff were very friendly and helpful. Wine selection was very good, food was excellent, particarly the Maryland crab cake and frites. Met the owner who was very friendly. If you haven't stopped here make plans, you will not be disappointed. read more

Oh no! I was so disappointed by The County Cork and Wine Pub!! My brother and I stopped by for restaurant week. I found this establishment through the restaurant week website. I was very impressed by the creativity of the menu. Sadly it was executed poorly with low quality ingredients. From the start the exterior was disheartening. It is a tiny little place in a shopping center. Certainly wasn't what I was expecting. The first thing I said was I doubt I had to make reservations. It just didn't look nice. My brother and I chose to have the restaurant week menu. I had the peach and coppa salad as my first course. Which was a plate of arugula with 2 peach halves and a slice of goat cheese. At first I thought they forgot the meat but it was just that there was so little and it was bacon bits sized. The peaches were brown and unappetizing. If there was any dressing I didn't taste it. The goat cheese was great. I wish there was more of it. My brother described his Caesar salad as "a plate of romaine spines". He did not take more than a couple bites. For the second course I had the two faced tuna. This was the best part of my meal and was just okay. The tuna had good flavor but was so raw I couldn't cut through a lot of the pieces. The sauce on the plate was delicious. An issue with a lot of the dishes was the portion size. There was so much tuna! However if it is cooked poorly there is no point in giving me more of it. My brother had the mussels which were very good. They had a delicious sauce. Sadly the third course was brought out and his mussels were taken away before he could finish. The third course was by far the worst for both of us. I had the NY strip. I ordered medium rare but it was a deep red inside. I found it inedible. The side was a corn and pepper dish that took up most of the plate. It was severely lacking salt and all I could taste was red onion. I did not eat more than two bites of this. My brother had the rockfish. It was over cooked to the point that he ate less than half of it. He had some sort of pea risotto with it. This is what dropped me to one star. The peas were INEDIBLE. They were hard and gritty. Also the one star clincher was that even though we both finished less than half of all of our plates not once did the server ask if the food was to our liking or if there was some issue since we hadn't eaten hardly anything. Overall this place was just terrible. Poor atmosphere, poor food, and poor service. I will never go back and will never recommend this restaurant. If anything I will do my best to deter people from making the same mistake I did. read more

Wow. Horrible service. Food was okay. Trying too hard to be a pub/ wine bar/ gastro pub. Pick one and Focus on good food AND good service and people will come. Promise. Will not go back. Will not recommend to friends and family. In this economy, going out to eat is a treat and to get such bad service makes this place not worth it. It was mothers day and this place was not busy enough to warrant such bad service. read more

An unexpected gem in Eldersburg. Fantastic food, music, drinks, and service. Really some of the best food I've had in a while. My husband was thrilled with his steak, which most restaurants don't cook the way he likes--Pittsburgh style. Such a perfect date night spot! read more

This is one of my favorite restaurants. The menu is great with many choices, but best of all the atmosphere makes it a winner! It's quiet so you can easy chat with your party. The service is prompt without being pushy. read more

This is a really cute, cozy little place tucked into a bland strip mall where you'd never notice it until you were looking. We came here for a friend's show and were pleased with the atmosphere, food and drink options. Their chilled Caesar salad was good, but mostly ribs (my least favorite part) and I looked longingly at the greener one my mom had ordered, gently charred and topped with incredible polenta croutons. Unfortunately, grilled is not an option for their side salads. Our entree, shrimp and grits, was also quite good, but so soupy the grits got lost in all the liquid -- it was more of a gumbo consistency. The flavor was excellent, though. I was more disappointed in their Dijon beef tips special, for which I had high hopes: the meat was not very good quality (a lot of fat) and came out rather tough. Even a tangy mustard sauce couldn't fix it. The mashed potatoes that accompanied them were silky and creamy. They have a great selection of wines in all different price ranges. Cocktails are less impressive -- one girl at our table ordered a Froot Loops martini that was garnished with, you guessed it, sugary cereal. It tasted about as good as it sounded! The server we had was friendly and attentive even with a crowded room and the chaos of live music. The only slight misstep was that when I asked for a glass of their Wine of the Month (a free Yelp check-in offer -- woo-hoo!) he said they were all out of it. That was fine; I just asked him to substitute something else. He was a little reluctant, but eventually worked it out, and in fact the bar was so busy they poured me two glasses by mistake! I'm sure it wasn't his fault, but it bugs me when places give you grief about trying to use the coupons they invented themselves. Overall, it was a mixed bag, but if we were in the area again, I think I would give them another try. read more

As Fat T. said, this is a GEM in Eldersburg. I live in Westminster and heard about this from a patient. Then, got a coupon in the mail and decided to try it. We made reservations for a Friday night (they're needed unless you want to wait). We got there at 8 and waited until about 8:15 to be seated. It was really crowded! I was annoyed to have to wait even with a reservation, but it was worth it (glad we waited) . You can't get this kind of food anywhere else in Eldersburg, or Westminster. Service seemed like they were missing a few servers, all the servers were running around the owner was waiting tables also. It was OK service, pretty good, a little slower, probably because understaffed for how busy they were. It was loud, but not unbearable. Lots of people standing around at the bar also drinking. We started with the Ahi Tuna app- it was so good! Loved the blackened on one side and sesame crusted on the other. I got the scallops over mushroom risotto with green beans and blood orange sauce. The scallops were cooked beautifully. The risotto was perfect. And my only complaint is I wish I had more green beans! The green beans were so excellent and would have liked a few more. The cream sauce was a little dull and didn't add much to the dish besides a pretty color, but the dish all in all was fantastic, the sauce wasn't even needed. My boyfriend got the pizza, which was a grilled flatbread and amazing. We got the flourless chocolate cake for dessert and it was decadent and rich, just as expected. The wine pairings with food was helpful. I got the sparkling wine which was served in a glass with the rest of the bottle (mini) on the side. So about two glasses of wine for $7. Excellent price. My boyfriend would have liked more selection of craft beers, like on the website they said they had. But its a wine pub, I wouldn't have expected much different. We will definitely be returning, with a reservation. read more

The County Cork Wine Pub - Scallops over mushroom risotto, veggie of the day green beans, and orange cream sauce. - New American Near Me - Eldersburg, Maryland

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My girlfriends and I had a wonderful evening enjoying the amazing happy hour deals at The County Cork. We chose the half price bottle deal and $5 appetizers. The ambience was lovely on a winter night. The bartender was highly attentive and knowledgable. There was a fun collection of appetizers and all were beautifully plated. Don't miss out on this spot for a great place to chat with friends. The wine was delicious and well priced. read more

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Pretty weak spot, mostly for the stripmall crowd, it's fine but lacks wine selection and has basic high schooler service. There's so much more in life, I'm not this desperate for wine or soup. read more

My "go-to" restaurant when I want great food and service. Jim and Jeff (bartenders) are amazing. Once you sit at the bar area once, you will feel like friends. I have not had an average meal yet. Every dish has something unique enough to say wow. Entertainment on the weekends is just right. Not too loud, but enough to keep it lively. The customers are a pretty good mix, but without the "questionable" type. It is a very welcoming place that I love going to. Greta value and a must try. read more