M Bar & Lounge

Doesn't Recommend

giselleC

Joined 4 years ago

Worst customer service for an upscale place. The bartender allowed two individuals at the bar to "hold" seats for others that weren't there yet. The manager apologized and said he'd send someone over to take our order immediately and then we ended up leaving after waiting ten minutes. Not worth it.

Recommends

Leslie Kilgore

Joined 4 years ago

The swanky spot for cocktails at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, with dramatic flourishes like Asian-style tapas, a glass-enclosed cheese room and major people-ogling.. If you live by the saying, "make new friends, but keep the old," then M Bar and Lounge should suit you just fine. Sure, it's the perfect place to meet up with friends and catch up on gossip (while trying the cheese fondue or spiced Thai shrimp cakes). But if it's new people you seek, then this is certainly the place, too. You'll all be in good aesthetic company: It's got a beautiful interior with an illuminated glass bar, intimate banquettes and floor-to-ceiling windows, a custom-designed wine wall with more than 300 selections, a menu dotted with light fare and exotic cocktails. Oh, and the people are plenty good-looking, too.

Photo courtesy of Mandarin Oriental Boston

Recommends

jamessawyer108

Joined 4 years ago

Amazing Drinks!. I went to MBar last night to meet up with friends and we were certainly impressed. Luckily, we were able to grab a seat at the end of the bar after a couple had left. The bar was busy but it only took us a few minutes to get some drinks. The bartender was making some type of raspberry drink with a sugared rim and I asked him about it, he said that he would make me something good if I just told him what I liked. He made a Stawberry/Orange Martini with a sugar rim!! It was amazing! My friend had a glass of white wine that he recommended. The scene there was similar to other Mandarins I have been to - late 20's to 40's and seemed to get busier as the night went on. The one thing that could use major improvement (my friends agree as well) is the Awful music that plays. I felt like it was either a monotonous elevator song, or a contiinuous theme song to a bad 80's sitcom. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed myself and will definitely be coming back.

Recommends

Julye

Joined 4 years ago

M Bar and Lounge. M Bar and lounge was impressive when I went. I love the ambiance and the different styles of furniture. it is a good place to meet people! I went with three girls and by the time the night was over, our party increased to 7.

Also, I did not expect the service to be so attentive. we ordered the prawns tempura and the miso lime dipping sauce was out of this world. I remember going in october and thinking that this place really needed work, well encore! our drinks were out in under 5 minutes. Also, there was a line when we went, they told us it would be 25 minutes, we were in in about 10. Well done Mandarin, you have really improved and become one of the favorite bars of boston.

Doesn't Recommend

Anylim

Joined 5 years ago

Terrible Place. Management has mistaken Boston for L.A. There was a 30 minute wait at the (locked door) when there were maybe 10 people inside. It was ridiculous...I will never go back. I'm sticking to more classy places not pretentious.

Recommends

chicoone

Joined 5 years ago

great place. We joined our friends who were staying at the hotel last week

It was a true pleasure to seat at the bar counter. Guillaume is one of the most talented bartender i have seen. You can really see a sense of finesse and elegance with their staff.

Great improvement

Doesn't Recommend

akieu

Joined 5 years ago

Lots of bumps in opening, inexperienced service. Our experience at the new Mbar was disappointing. Friends were meeting together for drinks, but finding the bar is not obvious, and which entrance to use was confusing. As a result, two girls of our party were stuck outside in a line, while the guests were continually being allowed in from the hotel side. The security/doorman were continually trying to figure out the confusion over their headsets, but nothing seemed organized and no one was on the same page. I watched the security doorman harass a patron for saying that he snuck in past the line after using the facilities, when he had been at the bar for at least 2 hours. It's not a very big bar either. The 'restaurant' side was completely empty and seemed underutilized. On the upside, the bar is chic and new, the bartenders seemed calm and quick. However when we sat at a table, the table waitress was very nice and attentive but she couldn't hold her tray steady and we watched a few spillages. She also brought the wrong drink and forgot to take it off the tab until we reminded her. It might be a good place for an afterwork drink, but not for a Friday or Saturday night. They have a lot of work to do to get the bar operationally seamless.