Diners' Choice: Hot spot restaurants in Baltimore / Maryland

OpenTable

Updated 05 April 2025

Looking for restaurants that are the best hot spots in Baltimore / Maryland? You’re in the right place. Each month, OpenTable analyses nearly 2 million global diner reviews from the past four months. We sort the results by location and category to help you discover new favourite restaurants. It's a great partnership: you book, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

Order of the Ace

4.9

4.9 (17)

$30 and under

Cocktail Bar

Harbor East

About the restaurant

In the Order of the Ace, certain truths are revealed. Like the power of your person being equal to the place you find yourself present. And the quality of a cocktail being bettered by the craft of its creator. Slip into a space of music and mystique. A mood of intimacy and intrigue. A night where essential truths are served straight up. Or however else you would like.

Top review

zimmszooVIP

Dined on 1 Mar 2025

We visited OotA prior to our dinner reservations at The Ruxton. We noticed that the appetizers from The Ruxton were on the OotA menu. The Caviar tots were delicious, but the big stand out were the waygu sliders. The best burger I've ever had. My fiancé got a Espresso Martini Mocktail that was perfect, and I had a Mezcal drink that was well crafted with a slight spice. The decor and ambiance were beautiful! I look forward to visiting again soon!

18th & 21st

4.8

4.8 (1584)

$31 to $50

Speakeasy

Columbia

About the restaurant

18th & 21st brings something fresh and classic to Columbia, Maryland. Named after the Constitutional Amendment that enacted Prohibition and then subsequent Amendment that repealed it, 18th & 21st promises to bring back a bygone era through an elevated, tailored evening experience. Our food and cocktails reflect the feel of prohibition supper clubs. This not to say we're stuck in the past, but rather that we try and emulate the style of that era. That means beautiful presentation, careful crafting, and perfect pairings to keep your night on beat. Combined with live music, this creates an unparalleled experience for the discerning and adventurous looking for a sophisticated evening. Due to the nature of the experience at 18th & 21st we request that all diners be over the age of eighteen.

Top review

Michael

Dined 3 days ago

The food, service and ambiance were all exquisite! My wife and I were delightfully satisfied with the starters and the entrees. Our service expert Casey and the attentive trainee Mike were both professional, polite and proficient, often checking on us to ask how we were enjoying our dining experience and suggesting menu items that we might like.

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Housemade Donut Bread Pudding

Jerk at Nite

4.7

4.7 (14)

$30 and under

Caribbean

West Baltimore

About the restaurant

Jerk at Nite, founded by Denville Myrie, Jr. in 2012, began as a solution to the lack of late-night food options at Howard University. After seeing his peers struggle with unhealthy fast food, Denville, raised in a Jamaican household, started delivering flavorful jerk chicken and other Jamaican dishes from his dorm. What began as a small campus venture evolved into a food truck business in 2015, and later, a brick-and-mortar restaurant. The menu features healthy fusion dishes, such as jerk chicken, oxtail, and jamming’ salmon, free of MSG and preservatives. Now with multiple locations, including in D.C. and Baltimore, Jerk at Nite continues to grow and serves the community with a focus on quality and flavor.

Top review

Marcus

Dined 5 days ago

Thoroughly enjoyed my dinner there. Food was amazing. Ambiance was amazing. They didnt have liquor the nite i was there, so that was disappointing. However, they said it was BYOB since they didnt have liquor, so that was cool.

Fallston Barrel House

4.6

4.6 (566)

$30 and under

Contemporary American

Fallston

About the restaurant

A new Local Favorite, we bring you craft spirits & provisions. Join us in our Bar or comfortable Dining Room for Lunch, Dinner, or any special occasion to enjoy our Chef's masterpiece menu, featuring local favorites & a modern twist on classic comfort food, paired with small batch craft distills & brews. Congratulations to our very own "Amanda Wiley"who won Best Server of the Year for 2022 at the Restaurant Association Gala.....................................

PLEASE MAKE A NOTE IF YOU ARE HERE TO SEE A BAND..................................................................
PLEASE CHECK WITH THE RESTAURANT TO SEE IF THIS IS A TICKETED EVENT & CALL THE RESTAURANT -
DO NOT MAKE RESERVATIONS ONLINE. THANK YOU

Top review

DORIS

Dined 6 days ago

The service and food were excellent. The prices were very reasonable. Great atmosphere!

The White Oak Tavern

4.5

4.5 (636)

$30 and under

American

Ellicott City

About the restaurant

The White Oak Tavern is a family-owned business, operated by a brother & sister that are Ellicott City locals. The menu includes seasonal scratch made items, sustainable meats & produce from local farms and purveyors. The White Oak Burger is a community favorite and has been recognized as the best burger in Howard County for several years. The outdoor patio is dog friendly with a special dog menu. The bar has 42 rotating craft beers with a wide selection of styles with a free-to-join mug club. This includes a specialty cocktail menu with different seasonal ingredients along with a fresh mocktail menu. The Tavern offers brunch seven days a week with bottomless brunch cocktails and Sunday jazz brunch from 11am-2pm. On Friday & Saturday local musicians perform from 8-11pm. White Oak is located in Enchanted Forest Shopping Center in Ellicott City. Make sure to stop by & try the award-winning burger, draft beers and see what makes The Tavern unique. Cheers!

Top review

Mary

Dined 6 days ago

We enjoyed taking the family for Easter Bunny brunch yesterday!

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Happy Hour is the BEST Hour!

Monarque

4.5

4.5 (1258)

$50 and over

French

Harbor East

About the restaurant

Atlas Restaurant Group presents Monarque, a French brasserie located in Baltimore’s Harbor East. Monarque is inspired by the French era of prosperity when culture boomed and extravagance flourished. The cuisine is complemented by a beverage program with over 500 French wine labels and an extensive collection of Cognac and Armagnac.

Transporting guests to another time and place while being rooted in the present, Monarque hosts a rotation of acts every weekend, with Baltimore's best jazz musicians, cabaret vocalists, burlesque dancers, and more.

Monarque welcomes guests of all ages Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, the experience is suited for guests 18 years of age and older, and only adults are permitted to dine.

When making your weekend reservations, note that parties of 1-5 guests will have two hours to enjoy our cuisine and entertainment, parties of 5-8 will dine for two hours and 30 minutes, and parties of 9 and more can enjoy seating for three hours.

Top review

Katie

Dined 6 days ago

Every time I eat at Monarque it is a 10/10 experience all around! The burlesque show is always a vibe. The dancers and live music were spectacular. The service is some of the best I’ve seen. The table is never cluttered, your water is always full, and the wait times are never long. Highly recommend the short rib gnocchi appetizer. I had the Wagyu Coulotte special last night and it was to die for! I would go back and eat that every day if I could. It was a pretty large portion size, I even had leftovers. It was a devastating end to the night when i realized I forgot my leftovers at the restaurant 😖😖. Guess I’ll have to go back for more! Their espresso martinis never miss and the speakeasy energy is the cherry on top for the whole experience. I brought my mom and aunt this visit to celebrate my mom’s birthday and they were very impressed with the service and really enjoyed the miso sea bass special. They couldn’t stop talking about how much they enjoyed our night at Monarque.

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Experience

The Monarque Entertainment Experience for Two

Agave Mexican Restaurant - Rehoboth Beach

4.5

4.5 (180)

$31 to $50

Mexican

Rehoboth Beach

About the restaurant

Traditional and modern mexican.
We serve the best authentic Mexican food in Lewes. And we've got the largest tequila and mezcal collection in Delaware.

Top review

Heather

Dined 6 days ago

Once we got past the chaos in the waiting area, everything was great.

Rams Head Tavern - Annapolis

4.4

4.4 (1714)

$30 and under

American

Annapolis

About the restaurant

For over 30 years, Rams Head has been an award-winning favorite serving creative tavern fare. Rams Head offers an outstanding happy hour, a legendary beer selection, and extraordinary live music 7 nights a week. Whether in one of the cozy dining rooms, the historic pub, or on the Wisteria-covered patio, you'll see why so many Annapolitans consider Rams Head their second home. .

We do not accept reservations for outdoor dining.

Have tickets to a show at Rams Head On Stage? If taking advantage of our FREE Premium On Stage Experience, please make note in the 'special request' section while making your reservation.

Top review

Jerry

Dined on 10 Apr 2025

Good service, good food , will definitely go again!!

Blk Swan

4.4

4.4 (2340)

$31 to $50

American

Harbor East

About the restaurant

A restaurant concept curated by our Award-winning Executive Chef, Saon Brice, Blk Swan offers a uniquely crafted, "New American" menu, which features exciting, tasty, and comfortable food options presented in a creative culinary approach.

**Parties 8+ please contact us at events@eatatblkswan.com or 443-326-2783 for more reservation information. Thank You!

Top review

Kim

Dined 1 day ago

Service was fabulous although server was new and didn’t have a great grasp of what was not available that night. That said, food was fantastic. Several entrees and apps were not available and we spent time back and forth checking w chef because of it. The food was wonderful at the end of the day, temp was perfect and very yummy.

The Periodic Table Restaurant & Bar

3.7

3.7 (81)

$31 to $50

American

Columbia

About the restaurant

The Periodic Table Restaurant & Bar is "Formulating Flavors Daily”
Our goal is to find the perfect, ‘symbiotic’ relationship between food and spirits! Our team, led by Chef Steven C., makes great quality dishes from all over the world with a twist like our Korean Nachos, MD crab dip, Mediterranean spiced tuna, as well as creative apps, unique bar bites, sandwiches, salads, and entrees of fresh seafood, quality meat, and dietary options (GF, V). Brunch service and Weekly Specials.
Our talented team creates amazing specialty cocktails, mocktails and drinks using bourbon, whiskey, gin, tequila, vodka, rum, as well as wine, and over a dozen beers on tap and bottle.
The Table has a spacious dining area inside and a large patio or our expansive, separate bar area with high-top tables. Come for a quick bite or drink, date night, special family event, gather with friends, or attend one of our fun, clever events (i.e., live music, Trivia Wed, Drag Brunch).
We look forward to serving you soon!

Top review

George

Dined on 6 Apr 2025

Lovely Sunday jazz brunch , food was delicious and bacon was nice and crunchy.

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