Blackwall Hitch

My husband and I were there to celebrate closing on his house that was underwater! We happened to go the same night there was a rehearsal dinner in the light-​filled part of the restaurant. We sat in the darker interior, the décor of which would have been great if it weren’t so dang dark! The club chairs were also awkward to sit in!
But the food was really very good. The best crab cake that I can recall in forever. So moist and really only jumbo lump – I’m not sure how it was held together because all I could see was jumbo lump. Truth be told, I think there was the scantest bit of some kind of light I hesitate to even write «breading.» And the fries were great also!
My husband had the surf and turf and he thought it odd that the lobster came in a small dish. But the food was good and the steak done at the right temperature. He liked the mashed potatoes but kept remarking how it was so perfectly molded to the ice cream scoop they clearly used to plate it.
We’ll be back.

Excellent brunch. The smoked salmon, peel and eat shrimp, crab and shrimp omelette and waffles were wonderful. The roast beef was too overdone for my liking but still tasty.
The background music was nice and the décor was smart. Our waitress had too many tables, in my opinion, but was still attentive.

Spur of the moment trip to Annapolis for dinner led us to this charming place. Service was excellent. Fried green tomatoes for a starter is definitely the way to go! Crab cakes are large and almost completely crab, just enough other ingredients to hold them together. Loved their spacious parking lot, as parking is very difficult to find in the area. We sat downstairs, so no view of the water. Too hot for outdoor dining. Contrary to other reviews, did NOT see a cougar in the place… well, maybe two at the bar… it was a Monday.

For starters, we got to the rooftop and it was self-​seating. We found a table and stood for over ten minutes waiting for it to be cleaned. And the restaurant, inside and out, was not crowded at all. Waitress finally came over and was super friendly and apologized. She took our drink orders and came back with a syrupy sweet Sangria. One appetizer with four shrimp took over THIRTY minutes to arrive. Lukewarm. By this time we were the only ones on the rooftop. Food came shortly after and was actually Delicious but also lukewarm. So clearly our food had been sitting for a while (we both had fish so it wasn’t as if one of us ordered steak and had to wait for the other dish to finish). Good food, nice rooftop, SLOW service. If it was jam packed, I could understand the wait times. But it was empty. Very empty.

What a disappointment. Friends that had been to the Alexandria location a couple times highly recommended. There were 7 of us celebrating my daughters graduation. Although the crab cakes were good, as were the oysters on the half and the salads, nothing else was. Those that ordered salad entrees got them when the rest of us got our salads. We sent them back. One person ordered her steak medium well, it was medium rare. The Brussel sprouts were cold and so overcooked they were mushey. The risotto was horrible. The pineapple upside down what ever it was was just plain not good. Thank goodness all 7 of us were sharing and we didn’t order 7 of them. And to top it off the service was not good.
Go to Alexandria if you want to try.

WOW!!! I must say that today has EXCEEDED any and all expectations. I have been dealing with the events coordinator for a month or so and planned everything just right. Everyone there followed the plan and it went off without a hitch.
We were very early from our wet and rainy ceremony. The restaurant had just opened and allowed majority of us to wait around at the bar until our reception room was ready.
The reception room was beautiful. Centerpiece flowers matched the colors of the wedding, the appetizers and meal were excellent, so excellent that we had to order seconds.lol.the asian ginger vegetables rolls are delicious. We had the $ 45pp meal which was a 3 course meal. Crabcake, chicken breast or a salmon and kale salad. Everything left us wanting more. Our waiter and waitress for those few hours were OUTSTANDING. Theu workes effortlessly with one another to get the job done. They made sure that us as the newlyweds were taken care of, as well as all the guests.
If you are looking for a relaxed, classy, unique place to have great quality food with exceptional service then eat here. Thru menu tasting and wine/​champagne tasting, everything was great!
Blackwall hitch allows your wedding day vision to become their vision as well for the time you are there. We had Videographer, photography as well as music in a glass enclosed sliding door which made us feel like we were the only ones there.
This will be our anniversary dinner restaurant. If we are in the are, this is our go to.
Way to go Blackwall hitch. We thank you
The Grays

Always a casual, comfortable, and very cool environment just as while efficient and fun when Emily, Steve, Rob, and Logan are running the front of the house.

I love this place. No really, the food is outstanding and the service is just as good. I’ve gotten everything from steak to crab cakes to martinis and it’s awesome. True it’s a bit pricey but you know the saying «you get what you pay for». I’ve got no problem paying good money for good food. Two thumbs up!

Pleasantly surprised with excellent brunch selections! Very classy restaurant. Wait staff were amazing and very attentive. Jazz music was great and the bottomless mimosas kicked off the perfect appetite for a smörgåsbord of cuisine. From spare ribs to homemade waffles, omelettes made to order, applewood bacon, corned beef, creamed chip beef, pancakes, shrimp, oyster bar, carved ham and beef, homemade biscuits, fruit, etc. Highly recommend! Can’t to go back.

Let’s be very clear here. Blackwall Hitch is, as the previous couple of restaurant/​bars on this corner have been, the Annapolis cougar bar. They may not like it. I may not like it. It is.
The music in the bar is too loud to talk and is loud enough to be distracting in the dining room. People in the bar sometimes spill into the edges of the dining room. The service is slow in both the bar and dining room. If you don’t order directly off the menu (e.g. «no cheese please») you have a ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ chance of being disappointed.
The website has some beautiful pictures. That isn’t what your meal will look like. Most items are dry.
Upsides are that Blackwall Hitch has a private parking lot that is almost big enough. It is walking distance from parking at City Dock and Main Street and therefore from Boat Shows. If you end up parking on the street be sure you honor the signage — Annapolis is aggressive at parking enforcement.
I go to Blackwall Hitch for group events (no control over the choice) and to meet out-​of-​towners that need an easy landmark during Boat Show. Otherwise it isn’t even on the list of options.

So yes. 5 star worthy review. They have a parking lot, yay. You should absolutely get reservations. Beautifully decorated interior. Really nice bar area with a fireplace. Chilled there until our table was ready.
Got to our table. Started with the fried green tomatoes. Holy cow. Perfectly fried. Fresh corn salsa. Little kick from a spicy mayo. Cleared the plate in three seconds flat. The. Went back and scraped up the rest of the salsa. Could do that and a salad and have a fantastic meal.
Dinner: salmon, scallops and risotto, beef short rib sandwich and autumn salad and butternut squash soup.
Sweet fancy Moses. Hubby is being good on his diet and got the salmon with green beans and pearl cous cous. Perfectly cooked salmon. Cleaned his plate. I got the beef short rib sad which. Think the worlds most perfect cheese steak. Seriously. Bro in law got the scallops and there was NOTHING left. Sister is probably going to need her gallbladder removed and still enjoyed the salad and soup. One of the best she’s ever had.
Dessert: key lime cheesecake, peanut butter cheesecake and strawberry mousse stuffed into chocolate crepes. You had to roll us out of there.
Also the loose Cuban was amazing!

I like this location. I’ve been here several times previously with friends, clients and out-​of-​town guests for happy hour, local bands and dinner. It is usually loud when the bands are playing and at happy hour. The acoustics are designed to create a lot of noise.
They have some weird restrictions as to what you can order on the roof-​top deck. Know this before you decide on going up there if you have your tastebuds hooked on something specific.
I stopped in between appointments on a recent Sunday afternoon. The bar and dining areas were dotted with diners. We asked if the upper roof top deck was open since it was a lovely day and they had a canopy over it. A surly-​looking man snapped that it was reserved for special parties and not set to open until later in the season. Oh, okay. My bad. Oops.
The hostess and servers appeared worn out or in less than wonderful moods. Perhaps the Sunday brunch that had ended earlier had exhausted them all and they just wanted everyone to leave. Weird vibes.
The music in the dining area was set to jam out level and the hostess wanted to place us directly under a speaker. That would have given us a headache and sore throat trying to eat and yell at eachother over the music. She wasn’t wild about us asking for a another table but did lead us to another. It was still loud though the speaker wasn’t directly overhead. Boom-​boom-​boom.
Found out that they no longer offer the portabello mushroom burger. The other menu items didn’t really offer much for vegan/​vegetarians. Even the salads were meat based though the server did say that they could prepare a salad without meat or cheese. Since we both wanted something besides a salad and the music was getting to us on our empty and growling stomachs, we left.

This review is on Sunday brunch.
I picked this place for a Valentine’s Day brunch after seeing online that the brunch buffet included oysters– my boyfriend is a huge oyster lover. We were shown to our table as soon as we arrived which was a huge plus for me as most restaurants have a bit of a delay in seating. I didn’t really like the table as it was away from the window and very dark. This would have been fine for dinner but for brunch I like a bright and lively atmosphere. For drinks, we went with the bottomless mimosas (only $ 5 more) and my bf had a Bloody Mary ($ 9). The mimosas were delicious, perfect balance of champagne and orange juice, however the Bloody Mary was watered down. I tried everything on the buffet and it all was very good except for the waffles. They were a bit too dry and tough for my liking. However, it is uncommon to find a buffet where everything but one item is delicious and for that– 4 stars! I will definitely be back in the warmer months to sit outside.

After a hard week of shoveling snow and working hard at the job, I knew a steak and drink was in order. Luckily, I knew there was a plan to go to Blackwall Hitch, so I knew I might be getting something tasty.
First off, our server was great. He was able to be clear with his words knowing that the restaurant was going to be super loud (…of which I noticed that others have made comments about…), he was able to get our orders right and have a brief conversation in the mean time.
The drinks were absolutely tasty, the Moscow Mule as awesome and the Guinness Float was fantastic. The eats, well I wanted a steak so I took the New York Strip and it really was a fantastic piece of meat cooked to my liking. My absolute favorite part was the steak sauce, oh my word, that steak sauce is my new ketchup. Even used it to dip some Brussels sprouts.
The desserts were fantastic, although, pretty big. But my favorite had to be the Pineapple Upside Down cake.
The only downside was the volume of the crowd. Just be prepared to elevate the voice and know the risk that you might lose it as much as when you cheer a game winning goal at a Washington Capitals game.
My take, go, but not on a first date.

The night I went to Blackwall Hitch, I had some of the best shrimp and grits of my life — and that’s really saying something, since it’s one of my favorite dishes and I order it as often as possible! A handful of choice shrimp, sporting a slight crust from the sauté pan, tossed with fiery-​hot andouille, peppers, onions and tomatoes, and ladled over a cushion of creamy, tender grits, it was heaven on a plate, especially paired with tender-​crisp lemony French beans. A five-​star entrée if ever there were one!
So, why the three-​star rating? The biggest reason is the price. Plenty of the little quibbles that follow can easily be forgiven if you’re paying $ 15 or $ 20 for a meal, but that entrée + side came to a whopping $ 33, and for that price I expect stellar service and atmosphere. Unfortunately, that’s where Blackwall Hitch fell short.
The interior of the restaurant is obviously part of the reason the prices are so high — someone spent a fortune outfitting the place — but for me, there’s too much going on visually. Leather AND caning AND wicker. Muslin curtains AND wooden half-​walls AND panes of sliding glass. The latter were my least favorite; we were in a semi-​private room in the back along with another large party, and the sliding doors didn’t close easily for the servers who were back and forth dozens of times with trays and glasses. As a consequence, we were constantly having to shout over the live music which was playing in one corner, while families and groups of businesspeople dined in another. Again, just too ambitious for one open floorplan.
The service, though, was my biggest quibble. I arrived at the tail end of a group dinner. I had to ask for a menu, a drink, an entrée and a basket of bread, each time waiting an average of 20 minutes for our server to come by so I could flag him. I’m sure many people there rack up larger checks in less time, but for me $ 60 is still a lot to pay for dinner and a glass of wine, and I expect to be served, or at the very least given an explanation (it was a weekend, so maybe they were understaffed?) Our party broke up around the same time as the other group in the back room, and no one touched the deserted tables for at least half an hour: it was really odd to be sitting there with two other people in a huge empty room. Eventually a sullen busboy in a dirty uniform came by and started piling dishes into an enormous tub. That’s when we decided to leave.
As I said, I really enjoyed the food, but for me it was too much to pay for the experience we had. There are so many other options in Annapolis!

Nice place, but not overly impressed with the food… It’s made with care, no doubt… But the tastes aren’t quite right…
I remember this about the shrimp and crab Ceviche best: I’ve eaten it all over Central and South America, and this was quite far from authentic. I’m guessing the locals don’t like genuine ceviche, because this one was sweet and syrupy instead of tart from being ‘cooked’ in lime juice… It’s not what I was expecting…
The Old Bay chicken wings were pretty good…

Blackwall Hitch reminds me of a traditional Maryland Wedding’s Reception. I was greeted with a smile, sat comfortably in the beautifully decorated lounge area, amused with the sounds of the house band and enjoyed decadent bites of Maryland Crab. My waiter was very friendly an also very patient as he waited for my boyfriend and I to make a life altering decision about where we wanted to sit that night. We ended up on a huge stormy grey sofa with views of the private dining room and state of the art kitchen.
This was not my first time at Blackwall, and although I had thoroughly enjoyed my Blackened Cajun Pasta from the time before, I opted to try something different this time. We started off with the Shrimp and Crab Ceviche. It was delicious! The presentation can use some adjusting but that did not take away from the overall taste. It had just the right amount of lime, pico de gallo and chunks of seafood you could really taste.
For our main courses, we chose to go with sandwiches and we were not disappointed! We enjoyed both the Crab Cake Sandwich and the Soft-​Shell Crab Sandwich. The Crab Cake was the perfect portion seasoned to perfection on a warm Brioche Bun, accompanied with the house made Remoulade Sauce. The Soft-​Shell Crab Sandwich was also very tender with bits that were somewhat crispy and chewy but that’s was a soft shell crab is supposed to be! (For those who don’t know, soft shell crab is the entire crab. The skin, shell, legs and all). It was also served on a warm brioche bun with red skin mashed potatoes as my side.
I enjoyed my boyfriend’s fries more than I enjoyed my mashed potatoes and he enjoyed my potatoes versus his fries so next time, we will just order the opposite as far as side dishes go.
Overall I had another wonderful experience and Blackwall Hitch will definitely be on my «Annapolis 5» list for favorite 5 restaurants in Annapolis. Recommendations are definitely in order and I cannot wait for my next visit!

I really want to give this place a four or at least a three and a half but the food was a little disappointing to me. The décor and ambiance were easy fives, the service was a four (which I would expect since we were dining with only a handful of other tables) but unfortunately the food was only about a two.
I had the Maryland Crab Soup for an appetizer and the Chicken Wrap as an entrée. The soup was very heavy on broth and veggies but had almost no crab meat in it. To boot it came to me barely warm. Overall a big disappointment. The chicken wrap was ok but didn’t really jump out at me with flavor. I did like the sweet potato fries that came with my wrap though.
I will say that I will be back to try other menu items (dinner entrée maybe) or at least pop in for a drink at the very welcoming bar. I will also say that the crab cakes looked very good here and according to Sue who got them, they were delicious. Maybe I just chose poorly lol

You pay for the view. It’s a nice location with ample parking, a great rooftop, and a nice bar. But the food felt almost perfunctory. I was excited to see a short rib sandwich with onion straws on the menu and when I got it, it was huge but largely flavorless. I was so disappointed. Other food at the table was the same — large portions but uninspired.

RESTAURANT WEEK DINNER
Our first visit, we thought restaurant week would be a good time to try is out. It really is beautiful and being one of the few restaurants with parking is such a plus. Service was attentive, Valerie was very nice. We liked the Vegetable Crab Soup heavy on vegetable but light on crab. The Potato Leek Soup was less successful. Shrimp and Grits good but the Mahi Tacos were awesome. Both desserts, Chocolate Mousse and Apple Dumpling were both good. We will be back.