Cafe Hon

Café Hon used to be great. Then Hampden exploded. The owner branded the «Hon» concept and felt pressured to revisit the menu and experience. I had been to Hon plenty of times prior to their well known appearance on Gordon Ramsey’s reality show (dedicated to turning around struggling restaurants), but hadn’t visited since after that event.
I regret to inform you that this place has officially lost its way, and it now survives by leaning on a gimmick and its most loyal customers’ blind adoration.
Things I Like:
— Location is fun. It’s in the heart of Hampden’s «The Ave», so shortly after eating you can foray into the world of independent entrepreneurship and tattoos.
— They don’t murder food. I’m on the verge of giving them 2-​Stars here, but it’s not because they are bad at making pancakes and coffee. So, the kitchen is ok.
Things I Dislike:
— The menu is boring. It used to have some fun stuff, like «Cinnamon Raisin French Toast,» but those days are long gone. It’s more of the basics now. That’s disappointing. That’s not the Hon I fell in love with.
— The service sucks. Somehow this place has taken on the aura of its polarizing owner. I’ve met her, recently, and she’s still scarred by the community backlash and public judgement of all things Hon-​branded from the prior 5 years. Everyone seems rushed, cranky, inexperienced, and disinterested. Maybe that will change, but this is what I experienced.
— The décor. Nestled in an old building with creaky floors and tall ceilings, the quirkiness of Café Hon was once expressed with a variety of mismatched coffee mugs greeting your lips, and odd ball antiqued decorations on the walls. It’s all so sterile in comparison now. A small part of Hampden’s soul is dead.
Café Hon was one of those places I’d bring «out of towners» to for a «I’ve never seen a place like this before.» But those days are gone. It’s just another breakfast place. I think the owner is a good person. I just don’t get excited by what I saw or tasted anymore. This all reminds me of the 90’s rappers barking about selling out. Those underground mixtapes had the best beats, but every now and then a performer would step into the limelight to make the bigger bucks, learning how to dance with 10 others on a stage, foregoing their creative license and ability to rub people the wrong way while addressing social issues, reaching for the masses and larger unit sales. Hon sold out :-(

I’ve lived in Baltimore my whole life, and I’ve always heard that this place is a «must try.» My boyfriend and I stopped in for lunch, and were unfortunately extremely dissapointed. I got a sandwich, and he got a guacamole burger; it took about 40 min to get the food (no other customers, though) and they forgot the guac on his burger… we tried to let our waitress know, but she kept blowing us off :/​so, I’m glad I finally went, but will definitely not be returning.

Despite coming at 2:00 PM on a Saturday and there being no wait, my and my date’s food– the vegan breakfast bowl and a classic burger– took an obscenely large amount of time to get to our table (I’m thinking 20 – 25 mins). I had ordered my bowl with no potatoes, but I soon found that it was LOADED with potatoes. Yikes. On the bright side, the poached egg was perfectly runny, and my date’s burger was on the good side of average. The Resurrection beer was floral and fruity, thoroughly enjoyed. I can’t help but love the quirky décor!

An oldie but goodie. We used to come here when our kids were little. Plain American food and a charming kitschy store connected. We had not been back for awhile and thoroughly enjoyed our dinner. We both had specials. Pecan and Parmesan encrusted chicken breast over field greens, dressed perfectly and a lobster linguini. We saved room for dessert and shared a giant slice of blueberry cherry crumble with ice cream. If you have never been or have not been for a while, make a visit to Café Hon

What I had was pretty tasty and filling. It was the BigBayClub. A crab cake club with bacon on shrimp salad. It was good! My buddy had a medium steak sandwich that was overloaded with sautéed caramelized onions. It was also supposed to be well done. He ate most of it because he was starved but he didn’t want to make fuss. I told the server. She took his sandwich off the bill. I thought that was a kind gesture. Some places won’t do that. That’s a gold star for Charm City! Thanks Café Hon.

Went today for my husband’s and my birthday. When we walked in, they tried to seat us at a table right next to the kitchen that was so small, it looked as though it wouldn’t fit children. We moved to another table after requesting. 45 minutes after ordering, our food finally arrived. My husband’s breakfast was cold and the only thing hot on my plate was the poached egg on my egg’s Benedict. I suspect they had a very inexperienced cook trying to poach an egg for 45 minutes and let the rest of our food get cold but no one came with an explanation for the long wait. $ 50 for sub-​par service and crappy food is not worth it. We will not be making the trip back to Hampden for this again.

We came while it was quiet so our server was very attentive. Coffee could be better but it is 2pm on a Monday. My friend ordered the mushroom Swiss burger, he really enjoyed it. I had the guacamole burger medium well and it was delicious. The ambience has a twist between café and diner. Overall I love it.

I feel as though you can’t go wrong with café hon when you stick to the basics. Breakfast is great. The grits with cheese and bacon is delicious. When they have it, the gingerbread pancakes are sooo tasty. The crab omelette is rich but a good crab staple. I like the burger. When you start to get something a little fancier it varies… my date had something that he def didn’t like but again… he went away from the classics.

I’ve been wanting to go to Café Hon for years and finally happened to be in the area and hungry. We were deciding between eating here and another popular place across the street, but when my sister saw the huge flamingo in the front, the decision was made.
We were immediately seated and there were at least four other occupied tables. The place also seems kid-​friendly as a couple of families were dining with small children.
The booth where we were seated, although it had a cute cheetah print back, had a completely cracked seat, begging to have been replaced years ago.
The menu is very typical, and has something for everyone. I ordered a coffee, which the menu says is Zeke’s, which was a pleasant surprise. Beverages were at our table within 30 seconds, which was the fastest I’ve ever seen.
I ordered a Maryland crab soup and a Reuben with fries. My sister went for the crab cake burger.
My soup was brought to me in the same expedient manner as the beverages. It was pretty good, but definitely on the salty side and probably not something I will order again if I ever go back.
My Reuben was also fair, but the corned beef was a little tougher than I prefer. So again, if I ever go back, I will be choosing something else from the menu.
My sister’s crab cake sandwich definitely looked delicious, and she commented that it was very good.
Overall, café hon is a place that I would come to for experience only, just to say that I’ve been there and maybe take some pictures. But it definitely isn’t a place that I would come to for the food. My meal wasn’t necessarily bad, but it wasn’t anything that left me craving to come back for more.

My family went on a busy Friday night.
We were impressed with how well the young hostess seated everyone. Our food came out surprisingly quick to be as busy as they were. Our meal was very good — a solid 3 stars on the food alone. We had the crab dip as a shared app., grilled cheeses and burgers with fries or chips. We also grabbed some pie to go, which was delicious.
What struck me was how the employees seemed to really care about everything. We had an enjoyable time and will be back to try some more menu items — such as the cold sandwiches and salads.

We almost didn’t eat here because of the terrible Unilocal reviews, but my boyfriend loves John Waters and thought the place looked cool, so we decided to give it a shot. We were both pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food. The chicken salad melt was excellent, and the BLT was very tasty too. The crab soup was decent, and the service overall was fine.
The atmosphere is what really sells this place, with unique and kitschy decorations. It’s a little run down, but that feels like part of its charm. Grabbing lunch here was a fun addition to our day in Baltimore.

shockingly bad.
I should have known when we were one of only two tables occupied in the entire restaurant. Granted, it was a Monday night, but other places nearby seemed moderately busy.
This place is dying a slow death and deserves it. The prices are high, the food is terrible and the place is so worn and shabby and dirty that the theme of «hon» isn’t really applicable here, and if anything is a misrepresentation of the word. Instead its just simply «trailer park»

I absolutely love crab dip and was raving to my niece who was visiting from NH that we had to have some before we left. Unfortunately… I chose he wrong place to have her try the crab dip.
I was thoroughly unimpressed with the crab dip, it has the look and consistency of cat food and is served in a pile in a dish. The flavor wasn’t much better either. I was hungry and that is the only reason I ate it otherwise I would have returned it.
I was underwhelmed by everything they offered the only thing I would order there again would be a can or bottle of beer so it would taste fresh.
One good thing about the restaurant aside from the large pink flamingo on the side of the building is the store. They have great Baltimore merchandise and local artists so stop by for a beer and pick up a souvenir!

The food here is mediocre and maybe a bit overpriced for its quality. But the staff is friendly and the décor is cute. It’s one of those kitschy diners that is fun to visit ever once in a while.

Never again. Café Hon relies entirely on the «Hon» brand and the giant pink flamingo outside to keep people coming in the door. It is dimly lit and seems in need of a cleaning. The décor is supposed to be wacky and fun but then there are these sad plastic table cloths that look like they came out of your grandma’s kitchen. Weird. In a completely empty restaurant (on a Saturday at 12 that should have been our first clue) the hostess sat us so close to a 6 top that we are practically on top of them. They were a little rambunctious and were drinking so we basically had to shout over them to have our own conversation. Come on lady. common sense to give us some privacy.
I ordered a gingerbread pancake that came with roasted apples on top. It took about 30 minutes for our food to come out. which is pretty slow considering there was hardly anyone there. As the food runner brought our food out he said to me, «by the way, we’re out of the apple topping for your pancakes, so do you just want like, a side of fruit or something?» Doesn’t common sense tell you to let me know that you don’t have part of my dish BEFORE you make it and deliver the rest of my party their food? Aside from that, I’d already ordered a side of fruit with my meal. I said yes, I ordered fruit anyway, can you just take it off the check? And he goes «uh… the pancakes?» No, the fruit you just offered me for free.
The server was nice enough and made sure to keep our drinks full, but the quality of the food is so poor. Also, the bathroom was really dirty. It seems like the sink was glued to the wall and now the glue is coming off.
Do yourself a favor and go anywhere else in Hampden!

Absolutely no vegan options, at least on the brunch menu. We went in a group of four (three of us vegan), looked over the menu and asked if the only seemingly vegan item was vegan, the black bean burger. The server returned stating that it had milk and eggs and basically our only option was fruit or lettuce. She said we should go elsewhere, so we did.
I think it’s surprising that a restaurant in Hampden, which serves a diverse and eclectic group of patrons, doesn’t have options for vegans.
Avoid if you have any in your party who are vegan, gluten free, or prefer options or variety in their diet.

Service — chaotic.
Burger — overcooked, dreadfully underseasoned.
Crab cake — bland, dry gummy binder
Time to food — way too long.
Sad small pile of chips is sad.
No mayo or tartar sauce for either sandwich even though they’re supposed to come with them.
Denise still running around with the deer in the headlights look.
How do you make basic food this boring and unsatisfying? I recently had a better burger at a no-​tell motel’s diner counter. Time to fire the kitchen again. Better yet, Denise — retire to the gift shop. Let someone else handle the food.

First Timer! The scene for Sunday Brunch with the gang!
So this place has been on my list for the longest! Finally I experienced it. I love the flamingo outside and the décor inside is just as cute. Our waitress was friendly and attentive.
I ordered the Gingerbread pancakes which came with baked apples on top… Now typically I don’t like fruit on my pancakes because you end up with mush (think IHOP Rooty tootie fresh and fruity). But these apples are not swimming in juice/​concentrate and are PACKED with cinnamon flavor. The actual pancake was light and fluffy. The ginger flavor wasn’t overpowering but had just enough kick when dipped in the syrup.
This would have been a 4star review but the price point is a bit off. For a party of four our meal was no frills but the total was $ 60. 1 glass of REGULAR, NON-​FRESH SQUEEZED orange juice was $ 5!!! Lol really? We could have bought a whole bag of oranges for that price.
sidenote**
I stole some potatoes from my friends plate… OMG!!! He added sour cream for some awesome herb taters… drool!!!

This place is a 3 star most definitely. The décor: Baltimore Hon thing, leopard print booths, Elvis statue, and pink flamingo pretty much give this place charm.
The food is mediocre at best. I have been here twice. The fried chicken is good, macaroni is homemade, however the Rueben’s and burgers are lacking a little.
One more thing about this place that gives it average stars. the kitchen is slow! I mean slow! They should bring out some bread or something. You will eat your arm before your food arrives.
Just ok.

This place has been on my food bucket list for a while now, a great opportunity came when freefallbaltimore had an event Winter Fair in Hampden. While walking and sightseeing we came upon Café Hon. Curious to see the new changes and menu items, we decided to do brunch.
By the way, was anyone looking for Elvis? He is standing in Café Hon waiting to seat you at a table. The inside is inviting, open and can accommodate any group size. In the front you can see a full cake and pie display. We were seated fast, a plus in my book. The menu was average for brunch items. I chose the banana split french toast, it truly resemble a banana split. Whipped cream, strawberries, pineapples, walnuts on top of french toast with banana slice on each side and drizzled with chocolate. My daughter tried the Big Bay Club– a crab-​cake sitting on top of shrimp salad with bacon. I was pleasant to the eyes, it was beyond beautiful. The hubby had a bowl of their Maryland crab soup. He stated he could go back just for that one item alone.
The service was average, I could see another brunch here in the near future.
Must say I love that the famous pink flamingo is still in place out front. It’s the small things that make you feel home. Hon