John’s Elmwood Tavern

I see a lot of reviewers love this place too. I could eat here once a week and stop in other nights for a beer. It has a great feel. It’s in the middle of a classic early Baltimore suburb. The tavern is inside a couple houses side-​by-​side. The staff are nice and welcoming. Beer lovers will have to choose a domestic for now, maybe they’ll start carrying at least some Heavy Seas or Dogfish Head. The food is unexpectedly excellent. The menu has regular bar food items, but they make them in a high quality way. A burger with onion rings, a taco salad, shrimp dinner. The staff are nice, the food comes fast, it’s not too expensive, and most importantly, it’s delicious. My favorite item is the Raven burger. Karaōke on Sundays at 5:00pm is a ton of fun, you’ll hear some really great singers that are regulars at the Elmwood. Sometimes I get a bad meal at an expensive restaurant and I think about how much better and easier it would’ve been at the Elmwood.

Wow. My husband saw the tavern on Unilocal a few months back and has really been interested in going. Today we decided to try it out and honestly, this place is amazing. The food is class act, seriously elevated and if that wasn’t good enough, the waitress, Stacie (sp), was amazing and John brought us our food and talked with us. He is an incredible chef and we will definitely be returning.
I was a bit intimidated at first. It looks like a ‘local’ place… you know where only locals go… that have been going… for-​ev-​ah and maybe won’t except the newbie. I was completely wrong. They treated us as if we’ve been there before. Super friendly, very polite. Awesome. It’s not pretty, not colorful, not what you’d expect for a 5 start review… but NEVER judge a book by its cover.
We ordered Crab Balls for the appetizer. They were packed with flavor. For dinner, I had the B More Burger… burger with crab dip and my husband had the Ravens Burger… burger with bacon, cheese, onion straws and house BBQ. They were killer. Fries were great as well. Hand cut. NOTHING fake in this place. John kicks it into gear and we left completely satisfied.
You can really taste the care that John crafts into the delicious food that he prepares. Although the crab balls appear to be small, they are loaded with flavor and true lump crab meat. NO filler at all. Perfect flavor.
We are taking our in-​laws there tomorrow… on OUR anniversary. We have to share this find!

So I’m a week into my new life in Baltimore and stumble across this gem of a tavern. A few pictures on Unilocal drew me in… Where to start? We walked in and there were a few folks inside, well… they were a riot! I found my new hangout place whenever I can escape downtown. John, the owner and chef, threw together a couple burgers that topped most of the burger joints I came to love in San Diego. Everybody at place was absolutely awesome! I haven’t felt so at home or laughed this much since arrived in Maryland. Thank you and we’ll be seeing you again very soon!

Waiting for car to get fixed… Terrible neighborhood but shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. The wings were amazing and the Caesar salad was the best I’ve ever had! Everything is made fresh and to order. On top of it all, the staff and patrons are so wonderful and the place is immaculate. I’m shocked.

Great local spot, welcoming atmosphere, great food when the owner, John, is cooking. Friendly bartenders. Nice place to unwind with other neighborhood folks.

Good friends, good food, good times! Come on in for home cooked meals and a great Baltimore atmosphere!

We had to run up to Bmore and used Unilocal to find this place and the other reviews were spot-​on. We love mom-​n-​pop businesses and this place is why. Probably the best service we ever had and great tasting food that was fresh. My burger was perfectly cooked and my wife’s turkey Reuben was the best one I ever tasted cuz they smoked the turkey themselves. Very tender and juicy. It was clear we weren’t locals and we felt like we belonged as soon as we walked in. If you live near here, make it your regular hang out.

No draft beer, but the 16-​oz. Boh tallboys are plenty cold, cheap, and they keep on comin’ for an entire ballgame. Food is pretty impressive for a neighborhood dive. Fries are hand-​cut and crispy brown, the pit sandwiches come on a sturdy Kaiser roll dressed up with plenty raw onion and horseradish. And is there a better bar snack than a big-​ass basket of hot, fresh onion rings to drown in ketchup? Kudos to the kitchen for cranking out tasty bar grub.
This is a straight-​up B’more watering hole. Ice cold suds in bottles and cans, food straight from the fryer or grill to your belly, and plenty of screens for O’s and Ravens games.

Came here on a Friday night with our kids… locals were very welcoming! Owner and waiter very tentative! Elmwood burger juicy! Elmwood cake delicious! Fried peppercheese cubes and steamed shrimp extra old bay delicious! Definitely coming back!!!

This little gem is truly a diamond in the rough. After we bought our house I was hoping to locate a local watering hole at which to spend my out of house drinking time at. The Elmwood has definitely fit the bill. This place has existed as long as I can possibly remember, though not under the current ownership. It is most certainly old and divey but John makes sure that everything about the Elmwood’s offerings are top notch. Every food item that comes out of the kitchen is fresh and hand made. The onion rings are hand battered, the chicken tenders are hammered and breaded by hand, they even make their blue cheese dressing from scratch! The service is always impeccable, making sure that you are not left wanting or unsatisfied in any way. This is the real care and attention that a neighborhood corner bar needs. I will be spending some very quality time at the Elmwood for many years to come I assure you. I know, I know. You all are thinking «five-​stars for that?» YES, they deserve it simply for offering food made with pride with the freshest possible ingredients in a dive bar for the same price that other grease pits sling out their crap food.

A local treat!!! Local people, local charm, excellent food.
The owners were very friendly to us first-​timers in the bar.
The burger was delicious. Great menu choices, plus many nightly specials.
However, I wish there was more beer on tap.

The Elmwood is a great neighborhood bar down the street from where I live. When my wife and I moved in we needed a place to eat so we took a walk to the Elmwood. When you go inside you are thinking, «Wow this place seems shady» but it doesn’t take long for one of the patrons or bar tender to greet you with a smile. There is a dining room and a bar. We sat in the dining room and I ordered a Turkey dinner (it was close to Thanksgiving at the time) and it was just like I had fixed my self a plate at my grandmom’s house. Before long we were engaged in pleasant conversation with other folks in the dining room.
If you go to the Elmwood keep in mind this is a neighborhood bar with a dining area. Don’t expect expensive, or fancy décor. It is what it is and that’s why I only give it three stars. The beer is cheap and not much selection but its cold and served with a warm smile.
Oh and its a Raven’s Nest so Sunday’s (even though I’ve never been on Sunday) should be great.

OPEN NOW…
Not sure of any details on that issue. It is a Ravens Roost #36 so Steelers fans beware.
We went because I met one of the owners in line at Sam’s Club (so for all of the anti-​warehouse store crowd, those do actually fill a role in our modern food distribution structure).
The Tavern is a very local, very unassuming place. It is a converted home, nestled in with a small set of other local businesses. This is in keeping with the finest traditions of small roadside inns/​taverns that dot the countryside and make America what it really is. I know that sounds like a strong statement but this type of business MUST survive if we are at all to retain any of our unique regional character and tastes across the countryside.
I lament a world where all we have is neon arches, BenniFridayOutbackChiilis and Cracker Barrel. I don’t hate chain places, its just that corporations haven’t proved terribly good at taking care of other aspects of our lives, why would we believe they will safeguard «grandma’s crab-​cake recipe».
Just watch a sporting event and check out the food commercials… if they can add a flair, twist or change and call it «new» its offered. Would you really want to eat a sandwich so hot that it would make a rattlesnake burst into flames? Can Taco Hell really combine ground beef, nuclear cheese and tortilla into yet another oddly named concoction that is supposed to be something new?
Okay, off the ledge, sorry. The Elmwood Tavern has a very simple menu. They understand that it is more important to do a few things well than to have a menu that spans the wall (made of all the same four ingredient’s! Sorry had to get one more Taco Hell dig in.
We had the Mussels in wine sauce appetizer… a nice big bowl (maybe 30 mussels or so) of solid goodness served with toast points. You will want those for the edgy and slightly tangy sauce. There are elements of citrus, spice and butter. (could stand to thicken it a little [reduction would work] but the taste was right on).
For dinner (Friday evening) had the Elmwood burger, comes with a side, we both chose fries. The burger is a mountain of fresh ground beef on a nice roll. The topping is a delicious mix of red pepper and caramelized onion. It is a belly full! The fries are crisp and earthy (I suspect hand cut).
There is nothing fancy, nothing fancy, nothing fancy about this place. I say that three times so that anyone who takes my advice and goes there; please do, you will eat well and support a nice young couple’s dream.
These are the places that if/​when they are gone we will all cry the blues because we stuck our foodie/​yuppie [myself included] nose into the air and plunked down 50 bucks for apple-​chocolate martini’s and radicchio truffle salads. We all went home hungry and wanting to brush our teeth but darn it we looked cool.
So play Kipling and «walk with King’s but not lose the common touch», remember where you came from and go back there every now and then. Visit The John Elmwood Tavern. The owner brought out our food and talked with us… see if that happens the next time you are at Che’ Highpriced.
Didn’t pay attention to item prices, but we had 2 glasses of wine, 2 draft beers, appetizer and 2 massive burger combo’s for $ 40.00