Mt Washington Tavern

I love the location and shuffle board… that’s pretty much where the positives end.
The downstairs front bar is so poorly designed, barley enough room to stand behind someone seated. If you are waiting for a table or come with even one friends you pretty much have no where to go. Many times my husband and I would prefer to just sit at a bar and order drinks and maybe lite fare – basically impossible here (always full). Wish they opened up some of the other seating for bar service – hate being waited on when I’m just ordering drinks.
I would only order appetizers (or basically only the truffle fries or nachos) regardless here as most of the food is beyond terrible-​and overpriced at that. The menu itself is very disconnected and all over the place, with too many options yet nothing I actually want to eat! Particularly really odd sandwich combos.
Service is also hit or miss. Bar staff can be helpful but half the time it can take forever to get their attention.
I hope they really consider revamping their menu first and foremost as like I said it’s a great location and I would be more inclined to come for dinner or lunch regularly.

Went there last night last minute for Balt. Co restaurant week. I had not been in about a year. While our server was great & décor has a nice atmosphere, the food was disappointing. We both had fried oyster appetizer– it was room temperature, kind of odd considering it only took prob 10min to receive. The lobster sandwich was okay. The red & yellow tomatoes were out of season & mushy. I just ate the lobster & avocado– they were good. Flourless chocolate cake with raspberry sauce was very good as were the cranberry fizz drinks we ordered. Not worth $ 35 + drinks. I can think of at least 5 other places in Hampden area I would choose before the tavern again.

Service was crappy. Server did engage us at all. Never knew her name. Very cold. Order medium rare prime rib, and salad. steak came first, salad came out only after I asked about where was the salad. I ordered a glass of Joel Gott Cab after steak on table because server never engaged in the drink menu even though I asked about wine list. After I was finished my salad my prime rib was cold, server and never apologize. Don’t think I’ll come back for a while. ALEXIS was her name only after I received bill.

Drinks are good and the ambiance is spectacular. I’m all about the horse motif. They have some serious equine history on the second floor re: American pharoah. Great happy hour on Wednesday where you get a free quesadilla with your purchase of a cocktail. Great bartender who seems to remember everyone!

Ever since The Fire, MWT has been an utter disaster. They’re trying WAY too hard to be posh, but they manage to screw up every attempt. I get it, you’re in MD, you have a lot of crab things. I love crab! I do not love mediocre attempts at shoving crab into everything and executing those things poorly. My club sandwich was blah, my husband’s burger was a hockey puck (even though he ordered medium rare) and my daughter’s pancakes were actually massive pieces of corn bread. Please master the basics first, MWT.
Beyond the food, the service is completely lacking. When we walked in today to a (mostly) empty front room, the hostess seemed annoyed that we looked in her direction at all. Our waitress wasn’t any better. I get it, you went out last night. Drink some coffee and get on with your day, ladies.
Tip: Stop trying so hard! Go back to your roots, brah.

Decent. Not great but consistently okay.

I moved to Mount Washington 2 years ago and have been to the «Tavern» at least 20 times. It’s such a nice, stylish place, I love the smell of cedar when you first walk in. The upstairs bar area is so nice especially on warm, sunny days. The staff is friendly and they do a pretty good job.
This is where the positive comments end. I have tried nearly every single thing on the menu that I enjoy, from burgers to steaks to sandwiches and the food is always, I mean ALWAYS mediocre. I really want this place to have good food because I love going there for the atmosphere. I hate writing this negative Unilocal review but I hope someone that can make drastic changes on how their food is prepared will read this. Something is clearly wrong in the kitchen and needs to be rectified if they want to keep people happy. I’m not a food snob, just a guy who wants a decent meal that’s not too far of a drive away.

Ok update: great fresh greens but could they please hire an actual bartender?
Attention: Unilocal– «Brevity is the soul of wit».

We came in with about 50 hungry swimmers and their parents, and I think the crew at Mt. Washington Tavern was a bit rattled, (deer in headlights rattled) The service suffered, they could be a bit more friendly. Food was okay, the place was nice, but at the end of the day, it comes down to service. What restaurant wouldn’t want the business, next time take care of the folks that’s willing to drop $$$ at your place.

Sometimes, you just want a chill environment, warm and courteous staff, and a bar option for the drinkers, and a food option for all. Mount Washington provided thus in spades, which has made it one of a number of places to eat in Baltimore me and my friends recommend.
What stands out to me is that they have great burgers, salads, and many amazing sandwiches! Although there may not be much to do to make a burger fancy or pretty, I always get the impression that the burgers aren’t made thoughtlessly and recklessly. Some places will hurl a bun at a burger, drip greasy spuds on the plate, and subject the server to whatever startled and unhappy feedback the customers prepare for them after tasting it, but this isn’t so with Mt Washington Tavern.
On the flip side, many of their appetizers — such as the Crab Dip, and Crab Pretzel — are heavy with salt, and often seem overcooked; of course, that may reflect my own personal tastes, or it may reflect the Tavern’s ability to prepare these dishes. However, the Tavern used to have some particularly rude and unpleasant Servers, and I haven’t experienced that the past four times I went, so kudos!
Overall, I’ll give it a 3.5÷5, with a «May Be Subject To Personal Taste» disclaimer. Since Unilocal only deals in whole numbers, though, I’ll make it ⁴⁄₅.
If I want a fancy, lavish and Emeril Lagassi style meal, I’ll go to a more swanky restaurant; I won’t give a harsh review of another restaurant, merely for having a more casual, laid back atmosphere (which most Tavern goers are seeking!) :)

This place is hands down one of the best places to eat in Baltimore. I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad meal here.
The staff is always friendly and happy to answer questions about the menu.
There are three unique spaces: the front bar, the main dining room, and the upstairs «sky bar». Most days, I opt for the front bar at a high top. There is shuffle board and plenty of TVs. A great spot for before/​after an O’s game, as it’s within walking distance from the light rail. The main dining area is light and bright — a great brunch spot for a group. The sky bar is probably my favorite, though. There is a bar with a cozy fireplace and an outdoor area complete with couches and a TV.
My favorite menu items are the Mussels with Frites. They are perfect and a large enough portion that I will often choose them as my entrée. Another favorite is the Baltimore Club.
Don’t forget brunch comes with a free adult beverage. Try the bloody mary!

They must have changed chefs and owners. Its completely different than what I remember. My family has had several functions here like baby showers, engagement dinners.etc. This place is huge and they have many different rooms. The food was always good no matter what we ordered and the staff was great but keep in mind this was over 4 – 7 years ago.
Fast forward to a couple weeks ago… we came during happy hour times however our waiter failed to show us the HH menu. So we had to ask for it after a while. They were having drink and food specials and clearly we did not want to miss out. We also noticed they had raw oysters at the front of the restaurant so we asked our waitress about it. She proceeds to give us tickets to get free ones. But again. .we had to ask. She wasn’t very forthcoming with any info.
We tried the crab wontons which were bland… not good at all. The Maryland crab soup was delicious! Seasoned well, flavorful and lots of crab meat.
Our waitress never really came back to check on us yo see if we wanted to order a meal. After 20 – 30 minutes we were able to flag her down. I wanted a burger so bad.lol.I went ahead and ordered one and to my surprise. it was NOT good. How do you mess that up? It was like I was eating air… no taste… just blah… not sure if I will be back…

I’d been to the Tavern only once, and that was before «The Fire,» and as such I didn’t have many expectations. This happens to have been a good thing. Had I any expectations, I would have been devastated. Or pissed.
The reno’ed establishment is lovely — very open without feeling too trendy. Five stars.
The service at the bar was great. On the day I went, Jimmy was behind the bar, and he was as great a bartender as anyone can hope for. He was attentive, but not overly so, which I appreciated. What was really great was that during our conversation about bourbon, he gave the opportunity to taste something they had available — any time someone gives me that chance, it’s a teachable moment and I’m all about it. I should clarify that I was at the bar in the middle of the day, so it was sparsely populated. Anyway, five stars there.
That’s where the «good stuff» ends.
I ordered the grilled cheese and tomato bisque. Not average bar food, but not an exorbitant ask. Or so I thought.
The grilled cheese itself was okay, but felt like that person who was trying too hard: goat cheese, cheddar cheese, bacon, tomato all in one. It’s doing too much. The fries were soggy, bland, and dismal. The bisque erred more on the side of a marinara: had too much body (felt like a sauce), and was heavily (overly) seasoned with both cheese and salt. Note to the kitchen: the reason why tomato soup is served with grilled cheese is primarily due to the complementary flavors; the tomato (soup) is supposed to be an acidic complement to the salty grilled cheese. That didn’t work here. I ended up dipping my sandwich in ketchup.
Given that the grilled cheese and tomato bisque were so jacked up, I’m going with a generous «half-​star» for the food. You have to work really hard to mess up grilled cheese and tomato soup.
Because this has been a staple of the area, I really want to like and repeatedly patronize the Tavern. Until the kitchen can get back to basics, I’ll come back only for the drinks.

After several attempts, I am now done and won’t come back. Gorgeous renovations, no detail spared. It’s large and the space is used well. I just wish the food would match.
The food is terrible and over priced. We had a few sandwiches, the Austin and the french dip. Both tasted like they had been frozen moments earlier. Bread was not worth the carbs. Bland and overall some of the worst food I have ever had in Baltimore.
We have done brunch here as well. It’s not as bad, but it’s also difficult to mess up eggs.
Stay far away!

Boringgg. Came here for Sunday brunch and while I loved the ambiance the food was nothing special and beyond overpriced. They had also recently changed the menu and our waiter was clueless as we ordered items that apparently changed. What’s up with the menu on their website? Some items have prices and others don’t. Kinda weird and something I’ve never seen before unless an item is market price. Bizarre. The space itself was great with a main floor and an upper level that offers open air seating and a nice private event space. I loved the touch of local history with old maps on the wall. Definitely a lovely touch but that’s just about where the praise stops. If you find yourself in the neighborhood certainly look around at the other options nearby. As we were told, this is the local place to see and be seen, but you can absolutely get a better meal and more bang for your buck elsewhere.

I needed to head North of the city to run a few errands, so a friend and I decided to use our City Dining Card at Mount Washington Tavern. It was a Saturday morning and we made a rookie mistake, before heading to Mount Washington, neither one of us checked the menu to see if brunch was even offered on Saturdays. Spoiler alert, it’s not, only Sundays. Regardless, we decided to stay and have lunch in the Tavern Room.
I had been to happy hour at Mount Washington Tavern before for happy hour, and the Truffle Fries are awesome, so we started with an order of them. The fries were tossed with white truffle oil, dusted with shaved asiago and parmesan cheeses and parsley flakes. There were clearly no parsley flakes on this dish, nor did either of us really taste truffle oil, they were mediocre fries with a ton of cheese on top. This should have been a warning sign.
Because we were craving brunch, my friend was very disappointed when she was unable to order a waffle, making a complete 180 in her meal selection, she ordered Jumbo Lump Crab Wontons. These were filled with cream cheese, scallions and jumbo lump crab and served with thai dipping sauce. These were inedible, the crab was not fresh and tasted like it came out of a can, and the cream cheese to crab ratio was excessive cream cheese. My friend was unimpressed and said the Crab Wontons at Brothers Sushi are significantly better.
On a positive note, I did enjoy my Lamb Burger, it was nothing special, but not a major disappointment like the other things we ordered. The burger was freshly ground lamb blended with crumbled feta and mediterranean spices. The menu mentioned a side of dill-​yogurt sauce and mint jelly, neither were present on my plate but our waiter was so absent minded and the meal was so lackluster that we avoided even telling him, when he came back around we asked for the check and headed on our way.
If you’re in Mount Washington and looking to be sorely disappointed with your meal, then Mount Washington Tavern is the spot for you!

This is one of my fiancé and my favorite spots in Baltimore. The food is fresh, with decent portions, and they have a great selection of beers, fresh grapefruit and orange crushes, and a nice selection of wines.
We typically sit at Jim’s bar (if we’re there on a Wednesday through Saturday day) and he’s the best! He remembers what we like and takes great care of the whole bar. I’ve gone with my father and sat upstairs which has an airy feel as the patio is open and great for a spring or summer evening.
They have private space for functions and parties which I would look into for the future.
The owner Rob is great and so is his wife who has been bartending when we’ve stopped in before.
I’ve always been keen on people, not places and it’s nice to call this one of our fave haunts. We certainly would go here before other places strictly for the service and ambiance.
If their lot is full they offer valet. I always look forward to their raw bar selection and daily specials.

The food here was uniformly disappointing. Our server Sean was great.
With all the bars and restaurants in Baltimore, I really wouldn’t return unless it was at someone else’s suggestion or maybe to sit outside on their patio. That said, there’s many places with outside seating so their patio area doesn’t really go that far either.
The food is overpriced for what you get is really what it comes down to for me. If their prices were more reasonable I’d be much more inclined to return because the atmosphere is nice enough, albeit somewhat generic.

I like Mt. Washington Tavern and it’s a lot nicer since they remodeled a few years got.
I’ve never had a bad meal or bad service as other seem to be posting though I don’t usually during off times when it’s slower.

Great variety of drinks. I had the French Pear Martini n the Moscow Mule. Moscow mule is like a Mojito but with Vodka n Ginger beer. U don’t taste the ginger too strongly so it all combined very well.
The Island Creek Blue Point Oysters were very good n clean tasting n comes with lemon, horseradish, cocktail, n some spicy mixture sauce.
Dinner– had Land and Shore which was steak n crab cake. It was delish!
Hubby had the fish tacos. He said it was good as well. Neighborhood is very quaint but parking might be a bit tight.