Oliver Speck’s Eats & Drinks

My friend beat the rest of us and ordered a appetizer of hush puppies. They were arriving the minute we got to the table. These were perfect, crispy corn bread fritters served with a tasty and enticing honey butter. Classic!
I like the décor of this place; a casual slightly country feel. I mean — look at these plates… There are lots of chalkboards to show the menu (although not one for the draft beers?). The space is slightly awkward, but it’s clearly meant to support family style dining — with very large wooden tables that seat about 20.
We actually went for «Burger Night» on Thursdays. They offer their 16 legged burger (bison, beef, lamb and pork); a large patty served with (or without, if you are my friend Matt) pimento cheese, a sweet onion jam, and a dippy egg. Both my friends got this yummy meaty burger and must have enjoyed it because they at every bite. Well, sort of they ate all of the meat. The only complaint about this burger was structural. It had mostly soft, ooey, gooey, yummy toppings, but everything fell off the bun when you squeezed it to take a bite.
I skipped all the legs and went for the burger of the day — which for this thursday was salmon filet, fresh spinach with tartar sauce.
I went for the fries; I had the best side choice of the night. We didn’t finish any of the sides. The fries were fine, crispy, but really salty. The description of the baked beans was mediocre. The creamed spinach was a little more oily than creamy and certainly lacked some flavor. I love spinach — and have been known to enjoy my creamed spinach more than many a steak…
It’s worth a try — I will probably go back and try some of their other dishes. Although, I’ll likely wait till the fall; I can’t imagine I am going to be craving comfort southern food during the summer.

I’m surprised this place isn’t busier. The food was delish! We had biscuits, pulled pork ribs, brisket and Mac n cheese. The drinks are amazing and service. Great for a nice relaxed outing with friends.

The hip atmosphere and extensive craft beer selection unfortunately do not make up for the lackluster cuisine. The ethos is compelling, but Baltimore offers much better barbeque for half the price.
Pros:
+ Aesthetics. They spared no expense when designing the restaurant.
+ Location. The restaurant is located in Baltimore’s Harbour East, only blocks from the water and inner harbour attractions.
+ Craft beer selection. A 12 oz. can for $ 5 is a little pricey, but the selection is excellent.
+ Service. We looked at the restaurant website before arriving and selected entrees, but when we arrived, we learned that they had been removed from the menu. But the kitchen was very accommodating – they made a dish for us that had been removed. Also, when we weren’t happy with the burned bun on one dish, they removed the dish from our bill. Very accommodating!
Cons:
— Food. I ordered a half rack of ribs a la carte (nothing but ribs), which cost $ 18. They were dry and tough as an old boot (yes, I still finished it – it was friggen $ 18 for meat and nothing else!). I don’t want to sound like a snob, I just grew up in the south and have a particular expectation of what ribs should be – juicy, succulent, and falling off the bone. The barbeque sauce was bland.
— Food (con’t). My wife ordered a pulled pork sandwich, which wasn’t on the menu – again, to their credit, this was very accommodating for them to make. It was dry and the bun was burned to charcoal. When we mentioned it, they said that it was placed on the grill, which resulted in grill marks. But around the entire edge of the bun, it was pure carbon – just burned bread that crumbled in your hands/​mouth. The sandwich was also dry. We asked if they had a spicy barbeque sauce, but all they had was a spicy mustard or Tabasco.
In summary, I thought the staff was accommodating and the venue was beautiful. But there are better and cheaper barbeque restaurants in Baltimore.

This review is just on service as we were not able to try any of the food or even a drink.
My girlfriend and I walked in one Friday evening to check out the bar and grab a drink before dinner at another restaurant. There was a private party in the back and the bar was open to others. We sat at the bar for 15 minutes (not exaggerating) without being served before walking out. There was one person and they were busy, but that doesn’t excuse not being served. The others at the bar were experiencing the same thing — they just unfortunately had open tabs.
We might try here again, but not staffing enough people on a Friday when you already have a private party is a step in the wrong direction.

Overall, the food was good. I’m a fan of the chicken and waffles, the crust was great and the waffles were light and fluffy. The portion sizes are big, I would suggest bringing a buddy to share. The poutine fries were good, but the sweet sausage took a little time to get used to.
The brunch menu did not have as large of a selection than the lunch and dinner menu.

Hello Baltimore, its good to be back. Came here after leaving a different restaurant in the area because they were sold out baguettes haha.
Like many places in the area the interior has a very industrial feel. Brick and pipes decorate the space.
We were promptly greeted by a server as we arrived around 6pm, the place was only about ¼ full when we arrived but it quickly filled as the evening progressed. Looking over the menu I opted for the one meat and one side… even though I ended up ordering another side on top of that. I got the brisket and mac and cheese with the other side being of brussel sprouts with chili sauce. I think out of all the food I ate here the brussel sprouts were the highlight of the meal. The brisket was ok, very moist but too much fat for my liking. Is it wrong to prefer lean brisket? Or at least I wish there was the option to choose. The mac and cheese was super rich, it comes in its own little cast iron mini pot.
For apps we got hush puppies which had really no flavor… besides the maple butter that came with it. They needed more texture to them. Also the caramel bacon popcorn was interesting. Too. gooey and chewy for my taste but… it was interesting to see why it was so popular.
Overall this place is ok, its not the best bbq ive had but its also not the worst. Their portions are quite small but, I think in the long run its good for people like me that just like to eat on and on and on: D. Its good to see Baltimore is expanding its genres of foods in Baltimore east. I hope this place can only get better.

Do NOT eat the chicken & waffles ever at this restaurant!
DECOR: I had no idea that there could possible be a restaurant there on the S Exter St. From the outside of it you will have no idea how spacious it in inside. Lot of seating options– at the bar area, on high stools or normal table chair. The restaurant is clean & not at all crowded on a Sunday brunch hour.
FOOD: «Horrible» is just the perfect word I can think of at the moment. We ordered Slammin Scramble and Chicken and Waffles. There brunch menu doesn’t have too many options at least not the ones that are mentioned on Unilocal reviews.
The Slammin Scramble was bland and without salt. Totally tasteless! The Chicken and waffles looked awesome and tasted good on the first bite of it. The chicken was absolutely uncooked inside– the meat was pink in color, raw and had red blood on it. I am still feeling very pukish as I am writing this review. The waffles were soggy too. I couldn’t eat that disaster!
SERVICE: The waitress who served us was «Makara». Arrogant is what I could call her and totally unfriendly. Don’t think she liked it when I asked her for a glass of water without ice. She throws the menu, check and carry-​out boxes on the table.
PRICE: Slammin Scramble was $ 8 and Chicken and Waffle was $ 14. Anyways, the price doesn’t matter since it’s not worth the horrible food.
I am definitely NOT going back to this restaurant again.

Get here early and you may be the only person in the place. However, it’s not representative of the deliciousness of the food.
They are three for three. I started with their Pulled Pork sandwich. The pork is super tender and the BBQ sauce is in between sweet and tangy. It’s also lightly flavored so that you get the flavoring of the sauce and marinade, but you can still taste the meat. It is also lightly complimented with pickled veggies. They are only a few on there, but their vinegar helps to cut through some of the sauce.
I opted for the fried oysters as my side and was very happy with my choice. The breading is this nice cornmeal giving it a wonderful crunch.
The real star is the Pork Cracklings with Chili Pepper Spice. Why? When they arrived at the table, they were still snap, crackle, and popping! I wanted to listen to them, but I wanted to devour them as well. Music while you eat. :) They had this fantastic crunch and crumble in your mouth. The chili pepper gives it this nice slight heat to it, but not spicy. What’s also really nice is that it still has this great original porky flavor. I would get this every day of the week if I wouldn’t have to increase my workouts everyday by 30 minutes.

(12/​11/​2013) Had high hopes for this place, given it’s pedigree (former Top Chef contestant) and really great sounding menu. The Bar Snacks we tried were the best thing we had of the night: Pork Cracklins with Chili Salt (crisp fried, airy, bubbly, well-​seasoned); Hush Puppies with Honey Butter (bits of pungent green onion, moist, dense, fried golden crisp); Deviled Eggs (smooth, creamy, too much mustard). Tried «The Whole Hog» to get a sampling of each of the BBQ’ed meats. Best on the plate was the Herb Rubbed Roasted Chicken (well-​seasoned, crisped skin, moist dark meat), although one of the smallest leg quarters I’ve seen in a restaurant in a while. Next best was the Pulled Pork, somewhat dry and stringy, very lean meat. Brisket was sliced with the grain (rather than against), very tender, very fatty. Ribs also very tender and easily separated from the bone (not the boiled variety), slathered in a very sweet BBQ sauce (one diner remarked she thought it was sweetness from prunes), which also comes in a bottle in the condiment carrier. Also in the carrier were some homemade sauces: SC BBQ (mustard-​based, runny); Hot Sauce (Buffalo-​style); BBQ Sauce (sweet, hints of hoisin?).
Sides were OK. Country Grits were not like any I have ever, EVER, seen or eaten; dry, crumbly, texture of loose couscous drenched in butter; looked like the pot was left on the stove and they scraped the bottom to put into our crock. The table next to us got these beautiful creamy, white, bowls of gooey grits; not sure what the discrepancy was (they did order Cheese Grits, but this can’t be the entire reason for the difference). I think we’re usually very kind in assessments, and I rarely say this, but the Braised Collard Greens were totally inedible; dark, dried out, chewy, included boiled or over stewed stringy chunks of pork. Bacon & Egg Potato Salad was a decent specimen, also overly mustard-​y, chunks of diced, rather chewy, bacon. Creamed Spinach was delicious, fresh leaves chopped from whole, sauteed onion, not overly creamy.
1 Biscuit and 1 piece of Cornbread (a touch skimpy) came with the 4 meat platter. Biscuit was fluffy, but not moist, quite dry, interior was large open crumb and more bread-​like (more gluten than short, as expected with a biscuit); Cornbread was not overly sweet (like many Southern/​soul places), crumbly, very corn-​y.
Cocktails were interesting mixes, somewhat heavy-​handed with the flavors (oversmoked cider cube in the Bulleit-​proof Apple). Autumn Punch was a sweet sangria-​like concoction with fall flavors of cinnamon and ginger.
We walked in around 6pm on a Wednesday, no reservation, were told to just grab a table. Place was almost full by the time we left, looked like post-​work corporate office denizens at happy hour and random Harbor East tourists. Place was definitely hipper than me. Service started off superficially responsive, then after a little scratch of the surface, devolved into flaky and unknowledgeable; seemed like just one floor person for the whole place and was quickly overwhelmed (BTW found a strand of our server’s hair on my food). Place is nice enough, not exactly a hangout, not quite destination. Might stop back in for cocktails and Bar Snacks, but not sure I’d recommend it as a BBQ joint.

Went on a Saturday night with 2 friends and easily got a table for four on a saturday night. Not very crowded and very nice and quiet — perfect for conversation. The drinks were great, both cocktails and the beer list. The jar of little pickled things was very little and the hush puppies were just ok. The fried oysters were very good. The 16 legged burger was smaller than it sounds but very good despite the fact that they have to cook it all the way through because of the pork. The vegetarian mustardy squash was fantastic. The dessert sounded appetizing but we were so full that we skipped it. Overall, a good experience — not your traditional BBQ place but creative and interesting.

Came here for lunch and was underwhelmed.
First the good things. The décor of the restaurant is eclectic and my kind of style. The waiter was attentive and I enjoyed the vibe and the layout.
Next the okay. My Arugula salad. I misses the peppery/​nutty taste that I’ve come to expect when I have arugula. But it was a nice size portion with bacon and tomato. And bacon makes everything better.
Finally, the bad. My meal. I had the ¼ rack of ribs, the bacon and potato salad and the side of cornbread. Best descriptor… DRY AND TASTELESS. I sent the potato salad back for the baked beans… flavorless. The cornbread needed some help, butter, a glass of water SOMETHING!!! The ribs were okay, but nothing to come back for.
The best thing I had was the ginger ale. I expected more from a top chef contestant”s restaurant. But alas, she didn’t win did she.

Oliver Speck’s recently opened, and I was excited to give it a shot.
Overall, I was impressed with certain things, and not so much for other things. I’d say the food was great. Portions aren’t huge, but they suffice. Prices are definitely a little higher than other bbq places in Baltimore, but I’d probably attribute that to Oliver Speck’s being in the Harbor East area. Service was prompt and attentive, but our server seemed annoyed the whole time. We went on a Saturday night, and the venue was pretty empty. So no waits.
I like the menu here. The bar snacks and the different choices for under the sea were different and in a positive light. The pork rinds were awesome. They were almost like a pork-​infused crossover between popcorn and chips. The fried oysters and the smoked sea things were also great choices.
I recommend getting the combos, whether sharing or not. It’s a meat selection, a side dish, and either a biscuit or cornbread. We tried the whole hog, which was 4 meats and sides. This option was stingy with the carbs. You’d assume that if you’re getting 4 meats, you’d at least get 4 biscuits/​cornbread, but that’s not the case currently. A whole hog gets you one biscuit and one cornbread. Sides taste great and come in good variety, but the portions are underwhelming. With the whole hog, we were able to try all four meats that Oliver Speck’s offers — pulled pork, chicken, ribs, and beef brisket. Beef brisket was by far the best — very tender and juicy.

Hipster BBQ is the best way to describe this place. Don’t expect authentic hole the wall, cafeteria style bbq meats and sides when you come here. Don’t expect the besrt BBQ you’ve ever had or large southern portions. But do expect quality food that’s moist and flavorful and comforting in one of the nicer areas of Baltimore City.
#4.5 star food
#3 star portions
#3 star «southern hospitality» and ambiance
Came here on a saturday night expecting a long wait, but instead my party of 7 could get a table immediately without any trouble (perhaps a bad sign, perhaps word needs to get out). Oliver Speck’s has only been open a few months after taking over for Vino Rosina wine bar.
The Food:
–Meats: we shared the «Whole Hog» which is a sample of all 4 meats.
#Brisket: this is the star of the show. Extremely, extremely moist. If you come here, this is a must.
#Chicken: the was the surprise of the night. The chicken they make fresh and the waitress will warn you that it will take 20min for them to bbq it up. And for good reason, the chicken breast comes out as moist and juicy as any chicken I’ve had. If you don’t believe me, be my guest and give it a try. Worth the wait.
#pull pork: solid, nothing special but solid
#ribs: probably the most disappointing of the meat. It’s acceptable but don’t expect anything more.
Ancillary Foods:
#sides: their sides are good compliments to the meats and there’s special every night that don’t show up on the regular menu. We tried the collard greens (with pork tips), creamed spinach, sweet potato, mashed taters and gravy. You can’t go wrong with any of them.
#bread: our meat platter came with one biscuit and one cornbread: both were decent, but could have used more BUTTER, FAT, LARD.
Others:
pork rinds: for those who like pork rinds, they have exceptional pork rinds. Comes out hot and crispy but without being oily. SO good.
smoke sea things: !!so good — -you get an assortment of three smoked seafoods including salmon, white fish?, and muscles along with accompanying crackers and tartar sauce. This was a favorite of mine, the smoky flavor was fantastic.
Drinks:
They have a good array of cocktails, wines, beers, and drafts you’d expect from a bar in Harbor East.
OVERALL:
#4.5 star food
#3 star portions
#3 star «southern hospitality» and ambiance
(look familiar?)
My biggest complaint would have to be the portion sizes for the price, but then again this is harbor east…

Overall, the food was very comfortable, delicious, and well priced. It was an early evening Saturday so we didn’t have to wait for a table.
Ordered the firewings, of course, my specialty. I was happy because they weren’t deep fried like most places. The wings standout because they’re smoked and the sauce was good. The chicken grade could have better but overall the wings are memorable.
Had Oliver’s favorite (3 meats 3 sides)
We originally ordered the ribs, pulled pork, and the chicken. However, the waitress informed that chicken would take 20 mins. because they cooked it fresh. We passed on the chicken next time will try. So we doubled up on the ribs and ordered the pulled pork. For sides we got the Mac&Cheese, Country Grits, and potato & bacon salad.
Everything worked very well together! The ribs came apart real easy and the pulled pork was delicious. The real star was the country biscuit. The biscuit is very underrated. It was the perfect complement to most of the meal. Liked the Mac and the Grits (definitely Country.) The only cons to the food overall is that it was the not absolute best of anything I’ve ever had but it was very good.
Would have given 5 stars if the red headed waitress wasn’t so curt and inattentive. She was very warm to the family that sat next to us but no so much to my party.
I’m A Fan!

Visited on a Saturday evening and sat at the bar. Bartenders were very friendly and attentive. The décor screams «hipster barbecue», so that’s what I was expecting, and was pretty what what I got. The menu descriptions are minimal, so use a little common sense and ask a lot of questions when ordering. Things like pulled pork and beef brisket are a no-​brainer, but other items… not so much…
Ordered the Arugula BLT salad, Mustardy Pulled Squash sandwich with a side of macaroni and cheese.
Full of thick chunks of bacon, toasted sweet cornbread croutons, yellow and red cherry tomatoes, and tender arugula tossed in Ranch dressing, the salad was very hearty and filling… the perfect combination of salty and sweet. One bite, and I was already planning a return visit. Wished I had stopped there…
The mac and cheese was earthy, creamy, and served piping hot. It was also very salty. I could The sandwich and mac, on the other hand, had me questioning life. When they describe the sandwich as mustardy, they aren’t kidding. Sliced and shredded summer squash and zucchini were drowning in the sauce between the buttery bun making it difficult to eat. I think that I was expecting something more like a big slice of squash with mustard on it. I like mustard, but I don’t love it. So, this sandwich was not the best choice that I could have made.
Didn’t stick around for dessert. After the sandwich, I couldn’t stomach it. It’s not on the menu, so I’m not sure that they even serve it. But, when I go back for my salad, I’ll ask.

I’m a guy who’s always up for some good barbeque. I wanted to love Oliver Spec’s but I was ultimately disappointed with the quality of the cue. I should have known. There’s this theory that the more anthropomorphic the pig in the logo of a barbecue joint, the better the BBQ. The pig in the Oliver Spec logo is not anthropomorphic at all. No hat or clothes and not standing on its hind legs like a human– I should have known right away…
But after reading the rave reviews here the wife and I decided to try it after a movie at Harbor East. The Orioles game was on several big screen TV’s and the place had about 4 or 5 other tables at around 10 on a Friday. The place had a very nice vibe. But as others have noted, the service was either deliberately chill or inadvertently slow.
The pimento cheese appetizer was a hit and enough for 2 hungry people or 4 noshers. Mustardy Pulled Squash, a vegetarian option was good, not great. I tried the two meat plate with brisket and the pork ribs. The brisket had no telltale smoke ring all great BBQ brisket must have and tasted more like Mom’s brisket than Texas style. The ribs were better and came with a sweet and tangy sauce that was good. Sides included a truffle oiled mac and cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy and cornbread. All were good. But somehow I did not feel like I wanted to clean my plate. It just wasn’t that delicious.
So all I can say is beware of barbecue joints with anatomically correct pig mascots.

I really wanted this place to wow me.
Made a visit to Oliver Speck’s for lunch, but after walking into an unlocked, empty restaurant I went ahead and Googled the hours, to find they were unfortunately closed. Decided to bike down later that evening for a quick dinner.
I was the only customer at 9p, 1hr before they were slated to close. The 3 or 4 folks I noticed working there just sorta looked at me, lacking a welcome or introduction. I sat myself at the bar and the bartender walked up and said, «know what you want?» I had to ask for the menu at this point.
After searching around the menu (which looks like it was designed by me, when I was 8), I went with the 1 Meat + 1 Side combo (there were no greens offered as sides). Tossed in my order and asked to get it to go. When it was ready, they served everything: Brisket + Cornbread + Braised Greens in this floppy aluminum to-​go container, then tossed in a paper bag (had to ask for plasticware + napkins to be provided). I hopped on my bike to ride somewhere on the water to enjoy my food.
When opening the container, I found all of the food to be soggy and leaking from the container. It was a shame the corn bread wasn’t wrapped in plastic /​wax paper, but within 10 minutes the whole piece was now soggy and salty from the braised greens (yuck). The Brisket was greyish-​white and LOADED with fat, but as unhealthy as it looked, it was actually delicious. Lastly, the braised greens were beyond-​salty and I appreciate a well-​seasoned dish.
Again, I really wanted this place to be much better. The space was empty, the atmosphere was lack-​luster and uninviting (including the outside seating). The folks working the front-​of-​the-​house didn’t seem to ‘want’ the restaurant to do well. There was no introduction, no warmth, and reminded me of poor-​quality service you’d find in the «old Baltimore» before the wave of awesome food spots starting popping up around the City.
#1) Fix the food. Chill with the salt, work with better-​quality meats.
#2) Fix the service. Find talented people who will invest their everything in ensuring the success of your restaurant.
#3) Fix the atmosphere. The space is beautiful, but the little things were left off. Upgrade your to-​go containers, your outside seating, and clean-​up your menu design.
I still made the trek out to visit Oliver Speck’s even after three of my friends offered me a poor review. I’m hopeful this review will kick this place into gear and not suffer like the previous concept.

This is a restaurant with an identity crisis. The food is definitely American bbq — pulled pork, potato salad, fried green tomatoes, cracklins — but it’s the physical space of the restaurant that is a bit strange. My sister told me that this space used to house a wine bar and it’s pretty obvious. When you walk in, you are not sure if it is the right place — the cartoon pigs everywhere are really the only symbol of BBQ. I felt like I was in some sort of Asian fusion space, not really one for smoked meats and soul food.
The food was good, but not great. I felt like the meats were better than the sides (I loved the sweet tea-​marinated smoked chicken), and while our maître d was warm and friendly, I can’t say the same for our server.
Definitely work on the physical space and the surroundings.

I am giving it 4 stars because I haven’t actually eaten at the restaurant… the one and only time I have eaten food from here was at the Best of Baltimore Party by Baltimore Magazine.
After eating probably 100 hor d’oeuvres, I will not forget theirs because it was SO good. They did a mini waffle with cole slaw on top that was mixed with one of their BBQ sauces… sounds simple enough but it was PACKED with flavor, the vendor warned everyone before consumption that it was very spicy, and she was right! BUT in a really really good way! It was soo good, I cannot wait to come and eat in the restaurant! :)

Oliver Specks is a good fit for the Harbor East area — great food without the pretensions many of the others in the area seem to be designed around.
We dined here on a Thursday night and sat at the bar. Service was perfect – attentive but not overbearing. Started off with a very generous (for $ 2) and tasty bowl of pork cracklings, which were still cracklin’ away when served. For an entrée I ordered the «Little Porker» combo with the ¼ pork ribs, mashed potatoes, and biscuit. The ribs were very tender, and the BBQ sauce was mild enough to let the rib meat stand out, but other sauces were also available for more elaborate DIY efforts. The biscuit was so good I could have made a meal out of a few of them! A little tub of butter would be nice to have served on the side though. My dining companion ordered the brisket combo, and was equally impressed with her meal.
Tip: if dining at the bar, there are some drink specials available during happy hour, which I believe runs until 7pm.
Also, reviewers who compare this to the old VR wine bar… while it is the same chef, it’s clearly a different restaurant. And a much better concept in my opinion.