The Corner Bistro and Wine Bar

Great happy hour special, $ 5 glasses of wine. Great crab dip and French fries! Strongly recommend it!

What a great little restaurant! Had a wonderful dinner here last night with my husband. Friendly service and nice atmosphere. We ordered the crab appetizer — crab dip, crab cake and crab salad. All three were full of flavor and contained big pieces of fresh crab (yum!). We also tried the watermelon gazpacho — fruity, light and one of my favorites. For entrees I had the tuna served rare, with squash, fish was delicious! And my husband had the shrimp pasta, which he thought was good. We tried the peanut butter pie for dessert — soft and fresh and full of flavor. Great food in the neighborhood, we will return!

Solid food. Beautiful trim space. Come for a glass of wine and a quiet lunch meal.

I hadn’t been to Corner Bistro in about a year and decided to go back with 2 friends from out of town. I was a little concerned that it had closed since they no longer have a website and there was no answer when I tried to call and no message to say I had reached Corner Bistro. But when I called after 5pm, someone answered and took my reservation for later that evening. As in the past, we had a very good meal. I had the burger sliders which were cooked perfectly. My friends had the crab trio and shrimp scampi/​linguine. We all were very happy with our food. The server was very friendly and attentive with refilling water glasses and asking if we wanted more wine. But she gave us our check without asking if we wanted dessert. Minus 1 star for that and the fact that the menu hasn’t been changed in the past couple of years.

Corner Bistro and Wine Bar is a small and quaint neighborhood bar that’s adequate for a nondescript glass of wine and a satisfying meal. Unfortunately, they don’t hit a home run in either category. Their wine list is very limited, especially coming from a place that describes itself as a wine bar. They advertise happy hour specials daily, but when I most recently visited, one waiter said they have happy hour deals, and the waitress, although she was within earshot of the waiter, refused to give my party these deals when she handed us the check. I would’ve at least appreciated it if she consulted the original waiter who told us about the deals.
Although the service was friendly in the past, my most recent experience gave me the impression that they don’t want to build relationships with customers. Although I’ve lived in the neighborhood for nearly 4 years, I probably won’t return.

Hard to give only 3 stars, especially given the local recommendation and fellow reviews, but it is what it is. I almost went with 2.
Service was pretty bad. Must have been a fill in as she did not know the menu whatsoever. Not helpful in understanding the options or sides at all. Or even the main dishes for that matter. And was not very attentive, and I sat at the bar alone with only one other table having guests. Nor was she professional. Really bad actually.
Crab cakes were pretty decent. I don’t know that fare too well so maybe they were excellent, dunno. But kinda fishy. BUT the mac and cheese with crab was really bad. The mac, the cheese and the fishy crab. All bad. Needed to cover it up with some heat… but waitress didn’t know what hot sauces they had, she had to go and ask. Brought something out in a small dish. I asked what it was, she didn’t know. Smelled like vinegar (I hate Tabasco; worse hot sauce ever. Vinegar is first ingredient ;(They need some Sriracha or tapatio or cholula or something. Anything but a vinegar-​based hot sauce.
Nice ambiance though in cute part of town with all the row houses. Small, intimate place. However there was a TV on. Maybe if the Orioles were playing (and that’s big for me cuz I hate baseball!), or maybe something mellow or simple for background, perhaps even with volume off and music playing. But they had prime time TV on and volume was a bit loud. Atrocious for any establishment, especially one of a nice caliber such as this one, with above average food and way above average prices. Shame on them. Ruined the feel completely.
The dessert was decadent though. Even though waitress had to go back to the kitchen to find out what two items they had! Chocolate mouse was one of them, and it was quite amazing. Really incredible, even 30 minutes later as I had to take it to go; couldn’t stand listening to the cheezy television series anymore. Does anyone watch mainstream prime time TV?! Shame on you! Lifetime channel has better content! (kidding; they are both well below par)
NOT worth the money whatsoever. $ 72 (plus tip) for 3 crab cake sliders, small side salad, side garlic toast (2 small triangular pieces), small side mac n cheese… and a burger w side of broccoli to go for lunch the next day. No alcohol or drink. Won’t be back.

This place was just okay. The wine was okay (but I am not a wino and I don’t pretend to know about wine). The atmosphere was nice but the bartender was a little weird; a lurker.
I got the crab trio: which includes a crab salad (kinda small but good); crab dip (kinda good but too much filler/​cheese) and a crab cake (this is a freaking joke! this crab cake makes MD look bad! It tasted okay; not the best I have ever had, but more than anything it WAS SMALL. Not even close to palm size; more like ½ dollar size. REALLY LITTLE.
Overall, my plate seemed more like an appetizer.

AS soon as we walked in, on our way to the seats, we obviously looked like we weren’t regulars because one fellow advertised as we walked by. «If you’ve never been here before, start with the wings.» Well, as a Unilocaler who has been in that position myself as the reccomender, we had to do as instructed. Wow, what a great flavor and texture! They had the right amount of almost carolina vinegar zing, with a sweetness for taste that was awesome. That and they looked like ostrich wings. ha! The coating was awesome as well, is sstayed crunchy even under the sauce and I love that when I get a wing. Now, kudos also goes to Chuck the bartender/​waiter. Super polite, and really knew what food was being served and able to describe it all easily. He was obviously well liked by everyone, because he kept a steady banter with most of the folks in the restaurant. This one place was easily the bright spot to an otherwise dreary business trip and I am grateful to have found this little hole in the wall… oh yeah. seriously a hole in the wall too! Located half a block in from Pratt St (I think that was the main drag we walked), it is just a door lit by some Christmas lights settled right among what looked like mostly residential apartments. We were advised what to look for, but this is not a place I would wander upon accidentally, but I am really glad it found us!!! Should I have the chance to get back to Baltimore, I will do my best to get back to The Corner Bistro… and yeah, TRY THE WINGS!!!

Love this place! Adorable little restaurant located on a hidden street near the Ridgley’s Delight neighborhood, next to the UMMC hospital system. The street reminds me a little bit of an old alleyway, and the restaurant blends right into the surrounding rowhouses.
In the winter, they decorate the exterior of the restaurant with lights. When the weather becomes warmer, they have the cutest outdoor seating. The inside of the restaurant is romantically lit with nice décor/​furniture, giving off the vibe of a fancy, but cozy restaurant. Friends having friend dates and couples having candle-​lit dinners with wine can both be found in this small restaurant. Every time I go, I get the turduckin sandwich; ~$ 11 for a very savory and satisfying sandwich.

I have to admit that I did do my research before coming here and put up my guard due to some of the negative reviews.
Anyhow, this is in a very unexpected location and I’m glad we got a ride there because parking seemed a little complicated. We were greeted by the owner who also was our waiter. He was a very nice man and gave us the rundown of specials for that evening. The wine selection was a little bit short but they were stocked with my favorite kind of reds! My friend ordered the fish special which was perfectly cooked and I ordered a burger (I realize this is not classy but when you crave a burger, you should follow through) which came out fresh and cooked to my liking. The garlic trifle fries and corn chowder soup were delicious and I would highly recommend having those! From the time we arrived through being served and left we had a pleasant experience and with absolutely be back at some point. Very impressed with how quaint and surprisingly wonderful the experience was!

Lived around the corner from this place for four years. The food is consistently excellent. The service is attentive and feels like you’re part of a neighborhood.

Such a gem hidden on a side street. Loved the crab dip and toasted bread. The service was quick and our waiter warmed up to us midway through our meal. The blue cheese rolled in croutons was absolutely melt in your mouth delicious. So glad we tried this place. Would return on my next visit to Baltimore!

Was there on business. I stopped in and was the only person in the place. I sat at the bar and got. Great glass of wine and the bartender was nice enough to keep me company.
I got the pork legs and they were great. For dinner I had crab 3 ways
And everyone was great. If you are in town stop by you will enjoy

Not quite sure what to say about this place. I personally did not have a great time and the food/​service took forever. I could understand sitting at the bar and not getting any service for not trying to grab attention, but if you are sitting at a table I expect full attention and prompt service unless I have already ordered and am waiting to get my food.
I had ordered their version of a cheese steak and it was rather tasty except for the fact that it was overcooked. The soup that my wife had was terrible and tasted like reheated leftovers and the vegetables were not fresh at all.
The service as stated was even slower in the kitchen as there was almost no one in the place but my table of 2 and 3 people at the bar who were mainly focused on drinking. So what happened? Why was the food taking so long? I don’t know.
This was a one time trip, but at least I came to try out the hype. Might come back for just the wine, but I think there are other wine bars out there that are more deserving of my time.
I hope everyone else had a better time than I did or that they perform better with a full house.

I have to agree with some of the other reviews… I really don’t see what they hype is all about. I live in the neighborhood, and decided to go to Corner Bar twice before writing a review.
My first visit was ok. The foods fine (corn chowder is excellent!) but I was really disappointed by the wine. My friend and I ordered a bottle of Pinot noir. A different bartender brought it out to us, poured it and we liked it. However, after a minute or two, my friend noticed that it wasn’t the bottle we ordered. When we asked about it, we were told that they didn’t have our bottle in stock, and that this bottle was comparable. The ordered bottle was French, and what was delivered was California. Just kind of irritated that they didn’t say anything before serving us.
My 2^nd trip was recently with my husband and his parents who are big wine fans and actually know their stuff. 2 of the bottles we ordered were out of stock. This time we found out first. It seems like updating their wine list is not a priority. Again, the food was ok. Nothing 5 star worthy.
I’ll also comment that the atmosphere, although cozy and quaint, doesn’t really benefit from the TV blaring in the corner. They really could use some nice dinner music.

A hidden gem! It’s tucked away in the neighborhood but a great place for some drinks and food. A great place for drinks!

In Baltimore for just one night — and staying blocks away. Figured this was a good attempt, especially with 50% off all bottles on Saturday nights. Clean and delicious food… nice taste, and no crazy attempts at «foodie» type food.
It is small. I would definitely try for a reservation. However, there are bar seats that seemed to be available to folks who just wandered in.
The neighborhood and outside decorations (wine bottles) definitely drew us in… almost like a little European section of Baltimore.

First of all, this is supposed to be a wine bar and they have TVs, which blared with sound on while I was there. The service is friendly, maybe a little too much so, but the atmosphere for a wine bar was lacking. I only had an appetizer while I was there, which I have since forgot, thus I don’t have a lot of food experience so I can’t really speak for that. My rating is mostly based on the TVs with sound on, which is only acceptable at a sports bar and even then only during a major sporting event. There are many other wine bars without TVs in Baltimore (The Wine Market, 13.5%, Gitan), these are probably better suggestions for a couple glasses of wine.

Found this restaurant while visiting Baltimore for LAXCON thru Unilocal, so I am going to return the favor to other conference visitors to Baltimore to say do not hesitate one minute to take the short walk from the Hilton and eat at this restaurant.
We ate here 2 out of 3 nights and feel like we are now ‘family.’ Absolutely will return home every year from now on!
Now to the food; crab dip was creamy and delicious. Crab cake dinner; fantastic. Both night’s pasta specials delicious.
Food, check. Wine, check. Atmosphere, check. Service, check. What more do you need after 8 hrs of conference! This place is a gem.

Well another Unilocal win for me. I’m staying in Baltimore for the week near the harbor and wanted something local and authentic. This place proved to be just that.
Derek immediately greeted me as I walked through the door and it was like I had been a customer for years shortly after. I appreciated the conversation, the wine recommendation, and the food was great too.
You do pay a little more than a typical chain in the area, but you are in downtown Baltimore and the food is worth it in my opinion.
I had a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon to go with my surf and turf meal. The crab cake and New York strip was fantastic. Not going to lie, I’ve had better steaks elsewhere, but for $ 27.95 I also had a crab cake to enjoy. That was my highlight of this meal as it should be in Maryland. This also came with broccoli and mushroom risotto, both of which were very good.
Before my week is up I plan to visit again for happy hour. 4 pm — 7 pm!