Baltimanual :: Bars and Nightlife

If there is any sort of clichéd association with the city of Baltimore, it must surely be crabs, which would lead a non-native to believe they could find a crab house on every corner. This is not the case. What Baltimore really has an impressive supply of is bars. And city residents share a proclivity to hard drinking, no doubt owed in part to several area colleges and Baltimore's blue-collar soul. Combined with the smallness of Baltimore (i.e., the unusually high frequency with which marginal acquaintances randomly bump into each other and/or have mutual friends), these factors make for a robust bar scene that is probably the most important channel for social interaction in town. As such, deciding where to drink is often based more on objective than geography or even demographics, and this is precisely how our hopefully helpful guide is organized.

Top: Birds of a Feather; Left: The Brewer’s Art

Get Shitfaced with Minimal Shame

Birds of a Feather (1712 Aliceanna St., [410] 675-8466, abs.net/~scotchjh, $$, light food) This Fells Point bar offers the best selection of scotch in town, knowledgeable unpretentious staff, and a laid-back, quiet atmosphere. Be careful. though: Scotch tends to sneak up on both brain and wallet.

Mount Royal Tavern (1204 W. Mount Royal Ave., [410] 669-6686, $) The Tavern, as it is known, is a temple (in the guise of a dive) to dirt-cheap booze and heavy, heavy pours, whose acolytes won't notice or care if you knock over the furniture while passing out.

Rendezvous Lounge (136 W. 25th St., [410] 467-3860, $) The 'Vous is best known for its exceptionally late last call. The alcohol is cheap (both at the bar and package goods) but it scores low on style and service points, and the pool room is vaguely menacing. Still, the crowd is usually decent.

Ropewalk Tavern (1209 S. Charles St., [410] 727-1298, ropewalktavern.com, $$, full menu) An enormous place with lots of pool tables, several bars, a fairly large dining area in back, and semi-secluded areas upstairs, Ropewalk has enough human buffer zones in the crowded parts and hidey-holes elsewhere that even the stumbliest drunks can fly under the radar, at least until closing time.

Shake Your Ass

Bourbon Street (316 Guilford Ave., [410] 528-8377, bourbonstreetbaltimore.com, $$) The former Hammerjacks is now a combo-platter of night life offerings-a beautiful, sprawling rooftop bar with DJs above, and below a large dance club on one side and a rock-centric live stage on the other. Drink prices are pretty reasonable for this type of place, which is a good thing since there's usually a cover to get in. Entry into the separate areas require separate covers, so be sure you're in the correct line, and choose wisely lest you pay to play multiple times.

The Depot (1728 N. Charles St., [410] 528-0174, $$) A rightfully venerated mainstay of Baltimore's club scene, its old-school roots remain intact via the vintage dance fodder spun during '80s nights on Fridays. Denizens here tend to be dressed in black or art-school bizarre, but the bar is friendly, there are good drink specials, and the beats are loud, although there's often not much actual dancing going on.

Paradox (1310 Russell St., [410] 837-9110, thedox.com, $$) For going on two decades, this enormous warehouse space has pretty much been the spot for late-night house, club, and hip-hop (see The Music Scene).

Make Alcohol Your Wingman

Bay Cafe (2809 Boston St., [410] 522-3377, thebaycafeusa.com, $$, full menu) With its waterfront location and huge outdoor area, complete with sand and palm trees, Bay Cafe creates a vacation-like play area that promotes booze-fueled inappropriateness usually reserved for the beach. There's a large, full service restaurant inside, but if you're outside, forget about food because the service is unbelievably slow.

Looney's Pub (2900 O'Donnell St., [410] 675-9235, $$, full menu) Occupying a choice corner of Canton's (in)famous square, Looney's has big weekend crowds and lots of athletic/drinky types during the week (they sponsor social sports leagues). The first floor is a small bar, dining area, and lots of outdoor seating, while upstairs there are banks of TVs, pool, foosball, and long tables ideal for flip-cup. Enough said.

Magerks Pub and Grill (1061 S. Charles St., [410] 576-9230, magerks.com, $$, full menu) A Federal Hill partying nexus with decent drink and food specials and, more importantly, lots of well-groomed folks on a serious mission to hook up. The bar staff can get overwhelmed, and there is a distinct frat-ish vibe some nights.

Landmark Bars

The Brewer's Art (1106 N. Charles St., [410] 547-9310, thebrewersart.com, $$, full menu) Two bars in one-casual, catacomb-like tavern downstairs, fancier digs and restaurant upstairs. It also brews delicious beer that'll knock you on your ass, well-discounted during daily happy hours. Brewer's was recently recognized by Esquire as the best bar in America, which doesn't help the crazy overcrowding during prime-time.

Club Charles (1724 N. Charles St., [410] 727-8815, theclubcharles.com, $$, full menu) Yes, there is the lingering cultural significance via John Waters hanging out there, but the Club Chuck has an interesting mix of revelers, a tradition of hot female bartenders, and a famously comprehensive jukebox. That said, it takes forever to hear your song, the pours are a tad chintzy, and inter-group mingling is limited. Protip: pre-game here before meeting your "intellectual" friends to see a movie at the Charles Theatre across the street.

Max's on Broadway (735 S. Broadway, [410] 276-2850, maxs.com, $$, light food) A ridiculously huge selection of draft and bottled beers (several with double-digit alcohol content), pool tables, and lots of TVs provide for classic Fells Point-style mayhem. As such it gets insanely packed on weekend nights, making bar service slow to a crawl.

Owl Bar (1 E. Chase St., [410] 347-0888, theowlbar.com, $$-$$$, full menu) A stately tavern with a towering ceiling, lots of marble and mahogany, 1/2 yards of beer, and good cocktails, the Owl Bar has served Baltimore's drinking elite for nearly a century. In fact, the windows are supposedly made from the bottoms of hooch bottles smashed during Prohibition. The crowd leans toward professional types, the vibe is generally friendly, but bartenders are occasionally snippy.

Establish a Home Base

Frazier's on the Avenue (919 W. 36th St., 410-662-4914, $$, full menu) On one side a narrow bar opens up to a dining area and pool table. Drinks are moderately priced, bartenders usually cool, food OK. Next door is a much larger space with music and live acts (sometimes resulting in a cover) up front, darts and pool in the back. Usually laid-back with plenty of space, but beware of pricey pitchers.

Spirits Tavern (1901 Bank St., [410] 563-1612, $-$$, light food) A particularly cool and friendly corner bar with surprisingly tasty snacks, a beautiful (and always free) pool table, and the famous Tub O' Fun-guess the brand of a $1-a-can crappy beer and win a shot! But last call's at 1 a.m., sometimes even earlier, and they're closed on Sundays.

Wharf Rat (801 S. Ann St., [410] 276-9034, thewharfrat.com, $$, full menu) A nautical-themed (not as bad as it sounds) tap house with an excellent beer selection, 3 for $5 happy hour every day, and friendly, efficient bar staff. There's a secluded pool room, but it tends to get monopolized.

Play Dress Up

Explorer's Lounge (550 Light St., [410] 234-0550, harborcourt.com, $$$, full menu) Located on the second floor of the Harbor Court Hotel, this yawning space has sumptuous decor, expert mixologists, great views, and unintrusively pleasant live jazz: This is where you go to have civil discourse over a proper cocktail.

Havana Club (600 Water St., [410] 468-0022, havanaclub-baltimore.com, $$$, full menu) This handsome, sprawling cigar club is all soft leather and dark wood, with flat screens, antique pool tables, top-notch drinks and a decidedly masculine vibe, complete with Flinstones-esque steaks (courtesy of the Ruth's Chris located below).

Red Maple (930 N. Charles St., [410] 547-0149, 930redmaple.com, $$$, full menu) With its beautiful decor, eye-pleasing crowd, and neato lighting, Red Maple was the vanguard of the über-modern bar in Baltimore when it opened, and remains the standard now. It really is gorgeous, with equally pretty, well-executed food. Overheard here: "Sure, I'll pay for your breast implants. What's your name again, Sweetie?"