B&O American Brasserie

We were delighted to find out that this place is open until 10:00 pm (a rare find in Baltimore) when we were in the neighborhood later one evening and needed a drink and a snack. The space is gorgeous - super high ceilings, giant chandelier, velvet couches - a very old school elegant vibe. The beer and wine selection were small, but very good. We split the rigatoni bolognese, which was phenomenal. The pasta was cooked properly and the sauce was chunky and tangy and amazing. Would definitely come back for a real meal at some point.

I visited B&O ahead of a concert at CFG Bank Arena (it's right down the street) this weekend, and it was the perfect spot for what we needed. We had an early 5pm reservation on a Friday, and while it was a bit quiet when we arrived, the place was packed by the time we left. One thing to note: I made the reservation for 6 people a few weeks in advance, and it was the only time left. I'd recommend planning ahead, especially if you have a larger group. Our early res meant we also had access to the 4-6pm Happy Hour Menu, which had a few apps and drinks at great prices. We started the meal with a round of drinks, the crab dip pizza and wings from the happy hour menu, and the Burrata from the regular dinner menu. The burrata, wings, and almost all of the cocktails were some of our highlights of the meal! Overall, I'd same this place has your typical American bar and grill vibes, in a more upscale space. With how crowded it got, service was a little slow, but our waitress was super kind and helpful, you could tell they were just a bit underwater on a busy Friday. We still had a great time, and you can't beat the location if you're hitting a show down the block!

So, before I get into this review, I'll say that I've been here many times. I'm a longtime customer of Kimpton Hotels, and I've stayed at the Hotel Monaco (where the restaurant is located) a dozen times or more. Always end up getting drinks or breakfast and have always enjoyed it. Not sure what went wrong today. There was a big wedding at the hotel last night, and when we went down for brunch this morning, the place was packed with exhausted celebrants. There were three of us -- we got squeezed into a two-top and the host told us, flat-out, that they were trying to save the bigger tables for the large groups at the hotel (any other time, seating 3 adults at a four-top would be perfectly normal). But whatever. A note, before I go on: the evening before, we'd gone there for cocktails and there were just 5 or 6 people in the restaurant. Just as many staff. This morning, the place was PACKED and they had (visibly, anyway) just three people working. If you're the GM at this place, take note of this. ANYWAY, we sat for about 20 minutes before being offered coffee or water or anything. Another 20 or so before we could order meals. Had to ask for everything. "Can we have some utensils, please?" "May we have some salt and pepper, please?" And so on. 2 out of 3 meals, once they got to the table, were fine. Not great, but *adequate*. But the third was straight-up BAD: an omelette so overcooked that it was dry as a bone and inedible. Really disappointing. Not sure if people called out sick or what was going on, but they were totally unprepared for the crowd they were serving (which is silly given there was a big wedding the night before and revelers tend to want breakfast and Bloody Marys and such the morning after). TL; DR: they should have been ready for this. Like I said, I've been here many times. The space is beautiful and inviting and the staff is generally good-natured and fun. But they were totally out of their depth today. Kimpton nearly always has cool restaurants in their hotels and the food, across the board, is nearly always great. Today's experience was not close to being up to that standard.

Great place for a nice dinner before a show at the Hippodrome. We had some happy hour special cocktails and appetizers. We also enjoyed our dinners and the staff was very helpful and friendly.

Six days later, we still talk about our incredible meals at B&O American Brasserie. The Burrata Salad plate was stupendous, and entrees (Ginocchi & Shirt Rib and Rigatoni Bolognese), absolute perfection. Drinks, ambiance, the skilled-bartender, waitstaff and dessert shone as well. Perhaps, our favorite dining experience while visiting Baltimore!

They accommodated us for last minute reservations on a Saturday night before we hopped over to the hippodrome for a show. We were sat promptly at 530 and took advantage of the last few minutes of happy hour. Drink specials were on point! $5 beer/$6 wine/$7 cocktail! Few food options also. Our waitress was awesome, she was so attentive despite how packed this place got. The crab pizza was very good, the dough was cooked perfectly and I spotted a few piece of actual lump crab meat. The wings, could've done without- pretty dry and small. Spicy pork meatballs were nothing special and not spicy at all, but good. Burger was tasty and tender- pesto Mayo was a good touch- and the fries cooked to perfection.

Came here for an early dinner and we were pleasantly surprised that we made it in time for happy hour. We ordered the fried ravioli, meatballs, and crab dip pizza from their happy hour menu, along with some happy hour beers. The fried ravioli... you can't go wrong with deep fried cheese. I didn't realize that the meatballs were spposed to be spicy. It didn't taste spicy for me nor for my friend's 4-year old daughter, but it was tender and tasty. THe crabdip pizza wasn't that memorable, aside from being savory and creamy. We also ordered the crab cakes and carbonara from the dinner menu. The crab cake portion size was very large! In terms of ambiance, it has lots of wood and tables with booths. We had 3 children and 3 adults in our party, and they were able to seat us in a booth near the back, so we didn't have to worry about being louder. Our server was attentive and came back to check on us multiple times, as we ordered in waves based on what dishes the kids gobbled up and wanted more.

Had a great lunch at the B&O Brasserie located inside the Hotel Monaco. Their Signature Burger was the grand-slam dish of the day. It was perfectly cooked med-rare and a glass of Lager added to my lunch experience. A very nice place for a business lunch. The restaurant has a NYC-type of cosmopolitan feel. Nice happy-hour after work downtown. The restaurant is just minutes away from the Inner Harbor and the Charm'tastic Mile.

Salty clam chowder, awful Caesar salad, decent pizza. Bizarre attitude upon arrival that felt like it had nothing to do with us but created an extremely icy vibe.

This was a great restaurant in the Inner Harbor area. Nice atmosphere, great service and really good brick oven pizza. It was perfect for as cold January night!