Food & Drink

Six of the Best Dining Deals to Check Out During Baltimore Restaurant Week

We crunched the numbers so you don't have to.

It’s hard to resist a good deal—and even harder when it’s on food. Lucky for restaurant regulars, Baltimore Restaurant Week is returning this Friday, January 27 through Sunday, February, 5. Throughout the 10-day promotion, diners can choose from more than 75 participating city eateries to enjoy prix-fixe brunch, lunch, and dinner menus priced from $20 to $55. If you’re on a roll with beginning-of-year budgeting—and hoping to remain savvy with your dining dollars—we’ve got you covered with a list of spots to get the most bang for your buck.

Ash Bar: Housed inside Mt. Vernon’s new Hotel Ulysses, this posh, all-day bistro invites you to savor three dinner courses for $55. Ordinarily, the pan roasted chicken with sautéed spinach and rice pilaf clocks in at $34. Tack on a Caesar salad or an order of the 24-hour pressed duck fat potatoes (each priced at $16) and your tab would hit $50 before the dessert menu hit the table. But with this deal, you can enjoy all of the above and end with a slice of apple crumb cake or rich chocolate-hazelnut mousse for the fixed price. Other highlights on the prix-fixe include mushroom arancini with sun-dried tomato aioli and house-made pork sausage with Spätzle and butter cabbage. 2 E. Read St. 

Bmore Taqueria: This Upper Fells point eatery—a restaurant week first-timer—is using the epicurean event as an opportunity to serve additional dishes beyond its signature street tacos. (Of course, they’ll be offering those too, as part of a $20, three-course lunch menu.) A special $30 dinner menu by chef Valentino Sandoval includes elevated options such as a beet salad with queso fresco and tamarind vinaigrette; lamb chops with huitlacoche (an earthy Mexican delicacy that grows around ears of corn) and mashed potatoes; pan-seared salmon in a lobster cream sauce; and the ceviche of the day (normally $12), plus a dessert. We’ll take the tequila lava cake with fresh strawberries and a scoop of vanilla ice cream, please. 1733 Eastern Ave.

Foraged: If you haven’t yet had the chance to check out this buzzy Station North spot—best known for chef/owner Chris Amendola’s use of hyper-seasonal ingredients—restaurant week is the perfect time. Two entrees and a dessert would typically set you back more than $50. But for just $40 during restaurant week, diners can enjoy two plates—think: duck breast served with bean ragu and root veggies (normally priced at $26) or monkfish with preserved tomatoes, oysters, potatoes, and bacon (typically $25)—plus a sweet treat. Dessert options include chocolate pot de creme, a fall spiced cheesecake, and a sweet potato cake with orange cream cheese frosting. 1709 North Charles St.

Limoncello: On any weekend, an a la carte, three-course brunch at this Southern Italian hotspot in Locust Point could get a bit pricey. (A starter of a grilled Caesar salad, topped with proteins like grilled scallops or octopus, is almost $30 alone.) But throughout the week, Limoncello will be offering two-course brunch and lunch service for $25. Choose to pair savory salads and flatbreads with main dishes like a chicken parm waffle, crab cake benedict, Tiramisu French toast, or a chicken-pesto panini. For dinner, a $55 three-course menu spotlights items like crab and scallop pappardelle in a saffron cream sauce and cast-iron sirloin Wagyu with wild mushrooms and mashed potatoes. 900 E. Fort Ave.

Petit Louis Bistro: The stacked eggplant Napoléon, a plate of coq au vin, and a slice of chocolate-chestnut cheesecake for $45? Sign us up. Also featuring favorites such as an an endive frisée salad and grilled Branzino with mushrooms, the two-course restaurant week menu is a steal at the famed Roland Park bistro—where a single plate of coq au vin runs for $35 on a typical night. Not feeling cheesecake for dessert? Go for the orange almond cake with passionfruit crème anglaise. 4800 Roland Ave.

Restaurante Tio Pepe: Downtown’s Spanish stalwart is beloved for its family-style portions, so don’t be surprised if the restaurant week plates feel more like standard dinner sizes—because they come at a fraction of their normal costs. To get a sampling of Tio Pepe’s many celebrated recipes, diners can choose an appetizer, entree, and dessert off of the prix-fixe for $45. (To compare—a bowl of gazpacho paired with the Salmon de Asturias comes to roughly $45 on a typical night.) For the same price, you can add in a dessert of flan, crème brûlée, or the signature chocolate roll with whipped cream. Other entrees on offer include glazed scallops and shrimp in a Champagne sauce, petit tenderloin filet in a Bearnaise sauce, and roasted suckling pig with stewed black beans. 10 E. Franklin St.

Check out all of the participating eateries, here.