Jul 13 2009
Blue Hill Tavern Opens in Brewers Hill
Blue Hill Tavern, which recently opened in the Brewers Hill neighborhood of Southeast Baltimore, might as well be nicknamed Beverly Hills Tavern, as this trendy new restaurant and bar looks like it could have come straight out of SoCal.
While it looks a little bit out of place, Blue Hill Tavern offers a nice, clean, and hip alternative to Brewers Hill’s charming corner bars and enlarges the dining and nightlife opportunities of the area…which is a definite good thing. Best of all, the bar has a waterfall…cool beans.
I went there for dinner on Saturday night. The place was definitely packed, but not overly swamped. The bar was hopping, but not so packed that you couldn’t move. It was a nice night, so all of the windows were open, giving the place an airy and open feel. Gotta love summertime. They’ve only been open about a week, so you could tell there were a few small kinks they were working out, but nothing major. They were out of some of the micro brews that were listed on their menu, so I decided to be adventurous and try the “New old fashioned” (made with vanilla infused bourbon) off of their cocktail menu. It was really delicious, and considering all cocktails are $7.50, it still wasn’t too expensive as far as Baltimore prices go.
The Oysters Rockefeller appetizer came and while the oysters were cooked perfectly, they were a bit under-seasoned. For the main course, I got the surf and turf, which for $21 ended up being a pretty good deal. It came with a pretty good size crabcake and a filet mignon. Both were cooked to perfection and had some unique sauces that spiced things up a little bit. The fried potatoes that came on the side were kind of bland, but I was happy enough about the filet and the crabcake, that I didn’t really care.
I didn’t have room for dessert, but from the looks of the stuff coming out of the kitchen, it seems I should have skipped the app and saved more room for later. I suppose there’s always next time…and there will be a next time, as this place is definitely worth going back.
I applaud the folks at Blue Hill for trying something different and new and hope others follow their lead with new concepts for older neighborhoods.
http://www.bluehilltavern.com/
jeffcantonite@yahoo.com
4 Comments to “Blue Hill Tavern Opens in Brewers Hill”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
[...] the Baltimore Grows site posted news concerning the opening of a new restaurant in Brewer’s Hill called Blue Hill [...]
Hi there! Nice post, I agree with you on the Surf n’ Turf. I had it there a couple of weeks ago and I thought it was a great value for the price. And as you pointed out, it was cooked to perfection.
What was even more impressive for me, though, being in the position that I am (I’m the director of the Maryland Bartending Academy), was the server. They seemed almost like they had gone through bartender training with their knowledge of the different wines and cocktails.
I was very impressed with the place overall, and from a bartender’s point of view, I was blown away.
-Mark
MarylandBartending.com
Blue Hill Tavern is my favorite Baltimore restaurant right now. The atmosphere is hip and fun and the food and wine is fantastic. My husband and I shared the Chateaubriand for two – best steak of my life (and, not too expensive). Can’t wait to go back and try something else.
Blue Hill may be All That but they are bad neighbors. Valet parking consists of hotshots hanging U turns in the middle of the street and and grabbing curb spots in front of the residents’ homes. East Baltimore restaurants can’t thrive without parking, but the ill will (and perhaps residential parking restrictions) may do them in.