Diners' Choice: Neighborhood gem restaurants in Baltimore / Maryland

OpenTable

Updated April 05, 2025

Looking for the best restaurants that are the best neighborhood gems in Baltimore / Maryland? You’re in the right place. Each month, OpenTable analyzes nearly 2 million global diner reviews from the past four months. We sort the results by location and category to help you discover new favorite restaurants. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

The Melting Pot - Towson

4.8

4.8 (1893)

$31 to $50

Fondue

Towson

About the restaurant

The Melting Pot in Towson offers an extraordinary dining experience that you won't find at any other restaurant. Here, you'll discover all the ingredients to a perfect evening, including a relaxed atmosphere, private tables, attentive service, fine wines and fabulous four-course dinners. No matter what the occasion, from a romantic date to get-togethers with friends, meetings or large groups, The Melting Pot always hits the spot. We believe in celebrating the everyday, so you don’t need a special reason to come out for our delicious menu offerings.

Your experience begins with rich cheese fondues prepared table-side. Your taste buds will be delighted by a fresh salad course. The third course is diverse selections of entrées choice ranging from steak, seafood, gluten free and vegetarian options! The finale fourth course is Chocolate Fondue served with decadent dippers.

We are sure the time and rich conversations around our steamy fondue pots will bring you closer to family and friends.

Top review

PatrickVIP

Dined 7 days ago

The Melting Pot was the perfect ending to a long and rainy week. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and our server was awesome!!!

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Experience

Celebration Squishie Fondue Pot Stuffed Toy $25

LIBERATORE’S Ristorante & Catering - Eldersburg

4.8

4.8 (744)

$30 and under

Italian

Eldersburg

About the restaurant

Not too formal, not too casual and always delicious, always attentive! For the summer, Tuesdays we are available for deli/market items as well as banquet/catering calls and meetings. Dinner service is available everyday and we open Wednesdays-Saturdays at 11:30. Please call us with any questions! 4107814114 We look forward to welcoming you and sharing our Italian cuisine & many traditional offerings as well. Extensive Wine list, Happy Hour specials, Kids Menu,- Warm & friendly staff. You’ll enjoy it!!

*Christmas Eve, New Years Eve, Valentine's Day, Easter, & Mother's Day will have a special menu & there will be no Happy Hour on these days.

Top review

kevin

Dined on Apr 8, 2025

We recently went here for my wife's anniversary with a group of 4. As usual, the food and service were very good. Unfortunately, when someone in our party mentioned it was my wife's birthday (actually, it was mentioned several times) there was either no acknowledgement, or a dessert menu was given to us, and we were asked if we wanted to order anything. We have been coming here 30 years for our anniversary and some birthdays and have always been brought a dessert for free, usually a cannolo. I know they are under no obligation to provide this, but I'm curious why this was stopped after such a long time. It is the small things that matter.

Donnelly’s Dockside

4.8

4.8 (387)

$30 and under

American

Arnold

About the restaurant

A neighborhood, family owned and operated restaurant and lounge located just off the Chesapeake Bay. Specializing in regional dishes and creative cuisine using only the freshest ingredients available. Serving Lunch, Dinner and Sunday Brunch Buffet.

Top review

Kreft

Dined on Apr 10, 2025

Our dinner reservations were for 4:30, Thursday afternoon. Restaurant area was quiet and inviting. When we finished our dinner, 6:30pm, restaurant was full but not overly loud. Our group of four enjoyed our dinner! Food was excellent; we had butternut squash crab soup, cream of crab soup, shrimp croissant, crab cake sandwich, and steamed shrimp. Service was excellent and friendly.

Venetian Italian Eatery

4.8

4.8 (129)

$30 and under

Italian

Edgewood

About the restaurant

In May 2021, this 40year-old-neighborhood gem on a hill underwent a full renovation. Venetian Palace is now sporting new digs with crisp modern decor and an expanded wine list. The impetus for the revamp was new ownership. Yes, the rumors are true... Valentino’s Restaurant Group which began in NE Baltimore city has now come to Harford County!

The food is better than ever, with highlights being the seafood pasta, the jumbo lump crab cakes, the grilled lamb chops, artisan handhelds, and the breakfast choices served all day. Whether you are dining in or picking up carry-out do not forget the dessert!

Come as you are, the staff is knowledgeable and ready to serve. We also offer our entire menu for carryout. For your convenience, The Venetian Italian Eatery has teamed with Doordash, GrubHub & Uber Eats.

Buon appetito!

Top review

sandra

Dined on Mar 31, 2025

Venetian Italian Eatery is a must try. From the time you walk through the door, the staff is warm and helpful. The food was absolutely enjoyable. We were celebrating a birthday and the attention to the person celebrating was great. I would definitely recommend experience of Venetian. I’ll be back

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Pasta Night Wednesday!

Glyndon Grill

4.7

4.7 (1414)

$30 and under

Contemporary American

Glyndon

About the restaurant

From the owners of Barrett's Grill at the Hunt Valley Towne Centre, Glyndon Grill will operate with a different menu and chef than Barrett's but will also focus on in-house, made-from-scratch preparations.

Top review

ELAINE

Dined on Apr 3, 2025

Always a go to for a great weeknight salad and consistent attentive service.

Conrad's Seafood Restaurant

4.6

4.6 (972)

$30 and under

Seafood

Perry Hall

About the restaurant

**If you prefer to have steamed crabs please specify desired size and quantity when making your reservation so we can do our best to accommodate. Requests are not guaranteed. Please call the day of to confirm your request.**

Voted Baltimore's Best crabs 10 years in a row! Available year around! Conrad's prides itself in the use of local seafood, meats, and produce as well as being True Blue certified! We're more than just a crab house, our seasonal menu prepared by Chef Lancelotta offers the ultimate Maryland seafood experience. From fresh fish, seasonal raw oysters on the half shell, fresh local soft shell crabs, or everyone's favorite Conrad's crab fries, there truly is something on the menu for everyone! Featuring our unique boat bar and awesome outdoor bar/patio!

Top review

Kiara

Dined on Apr 10, 2025

Very nice evening out! Bianca was very nice & patient with us. Great customer service & so pleasant.

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Popular dish

Deviled Eggs

The Goat

4.6

4.6 (47)

$30 and under

Mexican

Annapolis

About the restaurant

Latin inspired Tavern with daily specials and creative cocktail menu.

Top review

markVIP

Dined on Apr 6, 2025

My first visit and it was thoroughly enjoyable. I had the Mahi sandwich which was excellent. My two guests each had burritos (one chicken and one beef) which were roughly the size of Pluto and both were completely satisfied. I also have to thank our server. She was perfect.

Casa Mia's Restaurant

4.5

4.5 (426)

$30 and under

Italian

Parkton

About the restaurant

The original Casa Mia's comes to Northern Baltimore County with over 30 years of experience in the restaurant, bar and catering business. We are grateful to join this great community and bring with us our tradition of serving delectable-tasting food, using only the finest ingredients. We aim to provide our guests with oustanding service for an all-around exceptional dining experience.
Menus

We are excited about the opportunity to welcome you to enjoy family dinners, business events, romantic outings, happy hours and celebrations at our establishment. We will strive to make every visit special. Our goal is to provide you with diverse and delicious menu, in a casual and comfortable atmosphere that satisfies the expectations of all of our patrons. And while you are here, be sure to try our famous colossal crabcake, our original family recipe that we belive we have perfected. Let us know what you think!

Top review

Bill

Dined on Apr 9, 2025

I regularly met my friend here for appetizers and beer. Food is always consistently good. BartenderJim has been our server the last several times we have been there. Have had Heather as a server too. Both are great!

Della Notte

4.5

4.5 (11)

$30 and under

Italian

Annapolis

About the restaurant

We emphasize excellent food, superior service, and genuine value throughout the dining experience. We believe that each meal serves us with the opportunity to take our guests to a new level — a place of relaxation, comfort, and unsurpassed taste.

Della Notte Italian Restaurant & Wine Bar strives to exceed the guest’s expectations on every plate, at every table with every meal.

Della Notte Italian Restaurant & Wine Bar follows these standards while putting customer service at the forefront.

Top review

OpenTable Diner

Dined on Mar 8, 2025

We recently moved to the area and this is our new favorite “local” spot. Every visit has been excellent!

Urbano - Annapolis

4.0

4 (36)

$30 and under

Mexican

Annapolis

About the restaurant

Are you ready to embark on a flavor -packed journey through the heart of Mexico, right here in Annapolis Town Center? Urbano Tex Mex invites you to experience the vibrant colors, bold spices, and authentic tastes of Tex- Mex cuisine like never before.

At Urbano Tex Mex, we are passionate about bringing together the best of Texan and Mexican culinary traditions. Our chefs blend premium ingredients with time-honored recipes to create mouthwatering dishes that will tantalize your taste buds.

Top review

Patty

Dined on Apr 5, 2025

Our late Saturday lunch was delicious. The chips were light, salty, and plentiful. Accompanied with 2 salsas, the chips were a great way to start the meal. The octopus ceviche was fresh, light, and vibrant. The pork belly entree was unctuous, beautifully plated, and so good! The 72 hour short rib dinner wasn’t as tender as could be, but the flavor was well developed. Both were winners! For dessert, the fried ice cream was perfect, accompanied by cinnamon taco strips. Yum. Tres leches cake was also a hit. Oh and the drinks were yum…the standard margarita was as good as any we’d ever had. Service was friendly and gracious. It appeared to us that perhaps additional staff was needed…we’d waited longer than expected to be greeted. But after that, we had no complaints. The noise level could easily get out of control due to the high open ceilings. But our mid-afternoon meal was conducive to conversation. We’ll be back!

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