Saturday 14 January 2012

Review - The Baltimore House (Hamilton, ON)

The Baltimore House
43 King William Street
Hamilton, ON
Tues - Thurs: 8:00 am - 10:00 pm
Fri - Sat: 8:00 am - 12:00 am
Sun: 8:00 am - 10:00 pm
(Closed Monday)


Continuing my resolution from 2011 of exploring different restaurants in order to diversify my tastebuds I made the trip out to Hamilton with some friends to try out the hot new King William Street establishment The Baltimore House. Having recently opened in December we were among the first months worth of customers to explore the new addition to the Hammer, and I must say from the delicious meal, comfortable atmosphere (featuring Scrabble!) and overall relaxing vibe we will certainly be returning.

Inspired by the work of Edgar Allan Poe, The Baltimore House is establishing itself as each of the following: Lounge, Night Club, Entertainment Venue, Art Space, Wine Bar, and Cafe. Whew, quite the mouthful, but I am certainly intrigued for what 2012 has in store for this welcome addition to the city. Currently the Maryland Room is operating as the cafe portion while providing an array of sandwiches, lattes and other goodies (including cupcakes from Bitten on Locke), as well as a nice space to come chat with peers or to just unwind after a long week. The next step of the plan is the opening of The Parlour on the other half of the property which will help serve as a home for those seeking pretty much everything else on the above list, and from the quick preview one can take through the archway it looks like there is plenty in store for the new year. The owners of the establishment appear dedicated to their vision of providing the city with a welcome home for those seeking live music, entertainment, while continuing to build a community among patrons.

Oh right, my experience. Very positive first impressions and extremely curious for what comes next, but it was time to decide on something to eat.

(Click the image for a larger view)


Quite the creative menu and sticking with the inspiration of Poe each of the items receives a crafty tale. Points for originality here. Unfortunately I wasn't able to physically try each of the sandwiches (but will certainly return to knock another off the list), but did go with The Raven (aka a reuben) which hit the spot. Honourable mention has to go to each the Eleanora (Avocado Dream), Annabel Lee (Tuna) and the Ulalume (Pear Grilled Cheese) for all putting forth a strong case to be eaten.

The meal itself was very satisfying and upon finishing an Americano we found ourselves involved in a pretty intense game of Scrabble at the table. Quite the unique and refreshing experience that I don't recall having typically when I go out on a Saturday evening over here.

Overall, very satisfied with the experience and will certainly be returning and telling others. If you can, try to get a corner spot on one of the benches as it's an extremely comfortable spot while kicking back. As you may have guessed, I am very curious to see what happens when the next room opens up and live entertainment begins; exciting stuff here.

For a more detailed view, I must give a quick mention to Beaux Mondes for helping sell me on the Baltimore House. There's a much more detailed review with plenty of pictures over there too.

Much like my favourite Mississauga spot Mickey's, there is also Coke available out of a glass bottle. Great minds must think alike.

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for the link!

    Jacklyn & Stephanie
    Beaux Mondes

    ReplyDelete