A great place for extremely well made, handcrafted mezcal cocktails. They are so good that they bring people in from all over town. The queso is to die for. Everything else, like the tacos and ceviche? meh. But the thing that gets me the most? Its too popular for good table service. If you come prepared to be squished into the bar while you wait for a table, and you don't mind the wait staff being so busy that they forget about you constantly, then you can look past all of that to enjoy the hubbub. Otherwise, you're gonna be annoyed. If they could fix the dining room service issues, this would be one of my favorite places. Just bring your patience and leave your personal space at home and you'll be all set with some mezcal and queso! read more

Clavel is located kind of in the middle of nowhere, but once you step inside, you're transported into cute and cozy restaurant. However, one time I went, there was a guy begging for money right in front of the door. The tacos are good (but kind of overrated), and the margaritas are amazing (especially the spicy one). The pineapple wine and the tres leches cake are amazing as well. My friends and I enjoyed watching the kitchen staff make tacos because one of the seating areas literally faces the kitchen and there is no wall that blocks off the kitchen from the restaurant (imagine sitting at the counter in chipotle). Shoutout to the lady making tacos last night. She was the GOAT read more

This unassuming building in Remington really surprised me upon entry with its beauty inside. The designers did a fantastic job of making the space feel cozy and trendy. I only went for happy hour, so I can't speak to the entrees, but the specials are good, margaritas are bomb, and queso is to die for. What more could you need? A word to the wise, it gets very crowded very quickly after opening. read more

This is one of the cutest places in the city! You can easily walk right past this place if you haven't been here before just because there is no huge sign for the restaurant, just a pink door on the side of a building. My friend and I got here 10 minutes before 5 for hh during the week and luckily beat the mad influx of people right at 5pm. We got seated and ordered margaritas ($5 hh), guac and queso. We ended up ordered tacos (lengua, lamb) and shrimp quesadilla as well. Everything was really tasty..well flavored and well balanced. The queso was a little heavy imo..kind of greasy, partially because of the type of cheese, but partially because of the chorizo. I'll definitely be back to this spot!! Overall, such a cute place with really good food! read more

Really enjoyed this hidden gem. The customer service was great. The food was very flavorful, and fresh. Great atmosphere, seems like everyone come for the drinks. Gets pretty crowded in there, but you can also grab a table outside. I will check it out again. read more

Really impressed with this place. Went here on a Saturday night and it was less busy than normal (according to google- win for us!). It had a surprisingly romantic atmosphere- strings of bulb lights, candles, rustic wood fixtures and exposed brick. The Mezcalita was nothing short of the perfect drink- a little sweet, smokey, citrus-y. Wonderful for the Fall - I will be back for this drink alone. The queso funidito was really delicious- I would suggest splitting this among 4 people or planning on bringing a portion of it home. Loved the Ceviche atun con pina. Fresh, crisp, and fruity (and may I say a great deal coming from Boston where the same serving would be at LEAST double the price). Although my boyfriend and I tried 4 tacos, we like the specialty pork taco best. We will be back in a few weeks to try the others! read more

This place is clearly one of the hottest restaurants in Baltimore right now. The restaurant was very busy and about a 45 minute wait for two people. This was a Friday night around 6:30 so not terrible. The staff was very polite, I wouldn't say they were knowledgeable or explanatory though. We had very high expectations, but ultimately were not impressed. For a fun, middle of the road place to go with friends, this might be the place. We found the food just OK. Nothing great. We love elote- theirs disappoints tremendously. The corn was soggy and soft, very little flavor. The fundito that everyone talked about was good for about two bites. It was very oily and bland after that. The guacamole and bean hummus served with it were incredible though. If they served it along with and acidic or pickled item, it would probably be better. We tried several tacos and were only impressed with the lamb Barbacoa. I've had better tres leches cake from roadside stands. The drinks were great though, strong and tasty. I would only return with friends for a night out and mostly to drink. read more

Clavel - Queso Fundido. Oily and bland. Good for one or two bites though. - Bars Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

I absolutely cannot wait to come back. I was killing some time and needed some food and the reviews led me here. Omg....never been happier just wished I could eat more. Best food I've had in forever and still dreaming about my burrito. Cannot wait to come back! read more

Good vibe and great food. Honey cilantro margarita was fabulous. Fresh OJ was also delicious. read more

Clavel - Bars Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

Clavel is just about everything it is cracked up to be. If there was never a wait, I would be here several times a week. It is that good. (There is always a wait from my experience. The downside is there is no real area to wait, and you will be asked a bunch of times if you are waiting for the bathroom.) The tacos! Oh the tacos! While I am still working on trying them all, every taco I have devoured has been delicious. Not to mention they come out quick. Their cocktails are equally delicious (and made by the ultimate hipster). If you love Mezcal, this place will be your jam. read more

Beautiful environment!!! Drinks were reasonably priced and delicious! Unfortunately since it gets so packed with people I think they rushed to get the food out and my aguachiles looked amazing but was a little under done for my preference. The shrimp didn't have much flavor not spicy at all. read more

Clavel - Bars Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

Holy Chicken Tinga Batman. Hands down the best tacos and ceviche I've ever had, and I live in the southwest. Vacationing in Baltimore we went for the margarita that makes you forget all other margaritas- I got mine with heat and regular salt. Fabulous and perfect on the heat. The tuna ceviche with pineapple was outstanding, don't skip a ceviche. We also had the shrimp ceviche but the tuna with pineapple was the favorite. You won't be able to find a bad taco on their list. Add thus to your must visit in Charm City and plan to Uber or Lyft home. read more

Finally made it to Clavel, in the middle of a snowstorm last Saturday night and this place was packed and we still had a 75 minute wait, so that should tell you how good this spot is! If you are lookin for delicious authentic mexican food and cocktails this is your spot. I truly enjoyed my meal here, the ambiance, service, drinks all really great. They have created a cozy ( although its pretty big inside) inviting space you don't want to leave. My husband and I were excited so we probably over ordered but all was delish. The guacamole was really good, maybe a wee bit too much onion or not finely chopped enough for my personal taste but it was really good. Then we had the queso with the chorizo, comes with the chips, guac and a bean paste which I loved on the side. I had three of the tacos....Oh sweet sweet barbacoa and cod taco's where have you been all my life! Sooo flavorful, had the chicken also which was good but didn't compare to the other two. I like the portion size of the taco's as well. You could just order a bunch and share. My husband had two tacos and a quesadilla, he loved it also. He had a perfect margarita and I had a glass of wine called naranja. I've never heard of this type of wine before but it was great. Crisp, light but not sweet like a rose..somewhere in between. Couldn't shove more food in my bod but I wanted the tres leche cake. Next time. All in all this fantastic taqueria, which totally lives up to the hype. Can't wait to go back. Sidebar, everyone heads over to WC Harlan to wait for their table at Clavel (same owners) and this is a fantastic place for craft cocktails. Those bartenders know what they are doing over there and are truly inviting and personable. read more

Great tacos, authentic Mexican food. The quesadilla con rings is amazing. Also had the taco de cochinita and taco de barbacoa de borrego and they were great. This is the best Mexican restaurant I have found in the Baltimore area. read more

The first time we dined here the experience was more than pleasant; though our last experience here was less than satisfactory. Server forgot to ring our drinks in, finally they inquired as to if we wanted appetizers, it took another 15 minutes to finally get our drinks (now 30-40 minutes into our stay). At this point we had already finished what we could if our ceviche that was so heavily dressed that it soaked through the tostada rendering it soggy. It took quite a bit longer for the server to touch the table again and at that point we had lost our appetite. Hoping this was just a fluke in dinner service, we have loved the experience in the past but this night was one flaw after another. read more

We come here weekly! Being from san diego, California this tastes like home to me. Tacos are filling and at a great price. The margarita is amazing and so fresh tasting. I want to try the brunch soon! Ambiance is great read more

Ambiance makes this place great! Have some very authentic tasty tacos and margaritas!! Wait is usually very long which takes away from the enjoyment read more

Fabulous, fabulous tacos and cocktails. It was my first time trying Mezcal and the waiter did an excellent job educating me on the flavor profile to make sure that is what I was looking for. I was not disappointed. The chorizo queso is amazing as well. The place fills up fast so get there early. A friend told us this before coming and we arrived right at 5 and there was already a line forming outside. It's worth it though. read more

Great cocktails, good food great prices. Went on a busy Friday night. Hour and half wait for 4 but we managed to grab some seats aT the bar. Margaritas, craft cocktails and delicious ceviche and tacos. The cod taco and barbacoa filled quesadillas were great. Service is super quick once seated. Looking forward to returning! read more

Clavel has been on my list of places to try for the longest time. I finally got to check this place out on a Friday night with a friend of mine. The space is absolutely beautiful. It's not a big restaurant, meant for smaller parties, but the setting was well decorated with cute lights. It was a cozy place for a drink or a dinner. We made it in time just as happy hour was ending. I ordered their $6 margarita, which was very well done. We tried their queso fundido, which is another $6 appetizer for happy hour. The cheese was gooey and flavorful, and their chips were nicely crispy. We ordered 5 tacos to share among both of us- we tried lengua, barbacoa, huitla coche, cochinta, and a last one that I do not recall. The tacos are fairly small, but quite delicious, and I liked that each one had such different flavor profiles. We sat at the bar and the bartenders were quite friendly. It never felt rushed and felt we had to leave though it was quite crowded on a Friday night. The prices were quite reasonable and food was excellent. Definitely worth trying and will be going back again! read more

Only good and authentic Mexican food in this area. They have really good tacos and ceviche. Cocktails are also not too bad! Friendly atmosphere as well read more

The wait is the only thing I don't like about Clavel. But, their getting 5 stars because the wait is always worth it!

Excellent ceviche but be careful because several are very spicy. Chicken tacos very spicy. I thought tacos were alright (shrimp, veggie, chicken) but ceviche was really good. Update for reopening after covid- not as good. Portion sizes decreased dramatically- tacos were tiny. 20 percent gratuity included even though there is no table service. Quesadilla was partially stale. Also guacamole for $8 that doesn't even include chips? Chips are $4?? read more

Good place to eat, dinner was delicious, I got tacos and had a good portion size with good flavors. Has a lot of seats but you always got to wait at least 30 min to sit down since it gets pretty packed on the weekends. Definitely recommend coming here. read more

Cool bar/resteraunt spot. Mexican food is great! Tacos and nachos were really good!! Great vibe, and environment. Went with a. Group of friends and nice drink options! read more

This is like...a mexican restaurant but with really hipster vibes. Pricing is reasonable, more on the upscale side. They got indoor and outdoor seating. We had to sit inside cuz mosquito season and they were out for my blood. Inside, lights are stringed toward the ceiling, and there's also two huge communal tables and some 2 and 4 seaters around. We went as a group, got the ceviche app and it was Divineeee. Also we basically got tacos. I got the cochinita, lengua, and the huitlacoche. The meat from the cochinita and lengua is so nice and tender, very flavorful. I thought the huitlacoche fell really flat because it was just...really soggy. You also get a choice of like 4 dipping sauce. WARNING there is one that is like flaming spicy. They also got mezcal and it is AWESOME, you should definitely at least try the flights. My friend got origen and seriously there are these wonderful smokey notes...and seriously tastes like whiskey. Each of the flight had their own distinct taste, never had anything like this in my life, enjoyed it a lot. If you come here, make sure to come early...dinner time even on a weekday was like an hour and a half wait. read more

The classic margaritas were deliciously amazing. They have great signature drinks. The queso was delicious and so were my tacos. The ambiance was rustic and delightful though a little hot, It may have been the margaritas kicking in lol read more

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This is an excellent late night hangout. Very inconspicuous. You would never know there's such a vibrant atmosphere driving by in Maryland Ave. I've had the guacamole, mushroom quesadilla, ceviche and drinks on the multiple occasions that I've eaten there and ordered to go. I can't speak enough on how fantastic the drinks are! Superb! It's not a very big restaurant, so if you arrive late on a cold winter weekend, expect to wait a while for a table. There is some outdoor, bench style seating as well but it's not heated. Food is reasonably priced, drinks are a little pricey...but did I say they were superb!? This place is a hidden gem! read more

Clavel - Mezcalita - Bars Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

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Plain and simple I love Clavel. The prices are great the drinks are great and the service is great. Oh yeah the food is great too!! Only thing that sucks about Clavel sometimes is the wait, so get there early or late. read more

The food and drink was excellent, with a fun variety of tacos. The atmosphere was fun and congenial. The acoustics were awful! The loud clanginess was oppressive and I would only return if it was not crowded. read more

This is one of my favorite restaurants in the world. The food and drinks are always consistently phenomenal. I can't say enough about ambiance. Coming here is always a treat and it really transports you into another world. Try every cocktail you can here. And the lengua. read more

The food was a bit salty for my taste, but was generally very good. The place had a lot of waiting inside, which made the place crowded and a bit noisy. read more

Tacos & mezcal? Yes please! I had become aware of Clavel from a friend's beautiful photos of tacos and margaritas, and as an avid celebrater of Siesta Sunday (my grad class is on Tuesdays - no taco Tuesday for me!) I knew that this was a stop I needed to make. Lucky for me, my beau is also a gigantic fan of authentic Mexican tacos and tequila, so this was the PERFECT place to take him for his birthday last week. After a delicious dinner, I'm happy to say it lived up to its expectations! First note: they do not take reservations. Inconvenient, but hey- most of my favorite places don't, so I'm used to this. We arrived at about 6:30, and the bar was PACKED. the place is pretty small, so we pushed through the little doorway to meet the hostess. It took a while for her to make it over to us (she was chasing down people who were on the list to be seated), but once she finally made it to us, we got a seat immediately! B and I had never had mezcal, so we found it fitting to try some in a few different forms. We started with the mezcalrita, which was beautifully presented. It had a slightly spicy and slightly floral note to it (was that chipotle spiced sea salt on the rim?!) and it was simply mouthwatering. We also tried some straight mezcal by the half serving (1oz). One of them had a delightful smokiness to it, while the other was somewhat floral and fresh. It's so fantastic to get to try a unique spirit, and I recommend that all alcohol drinkers who visit Clavel try at least one mezcal. We started with the ahi tuna and pineapple ceviche, and it was incredible. The only thing that held it back was that the pineapple could have been cut smaller, and the tuna cut more uniformly. But the flavor was spot on, and the house made totopos were delicious. We shared four different tacos, and hands-down my favorite was their house carnitas, that had some bitter orange in it. WOW. A true game changer. All of them were great though, but their special carnitas is a must try. Service was good, albeit maybe a bit stand-offish-- but NOT in a rude way! I think our server just didn't want to interrupt us, so she did a couple awkward walk bys where we had to ask for more water. She never seemed to act inconvenienced and was very helpful when we did make contact with her. Clavel is truly a gem, and as a Taco enthusiast, I give it one of my grandest reviews!! read more

The tacos are fantastic, as are the ceviches, drink and beer menu, prices, and service. The only thing that I don't is the wait time for a table and not being able to make a reservation... but I'm old and cranky. read more

I first went to Clavel in August of 2017. It was fantastic and the atmosphere was wonderful. I haven't been back and always wanted to return. I went back a few weeks ago but the wait was so long (2+ hrs) I decided to try a different night. I went back a third time and there was only an hour wait so I stuck around at WC Harlan (awesome) to pass the time. After getting my table and viewing the menu there wasn't a whole lot to choose from. It was really just tacos. They were marginal at best but the guacamole was great. Our server was attentive and the restaurant was lively. I wasn't thrilled that both WC Harlan and Clavel put an automatic gratuity on the bill (party of 2) without telling me. I normally would tip over 20% as I bartended and waitressed for over 15 years but not telling me is not ok! I realize staff rely on tips, but it's best to be up front if that's the policy of the restaurant. As a restaurant you're asking for a lot of trouble if people see after the fact they tipped 2x. read more

Such a great hole in the wall restaurant. loved the tacos, tostadas and desserts here!

I've been waiting so long to come here after hearing about Clavel from a few friends. If you're looking to go for happy hour (which you should!) the wait times can get pretty long. We got there around 4:45 and there were a handful of people waiting in front of us. The queso fundito is a MUST as well as the margaritas. We split a few tacos and loved all of them except for the shrimp. The atmosphere is great and is a chill place to stop by with friends after a long day at work. read more

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Excellent tacos and many different choices The Margaritas are also awesome.The food speaks for itself. This post doesn't wouldn't be able to do it just but i will keep writing until its lomg enough to post read more

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The food and drinks are outrageously good. Only drawback is that it's so good it's often crowded/there is a wait. Thankfully most of my visits are solo so I can usually find a spot at the bar. Love the atmosphere and all the bartenders--no, drink artists!--doing their thing. The margarita is the best I've ever had--all fresh! read more

Super cute and interesting. Came here for a birthday party. The place was packed and the energy was so positive and lively. Food 100%