Family owned and run, the ORIGINAL John Stevens owners have reclaimed this spot and have brought back the beauty and class of this truly beautiful Baltimore local. Try the silver fizz cocktail; it is ah-mazing. Aliza (sp?), part owner, is often behind the bar and is really quite interesting; jazz music background. Great food and good service. read more

I would give this restaurant a 5, but that is for "as good as it gets." That's a big order to fill. We came here after another place was full for lunch just down the street and this place was empty. I always worry about that, but we were lucky and I'm not sure why there were more people in here for lunch. My crabcakes were great, as were my son and husband's crawfish pie. They loved it. So I'd definitely give this place a thumb's up! read more

Great mussels, tasty sauce - worth the visit. Very nice bar staff as well.

This corner street pub is a hidden treasure. Once you walk through the front door you're transported to a different 'Poe' area; 1940's music, soft piano, low key ambience. Try the local beer, the crab cake sandwich and the creme brulee. Great spot to spend a couple of hours with friends.the staff is welcoming and attentive. If you are not from the town ask for the beer in memory of #EdgarAllanPoe. Cheers. read more

Penny Black - Music sweet, #EdgarAllanPoe beer, food tasty, friends the symbiosis. Cheers with crab cake and interesting #CrèmeBrûlée. - Bars Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

Nothing special. Generic food & drinks. The waiter was pleasant and attentive. Atmosphere was a little on the dark side - but it is a "pub" so that's the feel. Probably would not come back. read more

This has always been my favorite spot in Fell's Point. I use to come here when it was John Steven's though it shut down and rightfully so, at the end, there were no fuck's given by any of the staff and the food was horrible. After being closed for what seemed like forever, it reopened as Penny Black. The first time I came back they only had the bar area opened and a very limited menu so I figured WTF. I was very impressed and have not found anything that is not spot on and carefully prepared from appetizers to dessert. This is not a trendy hipster spot and seems to be locals only. Thanos approved and recommended!!! read more

Penny Black - Scallops with ratatouille!! - Bars Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

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As a first timer experiencing Baltimore, I asked my Airbnb host where to grab a bite to eat. She highly recommended Penny Black, and I'm so thankful she did. A quiet, homey atmosphere with great tunes, this spot didn't disappoint. The service was excellent. The waitress knew I was from out of town so she recommended some must-try's. I took her lead. I had the soup special: cream of crab soup. Ah-mazing! I then indulged in their bread pudding along with an Irish cream coffee. Best Irish cream coffee I've ever had! The bread pudding added a pound or two on me but it was well worth it! The diet starts tomorrow anyways. read more

Penny Black - Riesling and cool vibes - Bars Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

Penny Black is a living history experience. Built in the mid 1800's and owned by a long standing proprietor. You might see him, but pass him up for a neighborhood vagrant. DON'T!! He has the most enchanting stories. Oh, by the way... the food is amazing. read more

Penny Black - More Than Amazing Food - Bars Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

Love this place.... The name is new but the bones are those of the original John Stevens. Come back and enjoy fantastic steamed shrimp, clams and even escargot at the bar. Great service. I always stop in when I'm in town. read more

Penny Black - Now THATS a Bloody Mary - Bars Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

Quick Summary: "Food excellent, but in a big party, expect bad timing and a ride to the land that time forgot to get your food" AND above all, I repeat, above all, order any drink except the whisky surprise..." This place was visited by a large party of 10, a reservation placed in advance for 5 couples and an agreed upon 5 separate checks. At Penny for starters, our server brought out drinks and waters 2 at a time, which may have been a signal of things to come. Total wait in and out after sitting down was 3 hours. Our drinks came in reasonable time, but after waiting 90 minutes for our first morsels of food, bread slices, we were ravenous. The drinks were all good, beer and wine with the exception of a nasty drink two of our party ordered called "The Whisky Surprise". Our seasoned bourbon drinkers said it was a definitely a surprise: one of the most putrid whisky drinks ever served... To be fair the food there was excellent but after 2 hours of waiting for the rest of our appetizers to show up, they came and all the entrees immediately afterwards.. We had the entire table filled with plates of food, much of it becoming cold while eating (photo). Very disappointing. Meanwhile all the other tables around us were getting all their orders in good time. One table next to us had 3 different parties in and out while we waited, and waited, and waited some more... So, the ultimate fault of this place is weak, weak management that tried to blame our party for asking for separate checks! Not that they couldn't handle it, not even an apology from the manager/owner. When management doesn't own their mistakes, it pisses off normally level headed customers.. They did try to make it up, and brought a free round of drinks, extra streamed shrimp, and free kale appetizers. However, to our dismay, and by this time, giddy with disbelief, two more whisky surprises arrived with the free drinks. So, the server tried his best, but really this place shows how a relatively simple thing as timing food for a large party can break down with ineffectual management... Too bad because this place has great potential to be an excellent landmark of good experience for diners there. By the way, there were 3 different occasions where oil smoke from the kitchen wafted into the dining area causing coughing and mouth covering with napkins and sleeves... So Penny Black management/ownership, please take this feedback and don't let it turn Penny Dreadful for other customers. The food was why the 2-Star rating. Service lost the other 3. Customer service is everything. read more

I absolutely love this place! Every time I'm by the town I want to go and grab a chicken pot pie! Best pot pies in town! Great atmosphere and a relaxed vibe! With old timey feelings! read more

SUMMARY: just ok... FULL STORY: Went for dinner on a weeknight. They were out of over half the menu items... and what we ended up with was so-so. Limited veggie options and the iced tea was pretty bad. Not opposed to trying again - but if they're not well-stocked at early-dinner time... when are they? View is nice though, and there's outdoor seating. Note: Plenty of other places to try in the Fells area... read more

The food can fluctuate but is overall pretty good i'm a big fan of their classic PEI mussels garlic wine butter lemon just great .. Ribs were okay pretty tough but flavor was good decent but simple sauce selection.. Ive had amazing brisket and sub par and found that i enjoy the brisket melt over taking a chance on the brisket plate when it's freshly made it's succulent but if you catch the tail end it's lacking. salmon wrap is great depends on the cook though sometimes it's perfect others i feel like i'm choking on wasabi . the servers are not the best but Eliza is a sweetheart and takes care of you.. Crawfish pie never would of though just amazing and the chicken pot pie mmmm some great stuff.. would have given more stars but this place can fluctuate but has all the things to be something amazing read more

Fabulous wings and brisket. The atmosphere is relaxed with a good selection of draft beers.

This place has become one of my favorite places to visit in Baltimore, MD! The service was great both times my partner and I passed through, and the food was amazing! For our first visit, my partner and I shared steamed mussels and peel-and-eat shrimp. Both items were wonderful! You could really tell how fresh they were. (The shrimp even tasted like the ocean!) During our second visit, I had the Crawfish Pie. My partner had some kind of gumbo, which I believe was a special at the time. I definitely preferred the pie, but the gumbo was great, too! We finished with the Bread Pudding, which was absolutely amazing! I would love to try their others items in the future! Drinks were spot-on. I could tell that the bartender knew what they were doing, and that nothing had been watered down (as with other places.) Things were a bit pricey, but I believe it was worth the money. I'll definitely be returning in the future! read more

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I am so glad we opened the door! The exterior gave the impression that this might be a dive, but the yelp ratings made it worth a peek. Inside was an elegant, clean, and inviting. The food was fabulous! - Cream of crab soup was creamy but not rich, and had tons of flavor. - The crab cakes were light and meaty, and flavored to highlight the fresh crab meat. - Scallops were like candy (not sure how else to describe) and caramelized on the outside, perfectly cooked inside. - The vanilla creme brûlées had a generous caramel top and decadent but light creme. On top of the ambience and food, Jimmy was the ultimate host. We ended up there because Thames Street Oyster House had a 1-hour wait during lunch hour. Next time we will go to Penny Black first! read more

Penny Black - Scallops on ratatouille. - Bars Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

It's a pretty interesting place. It's got a good selection of cocktails wine and beer and what appeared to be some decent food choices although we only had drinks. Great view of the water and fantastic for people watching. Next time I'm in Baltimore I will be sure to order food and do more people watching outside. read more

I had the fish and chips. It was decent. I had to wait forever for the food, but I don't blame the server. It wasn't memorable, but it wasn't bad either. read more

Penny Black is a hidden gem! We had Marieka as our server. She was the best server ever! Quick and friendly service. She went out of her way to make us feel like she we were her only table, but the restaurant was obviously busy. The food was excellent and the drinks were exceptional. We are definitely going to be coming back! read more

This was already one of the best places In the city, but they just started to do brunch which is just amazing. Either maxwell or niki you can't go wrong with the homemade bloody Marys! They both make excellent cocktails. The food the service and the atmosphere is always top notch. We've literally never had a bad experience there. Best kept secret in fells. read more

Normally, I really like this place. However, this evening, service was atrocious, the wrong meal was delievered to the wrong person and i had to locate the waitress for a second round of drinks. When the correct meal finally arrived, it was 30 minutes after the party's food. When the bill arrived, we were charged for the screw-up meal as well as the ordered meals. When we said something to the manager, he took off the screw up meal only, and his apology was tempered by "well, one of our servers left on shift." Not my problem. Not impressed. And won't be back. read more

What a find!!! My wife and I love small European pubs and that was the exact feel of this place. We had both of the crab soups and each was fantastic. My wife got the Kalettes and she is going to try and figure out how to copy the recipe saying "I could eat this every day! This is kale as it ought to be." I asked our server what is the best thing here and he immediately and should I say passionately pointed me to the Brisket Melt. It did not disappoint. If you're looking for a place in Fells Point I would highly recommend Penny Blacks read more

This place is a hidden gem for bbq in fells point. The brisket has perfectly seasoned bark and melts in your mouth. Best I've ever had!

Great place for food, fun and cocktails! Steam station open till 1am for shrimp, clams and mussels! This used to be John Stevens and is back to the original owner. Now they have added a smoker, crazy good brisket, ribs ans wings! read more

I had the BEST crab cake I have ever had in my life here. It had so many lumps of crab meat and was so fresh and delicious. The service was impeccable, too. I definitely recommend this place!!! read more

First time at this local gem. Good beers and excellent kitchen. Nice surprise discovery.

This place is beautiful and quaint. Food is amazing and inside very attractive. I had fish and chips - cod is my favorite! Hubby had brisket sandwich which he loved. Service was outstanding and great beer selection. We'll definitely be back. read more

This bar had been highly recommended by friends. We arrived on a Saturday night at about 10:30pm to a sign on the door that said "closed until 10pm for a private event." As it was well past 10pm we went around and entered, only to be confronted by a very aggressive bride telling us the restaurant was off limits and we had to leave immediately. An unfortunate vibe that won't make us want to return any time soon. read more

I'm torn between 3 stars and 4 stars We have friends and family that love this place. But I just can't bring myself to give it four stars. The food is mediocre at best. I'll give it one more try and hope to increase the stars. read more

The food was good, but the service was beyond slow. The few times our waiter stopped by, he kept apologizing because he was so busy, but it wasn't actually that busy... inside or out. After we finally got our check, it took another 25 minutes just for him to pick up our credit card. Our lunch of sandwiches ended up taking close to 2.5 hours. read more

Shrimp was very good. My oldest son had a chicken pot pie and it was good. Steak was also good. We would come back for sure

Awesome awesome place !! Good service and food and beer ! Good place to come and have a drink and a delicious meal and meet some nice people. read more

My family and I flew out from California to visit my sister, and we went exploring. We happened to come across this place after we were turned down from the Thames Street Oyster House. That was to our benefit because this place was not as crowded and the service was great. We had the soup, soft shell crab sandwich, and the pesto shrimp pasta which were all phenomenal. It's one place that we will be stopping by when we visit my sister again. read more

The server/owner/bartender Eliza was very friendly and quick with the food. Oh and the food is freaking outstanding. I'm not sure what sauce comes with the Pub Steak Sandwich but they should freaking bottle it! The music selection is spot on, the atmosphere is friendly, and there's definitely this old school tavern vibe that I really dig. It's not one of those douche sports bars like that place across the street. It also has a sweet view of the water front depending on where you sit. Oh and if you're a big drinker they have a grand selection of beer. I highly recommend the clam chowder specifically. I've never been to New England but now I don't have to! read more

I was bummed when John Stevens closed down and I was happy to see that a new bar had opened in its place, but my first experience at Penny Black was a underwhelming. My girlfriend ordered a mixed drink that was far too sweet and tasted mostly like alcoholic sugar water. I got a Blue Moon which should have been a safe purchase, but something about it was off. I'm not sure if it had been sitting in the keg for too long but it tasted like it had somehow gone bad. The server was friendly though so I'm hoping it was just an off night for the bar. I'll give them another try before writing them off. read more

Top notch. Great food. Great service. Great ambiance. Jazz in the background suits the place well. read more

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We go for the steamed shrimp, but there's not a lot of options for people who can't eat seafood. The service can be a little snotty, but considering this place has gone through 3 or 4 name changes (and probably owner changes) in as many years, maybe they're worried they won't be here next week. read more

Had a wonderful lunch at Penny Black in Fells Point. We sat outside on the patio, Jimmy was wonderful. We will definitely be back next time we're in the area! read more

Bar tender is very courteous he made the best Bloody Mary my girl friend and I have ever tasted WOW!! We love the decor

Amazing service as always! I love this place but this time was different I had a new amazing dish. I tried the Crawfish Pie, from Josh's recommendation and was not disappointed. I'd have to say it's my new favorite dish!!! read more