The Bottom Line
- Great margaritas
- Good portions
- Amiable service
- Ample room
- Convenient to other Fells Point attractions
- Parking can be a hassle
- Not the place for a basic burger
Description
- Cuisine Type: American, tavern
- Red Star Bar & Grill
906 S Wolfe St.
Phone: 410-675-0212 - Open Monday to Friday 11:30 a.m.-2 a.m.; Saturday 11:30 a.m.- 2 a.m.; Sunday brunch starts at 10 a.m.
- Price: Moderate Recommended for kids: Yes
Guide Review - Red Star Bar & Grill
When we sat down at our table in the Red Star Bar & Grill I knew something that I rarely do when I go to a restaurant: I knew exactly what I wanted. I wanted a burger. A plain, robust, good, old-fashioned hamburger. But as I went down the menu my irritation level grew by the second.
The Good Burger—with its smoked bacon and portabellas—wasn’t going to cut the … ahem … mustard. Maybe The Naked Burger; that sounded promising. But, alas, The Naked Burger’s description carried two words that made me seriously dubious about its nakedness: “blue cheese.”
I was ticked. Miffed. Disgruntled. My friend suggested we try the hummus platter as a starter, as if that might help. And while it was smooth and flavorful and chock-full of veggies for dipping, it was no burger.
There was only one way around my sour mood, and the waiter knew it straight away: He began rattling off the margarita opportunities at the restaurant. My friend and I ordered up a couple frothy mango margaritas and, lo and behold, when I looked at the menu again I happily found the blackened tuna wrap ($11.95). Filled with delicately seared tuna, roasted peppers, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and onions and smeared with horseradish, my hamburger dreams were a thing of the past.
My friend took the spinach and portabella salad with baby spinach, grilled portabellas, chopped bacon, red onion, hard boiled egg and goat cheese vinaigrette ($9.95). The overall affect was serviceable but in no way stellar, according to my friend. And from the number of times my dining acquaintance sampled my tuna wrap, I had no reason to doubt that review.
Maybe it was the margaritas, or the tuna wrap, or the low-key, informative service … but I began to appreciate the rich, dark-hewn columns, high ceilings and industrial chic motif of The Red Star. Before I knew it, I was relaxed, and thoroughly won over.
