Pratt Street Alehouse

Saturday, April 21st, I visited Baltimore for the first time and we ate Pratt Street Ale House in downtown. It was a beautiful Spring morning, and their outdoor seating area was completely full. I thought this was a good sign about what we would find inside, and it turned out that I was right.


This English style Ale House had a complex and full beer list, many of which are brewed by their own company, with only a few outside guest beers on the list. I decided to try their seasonal Cherry Wheat ale, brewed for the Cherry Blossom festival over in DC, and I was in love. A good, sour beer is always a hit to me. This hit the mark, and the slight flavor of cherry beneath it brought it a new life that a traditional sour would not have.

---

The food was what you might expect out of a Chesapeake Bay ale house. Seafood everywhere. Their starters ranged from a common dish, crab dip, to the less common crab pretzel. We had to try the crab pretzel, and we were not disappointed. Imagine a giant, salty pretzel covered in crab dip and cheese. Now imagine the taste of that masterpiece paired up with a local beer. When the crab pretzel arrived, we were in awe of it.

The pretzel goes a little soft under the heep of cheese and crab dip, but it holds up just fine. You cut into it, take a piece for yourself, and eat a perfect section of cheese, dip, pretzel. The pretzel doesn't get soggy, only soft, and the cheese forms a light crust over the dip after its melted on top. It took us back to pub pretzels of the past with a Chesapeake twist.

---

​For my entree, I played it safe with a haddock fish and chips. I love the fish in this part of the country, but haddock is in my heart. Flakey and thick at the same time, this fish held onto the texture that I love so much without carrying too much oil in the breading. The tartar sauce on the side was perfect, just acidic enough to cut the richness of the fried fish.

The service was friendly even if we were the out of town Indians fans popping in for a meal before the game. They sat us in an area with another family of Cleveland folks only to tell us ‘this is where we hide the Indians fans’. Eventually, the company mixed a little, but it was a memorable moment of our experience.

I have not had a bad meal in the east, and Pratt Street Ale House is one of the best I’ve had. If you’re downtown in Baltimore and looking for an easy place to reach, check it out. 
​​

---