Pen & Quill

Great drinks and really nice people behind the bar. The steam buns were solid and the burger was top notch. This place has a hipster feel and is equipped with ping pong in the side room. For a great Baltimore date night, grab some food and catch a movie at The Charles.

Myself and few friends decided to try this place for our weekly happy hour and were overall satisfied with our experience.
Pen & Quill is a trendy (some may say hipster-​y), slightly more upscale restaurant located right outside of Mt. Vernon. This place also has a great ambiance and view especially if you decide to sit at the bar that faces the window and overlooks the city.
As far as our dining experience, we decided to split the 5 for $ 20 craft beer bucket during happy hour which was great considering it’s hard to find a beer for $ 4 now days let alone a craft beer. I went with the Muffaletta sandwich for dinner which was reasonably priced and very good.
The wait staff was friendly and laid back, however, it took a little longer than I would have liked to get their attention at times when it came to placing out order and getting the bill. Other than that, I think this is definitely a place that we will have to include in our go-​to happy hour spots.

It’s a great space with great food. What more can you ask! Loved the agnolotti with creamy cheesy sauce and oozy perfect egg. I order it almost every time we go. I want to try different stuff, but it’s just so good. Perfect deviled eggs. We also had a grilled whole fish with taquitos. Who doesn’t like a taquito? Late night sandwiches and interesting drinks after a movie at the Charles, why not? I hope her chicken Maryland comes back soon. Such a great take on an old classic.

Nice, upscale restaurant in Station North.
My boyfriend and I were really excited to come here for his birthday! It’s been on our to-​eat list for a while now.
For starters, we got oysters! Our fave! They were 6 for $ 11 and they had three kinds so we got 2 of each to share! The oysters were Choptank sweets, Shooting points, and Washburn. The Choptank sweets had a lightly sweet flavor and I really liked them.
For the appetizers, we ordered the Deviled eggs and the Roasted Brussel Sprouts – two of our favorite things to make ourselves– and the Ploughman’s Platter. Gotta fill up on appetizers – always the best part of a meal!
The deviled eggs were good, but nothing amazing. Tasted like some of the deviled eggs I make at home. In fact, I might prefer my own. The whites were maybe a little too cold and the filling had a hot mustard base. The roasted brussel sprouts, on the other hand, were SO GOOD. The menu says they come with crispy guanciale (I didn’t know what this was and just googled it, but it’s apparently delicious Italian cured meat), sunflower seeds, and saba vinegar. The sauce that the roasted Brussel sprouts came with was TO DIE FOR. SO GOOD. We dipped everything in this sauce. The waiter tried to take it away at some point, but we just stared at him with the saddest faces and he put it back down. :D Yes, saved! I have to get myself some Saba Vinegar because it is damn delicious.
The Ploughman’s Platter was a board with house sausage, smoked salmon, terrine, anchovy, pickles, a soft boiled egg, a small salad and some bread. The egg was really watery and cold – maybe I just don’t really like soft-​boiled eggs, but we needed to eat it with pickles to give it some flavor. The smoked salmon was really good initially. Super creamy and delicious, but it ended up being too salty and when we ran out of bread, it was hard to eat. The house sausage was super meaty, like it screamed meat. But it was SO GOOD in the roasted brussel sprout sauce (see above). The terrine was very good – great texture, mild flavor, wrapped in bacon (as everything should be). The anchovy was fishy and salty, as expected. Also good in the brussel sauce.
For our main, we split the Farro Bowl. It came with Oyster mushrooms, a duck egg, and pickled cauliflower and a Colatura sauce (which I learned was an anchovy sauce). This was very good. I love ancient grains and this definitely filled my cravings.
Overall pretty good. Some things were absolutely amazing and some things were more meh. I definitely want to come back to try the steamed buns, though. I heard really good things about them from a friend.
Also, just FYI, there are no special birthday surprises. I mentioned that it was his birthday on the reservation and the waiter said Happy Birthday to him while handing him the check, lol.

There was nothing absolutely phenomenal about this experience, but there were plenty of things that were lackluster. So, I’ll start off with the positives.
Their beef stew is very good, and so are their cocktails. Neither are breath taking, and neither are a good enough reason for me to want to go back, but they’re tasty and well made. My compliments to the chef.
The interior is equally nice, and perhaps the only remarkable thing about my experience here. It has a very hole-​in-​the-​wall feeling to it that makes you surprised and impressed when you walk into a beautiful wooden space with high ceilings an perfectly adjusted lighting.
And then there’s the staff, which was/​is the primary reason you will never find me in this building again. Before my order was completely out of my mouth, my waiter was walking away and ignoring my calls to him. Twenty minutes later, he came back with my food. Another ten minutes later, after two reminders, he finally brought me the drink I ordered to go with my meal. I’m personally appalled by their lack of customer service, and that alone will ensure that they never see my business again.
I’ve had better service from the Brooklyn, MD Denny’s.

Every single thing was completely underwhelming. The ambiance was nice, but after that there was not a single notable item about our dining experience.
The «craft cocktails» were surprisingly pedestrian, bahn mi steamed bun was basic, deviled eggs, the highlight of the meal, were merely average.
After ordering and then receiving our drinks our waitress disappeared for no less than 20 minutes, maybe longer.
We shared an entrée, the grilled fish, which was cooked well, but lightly seasoned and had little flavor. The accompanying bean and cheese flauta and carolina rice did nothing to elevate the dish and were simply calories for show. We ordered brussel sprouts to go with and they were soggy and over-​sauced.
I did wonder why the table next to us (who arrived after us and ordered before us) received a side of bread with their sandwiches but why we didn’t get bread with our meal.
We wrapped up with the Boss Salad because we thought it seemed the most interesting of the 3 choices and it was really just lacking any kind of punch. The textures were off, the dressing was weird and we didn’t finish it.
I would not choose to eat here again, there are just too many great alternatives to give a place like this a second shot.

Our server was very attentive and offered great information about the menu. We both has the fried oyster steamed bun as our appetizer. It was very tasty but I thought a bit strange as steamed buns are very Asian and Pen&Quill is an American Resturant. I had the steak frites (french name), my dinner guest had the roast chicken. Both of us were very happy with our selections. My steak was cooked perfectly medium as requested. My only complaint was it had too much sauce. Next time I would order it with the sauce on the side. My guest thought the chicken was cooked well and juicy and not dry which is typically the issue with chicken. We had the Beaujolais (also French) from the wine by the glass menu. It was outstanding! I wish we had gotten the bottle. Great dinner experience but with such an eclectic menu I would definitely say Pen&Quil is not your average American Fare.

LOVED Pen & Quill. The location is very convenient if you’re seeing a film at the Charles Theater (which is also lovely), and there is a very cheap (albeit slightly sketchy) parking garage right across the street. The atmosphere is comfortable and upscale. I really enjoyed splitting one of the large round booths with my boo. Our server (who happened to be a friend from college — hi Chris!!!) was awesome, and I suspect would be just as great for a complete stranger. He was super familiar with the menu had some on point recommendations.
We ended up splitting some beef tartare, devilled eggs, and pork buns (beef tongue and pork belly) for an first course. The beef tartare was okay; nothing special, a little underseasoned, but high quality beef. The devilled eggs were nicely seasoned with lots of dijon mustard and some pickle juice, I suspect. Hands down favorite thing we ate that night, though, were the steamed buns. OHHHH EM GEE. The texture of the warm doughy buns were perfect: not chewy, perfectly warm, and not «raw tasting» as some can be. The fillings were also perfect. I would eat several of these alone for a meal next time.
For our entrees, Mr. B got the steak frites, which were awesome, although the otherwise perfectly crispy shoestring fries were a bit too salty. I had a delicious homemade cavatelli pasta dish with freshly ground black pepper, homemade and creamy ricotta cheese, and a poached egg. It was warm and hearty and perfect for the rainy cold night it was outside.
We skipped dessert since we were late for our movie (and never got around to it because, surprise, we got engaged!!!), but the offerings looked delectable. Can’t wait to go back for dinner and a movie again!

Food: Everything I had was absolutely delicious. If you like bone marrow you must try it at Pen and Quill. It is just the balance of richness and fatty goodness (I know that might not be the most appetizing description but it’s so good!). Also a huge fan of the beef tongue steamed buns. Would definitely recommend!
The menu has a nice eclectic mix of items that range in size from snacks to small plates to entrees (which are a little pricier) so you can definitely find something to eat no matter what you’re the mood in.
Drink: The strawberry spritzer, which was the special for the day was so refreshing. Drinks are a little pricier but worth the money.
Décor: The ambience was a nice mix of sophistication and relaxation. Whoever did the interior design did an amazing job. Please design my future home. Also, personally I think this place would be a great date night option. I know if someone took me here on a first date there would definitely be a second one lol.
Can’t wait to come back!

Came here for happy hour with friends. sampled the deviled egg, eh and the pretzel, yum. the sparkling negroni is a must for five bucks. also had the fried fish sandwich which was delish. my friend had the lamb ball sandwich and she raved about it. the atmosphere, right next to the Charles theater, is dark but festive. good for groups and dates.

I’ve been dying to try Pen and Quill for months and finally got to go with some friends. We were seated promptly and were promptly asked if we wanted drinks by two people. I think there was a shift change because we got several different people asking for drink orders and offering to take our order.
The food started off great. Had the beef tongue steamed bun and the pretzel was absolutely delicious and buttery. I was excited to get the watermelon salad but the radicchio was burned and overall the flavor combo was not to my liking. We shared the lamb chops which were delicious. I think the mushrooms and gnocchi with the sauce made that dish great. I was confused by the pork belly and didn’t think the veggie combination was the best so ended up just eating the pork and veggies separately. Overall wish the dinner had been better but the night started off great. Would recommend going for a drink and snacks.

My visit was purely for drinks and appetizers, but that said, the apps were great, so I’m feeling that the dinner menu might follow suit. The bartender, on the other hand, was fantastic! A true mixologist, Adam knew his drinks and more importantly, knew his crowd. His was there when you needed him and always quick with a hearty laugh, it was his party and he was darn happy that you were in attendance. One of our group enjoyed Adam’s, Zombie, a drink that is not only old school, but also not the kind of drink most bars even attempt. Adam made it go down easy.
If only the décor had been a little less corporate cookie cutter, Pen & Quill would have gotten all five stars. I’m not saying the interior wasn’t nice, just more calculated than Adam’s side of the room (insert Hearty Laugh).

We went to Pen & Quill on a Tuesday night. When we arrived around 6pm there were only a few people in the bar & lounge area but it filled up around 7pm. The ambience and décor was welcoming. Our booth was a bit uncomfortable for a longer dinner, but there are also plenty of other seating options in the space.
Service both at the bar and at our table in the lounge was great. Wait times between courses were just a bit long at times, but nothing too worrisome.
For cocktails we had a Mint Julep, an Old Fashioned, and a #TikiTuesday cocktail called The Pearl of the Antillies in honor of Bastille Day. All were refreshing and delicious. We also enjoyed a Chenin Blanc wine flight during dinner.
The food was wonderful, each dish as good as the one before it. We shared a few small plates (Housemade Spam Steam Bun, Soft Pretzel with Porter Beer Cheese and the Nashville Wings) and some charcuterie and cheese (Chicken Liver Mousse with a Triple Cream). For entrees we had the Steak Frites and the Honey Fried Chicken and we finished off with the Lemon Icebox Pie and two flavors of Sorbet. I’d be hard pressed to pick a favorite dish of the night because everything was great!
I highly recommend Pen & Quill and look forward to going back for a visit soon!

I was not impressed with this place. I was very happy that this place had opened and had read the excellent reviews, but I found the food pretty average at best. The ambiance of the place is pleasing and comfortable and the wait staff do a great job, My issue is the food, although I must admit we only had an entrée and drinks.
We stopped by after a movie at the Charles and were going to just have drinks at Happy Hour, but when we decided to eat and move three feet to a table, suddenly we could not have happy hour prices for our drinks. Not a good idea for a rather new restaurant. The wine choices were excellent, but my 8 dollar glass of wine could have cost me 5 bucks if we were not going to eat. What is it with that?
We both had the steak frites. I found the fries dry and tasted like that came from a Safeway frozen food box, and the steak which I ordered medium well was charred and tasteless. The sauces were bland and not very original. That did it for this guy. I will not return.

ALL you need to know to try this place is that its owners also run Tapas Teatro, The Helmand and B Bistro. But in case you’re unfortunate enough to never have tried any of those Baltimore favorites, here’s some more praise:
Swanky, modern interior and comfortable, lightweight tables outside (we opted for the latter, as the weather was nothing short of miraculous: temperatures in the 70’s with a cool breeze that was almost. .. chilly?! IN JULY?! IN BALTIMORE?! Apparently the Irish weather followed me home, and boy was I grateful.
My friend and I both opted for the Punch Cup, which was a bargain at $ 6; it came in an actual punch cup, which was sweet, but we would have preferred it in a larger glass with some ice as it was, in fact, a little too sweet. Nice whiskey punch, though, and I loved the bits of ginger sprinkled throughout. In fact, we suggested they sell it in pitchers — it was a real winner.
We started our meal with a soft pretzel, which was everything a soft pretzel should be: a glorious asymmetrical shape that boasted both crunchy and yeasty-​soft bits, a buttery exterior with that unmistakable twinge of baking soda (or lye? yikes) and a cheese sauce spiked with porter beer. Entranced, I said, «I could totally do a shot of this cheese sauce,» I said. «Shot?» my friend replied. «I could bathe in it!»
Our entrees were no less impressive. She opted for the fried chicken with a biscuit and homemade chicken gravy. I dithered quite a bit but decided on the Boss Salad, which was very impressive: an arugula and endive base, tons of roasted asparagus, radishes and baby carrots (not the bullet-​shaped kind, but actual young carrots,) sliced avocado, and crumbled feta cheese. Everything was perfectly, lightly dressed in a creamy Green Goddess dressing seasoned with anchovies. I actually couldn’t finish it, which is saying a lot for a plate of vegetables.
The only downside was that, I know I couldn’t afford to eat here often: Cocktails average $ 12 each and the salad was $ 18. It was delicious, and they did have cheaper options (a gourmet hot dog for $ 12, and several Woodberry-​style «snacks» under $ 10) but if you come hungry, you could easily drop $ 100 on dinner. Enjoy with caution, unless you’re independently wealthy!

It’s nice to have another fine dining option near The Charles theater. It has a hip ambience with a large bar and separate narrow wood plank bar that separates the open dining room. The plus is the natural sun light and city views, but the downside is the noise. The noise is a combination of sound bouncing off hard surfaces and loud music. I don’t mind it but I just can’t hold a conversation.
We started with a trio of deviled eggs, heavy on the creamy, mustardy yolk, and the briny pickled green beans, mini zucchinis and peppers. The pickles helped cut the richness of the deviled eggs and a perfect accompaniment to the honey sesame fried chicken on biscuits. The biscuits were glazed with a light chicken gravy. It was a perfect dish and very tasty. The hubby’s lamb meatballs on creamy grits were drizzled with a mint pesto. It was an interesting southern/​Mediterranean dish.
The desserts were tempting so we indulged. The lemon icebox pie was my fave. Tart, creamy and similar to a key lime pie with a contrast I texture with these crispy lemon strips. The hubby finished off his meal with the peanut butter chocolate pie. The fluffy, creamy pie was garnished with a soft peanut bark and a pool of milk chocolate sauce.
It was a fun night out. The food was good. The service was decent.

In an effort to step outside of our comfort zone (Federal Hill) my roommate and I decided to head over to Station North and try the new-​ish Pen & Quill. I have heard plenty of good things about Pen & Quill and I was excited to try it. In the dining area, it is laid out in such a way that even if every table was full, the restaurant would still appear spacious.
After looking over the menu, many more of the appetizers stood out to us than entrees so my roommate and I decided to share a few appetizers and then an entrée. The first appetizer that stood out to us was the Soft Pretzel. It came with a porter cheddar sauce for dipping. The pretzel had a nice doughy interior with a crispy exterior and the dipping sauce was delicious. It had a nice kick that complimented the pretzel nicely.
Next, on our appetizer tour of Pen & Quill, we went with the Candied Bacon Popcorn. Unsurprisingly, the popcorn was insanely sweet but the salty-​smoky bacon flavor tempered the sweetness. If we were following the traditional dining experience, this would have been a great way to start our meal.
For our last starter, we went with the Beef Brisket Steamed Bun. The brisket was insanely tender and the bun was nice and spongy. Inside of the bun was also horseradish cream which has a nice spice that complimented the meat beautifully. I would consider ordering a few of these buns as a meal, they were that good.
For our shared entrée, we went with the Steak Frites. The steak was topped with Béarnais sauce and the fries were nice and crispy. Additionally the dish was served with a cajun dipping sauce which I loved as an alternative to the traditional ketchup. The steak was cooked perfectly and better than some of the other Steak Frites I’ve had around the city.
If you’re in Station North and looking for food with a lot of bold flavors, do yourself a favor and visit Pen & Quill.

Even though I’m not changing the number of stars for my review, I had to give an update. We went on a Saturday night, so it was significantly more crowded than my weeknight experience a few months ago. This is definitely a place meant for groups. As a couple, we were able to find lounge seating, and had to share a coffee table with another couple during our meal. Not terrible, but if you want a table, make a reservation, and make it for a big group. The tables are very large and the place is set up for group dining.
Diners beware: the menu does not accurately reflect the ingredients in the dishes. I ordered the spinach cavatelli, which was listed as «Rosemary Pesto /​Roasted Salsify /​Farm Spinach /​Grano Padano.» Imagine my surprise when my dish came with all that, plus mushrooms! I can’t eat mushrooms, so I had to send it back. Our server never came back to check on us after delivering our food, so after 10 minutes of waiting, we finally got another server to flag her down. She was very apologetic and quick to take it away and to take it off our bill, so I’m not going to knock them for that. Just be sure that if you have an allergy, you ask about it before ordering so you’re not surprised.

Almost four stars, but not quite! Went for dinner on Saturday night, with my lady and a reservation in hand. It was my first time there, and I liked the vibe. Comfortable décor, and staff in hipster plaid and gingham.
Very solid beer list, with craft brews priced about average. My gal got the silver lining cocktail, which was tiny but potent, and not real pleasant tasting. At least it had a single digit price tag! We split two appetizers, one small plate, and a main. The bacon fat hush puppies were nothing special, and tasted pretty much like your average, everyday hush pups. My date really liked the bbq shrimp, and I very much dug the pear salad, though it was a bit pricey and had an imbalance of a LOT of pear versus too little greenery. The spinach cavatelli was good, but really not $ 22 good.
Our server was sufficiently attentive, and their water filling frequency borders on that typical of Chinese restaurants. Overall a good meal, but in my opinion somewhat overpriced for the good quality. Yes, the menu descriptions are pretty interesting reads, with rarely seen words (ingredients) like «giardiniera, bacon salt, morita chipolte aioli, roasted salsify, and porcini brot,» but the proof is in the puddin’, and that puddin’ just wasn’t all that great for its price tag!

Pen & Quill is like an incredibly attractive woman with a horrible laugh: there’s a lot to like, but also some really glaringly bad stuff.
Pen & Quill is a new entrant in a long line of semi-​rustic, hipster type fine dining places in Baltimore. It, like its peers, has exposed brick, nice art, exposed antique looking light bulbs, and rustic tile in the bathroom. It’s exactly what you think it is: people with beards and suspenders work here.
The food is a truly mixed bag. The beef tongue steamed buns were honestly far from tasty — they were far too acidic and wet. The Oaxacan Girlfriend, a cocktail made of Mezcal, was WAY too strong to the point of being intolerable. The Chicken Maryland was good, but far from exemplary and a bit simple given the price. The breading made the chicken a bit bland tasting, though the sauce and corn bread helped immensely. The clear winner was the Miso Glazed Pork Cheek, which was superb in every possible way.
Incidentally, the plating here is superb. Doesn’t save some of the dishes, but still.
All in all, there are many better places in Baltimore that are better, cheaper, or some combination thereof.