Ropewalk – A Federal Hill Tavern

Met a man a few years back. Tall, hard lookin fella. Traded him half a pack of American Spirits for this old map he had. Told me it was a map to enlightenment. When I looked at the map, it was blank. Now, you may look at me like I’m crazy, but I’ve been following this map for years. Ever since that first day. The direction will change without you even realizing, takes the mind to places too far off to even believe to comprehend. You see, feel and even taste, hear me out, things that aren’t even real, only real in the mind. Now, answer this one for me, if a blank piece a paper can take a man on his path to enlightenment, how far have we actually come as a species?
4 Louisiana stars for the superb crab dip.
–RC

I’ve never eaten the food here but we love coming here at night on Fridays and Saturdays. They have multiple levels and and about 6 different rooms, all with a different type of vibe. There’s a dance floor, a patio, and 5 different bars where you can grab a drink from. The absolute best part of Ropewalk– the piano bar! He takes requests and everyone sings along. This place gets absolutely packed on the weekends but if you are looking to go out, it’s a great spot.

Although I can’t vouch for the food, I can definitely recommend the fun nighttime atmosphere!
If you’ve lived in Baltimore, you know that Fed Hill can be a real sh*t show on the weekends and this place is no exception.
Once 10:30/11 p.m. rolls around, expect a line to get it. Everyone wants to be a part of the circus.

Rope walk is exactly what I imagine when I think of going out anywhere in Baltimore or other cities. It’s ideal for so many different types of people– the sports watching bar goers, the clubbers, the foodies, people who like live music– and even more.
Recently I got dinner here before partying the night away, and I must say, I was really impressed with the food. We got mini tacos and the chicken sandwich and devoured both. Happy hour drinks are good too.
Play skee ball or other games to win free beer too. Friendly staff encouraged me as I came close to winning a free beer– only a few points off. Overall, you can’t go wrong here.

Ropewalk is my favorite bar in Fed. If you’re in the mood to dance and not wait in line forever to get in (unless there’s an event going on, then all of Fed is just mayhem) then Ropewalk is the move. On Friday nights, drinks are buy one get one free until 11 pm.
Inside there’s two levels and five bars so it’s not that hard to get a drink. The front dance floor plays top 40/​hip-​hop. The back room usually has live music, which sounds strange for a bar geared towards a younger crowd, but it surprisingly works. There’s a pool table upstairs and downstairs there’s skeeball, a basketball game and Pac-​Man. Ropewalk also rents out the upstairs for events frequently.
I’ve only had their food once. I came on a Sunday when the Ravens were home, and it wasn’t as crowded as I thought it would be and we were able to get a table. There were plenty of screens so we all had a good view of the game. On home game days, there’s a smaller menu with only a few options. I ordered a pulled pork sandwich and subbed the chips for fries. The sandwich was alright. It could’ve used more sauce in my opinion. The fries were really good though. And service was really good. When we first sat down three different waiters approached our table eager to help.

Great atmosphere, good bar food, I was pleasantly surprised, crab soup and crab cake we quite delicious and my friend had the pasta, she said it was great

Just not a destination for a good meal. I don’t think a detailed review is necessary when the food is just (slightly below) average across the board. If you have to eat here then play it safe and get a burger and try not to think about why you didn’t walk two blocks further to abbey burger.

I used to really love Ropewalk, but they’ve kinda failed to evolve and have settled in as just another Fed Hill frat bar. They purport to have a large selection of beer, but it’s pretty tired and hasn’t changed in years, possibly decades. Even the bottles. The thing that really earned it a low rating for me though was that they seem to have stopped cleaning their draft lines. Almost all the beer comes out completely headless, lifeless and kinda flat. But one actually came out tasting like spoiled sour cream. We actually asked for something different, which I’m usually loathe to do, but it was disgusting. Perhaps the McFaul bar empire has expanded too far, but this is a neat space, it’s sad to see it going downhill.

A fine bar for beer. A bargain during happy hour, which lasts until early evening. I’ve made it my go-​to place for midday imbibing. However, when the beer provokes the munchies, hold fast. The food here here is uniformly and consistently execrable. Drink up, then seek to assuage your hunger pangs elsewhere. It’s a shame. This would be a great bar if it could sustain a competent kitchen.

Came here for drinks on Saturday. The place is really big and good for big group. I came around 1am and the placed closed at 1:30am. There wasn’t much of a crowd when we got here but I’d like to come back earlier in the night next time. The Indian statues around the place were cool. They also have ski ball and a basketball game in the middle of the bar. There’s also an upstairs.

I’ve only been here late at night… when my sobriety was probably in question.
In the past, it hasn’t made much of an impression on me. I’m not really a fan of bars packed with drunk college age people screaming. But this time we went up to the third floor where we knew some friends were. It was much quieter and we actually had some room to breath up there.
I went to the bar with the intention of ordering a cider. But James the bartender suggested something else, a white gummy bear. I had to know what it was: vodka, peach schnapps and sours. I had to know how it tasted: pretty good! Definitely a fruity girl drink but I like those! And it was strong too so I didn’t feel the 6.50 was a bad price at all. Way to go James! Now Ropewalk sticks out from the myriad other places in Fed for me!

Walked in here a few Tuesdays ago to check it out. After walking past it a million times, and hearing mixed reviews, I figured it was time for us to see for ourselves.
We sat at the tail end of Happy Hour, and the bartender gave us menus and told us all of the specials. We browsed the menu and opted to wait for the evening specials to kick in at 7 when the HH specials were done. The bartender was totally cool with this idea, and went through all the wing flavors with us so we would have time to decide which ones we wanted. (We took our time, too. I must have wasted a good hour just looking around. This place is HUGE!)
Speaking of the bartender being totally cool, she was phenomenal. Hands down the friendliest bartender I have ever had in all of Baltimore. By the end of the night, it felt like we were old friends. I really cannot say enough about how awesome she was. Yay, Stacy!
Ok, ok, back to the bar. We ended up sticking with beer and wings, but were perfectly happy with our decision. Stacy recommended the Raven wings, and we chose another flavor. While the flavor we chose were tasty, I honestly cannot remember what we picked because the Raven wings were that good. They’re fried, then grilled, then sauced. Absolutely amazing flavor. I’m looking forward to trying some other things on the menu, but I’m not going to lie, the other food options have a tough act to follow.
The tap beer was cold and there was a decent selection; nothing crazy. I think there were more bottled options, but honestly I didnt look at a list.
We had such a great time we ended up staying until almost midnight. Wayyy past our bedtime. I really cant wait to go back. The service was fantastic, the (albeit very basic food & drink) was great, and the general atmosphere was so friendly, I have a feeling it’s going to quickly become one of my favorite bars.
(PS…While we were there the clientele seemed to be older and more professional. By the time we left, it started filling with «bros» and super young looking females who appeared to have been pre-​gaming for hours at home. I can see why some people have complained about this being too much of a «frat» scene, but truthfully, I didnt think it was as bad as some of the other places in FedHill. Certainly not bad enough to deter me from coming back!)

I’ve only been twice and both times were on Sunday afternoons. They have great Sunday specials and enough tvs where you can always catch whatever game you want and be able to enjoy the game!
I would recommend going there and experiencing for yourself! If you enjoy fun and a good atmosphere this might be your place!

I went here with my friend in July and sat at the bar for happy hour. We sat at the bar before 7 pm. We both ordered beer; the happy hour special and the bartender even told us the specials. I had a cold and ordered the crab soup from the recommendation if the bartender and my friend ordered the burger and fries. The crab soup was the worst soup I have ever had in Baltimore. It’s pretty embarrassing considering Baltimore is a crab town. My friend said her fries were better than the burger. The burger was dry. We asked for the check and it was a new bartender. I asked why we were charged full price for the beers and the new bartender got the bartender who served us. He said we were too late for happy hour. Too late for happy hour? You were the one who told us the beer specials! He was so busy serving the other regulars that he didn’t give us our beers until 7 PM. So in essence, we waited for our beers! Not only did this bartender have bad taste in crab soup, telling me Ropewalk has the best crab soup (obviously he either has bad taste buds or does not eat outside of Ropewalk but he can’t even tell time! My friend and I arrived around 6:30 PM and the same bartender told us the happy hour specials and then he tells us he is charging us full price for the beers because he served it to us at 7 PM! That is his own fault serving other people before us! He did change the check and charged us happy hour prices but I’ve never had this experience in any place in Federal Hill. And I will never go inside Ropewalk ever again.

A classic Federal Hill eatery and tavern. Great food and of course plenty of beers to choose from. A fun place to watch sports on TV or to meet with friends. We had very spicy wings that were delicious along with oysters at a buck a piece. The shrimp salad is to die for… It’s all good!

I’m only commenting on the late-​night/​bar experience. Two words: frat city. I felt like I was at a high school house party both times I was here. Crowded bars and the only drinks you can get quickly and without eye rolls from the bartenders are basic rail vodka sodas, shots, or beer. Definitely a place to go if you’re only interested in getting hammered, listening to top40 music, and avoiding dudes trying to grind up on you.
There’s an interesting enough décor with a Ronald Reagan theme (pretty hilarious) and I do like the layout/​amount of space, and the owner’s other restaurants (Delia Foley’s, Ropewalk Oyster House in Fenwick, DE) are awesome. So I’ll just chalk this up to it being not my type of party

My recent visit to Ropewalk was a pleasant one. The bartender greeted my date and I as if we were friends immediately as we entered the tavern. The rich wood bar was welcoming and warm on a cold night. We first toured the tavern looking for all of the Republican-​themed artwork and décor that I had specifically come to see. I was not disappointed in that regard, feeling as if my Conservative soul had found a home.
The special that night was a crab cake sandwich for $ 8.50 served on a large roll with a special sauce on the side. I preferred to eat the crab cake without the bread, and I had to ask for cocktail sauce, which was quite good. The crab cake was delicious, but it crumbled when taken off of the roll and no longer resembled a cake. It came with a side of fries that appeared to be fresh cut with skin on. I didn’t want fries, but they were so good that I ate them anyway.
The bar filled up with almost everyone eating at the bar instead of at a table, and the bartender was attentive and friendly to all. The crowd seemed like neighborhood folk, but I did not feel like an outsider.
Overall a great experience and I plan to return… often.

I’ve been here a few times, most recently during one of the last Orioles games of the [post]season: We don’t have a television and thought it would be fun to watch the game instead of just listening from home.
As much as I want to love this place, both for allowing cigars and for sticking to their unpopular political beliefs (they have a statue of Ronald Reagan upstairs) the service, food and atmosphere are pretty terrible. Servers tend to ignore you: the last time we went, when I expressed surprise that the Samuel Adams Oktoberfest tasted sour and off, he shrugged and said, «That’s how it tastes.» (I later compared notes at another bar and found that no, it doesn’t taste like that — they either had a bad batch or just didn’t clean their taps well enough.) The food is greasy and mass-​produced: buffalo wings were limp and swimming in sauce, while the celery was discolored and frayed at the edges as if it had been sitting out awhile. The ambiance is typical for a dive: low lighting, sticky floors, majorly sketchy restrooms.
So: if you want to smoke at a bar in Baltimore, this may be your only option (they were grandfathered in under the new law, with the argument that they would lose substantial business if smoking wasn’t allowed.) Otherwise, find somewhere else to drink and eat junk food. There are plenty of superior options.

Ropewalk… way to walk the tight rope of Fed Hill bars!
When you first walk into Ropewalk you think ohh crap this place is über small, but then you see extra rooms for dining, gaming (pool tables, skee ball! yes i know skee ball!) and a seperate bar area. So overall they have decent space.
We came here on a Tuesday night and on Tuesdays they have 35 cent wings! Jackpot I know! We sat in the back and enjoyed, beer (Shock top was $ 2.50 specials) and as many wings as we could stuff in our face!
The beer selection is decent, I only saw around 3 – 5 differant draft beers (standards here, bud, coors, etc etc) but they have two seperate coolers where they house craft brew bottles. Coolers had a decent selection, but its hard to look through haha (lazy i know, but I have wings to eat!)
The wings, the main reason for coming here! They almost have 10 or so sauces you can pick from and they offer wet and dry wings! So if you only like dry rub wings then you golden or if you want wet saucy wings your golden as well! The sauce selection was solid. Our party ordered a range of flavours, from BBQ, Bourbon and finally the Raven. Our favorite by far was the Raven! It is honey BBQ sauce, then Hot BBQ saunce, and then they throw the wings on the grill to sear in the hot and sweet flavour! Great taste and you can actually see grill marks on the wings. The wings themselves were not bad either, ok sized nothing huge but nothing too small, I mean for 35 cents what do you expect! The meat was nice and none of the wings seemed old or just sitting there, but we did come on wing night and just about everyone in the place was eating wings!
Lastly the service. It was actually good, normally at a bar during wing nights the service is spotty, but our waiter was always around and came back quick with beers or answers to questions.
So overall Ropewalk was a great find, good food, decent beer and decent service you can’t beat that!
So remember the wet naps and wear your bib because we are throwing out the diet tonight! Cheers mates!

Ah, Ropewalk with your iron casting of Ronald Regan, your pool tables, and wooden carved Indian’s, there isn’t too many places like Ropewalk in Federal Hill and the nightlife is pretty good here.
Considered by many as the ‚“Republican Bar,” many people enjoy the multilevel establishment. There are pool tables up and down stairs, with limited amount’s of dancing room.
Customer service is pretty much standard, and the on tap beer selection is slightly better than more Federal hill bars (excluding Pub Dog), with a micro brews on tap and mainly the normal lagers (coors/​miller, bud), there is Boh too on their 15 tap system. Pricing is about average for a beer, and the mixed drinks are poured nice and strong (thankfully).
I do enjoy the décor of this place, it’s different and one of the only places I’ve ever seen a picture of republican presidents and a iron casting of Regan, but it adds a flavor unique to the bar, also the cigar native American, sailor, and the liberty butler are really cool too.
There is a decent amount of bar food, and the prices are slightly higher than what I want to pay but indicative of Federal Hill’s costs.
4-​stars and one of the top places I like to visit when out in Federal Hill (it’s better to start the night off here then hop around)