Ampersea — Restaurant in Baltimore

It's hard to beat on-the-water ambiance. I feel restaurants tend to lean on their location in a beautiful spot like Ampersea. But Ampersea has an excellent restaurant experience along with their excellent view. Couple that beautiful view with a well-executed menu and you've got me hooked.

Come here for happy hour crushes at the outside bar, come here for a romantic dinner on the water, come here for a splurge-lunch sandwich. Ampersea is excellent. Don't miss it.

The crab dip comes with an enormous soft pretzel and is a great sharing appetizer. The mussels are served in a nicely seasoned, spicy broth. I wouldn't split it with more than one person. Ask for extra bread to get the most out of that broth.

The lobster roll is simple, as it should be. It seemed to have an even split between claw and tail meat, as it should. It was platted on a toasted, split top bun. It's served with battered fries and aioli. The seafood boil more than enough for two people. It was served with crab legs, which is less common in Maryland, but they are good.

The ceviche left me wanting some citric brightness for my taste and was oil-heavy. I'd call it more of a delicious shrimp salsa. I enjoyed it and finished the whole thing; I was just expecting a different dish. The chips are clearly made in house. You may come across a chewier one, but that doesn't bother me. Based on the fries in my next dish I'd say the fry oil may have been a bit under temperature.

The Lady Maryland Club sandwich is decadent. It comes on a toasted, sweet, brioche-like toast. The healthy serving of shrimp salad sandwiched between thick, possibly peppered bacon and a fried green tomato are innovative and rich. Save this for dinner or brunch. Rarely have I had a dish with cappers where I felt their strong taste brught an appropriate balance. It's accompanied with a heaping serving of battered fries. This is not light fare.

Their wine list is well thought out. My server was knowledgeable and guided me through it. The lavender martini with house-infused vodka was very good. Although when I got it a second day, the quality was not as high. The spicy mule was excellent with house-infused simple syrup. I would recommend the mule.

It's rare you find stand out service nowadays. This was truly stand out. My server was perfectly attentive, the manager stopped by, and the support staff kept my glasses full.

Put Ampersea at the top of your Baltimore restaurant list...

What an unexpected highlight our lunch here was. I called ahead for a party of 5 to make sure there was room and was reassured we’d be accommodated. When we arrived at the restaurant, we were seated outside with a stunning view of the Baltimore harbor and met with warm smiles and congratulations on our celebration. Our server Kira apologized for being busy and the owner brought us champagne while we “waited” — we didn’t mind at all because we were still looking at the menu! It says a lot when a restaurant preemptively takes those steps to make sure their customers are happy. The entire team stepped up to make sure we were constantly attended to, which shows that they have a great teamwork mentality here.

Our server Kira was attentive, friendly, and dedicated to her table’s needs. Anything we needed, we knew we were in good hands with her.

The owner stopped by several times to check on us and joke around; we learned the interesting backstory of the Ampersea logo, which brings to mind a combination of an ampersand & and a fishing knot! I can see why this restaurant is so successful, under great leadership, this versatile “seafood & more” restaurant has the wind in their sails.

The manager Joey went out of his way to make our experience special and made us feel at ease from the moment we walked in to the restaurant from the moment we left. He showed consideration on every level; making sure we were comfortable outside, checking in on us, and even suggesting excellent photo ops for our family around the beautiful Ampersea property, which is so beautiful and has so many scenic options. Thank you to Joey for making my brother feel like a VIP on his day of celebration, he walked out of the restaurant with the biggest smile of the day.

I’ve added some pictures of the lunch which was delicious and satisfying! There is a variety of great appetizers, the fries were cooked to perfection, and the lobster roll was the star. (The ceviche starter lags behind the others somewhat, but only because the rest of them are so excellent.)

This restaurant also does event spaces, which based on our experience I can see how they’d excel at this.

There is also a parking lot right next door to make it even more convenient.

I suggest you try out this restaurant for yourself, you won’t be disappointed.

Thank you again to the...

Decided to revisit bc a friend had a bday dinner here in 2021. It was a really good experience then and again on Sat 6/17/23. Was greeted immediately at the hostess desk and taken straight away to our seats. Waterfont table side with a Beautiful view of our city's harbor. "Watching the ships roll in" (IYKYK 🥰) and the boats pass by on a calm current breezy day was absolutely serene. John our waiter was attentive with great customer service. Along with DeAndre another staff memeber who had no problem refilling my drink, when John was attending another table. Another staff member who went above and beyond, was Joey the manager. He came over to make sure we were doing ok and offered to take a picture of my Brother and I with the scenic background. He had the perfect space, that I think he enjoys taking other patrons to photograph as well. Very friendly and over the top, but in a good way. I believe he's Filipino, so his courteous, friendly manner is to be expected. I ordered the crab dip that came with a huge salted Pretzel. The crab dip had plenty of crab meat with a balance of cheeses that came in a mini cast iron skillet that was just enough to compliment the Size of the Pretzel. My brother got a burger that was a decent size with truffle fries and a Coconut watermelon rum cocktail that came in a sizable mason jar, however, it was a little underwhelming. He wasn't able to taste the alcohol very well. And for a $17 cocktail, you want to be able to taste alcohol. All in all it was a great experience. We spent $76 in total. 18% gratuity is automatically included which I don't care for, but that's anywhere I go Not everybody is worth the gratuity, but in this case it was. Although it sounds like alot for a burger and crab dip, the expense alone is worth the atmosphere and ambiance. I've seen several Instagram reels and TT'S about their brunch that looks delicious. I think I may make that my own bday brunch spot coming up...