Costiera — Restaurant in Baltimore

Costiera: Great new spot for dinner Highly Recommend. Overall: 9/10 Granted my experience was during the first weekend they opened so I imagine that it is only up from here. Overall everything was really smooth, the food, and the service were great.

The Food - 8.5/10: I do not like fish. But I always order fish. Something about trying something out to eat that I would never make for myself is nice..plus the fact that I tend to lose the “I told you so” battle to my girlfriend when I order it. Making the dinner order really a make or break for my mood, so that means our mood, so that means ordering fish is a gamble.

The food was perfect. The appetizer was good- not bland but somewhat boring. But it’s a salad so not sure what I expected.

Main course- Whole Orata Fish. Mostly deboned. It was cooked perfectly, the sauce was immaculate, and safe to say I didn’t get an “I told you so” but more of an “Ooo let me try yours”

She got the Porkchop. Delicious, cooked perfectly, and the sides that came with it were to die for.

The dessert sounded good in theory but came out somewhat dry and the velvety and delicious caramel gelato picked up the slack.

The Vibes- 8/10: This place is actually in my ex-favorite burger place in Baltimore (Ex because it unfortunately went out of business and this place took its space). The interior is well done and vibey but I would recommend some more aesthetic or accent lighting, it was seriously Hollister dark in there. Giving them the benefit of the doubt as it was their first weekend open, I am sure they thought of this.

The Service-10/10: Couldn’t have gone better. You don’t need to know everything you just need to give good service. Our waiter killed it!

The Drinks- 8/10: They were weird but in a good way. I didn’t like my first one but I was happy I got to try something new. The other drinks were all amazing. I would just go...

Where are You?

It feels like a spot in the East Village or Tribeca.

A short craft cocktail menu blended with an assortment of cleverly constructed nibbles, small plates and a couple of entrees all with a Mediterranean flair make patrons think they are somewhere other than on Baltimore ‘s spaghetti of bike lanes that is called Central Avenue. The staff can read the table and pace your meal better than their years would suggest - a lost skill.

How does this sound - a super rustic focaccia offering with whipped ricotta next to fried Castelvetrano olives with a lemon-parsley aioli? I can assure you they were a fine harbinger of things to come… such as…

…..a proper pulpo- charred and served with a black bean puree or swordfish meatballs with a puttanesca sauce or maybe an ethereal yellowtail crudo with pickled chiles and white soy?

All really fine….but the pasta took center stage in a small plate (but hoping to see larger offerings in the future). Whole wheat tagliatelle with pork and beef ragu was museum quality and could only be better by tripling the serving size. Magic.

And don’t forget the dessert -ours was a memorable chocolate panna cotta and ricotta donuts with ice cream.

Not much on the beer offerings (one, served in a rocks glass (?)) but the bubbles and wine covered different grapes, price points and countries. 40 seats plus a bar, a welcoming staff and a kitchen that wants to impress – not miss – is what you’ll find at Costiera.

Oh – and it’s not in the East...

Very impressed with the quality of the food here and will keep coming back to try more of their dishes. Decided to try Costiera after driving by it a few times. I checked the reviews before hand and gave it a chance as a new restaurant in the city. We were not disappointed. Here’s what we ordered for the group (of 5): Fennel & Celery Caesar: great to start a meal, super tasty, you can def taste the anchovies FYI -Saffron arancini: one of the most flavorful arancini I’ve ever had. A hit Chicken Liver Mousse: this was a hit, it looks small but it was just enough to spread on the incredibly nice grilled bread. The mustard was delicious. Roseda Farm Beef Tartare: So tasty, also more than enough for a group of 5. We did need to ask for more bread a couple of times. Whole wheat Tagliatelle: the best pasta we had there, the ragu was incredibly delicious and robust. Squid Ink Bucatini: Also delicious and close second. The texture provided by the spicy bread crumbs was a really nice touch. Ricotta & Rye Cavatelli: not bad, but the olives are not obvious on the menu description. Our least favorite food item. Panna cotta: salted chocolate with calamansi and berries on top. So so good and had a complex flavor Donnuts: we weren’t such big fans of this one. The donnuts were a bit dry for our taste. Affogato: great ending to our...