Annapolis?

I am taking my wife to Annapolis this weekend for her birthday. Any advice on some good eats in Old Town? We are staying near the State House and would like to walk everywhere. Seafood would be good, but any recommendations would be appreciated.

I agree with the recommendation for O'Learys, but the walk is quite long from Main street and I don't think it would be enjoyable in winter. I've had good meals at Luna Cafe (Italian) across the street from Rams Head. Piccolo Roma, across from Joss Cafe has very good Italian food, but IMO, they're an expense account only restaurant.

If you're not looking for too formal a place, Rams Head can be a lot of fun, especially if a good act is playing that night. Check the link below for their performance schedule. The food is decent, the decor fun, and the patrons amusing.

It's outside of Annapolis, but a lot of people like Carrols Creek for seafood.

Link: http://www.ramsheadtavern.com/annapol...

From Market Space in Annapolis, across the picturesque Spa Creek draw bridge and into Eastport along Severn Ave. to O'Leary's is a mere 8/10ths of a mile - an easy stroll with great views. (For comparison, from Market Space to the Rams Head Tavern is about 1/2 mile.) There's also a taxi stand at the base of Main St. that will take you there for about $3.00, and for an adventure, water taxis will take you across the creek if it's not too cold out. I heard once that much of the historic district of Annapolis could fit inside the Annapolis Mall.

umm, i may have my places mixed up but isn't carrol=l's creek and o'leary's like within shouting distance of each other?

Carrol's Creek and O'Leary's are one block from each other - there is a whole cluster along a few blocks of Severn Ave. Carrol's Creek has some of the best water views of any restaurant in downtown - the other being from the porch area of the restaurant at the Marriott, right along Ego Alley.

If you're in the mood for sushi, avoid Tsunami and the Nikko Teppanyaki joint. Instead, assuming it's still there, a great sushi joint is a few doors down from Nikko called "something" Cafe.

Make that the Joss Cafe and Sushi Bar on Main St.

It has been my experience that Joss Cafe has the best sushi in Annapolis (as someone who eats there on a weekly basis). However, the last time I went (last week), the sushi was only mediocre (the nigiri was mealy) particularly in comparison to the sashimi I had at Tsunami the next day.

Really, did you go on a weekend day or weekday?

I went on a weekday (Wednesday to be exact). I typically like to go on weekdays as I find the weekends are incredibly crowded.

[Happy Pants]

If you're still reading this, it might seem weird at first, but go down to the ninja cafe by the docks. It's shockingly wonderful, and really much better than anything I've ever gotten at Joss. It is not, however, a proper sit down restaraunt.

[Jgannon87]

Just ate lunch at Joss cafe. I have to say that it's some of the best sushi I have ever had in the US. This is a solid place. Poke was fresh and spicy. Miso soup was perfect.

I've enjoyed the Sushi at Joss Cafe many times. It was our favorite lunch place when I used to work near Main street (the $5.95 lunch specials are a real deal...I think they're $6.95 now, but still a bargain). I think they have the best sushi in the area, and their other food is good as well, especially the grilled seafood salad and Chicken Katsu.

I've been there for dinner as well and have never had a bad meal there. However, for a special occasion dinner, Joss may not be the right restaurant. It does not have fancy decor, it can be noisy during peak hours, and since they don't take reservations the wait on weekends can be close to an hour.

I also like the wall decorations which are hundreds (thousands?) of Polaroid photos of customers, usually celebrating a birthday or other joyous occasion. There's a photo of my family facing down from the center ceiling beam that they took on his 6th birthday.

-- Dzoey

Link: http://www.josscafe-sushibar.com/

You could go across the harbor to Eastport and get a marvelous steak at Lewnes' Steakhouse. I included a link to a review of the restaurant. Also here is the URL to a list in the USNA parents'handbook -- http://www.usna-net.org/handbook/info.html

Link: http://www.surfannapolis.com/entities...

Avoid Aquaterra at all costs. Awful and overpriced. We're still searching for a decent place in town (our son is at St. John's there).

Concur with O'Leary's. Also Middleton Tavern for a special birthday dinner and the real historic feel. In close vicinity to O'Leary's are also Lewnes and Ruth's Chris. Both do seafood, although not their specialty (red meat). Closer to where you will be is Cafe Normandy on mid-upper Main Street with a cozy fireplace in the middle of the room. They do a nice seafood crepe. Although good, I'd tuck Galway Bay away for a less special occasion.

[cougar bait]

I cannot disagree with this post more vehemently! Please note that the post was 2004. This is now 2006 and AquaTerra is one of mine and my wife's favorite places in Annapolis. Personally, I think the place got off to a rocky start, but has now settled in to a very good feel and taste. The owners not only wait tables, but also live above the restaurant. the pour their heart and soul into the place and will do whatever is necessray to make your lunch/dinner great.

My personal favorites are:
appetizer: crab wontons (I think they were wontons)
seared ahi tuna in some fruity and wasabi sauce
dessert: their creme brulee is wonderful
meal: haven't had anything bad yet. their lamb chops were very tasty. Try everything! :)

Hope this helps.

Matt

O'Leary's is one of the best seafood restaurants in our area, though the other posters didn't point out that it's quite a hike from where you're staying. Closer in, try one of the excellent Irish pubs, Sean Donlon's just a couple of doors down from the Ram's Head and Galway Bay on Maryland avenue just off the statehouse circle. Incredibly cozy places to hang out with abundant comfort food.

[Jgannon87]

I'm a fan of Galway Bay. Portions are large. Corned Beef is the best I have ever had. Leek soup is wonderful. I'm Irish and don't usually go on about Irish food, but this place is great. Good beer, too.

I'm also an O'Leary's fan for a nice seafood meal and really enjoy Rams' Head for some very good beer (I'm a fan of hoppy ones and their Tavern Ale makes me very happy) -- they also have good cream of crab soup and a a tasty crabcake benedict for brunch.

A few other ideas for you:

Have an oyster shooter or something else from the raw/steamed bar at Middleton's, which is an old coaching in from the 18th century with big fireplaces - don't know how their dinner fare is these days, but I have enjoyed a stop in the bar for the raw bar and drinks.

Have a Pusser's Pain Killer at Pusser's Landing in the Annapolis Marriott but don't miss the old photos of Annapolis displayed in the lobby.

Riordan's has the better food amongst the similar places around the city dock and would be good for lunch, though McGarvey's has a smoked bluefish appetizer that is quite good (but the rest of the menu isn't as good as Riordan's IMO). I'd avoid O"Brien's, Griffin's, Armadillo's and please don't think Phillip's will be nearly as good as O'Leary's, no matter what your concierge/hosts tell you.

Enjoy your weekend and please report back!

Back from a fantastic trip to Annapolis a few days now. I want to thank everyone for their suggestions. We had a great time--I had never been there before and we are now thinking it is a good place for a day trip!

On to the food. We arrived Fri afternoon and had lunch at Sean Donlon's. My wife had a burger and I had the turkey Rueban. She enjoyed the burger. I was surprised that my sandwich was made with thick carved turkey--not sliced deli style. At first it was good, but ended up being too dry, either from the turkey or lack of dressing.

That night, we took the number 1 reccommendation and went to O'Leary's. Our hotel shuttle took us there. The Tuna sashami appitizer was wonderful--it even convinced my wife that raw tuna is good, something I have been trying for years! Then we both ordered the shellfish meadly. Lobster, scallops, shrimp and pallenta in a cream suace. It was good, however there was much more shrimp than lobster and scallops. However, I was happy with it. Had I been able to do it over, I would go with the crabcakes which were huge. We walked home and it was cold, however a stop at most of the numerous Irish pubs made it easily bearible.

Sat afternoon we hit Joss Cafe--wife had tuna! I had the lunch special--7.95, wa glad it was in effect on Sat (it is not on Sunday). Sushi was fine--not better or worse than most places, however the California roll was much larger than I am used to, so that was a bonus. Also the Miso soup was excellent.

For diner we went to Griffin's. We had no plans and were walking and just went in. The service was terrible. The Cream of Crab soup was fantastic--probably the best thing I ate all weekend. A lot of crab a just more than a hint of sherry. It was very good. I had a good po-boy (rockfish). My wife had a chicken pasta dish that she liked. All in all--very good food, very bad service.

Again, thank you all for your advice, it truely made my wife's birthday special.

Since I assume you are a beer drinker, would suggest Rams Head Tavern. The food is passable and they sometimes have entertainment but the beer is the draw.

Link: http://www.ramsheadtavern.com/annapol...

I always understood that the food there was terrible!

Would highly recommend O'Learys in Eastport for seafood. I had a good meal at Tsunami (on West Street) the other day which consisted of crispy whole fish, some sashimi and shrimp dumplings. However, the restaurant tends to get very loud and smoky. Reynolds Tea Room is very nice for a Sunday brunch if that is something you would be interested in, but you may want to make reservations.

Thanks for all your tips! We are off in a few minutes and are looking forward to it. I'll post a review when we return.