Hampden’s main street, West 36th Street, is known locally as The Avenue. With neighboring Woodberry, it has some of the city’s most talked-about restaurants.
Pacific Island and pub cooking · Hampden · $$$
SPAM musubi, pork lumpia, ube pancakes, weekend brunch. The Foreman Wolf group’s restaurant in the former Cafe Hon building, mixing Guamanian and Pacific Island dishes with English pub touches.
Coastal Italian restaurant · Hampden · $$$
House-made pasta, seafood, cocktails. A coastal Italian restaurant in a former five-and-dime in Hampden.
Oyster bar · Hampden · $$$
Raw and grilled oysters, fish pot pie. A small Hampden oyster bar on Chestnut Avenue with a focus on Chesapeake shellfish.
Chesapeake seafood · Hampden · $$$
Their own farmed oysters, roasted oysters, crab cakes. The restaurant of a Maryland oyster farm, serving its own oysters raw and roasted alongside Chesapeake fish and crab.
Seasonal American tavern · Hampden · $$$
Oyster pie, rockfish, softshell crab pancakes. A seasonal American tavern in Woodberry, near the Jones Falls.
American restaurant · Hampden · $$$
Creative comfort food, brunch. Chef Chad Gauss’s busy restaurant on The Avenue in Hampden, serving creative American comfort food at dinner and weekend brunch.
New Mexican café · Hampden · $$
Green chile, breakfast burritos, a funky room. A laid-back Hampden café on The Avenue known for New Mexico-style green chile, big breakfasts and a quirky, colorful dining room.
Bar and restaurant · Hampden · $$
Quirky comfort food, drinks, a retro room. A neighborhood bar and restaurant in Hampden with a playful, retro feel and a menu of eclectic comfort food.
Mexican restaurant · Hampden · $
Burritos, tacos, margaritas. A casual, inexpensive Mexican spot on The Avenue that has fed Hampden for years.
Asian street food · Hampden · $
Steamed buns, Taiwanese-style fried chicken, rice bowls. Started as a farmers’ market stand and grew into three small Baltimore shops.
Italian · Hampden · $$$
Italian food and pizza in a historic mill. An Italian restaurant in the restored Mill No.
Ice cream shop · Hampden · $
Small-batch ice cream, Baltimore-themed flavors. A Hampden ice cream shop making small-batch flavors, several with a local theme.
Read the Hampden neighborhood guide for parking and timing tips.
Every place here was checked as operating in October 2026. Hours change, so check before you go. Ratings come only from readers.
Eaten at Hampden restaurants recently? Share what to order. The first good one goes right here.
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