Good food. Small portions. Lousy service. Don't recommend. The crab cake was really good, but I left hungry. The service , tho, was far from good. No one cared to refill glasses of water or my kid's lemonade. And even getting the check was a struggle. read more

Gertrude's is a fantastic place to go for a special occasion. Although it's a great place to have a cocktail or a fancy dinner, there are two special days when I particularly recommend visiting: Sunday brunch, as others have noted, is divine. Lots of options, including vegetarian. Their crab quiche is rich inside a flaky crust, and the salad sets it off perfectly; I also love the Gutman Avenue Eggs, with smoked fish and potatoes. They bring a basket of fresh assorted breads, and don't dare miss out on their brunch cocktails -- bellinis and mimosas are just the right proportion of juice to champagne, i.e. heavy on the champagne! And as if all that fine food and drink weren't enough, they also have live jazz during brunch to enliven your morning. A great place to bring out-of-town family or new friends. Tuesdays with Gertie is another don't-miss event. Their menu, which is normally quite pricey, gets reduced; they offer about a dozen entrees for $12 each, including cornmeal-crusted catfish and five-spice chicken (both delicious, and enough for lunch the next day!) They also have a list of $20 bottles of wine and $5 first courses, so a tab for two people could easily run under $50. It's a great way to try out their food and service for future visits. Speaking of the service, it's really the best. They have found the perfect balance between fussy and neglectful: servers appear just when you need them, are friendly and knowledgeable, and do their jobs efficiently and well. Oh, and they have art there, too! Try to get there when the museum's open. I like to visit afterwards, to let my food settle, but it would also be a great place to work up an appetite. Parking can be tricky: they have a lot, but it's often full. Street parking is spotty. Just leave extra time so that one glitch doesn't ruin a beautiful meal! read more

Had brunch and it was great!!! Great staff, food, and ambience!!!! They even brought out desert for my husband's birthday . Will be returning!!!! read more

My sister and I visited yesterday after touring the Baltimore Museum of Art. We were ready for dessert and the restaurant is housed in the museum. The made-in-house selections were mouth watering and hard to narrow down to just two. We enjoyed the Triple Chocolate Mouse with flour-less Chocolate cake with a glass of red wine and the Apple-Cranberry spice cake with a Latte. The service was prompt and our server was professional and relaxed. It was a delicious and relaxing break before finishing our visit with a walk in the sculpture garden as the mid-January day flirted with 70 degrees. read more

Excellent food in a beautiful setting!! The museum is free, so you can browse the art while you wait for the table. After soaking up some culture, you can soak up some really, really good food!! And while you can go in casual clothes, this is the kind of place you feel more at home looking a bit swank. Truly excellent coffee. Beautifully done salads- all fresh, tasty dressing. Their pasta salad is a knock out- al dente orzo, crunchy pine nuts, little bits of tomato, and a zingy, citrusy dressing- refreshing and comforting all in one bite! It's addictive!! Home fries are awesome, too. Crispy, perfectily fried potatoe chunks, well seasoned with Old Bay, tossed with sweet fried onion and red and green bell pepper pieces- elevates the breakfast staple into something truly a cut above plain ol' hashbrowns. And I can go on and on....the only disappointment- the crab cake was NOT jumbo lump as described. It was tasty, and meaty, and well seasoned...but NOT jumbo lump. All in all- fun, good food, and you can impress your date with your cultural pretensions!! (Kids do well here, too, since it's a museum space. You can actually draw on the tabletop with crayons! Not recommended if you're shooting for the swank side, though....) read more

On the last day of our stay in Maryland, we stopped by the Baltimore Museum of Arts. My favorite part about this museum was the origami. There were so many of them, and they all folded into cute little individual shapes. Absolutely adorable. After browsing around the museum, my parents and I were getting hungry. Sadly, my brother had to go check out more of the school and get settled. He figured out lunch on his own, while we ate at the museum's restaurant. Looking over the menu, everything sounded good! Finally, we settled on a few items to order. We ordered the eggs Gertrude: eggs benedict topped with broiled crab cakes, poached eggs, and tomato on top of English muffins with hollandaise sauce and served with skillet home fries. Additionally, we ordered house salad. Everything was yummy! Especially the eggs benedict. Eggs benedict is one of my favorite ways to eat eggs. I really like English muffins, and they're crisp on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside here. The house salad was very good here too, just didn't stand out as much as the eggs benedict. I want to come back here again, to look at more art and try more of their menu. The berry salad, stuffed French toast, chicken salad sandwich, turkey ciabatta, and Middle Eastern platter all sound yummy! I probably won't be traveling to Maryland anytime soon. The next time I'll be coming here is for my brother's college graduation. Can't wait! read more

Gertrude's at Holiday time is just great for a pleasant lunch where three gals of a certain age can chat and eat. We dined on December 4th, the second day of the artistic holiday house display. Of course we were not disappointed with the holiday decor and the food. Since each of us has very different dining styles, we chose three different meals. I had the crab cake of the day with fruit and some veggies. This was not the Gertie's recipe but one that the chef created for the holiday - it was pan fried and was golden brown all over. This cooking method sealed in the fabulous flavors of the dry mustard and Old Bay. The crab cake was not lump meat, but it was excellent back fin and earned a 5 star from me. My friend, who is a small eater had the soup and half sandwich selection. The Maryland crab is always good and she had a nice half of a white meat turkey sandwich. My other friend had the fried oyster platter with good crunchy cole slaw and the veggies. She loves Gertie's oysters and had a big smile when she finished. Then we indulged in one dessert to say happy birthday to the birthday gal. This was Gertie's apple tart with vanilla bean ice cream. We split it three ways, and ate it all. A fine meal with good company. There is not a better way to celebrate a birthday during the holiday season. I recommend seeing the lovely decorations before the season is over. I wanted to comment about the restrooms because the BMA was under renovation for a long time and we had to use a portable restroom contraption till the construction was completed. The restrooms are finally done and are wonderful for human usage. read more

I'm still lusting over the amazing soup I had for lunch one day last week while visiting the museum for my first time. The soup was cream of crab. Holy #u$@!!!! Off the chart divine!!! I savored each spoonful, muttering "mmmm" while my eyes went cross-eyed. Rich, flavorful and the crab, oh yeah!! My Caesar salad was very good.....very good, but the soup WINS the day. My partner had the turkey burger w/ fries. He was so impressed w/ how good it was and highly recommends it! The fries that came w/ the burger was very good, nice freshly cut fries and not coated w/ anything. Yum! We had very good service and feel this was one of the best meals so far on our cross country trip. Would definitely return next time I get to Baltimore. read more

Gertrudes is a great place to start your museum visit. We met friends for brunch on Sunday (we were there during the Warhol special exhibition). The restaurant was packed. I recommend getting a reservation for busy times like weekends and evenings via Open Table. We ordered our choice of brunch beverages and our savory breakfast dishes. The round up included eggs benedict, poached eggs on top of seafood hash and the Gertie's crab cakes with the cheddar pearl hominy. While we waited for our dishes, the server brought us a basket of biscuits and cornbread. The cornbread was delicious and had a cake like texture. Yum. The biscuits were tasty though not "stick a fork in me" good. The eggs benedict were perfectly prepared and my friend was very happy with the way it was cooked. I was pleased with the traditional way that the eggs were poached in simmering water, free form. It was firm yet still had its runny center. Perfection! The seafood hash was an amalgamation of smoked salmon, flaked fish, capers and herbs. I really loved it and could have done without the hollandaise sauce since the poached egg was perfectly cooked. The crab cakes were perfect...it is their signature dish option. The cheddar hominy looked a little too peachy in color and had a so-so taste. Definitely the least favorite part of the meal. Service was pleasant and accommodating. The restaurant is a set up of chairs with white table cloths. There isn't too much to look at unless you are seated near the window so that you can look at the sculpture garden. A nice restaurant with good food, but I wasn't WOWed. I would give it a 3.5 read more

I was visiting my best friend, who lives in Maryland, and she decided to take me to this amazing little spot for Saturday brunch. I absolutely loved the food. Our server, Elias, was amazing! He was attentive and was answered all of our questions. I ordered the eggs crabette, per Elias's recommendation. It was mouthwateringly delicious! I also recommend the Blood Orange Mimosa. Never had anything like it before, and it's definitely worth your time (& tastebuds). Everything about this restaurant works splendidly! The food, the service, and the atmosphere was everything I want in a brunch & so much more~ read more

The restaurant has a beautiful ambience. Its celing looks like a star-lit sky. Its candle bowls have star cut shapes so that stars can glow from the candlelight. Everything felt artsy and dreamy in an elegant way. It was a very comfortable dinner. Food was not bad. My entree, the mouthwatering crab du jour, was delicious but my side dishes were kind of bland and not something to rave about. I ordered garlic spinach and savory rice as side dishes. Everyone else seemed to like their dish as well. I got to try a hush puppy, which is like a fried cornbread. Not too bad either. After the meal though, I experienced a slight stomach upset the next day. My boyfriend and three other friends who went to Gertrude's the night before experienced a slight stomach upset as well the next day. We're not sure if it is really due to the dinner but it seemed a little coincidental. I've gone to Gertrude's before this as well and I don't believe I had stomach upset then so this may have been a one-time thing. read more

I called ahead at 10 a.m. and asked if they had Gluten Free vegetarian items on their menu. I was told yes and the items were identified on the menu. That sounded great! So, we drove there, making a special trip to try the restaurant, was seated at a small table, and was given the menus... no gluten free or vegetarian information on the menu.... Turns out we ended up leaving disappointed and disgusted without eating as their lunch menu didn't have the information and the vegetarian chili (the only acceptable vegetarian item I saw) was NOT gluten free (the poor waitress had to go check because the information was NOT on the LUNCH menu... Very frustrating... we won't go back. read more

Gertrude's is a family favorite, and one of our go-tos for special occasions. Our most recent trip was another enjoyable one, although with a few (service-related) hiccups. Drinks: I started with the Thai Basil Sazerac, which I found to be heavier on the whiskey and lemon than the basil flavor, but was still nice for something different. Others tried the whiskey flight, Stargazer (both specials), Old Fashioned, and Orange Blush. Entrees: I chose the grilled jumbo shrimp and crab. There were about 5-7 shrimp surrounded by crabmeat and wrapped in crispy pancetta- the saltiness of the pancetta was perfect with the seafood. The grits were creamy and cheesy and great alongside the garlic spinach. It was a good amount of food for me, but if you're hungrier, I'd go with one of the heavier seafood dishes- the fried catfish looked delicious. Quite a few people in our group went with the "build you own" option with crabcakes- can't go wrong there as Gertrude's crabcakes are some of the best. Dessert: Most people opted for Irish coffees, which were sweeter than I was used to but delicious all the same. We split an Irish milkshake for the table as well. Service: This is where we had some issues. First, after ordering drinks, the waitress returned about 5-10 min later to ask if we were ready to order. However, we hadn't even received our drinks yet! After that, she came with the drinks two or three at a time (we had a party of eight), so it took awhile for all of us to receive them. After dinner, the Irish coffees came out in good time, but everyone was nearly finished when we asked the waitress where our milkshake was. She seemed surprised we hadn't received it yet & returned with it quickly, but it was unclear where the problem was. It seemed to be less our waitress but more the bar service. The last drink we received was the whiskey flight, which one would assume would be the easiest to prepare! The service has been impeccable at all our previous visits to Gertrude's, so it was a bit disappointing to encounter these issues. However, the food remains as good as ever so we will certainly continue to be back. read more

It may seem unusual to have a nice meal in a art museum, but you get used to it at Gertrude's. You can either dine in their nice dining room or outside when it's in season. My wife and I tried Gerts for the first time after buying a $20 for $40 coupon on Google. The food and drinks were excellent. My wife had a Veruca Salt Martini and I opted for beer, which they had a decent selection of in bottles. We had a crab cake app which was good but small. For entrees I had a shrimp, crab and grits dish which was heavenly and my wife had a portabello mushroom and rice dish which didn't disappoint. We were too full for dessert, but we looked around and it looked like there were some good selections to be had. This is a nice place for a special dinner which should leave you full. read more

My husband and I walked here for brunch this past January and enjoyed a quiet meal. After our brisk walk we welcomed the corn bread basket while we waited for our food. I got the scallops with lemon beurre blanc which was delicious and my husband got the Eggs Benedict. Joseph was our server, he circulated around to his tables with ease and panache. We would go back in the spring for a stroll around the museum and the gardens with a rewarding lunch after for sure. Brunch for two with cocktails was $ 71 before tip. read more

My boyfriend and I had bit of bad luck by grabbing a quick brunch at Gertrude's when they were hosting an event indoors thus we were forced to sit in the outside dining area. The sculptures and water added to the ambience but the humidity of Maryland was not pleasant. I ordered the Gutman Avenue Eggs which was was essentially two poached eggs over sauteed salmon, whitefish, and hash drizzled with hollandaise sauce. And my boyfriend ordered the Country Breakfast Platter with chicken sausage. Both of our dishes leaned on the salty side but not to an unbearable extent. The service was good but the average food and mucky weather made the experience a little uneasy. read more

My friend Janet insisted that we go to Gertrudes for brunch, and little did I know it was at the BMA. SO glad she brought me there. SOOOO delicious. I had something simple, vegetarian chili and a side of fruit. Still, it was delicious. Janet had an omelet, and it seemed that she enjoyed her meal, too. They serve biscuits and cornbread muffins at brunch, both of which were perfect with a pat of butter and jam. #yum We had a Foursquare deal for a free dessert, which we happily split. The waitress was so helpful, and the bill was really inexpensive for the overall quality of the meal. read more

We had a wonderful lunch here with the family before checking out the Matisse exhibit. The only negative was the service - it was terrible - but luckily we were not in a hurry. We would've ordered coffee and tea after the meal bud din't want to wait around another 30 minutes. Let me start with the biscuits. Oh my goodness, they were amazing, mouth watering good. Honestly one of the best biscuits I've had in a while. I did the half sandwich, half soup and enjoyed every bite of soup. The cream of crab is rich and savory, with plenty of lumps of crab. I paired it with the shrimp po boy, which had the perfect amount of seasoning. This is the perfect spot to enjoy a meal before or after checking out some of the fine art. I would however recommend a reservation as it was very crowded on a weekend afternoon. read more

Excellent spot for drinks and curated food. Had the wild kombucha and it was bright and refreshing. The hush puppies were moist and an interesting combo with lemon curd. The crab cakes were great as was the crab quiche. The quiche crust was thick and a good match to the crab. Had a nocino as a nightcap that perfectly ended the meal. Lovely night overall. read more

You certainly can't beat the surroundings, since Gertrude's is at the Baltimore Museum of Art and opens to the museum's gardens. But no ordinary museum cafe, this. Fantastic selection of meat, fish and creative vegetarian (grated zucchini "I can't believe it's not crab cakes"). You can order from the well thought-out menu or make your own "combo," selecting from different meats and fish, sauces and sides. Tuesdays: $10 entrees (a deal that canNOT be beat!) Wednesdays: half-price bottles and glasses of wine read more

Great restaurant in a cool spot--in a museum! This was where I took my wife on our second date, years ago. Now we're married. On that note it is a romantic spot. There's a cool sculpture garden and usually some type of live background music. The food is definitely good, just not too memorable at the moment. Dessert on the other hand is excellent. I liked the peanut brittle option. Check out Gertrude's for a romantic date! read more

I love Gertrude, the atmosphere the food . I notice after changing mangers that the servers are not all ways providing the best serves .

I've eaten here twice; once for an anniversary dinner and once with my bosses as a mini holiday celebration. Gertrude's is a beautiful restaurant. I absolutely love the ambiance here; it's super relaxing and beautiful. The second time I was here, they had the whole place completely decked out in Christmas decor, including moving light reindeer (that are usually put on lawns...)! Dishes I've had: 1. Latte-this is good coffee. There was a tremendous amount of foam, just the way I like my lattes. 2. Gertie's crab cakes (part of the $12 Tuesday menu)-Delicious! Just the right balance of flavors, the cakes were well sized. 3. Warm apple dumpling-My favorite thing from Gertrude's. Usually with apple desserts, the apples are too sweet or it's too caramelly. Not the case with this dumpling. The brown sugar ice cream it came with was the perfect pairing. 4. Mushroom ravioli-The sauce was a little sour but the ravioli were well stuffed and flavorful. 5. Gertrude's candy bar-Didn't like this one. Way way way too sweet, and there's a layer of caramel with a dubious texture. Seeing as it's so close to school and work, I'll definitely eat here again. Love the $12 Tuesday deals, which is great for us poor students who don't have money to spend on elaborate dinners. read more

I really wanted to enjoy my experience at Gertrude's but was left underwhelmed and sticky...literally. The waitress accidentally knocked over my glass of champagne that unfortunately spilled mostly on my poor friend's wool coat and skirt. The waitress and staff were very apologetic but we had to ask for a concession to be made on our bill in order to compensate for our upcoming dry cleaning bill. Mistakes happen, but how you recover from them is what is important. It's a bit disappointing more wasn't done immediately to rectify the situation. The food was just okay. I ordered the crab cake with hush puppies, which were satisfying but nothing really memorable. For dessert, we has the churros, which were very good and served with a trio of sauces and whipped cream. The setting in the Museum of Art was pristine and unique, which made our experience even more disappointing seeing as how mediocre the food was. I would definitely visit the Museum again but unless I'm absolutely starving I won't pay Gertrude's a second visit. read more

After a mixed brunch experience last weekend, I'm torn about whether Gertrude's deserves A-OK or Yay! status on the Yelp rating scale for this reason: The food was three-star -- and in the case of one of my dining companions who received what turned out to be an undercooked flounder special, probably less than that -- but the service more than made up for the food's shortcomings. Let me start from the beginning. My vegetable-ricotta omelette was quite satisfactory, if a bit light on the vegetables. The side of home fries was perfectly cooked, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, perked up with a hint of Old Bay seasoning. The orange juice was freshly squeezed. The little basket of complimentary biscuits and cornbread rectangles with whipped butter and strawberry preserves did the trick, although the biscuits weren't as flaky-buttery as I would've liked. Along the way, we came down with the suspicion that my dining companion's stuffed flounder special hadn't been cooked all the way, with telltale signs like still-translucent fish flesh and odd taste. When we reported this to our waiter, he greeted us with profuse apologies, an entirely new meal (I should note, removed from the check without our asking), and a complimentary cup of lobster bisque to tide over my dining partner while he awaited his new meal. The thing that impressed me was that the manager and server took care of all of this in the most professional way possible, with profuse, sincere apologies and the quick remedies I just described. While this shouldn't be unusual behavior, it too often is, and I applaud Gertrude's for its attention to detail. (In his first interaction with us upon our arrival, the same server also thought to ask if I wanted lemon for my water and, after discovering on his own that the first bread plateful he brought didn't look "fresh enough," proceeded to bring me a new batch.) In any case, the brunch was tasty enough that I'd be interested to return for dinner the next time I'm in town. read more

(04/03/2011) Went to celebrate a birthday with brunch at Gertrude's. It's always been a little stiff and pretentious; it is Gertrude's "at the Baltimore Museum of Art" after all. If it's brunch, I want hollandaise on "it", whatever "it" is. Gertrude's self-proclaimed specialty is seafood. I had the Guttman Avenue Eggs. It's just the kind of dish I like, where everything mingles on one plate: perfectly runny eggs with tart, lemony hollandaise; salty and smokey flakes of salmon and whitefish; sharp briny capers, herby bits of fresh dill; tender pan-fried russet cubes. 3 other Benedicts were on the table: Eggs Gertrude with crabcakes (my friend said, "good, small, not mayonnaise-y, English muffin a little too chewy); Eggs Crabette with tomato-jalapeno hollandaise (slightly spicy, crabettes have higher crust-to-interior ratio); Eggs Benedict (classic, devoured in record time). My husband had the stack of 4 buttermilk pancakes; fluffy, tall, tender large crumb, moist (he said, "good, but not as good as Howard's"). To fill our the brunchy vibe we had a round of Blood Orange Mimosas rimmed with orange sugar (fresh-squeezed, goes down too easy) and classic Bloody Marys (well-made specimens, nothing extraordinary). Desserts were delightful; only 2 of us ordered, but everyone helped finished them. The Strawberry Tart with pistachio pastry cream: had small, ripe, sweet, ruby-like berries on a crunchy shortbread crust; not a whole lot of pistachio coming out in the flavor profile, but still enjoyable. The Berger Cookie Cheesecake with Chocolate Cognac Crunch Truffle was the big hit. The cheesecake base had an unusual hint of goat cheese in it, nice extra tangy note. The truffle was like eating a scoop of drunk Berger frostring rolled in the chocolate crunchies from the middle of a Carvel ice cream cake, awesome. All in all, a nice, albeit expensive, way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon, but hey, it's celebration of good food and good friends. read more

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Ended up here because it was in walking distance from our hotel the 1st night we were b'more. We lucked out!!!!! A beautifully designed space inside the Art Museum, on the johns hopkins campus. The staff was friendly, they knew the food, and they knew how to treat a 7 year old boy as well. The food was well prepared, fresh, and tasty. Though not centrally located, worth a trip to eat at read more

We were in town for our niece's gradation from John's Hopkins University. She arranged the lunch as it was on her graduation day. We were a party of 5 celebrating along with a fully booked restaurant. Quickly after we ordered our drinks we were surprised by her 2 brothers (they are triplets and all graduating within weeks of each other) One flew in from LA and the other from NY. Since we didn't know they were coming we only had a table for 5 and no other tables were available. The staff was kind enough to add 2 chairs/settings to our table. The food was outstanding! We had incredible service and our server surprised them with 3 congratulatory desserts at the end. Absolutely loved this wonderful restaurant which is located inside the museum. read more

Gertrude's - New American Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

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My family was searching for a restaurant for my mother's birthday celebration. We selected Gertrude's for many good reasons. It had a diverse menu that would appeal to our entire family, from our young toddlers to the birthday "girl" of 80. What really sold me was the service we were provided the staff. From the very first call until the last person left the night of our event, everyone at the restaurant was an absolute pleasure. On the night of our event, there were no surprises. They accommodated us for all of our needs, including the use of a projector screen, laptop speakers for a PowerPoint presentation and music. John laid out pricing in advance, worked with each and every request and provided us with our own private space to enjoy the evening. We had our own private wait staff that was extremely helpful and polite. Gertrude's made our special event one that will be remembered forever. read more

I have now dined at Gertrude's twice in the past 3 months - once for a weekday lunch and most recently for their "renowned" weekend brunch. The highs: 1) Convenient location for those visiting the Hopkins undergraduate campus (within walking distance) 2) One kid loved the stuffed French Toast 3) Our guests liked the crabcake The lows: 1) Many reviewers have mentioned the "complimentary biscuits" Gertrude's provides. Unfortunately, for neither of our two visits - the lunch or the brunch - were these biscuits provided. Not sure why, but more distressingly, we saw other tables getting said biscuits. I ask the Gertrude's management to clarify - are these biscuits truly complimentary, or is there some trick to getting them (like asking for them and/or paying for them)? 2) My wife got a seafood salad, billed as a combination of shrimp, scallops, and crab over a "salad." What she actually received were two shrimp, one scallop, and a sprinkling of crab over green leaf lettuce. She was so hungry that she had to swipe food from our kids. Not good. 3) The service for both visits was downright lousy. A very long wait between ordering and actually receiving food. And we dined at off-peak times. Very disappointing. Although Gertrude's gets a lot of positive press for being a good place to lunch/brunch in Baltimore, our two experiences have been mediocre at best. For Gertrude's price point (easily $25 per person for teetotalers), we won't be going back to mediocre. read more

Gertrude's is cute. I visited with my buddies during Christmas season and they had gingerbread row houses. We went for brunch. I had waffles & grapefruit mimosa. Both were good, but nothing too fancy. Our server was attentive. We had no problem with parking. I guess it depends on when you go. I would go back next time I want to visit the museum. read more

I went to Gertrude's for a friends birthday for brunch . The staff was rude and incompetent. My food was cold and the French toast was disgusting to say the least . It was my first time here and I won't be back to this establishment read more

This place is great for what it is: a nice, attractive, friendly place to get decent food. I've been here more times that I can count and I would say that 9 out of 10 times I have been more than pleased with the service and delectable edibles I enjoyed. My favorite time to go is for the 12 dollar dinners on Tuesday. For those on a tight budget (and even those who are not) it's a great way to GET OUT and enjoy the city without spending a ton of money. My personal favorite is the crabcake platter. It is always really consistent and very tasty. The "slaw" that they serve with this item is unreal, no mayonnaise (thank goodness), with apple and red cabbage. I could seriously eat this as a salad instead of as a tiny side. Better yet, they have a list of wines for 20 bucks, which, again, given my tendency to sometimes be budget conscious, is a really nice addition. I've been for lunch and while nothing on the menu is overly inspiring, all of the choices I've had have been made well, delivered swiftly, and were filling. Brunch is good too, a great place to go before hitting the museum for some cultural mind expansion. There are two things about Gertrude's that really push it over the edge for me. One is the location, it has a beautiful outdoor seating area and the space inside is warm and inviting, I especially like the LED ceiling that lights up like the night sky. Cheesy maybe, but don't tell me you've gone there and never looked at it. 'Cause you have, I'm sure. Second is the service. The waitstaff I have encountered there have been so friendly and engaging. It doesn't matter if I'm there with my mother or with a group of college students. They really make the experience that much better. Note: oh, did I mention the cornbread that they serve with whipped butter? How could I forget! It's damn delicious. read more

Came here for brunch. Great vibes and great food! I feel like a lot of the appeal is that this is inside an art museum. It just feels unorthodox, which makes it exciting haha. The service was very good, despite the restaurant being very very crowded. We came on a Saturday at 11am and it was PACKED. There was also a wedding going on so I'm sure that contributed to the hubbub. However, the service never suffered. We ordered a soup and sandwich and everything came out hot and fresh. I know some of my friends had mentioned having a poor experience here in the past so I was a little bit hesitant about ordering some items, but glad I didn't (wholeheartedly) listen to them. The food's taste was acceptable, but there were no dishes that really wowed me or were memorable. Seemed like typical brunch food and taste. One cool part about Gertrude's is that there's the museum gift shop next to it. While you're waiting or if you have to take your baby on a walk like I did, it's a cool place to just walk around and is very quiet and far enough away from the restaurant that it doesn't feel as noisy at all. Not sure if I'll be back to Gertrude's unless I plan on visiting the BMA, but all in all, not a bad experience. read more

Three of us were there at noon on Saturday. We were seated promptly. We ordered caesar salad, raw oysters, salmon with spring salad and a crab cake. All of the food was acceptable, except for the crab cake. I thought I was safe ordering a crab cake anywhere in Maryland but I was wrong. This crab cake had too much filler and was very salty. For $26 I had expected more. Service was good. It was very loud - acoustics are not good. read more

Eastern shore crab cakes come broiled with not much filler at all! There was huge lump backfin around the entire exterior. They were excellent. The fries were boardwalk style. They didn't forget to bring a little ramekin of old bay for me, as asked. Also, a nice touch is the biscuits and corn bread that come with house made butter and Apple butter. Delish! Zekes coffee was spot on. read more

Gertrude's - Eastern shore crab cakes with boardwalk fries - New American Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

In a word, disappointing. A friend and I chose Gertrude's for Baltimore Restaurant Week due to their interesting menu and good Yelp reviews. Parking was super convenient which was a plus for Baltimore. We had a 5:00pm reservations and were the first to be seated for dinner on a Friday night. The ambiance was excellent, nice decor, etc., though towards the end of our meal a guitarist and saxophone player set up and played at volume that was too loud for the space. Though it will be a bit long, I'll address each dish we had: Root Vegetable, Butternut Squash & Toasted Barley Soup with smoked paprika-polenta croutons --- pretty good, needed seasoning, no croutons as the menu indicated (this probably would have solved the lack of seasoning issue). The waitress couldn't tell us what vegetables were in the soup. Lump Maryland Crab & Caramelized Shallots served on a shrimp chip with sauce -- no sauce, nothing extraordinary about the flavors but acceptable. Pan Roasted Grouper offered with a tarragon-mushroom broth and saffron-Parmesan risotto -- the grouper was bland and while the risotto was good on its own, it was drowning in (also bland) broth, completely ruining the delicate texture which is my favorite part of risotto! Grilled Swordfish Romesco accompanied by caramelized onion & rosemary mashed potatoes, and mustard-glazed Brussels sprouts -- the swordfish was overcooked and unseasoned other than the romesco sauce, which I didn't care for. The mashed potatoes were delicious, easily the best part of our meal, though I didn't taste any rosemary. The brussel sprouts had mustard seeds on them, but tasted nothing of mustard (or anything other than brussel sprouts), though they were cooked well. Chocolate Trilogy: Flourless Chocolate Cake with caramel ganache, Dark Chocolate Tart, and Chocolate Panna Cotta served with a toasted cocoa nib tuile -- the cake and tart tasted nearly identical, very rich semi-sweet chocolate (think canned frosting) with no other flavors to cut the richness. The panna cotta was actually a mousse, which had very little flavor whatsoever. Port Wine-Poached Pear & Almond Tart served with a local maple chantilly cream, and a cinnamon creme anglaise: the "tart" portion was good, basically a dense yellow cake inside a pie crust. The pear has zero port wine flavor, nor any flavor at all (not even of pear), and was essentially inedible. We did not finish either dessert. We had coffee with our desserts which was good but there was roughly two TABLESPOONS of grounds in the bottom of my cup. Though our menu was edible (other than the pear and the end of my coffee), I was not impressed for the cost (~$100 after tax and tip). At Gertrude's normal prices (not restaurant week) I'd be outraged. Definitely not recommended. read more

Gertrudes is hidden a little bit right now because of all the construction - but don't let that stop you from heading over and take a stroll through the sculpture garden. Luckily for me, I was able to skip the construction on Charles Street and walk over. It was a gorgeous day and we were able to sit outside. I was a little disappointed at the service when we entered. We arrived a little early, and just as they were opening. I made eye-contact with several folks, but no one greeted or spoke to us. We took a seat outside in the garden for a few minutes and waited. It was definitely worth it. Our server was young and quite attentive and a joy to chat with. The coffee came quick, and with a basket of biscuits with butter and jam. I went for my classic - a benny with the Gertie's traditional crab cake. It also came with a tomato and a perfectly poached egg. The hollandaise was creamy and tangy. My mom also went for a benedict, but hers had sweet a flavorful fried oysters. She loved it. read more

Gertrude's is an easy 1000 pt experience. Literally, the entire dinner window 5-8 on Thur awards your OpenTable res with $10 back. Unfortunately, that's Gertrude's best feature. Otherwise G's is meh, so is its clientele. People watch for a minute and you'll catch on.. a date orders steak and red wine while boasting about their palates. An older couple on date-night orders plain burgers, waters. The vibe is classy, especially the mirrored bar. Our server was awkward, plodding through specials and pushing too hard for extra drinks. Things became more enjoyable when he stopped selling and relaxed. And +1 for him when we were comped a full dish as I had asked for only the half-size. The steamed mussels stole the show, a little more mustard than needed but tender and with enough broth to sop up. And for the FIRST time ever in history: every shell had opened! The udon noodles won over the build-your-own tuna, the capers adding bitterness, the bland spinach ignored. The crab imperial was bordering on too rich and the wild rice risotto boringly earthy. The undercooked asparagus needed a healthy dash of acid+s&p. The really cheesy cheese grits were really cheesy but also really dry, globby thick in consistency. Gertrudes serves you room temp butter that could've been house-whipped it's so good, but upon grabbing the cornbread, you'll find it crumbles like Mr. Donovan after drinking from the wrong cup in Last Crusade. Decent but not enough hits to balance the strikeouts, unlikely we'll return. read more

A bright elegant place to grab brunch before hitting the museum. When we came last weekend, the patio was closed for what looked like a wedding brunch. But if you can get an outdoor table on a nice day, I bet it'd be lovely. If you're inside, you can enjoy some quiet jazzy-flute live music. I didn't love my Italian veggie sandwich -- the balsamic vinaigrette sounded tasty on paper, but in practice it made the olive bread soft and soggy. My side of cheddar pearl hominy was good though - slightly corny and cheesy, and not too salty. My husband liked his crab-and-swiss-cheese quiche. Our dining companions gave the thumbs up to the "Dirty Gertie" - a bloody mary, with a shrimp hanging off the rim dipped in red peppery seasoning. However the steak and goat cheese omelet got the thumbs down. read more