DuClaw Brewing Co. Restaurant

 

5

108

K Sera S.

Columbia, MD

It's got a nice location, but that's the best I can say for it.

Their beers are really not bad, but I'd much rather patronize a truly local place like Max's (also in Fells Point) than a chain. The food is chainerifically predictable and actually kind of sub-par, even by the low standards I have for such dull establishments.

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Elite '08

34

144

Natalie D.

Austin, TX

An okay place.  It was a FABULOUS evening to sit out on the patio and watch the sky change colors.  (We did have a bit of a fly problem though.)

Service was okay.  We had a trainee who tried to be verrrrrrrrrrrrry accommodating to our 5-person party.  

The menu wasn't that appealing to me (or I wasn't in the mood for any of it).  I tried the crab sandwich (I am not  seafood person, but when in Baltimore...) and thought it was good.  Heavy though.  I split it was someone and was still completely stuffed.  (I would not usually be stuffed on half a sandwich.)

Tried their beer sampler.  I'm not much of a beer person so I can't say it was good or bad, but hey, I drank it!

Nice outside patio.  Okay food.  Okay beer.  Okay service.  I'm sure there are better places in the Fell's Point area, but if you get to the end of the road and don't feel like turning back to find another point, you'll do okay here.

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0

22

Naomi M.

Chicago, IL

The space is nice. The beer is good. The food is average. The waiter was ok. I'd go back for the Misfit Red, but only if someone else suggested it.

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70

141

Kathryn E.

Dallas, TX

Average chain restaurant with average chain restaurant quality food.  Dragged here by some friends for a work lunch.  Some nice salads, good view.  It is a shame though that Fell's Point which has so many nice independent establishments that make the area and Baltimore in general unique, now risks going the way of the chain restaurants - such a shame.

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Elite '08

90

139

Kori K.

Alexandria, VA

While walking around Fell's Point last Saturday, hoping to catch a descent meal without having to deal with drunken pirates (It was Pirate Fest Day) we ended up at Du Claw.

My friend and I both ordered the Venom beer, which has a light citrus flavor, that we both enjoyed and ordered 2nd and 3rd rounds. Yes, I said third rounds.

There are a number of beers here to try though, and samples you can order. We were disappointed when we saw the table next to us order multiple samples and yet barely drink any of them before leaving. Major party foul.

I ordered the jambalaya (of course) to my surprise it actually was a little spicy, making me a happy camper. I don't know how many times I order this Cajun treat and end up disappointed. This places wins my mark of approval and I'd go back if I was in the area.

Between the two of us with all that beer the meal still came out to $40, so not bad. There were a couple of descent veggie options as well, but warning, the Portobello sandwich comes with a salad as a side that you can't substitute with fries, onion rings etc. A small disappointment for my friend, but he said the sandwich was  big enough to fill him up anyway, so everybody wins.

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0

8

stefanie m.

San Francisco, CA

Beer sampler of 10 beers came out like this: 2 were totally disgusting (naked fish and naked fish nitro - raspberry beers - really awful) and three others were just really bad. The other remaining beers were ok. But all were just not great.
Service was slllllooooww, but seemed not to be the fault of the really nice waiter, Keith. We had to move tables because someone next to us was smoking on the patio. The hostess moved us instead of asking them to stop smoking even though smoking is illegal on the patio. Oh well. She also didn't clean any tables off until someone wanted to sit down. Nothing is more appetizing than walking to a table to find it covered in crumbs and mystery liquid and then watch the hostess spray it down and wipe it with the same cloth she uses for all the other tables...I've worked in service. Just clean the table after you buss it, that way it's clean when you take someone to it. Also maybe pick up the old tray of dog water from the customer before.
We ordered a crab pretzel, the best seller. I'd never had one before and it was a horrifying thing - a pretzel roll w/ crab mayonaise, old bay and cheddar cheese.  I know this is a popular thing here but it didn't do anything for me so we ordered the seared Ahi instead. It was ok, but it had a dollop of something that tasted suspiciously like apple butter on each piece.  WTF?
Nice outdoor area to sit in the sun, but that is about it.

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Elite '08

196

257

kristine r.

New York, NY

Went here for my 5 year college reunion dinner this past Saturday night.  The location is great since it's on the corner and right by the water.  Always nice to get out of NYC once in awhile and experience real spaciousness in dining.  If the weather had been a tad bit warmer, it would have been great to sit outside.  We were close enough, though, since our table was right by a wall of window-doors that remained open until we couldn't take the slightly chilly night air anymore.

Unfortunately, we were hit with some really bad luck on the night we dined here.  Apparently there was some big event that was supposed to take place elsewhere, but for whatever reason ended up at DuClaw instead.  So by the time we sat down at our table of approx. 20, half the items on the menu were already sold out.  And it was barely 8pm on a Saturday night.

A bunch of us out-of-towners were seriously craving some crab since it is Maryland after all.  You just can't get crabmeat like that in NYC and I was hoping to get my fill and possibly even OD on it.  But the crab gods had other plans for us that night.  Crabcake platter, out.  Crab dip, out.  Crab ANYTHING, out!  Absolutely no crab left in the entire kitchen.  Are you serious?!  Argh.  Plan B for me was a chipotle-lime crusted tilapia, but my friend was not so lucky.  Her Plan B was an appetizer of mussels, which also ran out *half an hour* after she already placed her order.  She eventually went for the Venom & Chips platter (fish 'n chips, really) and ended up liking it.  My tilapia was also quite tasty and had a nice kick of spice to it.  It came with a side of broccoli that had already cooled off considerably by the time the plate reached me (or perhaps it was meant to be lukewarm?).

So the other big gripe of the night was the slowness of service.  I can't really blame the waitress too much since we were a very large group and the restaurant did seem to be very busy (especially since that other event already stole...err...ate all the good food up).  But the poor girl seemed to be floundering.  Her first (and biggest) mistake was offering to do separate checks for everyone.  I know in NYC, this would never have happened.  Why put yourself through the stress if you can help it?  But if she's offering, then I'm taking.  This led to a very confused, frustrated and long process at the end of the night when she was trying to match up checks.

By the time our meal was over, my butt was sore from sitting down for so long.  We arrived at 7:45, put our orders in by 8pm and then waited and waited and waited for our food to come.  Of course, during that interval, the waitress had to come by and inform us of more dishes that had managed to sell out since we placed our orders (e.g. my friend's mussels).  We finally got our food around 9:30pm.  An hour and a half later!!  I was basically ready to crash by that point since my blood sugar was getting low.  We didn't even get any bread or anything (even though they had pre-set small plates and napkins on the table --- was that so we could share all the non-existent food we were trying to order?).  This review is turning out to be really long, but I think it's pretty proportional to how much time we spent there.  By the time we left, it was almost 11pm.  I couldn't wait to break free and get back out into the fresh air!

I guess the upside is that we had plenty of time to catch up and talk to each other since a lot of us hadn't seen each other since we graduated.  But the acoustics in DuClaw weren't great either --- everything seemed to be echoing off the walls resulting in a very, very loud dining atmosphere.  I couldn't even talk in a normal volume to the people on either side of me, let alone the people across from me.  And trying to hear what people were saying was a whole other issue.

Okay, so my experience at DuClaw was less than stellar but it still managed to eke 3 stars out of me.  I'd give it another chance if I was visiting Baltimore and happened to be in Fell's Point.  A lot of the menu items did sound interesting and appetizing, and I'd like to try them when they have a fully stocked kitchen.  My actual meal was also very satisfying and too big a portion for one sitting (I ended up taking about 1/4th of it home), and also reaasonably priced.  I wasn't crazy about the beer I ordered (the Venom brew) b/c I was expecting it to have a lighter, less bitter taste since it was already the second to lightest brew they had.  But I'd be interested in trying some of their other brews too - and at less than $4 a pint, it's a great deal.  And you can't really beat the location, so that's a major plus.  But even though they look like the type of restaurant that can accommodate large parties, I'd be wary about booking a big dinner outing there.

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