Best Burgers in Baltimore: Old Bay and Bars

The best burgers in Baltimore are found in its rowhouse neighborhoods: Fells Point, Canton and Federal Hill around the harbor, Hampden and Remington to the north, and Mount Vernon and Station North near the center. Expect corner-bar burgers and pub burgers, with fries shaken with Old Bay on the side.

Old Bay is the city’s flavor. Gustav Brunn, who reached Baltimore in 1939 after fleeing Nazi Germany, developed the celery salt and paprika blend for the crab steamers of the Chesapeake Bay, and Marylanders now put it on fries, corn and wings as readily as on crabs. Baltimore’s other beef tradition is pit beef: top round grilled over charcoal, sliced thin and piled on a kaiser roll with raw onion and horseradish, a roadside staple along Pulaski Highway on the east side. A good burger here has to hold its own against that sandwich, and against the crab cakes found on many bar menus.

Burgers in Baltimore: key facts

• Neighborhoods to explore: Fells Point, Canton, Federal Hill, Hampden, Remington, Mount Vernon and Station North.
• Local seasoning: Old Bay, created in Baltimore and now made by McCormick.
• Local beef sandwich: pit beef, charcoal-grilled and sliced to order.
• Market: Lexington Market, trading since 1782, for a quick tour of the city’s food.
• Getting around: the Light RailLink and the Metro SubwayLink cross downtown; harbor neighborhoods are easy on foot.
• Currency: US dollar (USD).

Every guide we publish on Baltimore is dated and lists only venues, addresses, prices and ratings we could verify. Visit our burger restaurant guides for more cities.