African American-Owned Restaurants in Baltimore

More than a place to grab a hearty meal inspired by Black Southern, West African and Caribbean cuisine, Mama Koko’s is a place to gather your community and be your authentic selves. General Manager Angola Selassie wanted the Old Goucher eatery to exude the same hominess and joy as his mother’s (the Mama Koko’s) home kitchen. There are myriad seating options to serve your crew, from high-top tables to cozy couches and an outdoor patio. In the evening, the space transforms into a stylish cocktail bar serving strong drinks and small plates.

Mama Koko’s is a cozy place to gather for coffee, breakfast, dinner or cocktails. Photo by Justin Tsucalas.

Teavolve is an urban tea house in Harbor East that serves a variety of loose leaf teas, coffee, espresso, house-made sangria and tasty eats for any time of day. Live music is regularly hosted in the lounge with open mic nights every Monday.

Terra Café takes great pride in cooked-from-scratch meals made on the premises and carefully selects the best and finest ingredients. Plus, the menu is as eclectic as the community they serve, featuring everything from jerk chicken and cream of crab soup to Belgian waffles and paninis.

Beyond an innovative “New American” menu from award-winning chef Saon Brice, this Harbor East hotspot boasts an elevated urban ambiance defined by its luxe cocktail menu, dress code and resident DJs that know how to bring the party. On Friday and Saturday nights after dinner, the music is turned up even higher as the restaurant morphs into a high-energy hangout spot.

Ekiben’s popular neighborhood bird bao bun consists of Taiwanese curry fried chicken thigh topped with spicy sambal mayo, pickles and fresh herbs.

What started as a food cart at the Fell’s Point Farmers Market is now a popular three-store operation that dishes up Taiwanese curry fried chicken and Thai chicken meatballs in the form of steamed buns or rice bowls, plus specials that change regularly. What doesn’t change, however, is the fusion-fueled perspective—all the food at Ekiben leans pan-Asian, but there are smatterings of other flavors, such as Ethiopian spices and tahini. In addition to their original concepts and large portions, Ekiben’s popularity stems from its community-first model; in March 2021, owners Steve Chu and Ephrem Abebe drove all the way to Vermont to cook their tempura broccoli for a terminally ill customer. Find Eikiben’s petite eat-in locations in Locust Point, Fell’s Point and Hampden.

Located within The Ivy Hotel, a historic mansion turned boutique hotel in Mount Vernon, this upscale restaurant combines the “classic dishes of France, the comforts of England and the vast spirit of Baltimore.” The space consists of five dining areas, including the walled courtyard, romantic treasury, the Robert Parker winer cellar, a tasting room and the main bar. Ülfet Ralph recently took over as Executive Chef, bringing with her a decade of experience in Relais & Châteaux properties.

After years spent cultivating a fandom via farmers markets and pop-ups across the city, Chef Jasmine Norton recently opened a sit-down restaurant, The Urban Oyster, in Hampden. The first female and Black-owned oyster bar in the country, The Urban Oyster provides high-quality seafood in a relaxed atmosphere. The menu includes plenty of oyster dishes—think chargrilled, cheese-topped oysters and zesty oyster tacos—as well as non-seafood delicacies like oxtail lasagna and her signature burger.

This comfort food favorite has been loved by locals for years and has even gained fame with the likes of Queen Latifah. The Upper Fell’s Point restaurant opened in 2006 and expanded in 2019 to make room for more diners. Expect dishes like barbecue shrimp and grits, raisin bread French toast and stuffed breakfast burritos.

Connie’s Chicken & Waffles has been serving the Southern-style favorite inside the historic Lexington Market for years, and now they have a few more locations across the city. Here you’ll find the highest-quality chicken paired with just about every type of waffle you can imagine—from classic buttermilk to cinnamon, red velvet, Oreo and more.

There’s so much yummy food to try inside the newly renovated Lexington Market!

After traveling to Paris in 2021 and feasting on some of the best chicken they’d ever had, married couple Joseph and Amanda Burton were inspired to start their own French restaurant across from Baltimore’s Hollins Market. With the goal of making everyone feel welcome, they serve affordable juicy rotisserie style in a more relaxed atmosphere not commonly associated with French cuisine. Other menu standouts include the parmesan truffle frites, blackened salmon and house-made dipping sauces.

While the savory melts and smashburgers coming out of Malik Robertson and April Bebel’s food truck would be swoon-worthy in their own right, it’s the duo’s selection of sauces that really set them apart. Pick from variety of flavor profiles including roasted garlic aioli, blackberry chipotle, mango tango, honey bourbon barbecue, maple butter mustard and their signature Royal Sauce. Find them at the Baltimore Farmers’ Market and other events around the city; follow them on Instagram to keep track!

Chef Gregory Brown and Naija Wright-Brown opened Land of Kush in 2011.

Land of Kush serves vegan and vegetarian soul food so savory that you’ll forget it’s also healthy. Everything on the menu is vegetarian-friendly but tastes like the real deal, from the crab cakes and BBQ ribs to the curry chicken and sweet potato cake.

Located in downtown Baltimore, Next Phaze Café puts a Charm City twist on the Southern dining experience for breakfast, lunch, dinner and cocktails. Try the crab cakes, baby back BBQ ribs, catfish fritters, collard greens, buttery cornbread and extra cheesy mac and cheese.

At Papi Cuisine in Federal Hill, owner and award winning chef Alex Perez blends the recipes and culinary techniques he learned from his Dominican father and African American mother to create an exciting Afro-Latin menu bursting with flavor. The restaurant is seafood-focused, and standouts include the stuffed lobster, crab eggrolls, seafood alfredo and honey glazed salmon. The cocktails look plucked from your last Caribbean vacation, complete with a rum punch served in a whole pineapple.

The famous Papi egg rolls are stuffed with cheesy crab cakes and served with a house aioli and warhead sauce.

Since 2011, The Avenue Bakery has brought owner James Hamlin’s family recipes to his childhood neighborhood along Pennsylvania Avenue. Stop in for the signature “Poppay’s Roll,” an enormous buttery bun so good you won’t be able to stop at just one. You can also pick from a selection of cookies, sweet breads, decorated cakes and pastries. After placing your order, learn about the history of African Americans in Baltimore from plaques and photos hanging on the walls, and check out the murals outside the bakery.

Owner James Hamlin shares his delicious family recipes with Baltimore.

LaQuicha Brown, owner of Berries by Quicha, opened her second location in Federal Hill in 2017 after great success at her first location in East Baltimore. Her gourmet chocolate-covered strawberries are irresistible with flavors like bacon, vodka-infused and cheesecake-stuffed.

Send your taste buds on a trip with a scoop from Cajou Creamery! Wife and husband duo Nicole Foster and Dwight Campbell bring bold, bright flavors to their plant-based ice cream made from cashew, almond and hazelnut milks. Cajou offers a range of flavors—horchata, baklava, sweet potato, kulfi—inspired by the couple’s global travels.

Us Baltimoreans take our snowballs seriously. The Ice Queens of this Locust Point shop do too, serving up New Orleans style snowballs and other delicious desserts. Next time you’re in the area, stop by for a refreshing treat and snap a pic in front of Ice Queens’ picturesque storefront.

Grab a New Orleans-style snowball from Ice Queens in Locust Point.

Growing up in Baltimore, Kelly Simmons spent any spare change she had on butter crunch cookies. Eventually, with the help of her grandma, she perfected her own recipe and opened Aunt Kelly’s Cookies to share her love for baking with her hometown. Located on the historic Antique Row of Mount Vernon, this Black-owned business is the only local bakery offering the famous butter crunch cookie, among other flavors, fresh baked daily.

Get to know a few of the tastemakers, restauranteurs and entrepreneurs who continue to elevate and shape the city’s culinary experience while honoring the heritage and contributions of the trailblazers who came before them. 

Scott Bacon

Chef and Owner, Fennec Nomadic Restaurant

After building an impressive resume working for the Foreman Wolf Group and helming the kitchen at The Ivy Hotel’s Magdalena restaurant, Scott Bacon recently struck out on his own to create Fennec Nomadic Restaurant. The roaming restaurant concept takes its name from a small fox whose diet is based on what’s available each season, which is exactly how Bacon designs his menus. Expect globally influenced veggie-forward meals that incorporate culinary techniques such as pickling, fermenting and smoking. Follow @FennecEats on Instagram to stay in-the-know.

Saon Brice

Executive Chef, Blk Swan

Saon Brice has spent more than 25 years in the food service industry, with much of his experience focused on fine dining for large-scale events, parties, restaurants and hotels. He spent 15 years at Linwoods in Baltimore before moving to Copper Kitchen as the Executive Chef. He opened Blk Swan in 2021 as a new take on American cuisine with both luxe culinary experiences and a lively club culture. 

Durian Neal

Executive Chef, Loving Spoon Collective 

Durian Neal began his culinary career working at an Italian restaurant’s pizza station. He’s since worked at several renowned restaurants around the world, from the Grand Hotel of Ireland to Baltimore’s own Gunther & Co. and Ida B’s Table. In 2018, he opened Loving Spoon Collective, an upscale Diaspora-driven culinary experience that strives to not only feed its guests but to educate them on indigenous and African American ancestral practices and cultural rituals.  

Jasmine Norton

Chef, Founder and Owner, The Urban Oyster 

A Baltimore native, Jasmine Norton fell in love with oysters at seven years old. Now, she’s on a mission to share that love with even the most apprehensive seafood eaters through her restaurant, The Urban Oyster—the first Black woman-owned oyster bar in the U.S. Her second restaurant, The Urban Burger, quickly won recognition as the best burger in Baltimore. She has competed on The Food Network shows Guy’s Grocery Games and Chopped and has been featured on Cooking Channel. 

Catina Smith

Founder, Just Call Me Chef 

Chef Catina Smith is the founder of Just Call Me Chef and Our Time Kitchen, organizations that provide community and resources to BIPOC, female and LGBTQ+ chefs, and is on the board of The Food Project. Catina has appeared in The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Magazine, The New York Times, Bon Appétit and more. She has been named Chef of the Year by the Restaurant Association of Maryland and was an honoree at Dine Diaspora’s 31 2021 Black Women in Food Awards. 

David & Tonya Thomas

Partners, H3irloom Food Group 

Veteran Chefs David and Tonya Thomas are on a mission to reclaim the narrative around African American cooking while being part of its evolution. They’re behind the award-winning concepts Herb & Soul Gastro Café and Ida B’s Table, as well as the rapidly expanding H3irloom Food Group. David has appeared on Food Network’s Chopped three times, earning the title of Grand Champion in 2020.