In this year’s readers’ poll, locals share their insight on the places, dishes, drinks and people that make the county a place to dine. The winners include old favorites and new faces — and offer lots of inspiration for your next night out.
Ambience: One Eleven Main
Honorable mentions:
Pairings Bistro
Independent Brewing Co.
Bacco Italian + Wine Bar
Asian: Chopstix Forest Hill
Honorable mentions:
Fuji Sushi
Lemon N Ginger Asian Grille
The Orient Restaurant
Bakery: Flavor Cupcakery & Bake Shop
Honorable mentions:
Newberry Bakery
Woodlea Bakery of Bel Air
Coffee Coffee
Bar food: Sean Bolan’s Irish Pub
Honorable mentions:
Looney’s Pub
MaGerks Pub & Grill
Route 24 Ale House
Barbecue: JD’s Smokehouse
Honorable mentions:
Birds Nest BBQ
Wargo’s Restaurant & Tavern
Bruno’s Land & Sea Restaurant
Bartender: Shelby Stange, Independent Brewing Co.
Honorable mentions:
Lisa Moody, Double Groove Brewing Co.
Nicole Turner, Earth, Wood & Fire
Nick Franchetti, Sean Bolan’s Irish Pub
Beer list: Independent Brewing Co.
Honorable mentions:
Hopkins Farm Brewery
Double Groove Brewing Co.
Route 24 Ale House
Black-owned restaurant: Island Spice Grille & Lounge
Honorable mention:
Spice Isle Restaurant and Catering
Breakfast/brunch: Sunny Day Cafe
Honorable mentions:
Bagel Works of Bel Air
Coffee Coffee
Double T Diner
Burger: Five Guys
Honorable mentions:
Black Eyed Suzie’s
Humagalas
Sean Bolan’s Irish Pub
Chef: Jon Kohler, Pairings Bistro
2105 Laurel Bush Road, Bel Air. 410-569-5006. pairingsbistro.com
For more than a decade, this Bel Air restaurant has invited guests to think outside the box when it comes to food and beverage, offering seasonal cuisine and thoughtful wine pairings to match for every item on the menu. Did you know that you can pair a pinot noir with fried mozzarella, or a nice rose with an ice cream sundae? Perhaps that’s why readers call chef and owner Jon Kohler Harford County’s favorite chef. While the strip mall location doesn’t scream elevated cuisine, the restaurant’s comfortable atmosphere, consistent fare and attentive service make this a worthy destination. Kohler says the next frontier for the eatery will be beer and cocktail pairings. “We just want to pair beverages and food together,” he said. “It’s about layers of flavor and textures and all of that.”
Honorable mentions:
Lauren Bierman, Earth, Wood & Fire
James Bratton, Uncle’s Hawaiian Grindz
Omar Hernandez, Liberatore’s Ristorante & Catering
Cocktail: Mucho Gusto
Honorable mentions:
Looney’s Pub
Liberatore’s Ristorante & Catering
Pairings Bistro
Coffee: Coffee Coffee
Honorable mentions:
CoffeeBar Bel Air
Sunny Day Cafe
Dunkin’
Crab cake: Box Hill Pizzeria
Honorable mentions:
Richard’s Fish & Crabs
Water Street Seafood
Sean Bolan’s Irish Pub
Deli: Vagabond Sandwich Company
Honorable mentions:
Savona – Fine Italian Foods and Wine
Boulevard Bistro
Bruno’s Land and Sea Restaurant
Delivery: Pat’s Pizzeria
Honorable mentions:
Mr. Y’s Pizza N Fries
Ballpark Restaurant
Dessert: Broom’s Bloom Dairy
Honorable mentions:
Flavor Cupcakery & Bake Shop
Pairings Bistro
Cozy Cookies (tie)
Keyes Creamery (tie)
Fine dining: One Eleven Main
111 S Main St, Bel Air. 443-900-8027. oneelevenbelair.com/
The Bel Air eatery opened in the fall of 2015 in a historic Main Street building that has lived many lives in its more than 150 years: coffee shop, florist, deli, and a prohibition style bar. But its current incarnation may be Harford County residents’ favorite yet. “Were a very small intimate dining room” said manager Kristen Oktavec. “The space is warm, cozy, quiet.”
Linen table cloths and candles adorn small tables. Readers named One Eleven Main best for ambience, fine dining, overall and for steak.
Under the helm of executive chef Bryan Boessel the restaurant serves up a menu of well-executed staples like seared sea scallops and filet mignon complemented by a diverse wine selection and cocktail menu.
Honorable mentions:
Pairings Bistro
Bacco Italian + Wine Bar
Barrett’s On The Pike
Frozen treats: Broom’s Bloom Dairy
Honorable mentions:
Jarrettsville Creamery and Deli
Arctic Circle
Bomboy’s Homemade Ice Cream
Happy hour: Looney’s Pub
Honorable mentions:
MaGerks Pub & Grill
Uncle’s Hawaiian Grindz
Liberatore’s Ristorante & Catering (tie)
Route 24 Ale House (tie)
Healthful menu: Poke Bowl
Honorable mentions:
Coffee Coffee
Saladworks Bel Air
Tropical Smoothie Cafe
Italian: Bacco Italian + Wine Bar
Honorable mentions:
Enotria Restaurant & Grill
Liberatore’s Ristorante & Catering
The Olive Tree
Late-night dining: Sean Bolan’s Irish Pub
Honorable mentions:
Taco Bell
Earth, Wood & Fire
Uncle’s Hawaiian Grindz
Latin: La Tolteca
Honorable mentions:
Plaza Mexico
Echo Frezco
Live entertainment: Looney’s Pub
Honorable mentions:
Fallston Barrel House
Double Groove Brewing Co.
Earth, Wood & Fire
Lunch menu: Sunny Day Cafe
Honorable mentions:
Coffee Coffee
Margherita Pizza Of Bel Air
Mr. Souvlaki
New restaurant: Mucho Gusto
1209 A Belair Road, Bel Air. 443-299-6770. muchogustogroup.com/
Investors initially dismissed Nelson Ruiz when he approached them with his idea for a restaurant in Bel Air. Customers in the area, better known for chains than innovative cuisine, wouldn’t be interested in a new concept bringing artisanal margaritas and an upscale atmosphere to Harford County, they said.
But Ruiz felt differently. After many years living in the area, the New York City transplant said he was convinced Bel Air residents would be drawn to something different if given the chance. This year, Harford Magazine readers voted his restaurant, Mucho Gusto, which opened in July 2020, best new restaurant — with the best cocktails.
Head mixologist Oskr Hernandez mixes up the cocktail menu every few months. Drinks are made with fresh-squeezed juices and housemade purees. “It’s fresh as can be and people can taste it,” Ruiz said. Many call it “the best margarita they’ve ever had.” Mucho Gusto also offers an assortment of mezcal and bourbon with shots ranging in price from $8 to $300.
And those naysayer investors? Ruiz said they are now bankrolling new branches of Mucho Gusto set to open in coming years.
Honorable mentions:
Mr. Souvlaki
Water Street Seafood
The Mint Room
Outdoor dining: The Hickory Lodge
2119 Conowingo Road, Bel Air. 410-838-2240. thehickorylodge.com
There’s not a ski resort within 60 miles, but you wouldn’t know it from the ambience of this rustic restaurant. Here, among weathered timbers and cozy fires, one can dine on alpine fries, avalanche burgers and Matterhorn salads, while perched in ski lift chairs that hang from above.
Eat inside or out. There’s a patio and covered pavilion with 30 tables, a gas fireplace, strings of lights and bedecked with plants and seasonal decor (pumpkins and colorful leaves in fall). On weekends, there’s music out yonder — a disc jockey and/or three-piece bands playing everything from country tunes to classic rock.
“It’s a nice atmosphere to hang out in,” says David Steele who, with his wife, Jean Miller, opened the place in 2009. They’d bought the building, a rundown bar, three years earlier with plans for a quick renovation. But while knocking down walls, they uncovered remnants of a 19th century log cabin, with rough-hewn timbers that they couldn’t tear down.
“So we rebuilt the place to mimic what we’d found,” said Steele. The three-year project assumed a ski theme. Never mind that there’s a supermarket next door; just dig into the bacon-wrapped meatloaf or the 14-ounce pork chop and pretend you’re in Vail.
Honorable mentions:
Independent Brewing Co.
Uncle’s Hawaiian Grindz
Pairings Bistro
Overall: One Eleven Main
Honorable mentions:
Pairings Bistro
Double Groove Brewing Co.
Liberatore’s Ristorante & Catering
Pizza: Buontempo Brothers Pizza
1 S. Main St., Bel Air. 410-838-7640. buontempos.com
“We are an icon,” says Renato Buontempo, co-owner of the 32-year-old Italian restaurant on Bel Air’s Main Street. And while it serves up a full card of entrees, from chicken cacciatore to shrimp parmigiana, it’s the pizza that draws folks in — nearly 20 kinds in all. Choose from buffalo chicken, seafood, veggie or eggplant parm; a 10-topping deluxe or a gluten-free pizza with a cauliflower crust. Or go with the basic cheese pie that put this place on the map.
Each year Buontempo, 52, returns to his native Italy in search of new recipes. But nothing goes on the menu until it passes muster with his wife and four children.
“I ask them, ‘Is this gold?’ I get their input,” he says. “If a product is not good enough for my family, I won’t serve it to customers. I taste our pizzas every day, just in case something’s missing.”
It’s an enviable task.
“We use the best olive oil, flour and mozzarella cheese you can get in America,” Buontempo says. “The crust
hasn’t changed from the start.”
The key ingredient?
“My heart goes into every pizza.”
Honorable mentions:
Italian Sensation
Earth, Wood & Fire
Margherita Pizza Of Bel Air
Place to take out-of-towners: Independent Brewing Co.
Honorable mentions:
Hopkins Farm Brewery
Double Groove Brewing Co.
One Eleven Main
Place to take the kids: Buontempo Brothers Pizza
Honorable mentions:
Earth, Wood & Fire
Uncle’s Hawaiian Grindz
Box Hill Pizzeria
Seafood: Conrad’s Crabs and Seafood Market
Honorable mentions:
Steelefish Grille
One Eleven Main
Water Street Seafood
Server: Travis Moore, Sunny Day Cafe
Honorable mentions:
Gerald Grant, Earth, Wood, & Fire
Michael Reisinger, Double Groove Brewing Co.
Anastasia Zivkovic, Uncle’s Hawaiian Grindz
Service: Sunny Day Cafe
Honorable mentions:
One Eleven Main
Double Groove Brewing Co.
Coffee Coffee
Sports bar: Looney’s Pub
312 S. Main St., Bel Air. 410-803-7080. looneyspubmd.com
Of the 130 televisions humming here, all are tuned to sports. None air the news.
“We don’t show politics or religion,” co-owner Bill Larney says. Nothing that might cause a rhubarb. Except sports.
“Ravens-Steelers and Orioles-Yankees is as [contentious] as we get,” he says.
The marriage works. At Looney’s, you get muscles with your mussels or any other dish — a dandy combo for patrons who pack the place on weekends.
Open since 2002, it’s the second oldest of five Looney’s establishments in the Baltimore-Washington area. Happy Hour (2 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily) offers discount drinks, $8 appetizers and a congenial atmosphere which, the owner says, give his place the edge.
“Our friendly staff offers over-the-top service, where everybody knows your name,” says Larney, 53. “Come in on a Monday or Friday afternoon and, basically, every one of the [90] bar stools is full.”
Weekends bring live bands inside the spacious dining area, playing country or classic rock, while acoustic guitars entertain those sipping and supping on the patio, which has 24 tables and its own small bar.
Music aside, the TVs rule. The games play on.
“On Sundays, we show every NFL game,” Larney says, “and no matter where you’re sitting, you can see them all.”
Honorable mentions:
Route 24 Ale House
The Greene Turtle Sports Bar & Grille
Ballpark Restaurant
Steak: One Eleven Main
Honorable mentions:
Barrett’s on the Pike
Pairings Bistro
Liberatore’s Ristorante & Catering
Steamed crab: Richard’s Fish & Crabs
Honorable mentions:
Crab Truck and Seafood Stop
Conrad’s Crabs and Seafood Market
Winters Run Inn
Takeout: Box Hill Pizzeria
Honorable mentions:
Italian Sensation
Mr. Souvlaki
Pat’s Pizzeria
Value: La Tolteca
Honorable mentions:
Buontempo Brothers Pizza
Sean Bolan’s Irish Pub
Plaza Mexico
Vegetarian options: Coffee Coffee
Honorable mentions:
India Garden
Pairings Bistro
Uncle’s Hawaiian Grindz
View: Hopkins Farm Brewery
Honorable mentions:
Tidewater Grille
Mountain Branch
The Promenade Grille
Wine list: Pairings Bistro
Honorable mentions:
Bacco Italian + Wine Bar
The Vineyard Wine Bar
Enotria Restaurant & Grill
Editor’s note: Winners and honorable mentions were determined by popular vote. Readers were invited to nominate and vote online in July and September.
