It is all too easy to walk into an overpriced tourist trap in Little Italy, but that's why you brought this travel guide, right? Amiccis is one of the clear favorites, having won "best Italian restaurant" categories in various years across multiple Baltimore journals/websites. The setting seems somewhat fancy, but the atmosphere is decidedly casual and informal. Portions are enormous, wine flows plentifully, prices reasonable, and those mixed drinks are stiff. They also have a nice new bar, which is a solid after hours option in the area.
Sun-Thu 11AM-10PM, Fri-Sat 11AM-midnight·$16-32
Small, cosy and nondescript restaurant that nevertheless serves good quality and fairly authentic Italian food.
Mon-Thu 11:30AM-3:30PM, 4-10PM, Fri-Sat 11:30AM-3:30PM, 4-10:30PM, Sun 11:30AM-9:30PM·$18-30
This small, colorful restaurant's food is universally well received. Portions are small and modern, so don't skip the appetizer. The one misstep is pretty clearly the service, which, while knowledgeable and pleasant, is slow.
Mon-Thu 11:30AM-2:30PM, 5-9PM, Fri 11:30AM-10PM, Sun 4-9PM·$23-30
The huge portions on Italian carb-loaded dishes in this part of town can make dinner here ruinous for anyone on a diet. Enter Dalesio's, which offers a host of low-cal dishes, with the numbers printed on the menu. It's also small, quiet, and dimly lit, making it a good date option. A neat surprise are the great all-lump crabcakes.
Mon-Thu 11:30AM-3PM, 5-10PM, Fri-Sat 11:30AM-3PM, 5-11PM, Sun 4-9PM·$23-40