Baltimore Wine Bar Review: Ze Mean Bean

Ze Mean Bean Café www.zemeanbean.com
1739 Fleet Street
Fells Point, MD 21231
(410) 675-5999

Opened in July of 1995, this “Eastern European Café” doubles as a full service restaurant. Ze Mean Bean, located in Fells Point, offers a good place to meet up with friends and have a glass (or two) of wine. The selection is good, with about 100 wines by the bottle and 6 white and 6 red wines by the glass, all offered at a generally fair price. Overall the servers and staff are very friendly and quick to refill your water and bring out your drinks, but don’t expect to get a great wine recommendation or to find out much about what you’re drinking.

As far as eats go, there are a lot of many interesting appetizers (try the “Slavic Sampler” to get the best of all worlds and pair it with a Riesling or Chardonnay) as well as quite an eclectic dinner menu. For a main entree, try the Hungarian Goulash or Pierogies for a quick warm-up on a cold winter’s night. Expect to spend about $25 a person for a glass of wine and a bite to eat. Check their website out (www.zemeanbean.com) for a calendar of live jazz music and other special events. The menu is seasonal and new specials are constantly being created, so you’re sure to find something new and exciting each time you visit.