Encantada

Loved our happy hour visit on a Friday afternoon! The bf and I were talking a stroll along the harbor, when we ended up near the visionary art museum and remembered a friend had recommended the restaurant tucked inside the museum. So we stopped in with a few minutes to place an order off the happy hour menu. I got a mojito, which was amazingly refreshing! I would’ve order multiple more, if I didn’t know better. On the note of drinks, our bartender was very friendly, adding to our experience. We ordered two bites at the bar– the BBQ chickpeas and the brussel sprouts. The BBQ chickpeas were fried crunchy and had an impressive flavor for a dry snack. But our absolute favorite was the ridiculously addicting brussel sprouts. These filled the giant hole that was left in our foodie hearts, after our favorite restaurant in Ellicott city tragically stopped serving their staple sprouts appetizer. Encantada’s sprouts did not disappoint and were fried to the point, where if it weren’t for their green-​brown color you’d be sure you’re eating a potato chip. They came with a classic mayo aioli that we could not help but wipe the dish clean off with the last sprout. Needless to say, I can’t wait to go back!

We’ve had three or four GREAT, creative meals in the past here. We’ve had friends who have gone and not had good experiences, which was perplexing. We just had brunch there today and had a disappointing experience. We sat outside, it was very hot, and they did not refill our water or bring our check, despite our asking. We had to go inside to get what we needed. For the prices they charge for the brunch foods, which are high ($ 15 sandwiches, even grilled cheese), they should have service to match. Specifically, they should not bring out two of the sandwiches 15 minutes after the first three, they should know who ordered what, they should respond to requests for water from people they’ve seated outside on a hot day, and they should bring the check when asked, etc. Hope they return to their old ways soon.

Baltimore Trip #5
Two women with difficulties deciding on dinner was a nightmare. Our 30 years of friendship was tested that day. Luckily, Encantada came to our rescue! This New American restaurant located on the top floor of the American Visionary Art Museum was a new experience for me, and became one of my favorite moments of the trip.
When we arrived, the girl at the door who «greeted» us asked if we had reservations. Since we didn’t, she definitely was not friendly. She made it act like we were a nuisance, but finally found a spot for us. For the record, the restaurant was pretty much empty at the time (we got there right when they opened), and there were still plenty of seats open when we finished. Not sure why she had such a problem about us not having a reservation. Whatever.
After that, our server arrived and she was amazing. She took wonderful care of us the whole time, and her service was impeccable. We immediately found out that it was Restaurant Week. Normally, I wouldn’t have spent $ 30 on a meal, but for the quality and quantity, it was worth it.
Appetizer: Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Garlic Aioli
This was by far one of the most delectable bites ever put into my mouth before. The Brussel Sprouts was perfectly roasted, nicely caramelized. The Garlic Aioli put the dish over the top and I was in a foodgasmic fantasy. 5*
Entrée: Salmon with Lentil Ragu
I rarely order fish at a restaurant, but I decided to try something different, and a lighter fare since I was going to eat dessert. I asked for my salmon to be medium-​well and it was perfect! The fish was moist and the lentil ragu complimented it beautifully. The big surprise for me was the salmon skin. It was crispy and salty – so delicious! 4*
Dessert: Chocolate Cremeux with Anise Cream and Toasted Hazelnuts
I’m a chocolaholic so this was what I chose. I have to say I was a bit disappointed. I believe cremeux is supposed to be like a pudding, but it definitely didn’t taste like that to me. It was much drier and more like a mousse. I make a really good chocolate mousse, and frankly, mine is better than that dish. It was okay – just didn’t make me excited. 3*
Overall, I loved Encantada. I thought the ambiance was very romantic, especially when the lights came down. Every dish is like a work of art, which is the point I guess being in an art museum. If I lived in Baltimore, I would definitely go back again, and try out other items on their menu.

I was excited to try this place since I’m always seeking healthy dining options. But unfortunately I did not like the food. We ordered the Roasted Cauliflower Steak large plate and the Crispy Brussel Sprouts and Nashville Cauliflower small plates to go. The Cauliflower Steak was disappointing. It came with a side of cauliflower risotto and brussel sprouts. The Cauliflower steak itself was just OK. The brussel sprouts that came with the meal and small plate were overly charred, and the risotto just simply did not taste like risotto at all, nor did it have a good flavor. The Nashville Cauliflower was lightly fried but very bland. Also I must say that I think the food is a tad over priced, I do not think the Cauliflower Steak large plate was worth $ 21.
Based on other reviews it seems like this place has some great dishes, however I was not a fan of anything we ordered.

buffalo cauliflower was too buffalo-​y, a little sour tasting? Vinegar-​y?
The steak was good but came with like two pieces. not worth it because the veggies underneath were dry and flavorless. Peppers were ok, bread service was $ 3. for half a loaf a bread. Tastes fresh though. can say that. Risotto was okay though, a little salty. Won’t be coming back but maybe vegan just isn’t for me. who noooose

Service was great! The restaurant was clean and had a nice hipster/​artsy vibe. The food was in good portions and very tasteful. Love the atmosphere of this place, will definitely be coming back for more. (Wish they were open later into the night though) :/

It’s a cool place in the Visionary Arts Museum and is decorated with some fun modern art.
The happy hour deals were pretty good and I thought the apps (especially the buffalo cauliflower) were awesome. I thought the entrees were definitely good, and maybe its because I was too full from the apps but to me the appetizers were way better (and way cheaper).

Came for brunch. Such a funky space and surprisingly good food. Also cool selection of cocktails. Not sure I feel the need to come back — though it may be cool to do drinks on that balcony (it was closed when I was there). If you’re at the museum, def worth checking out.

After a pleasant museum experience, I’m disappointed to say we didn’t enjoy our meals at all. The deviled radishes missed the mark by far. They just tasted… incohesive? Bland? Hard to describe. We wish we’d ordered the cauliflower instead, based on other reviews, but the menu didn’t indicate anywhere that it was buffolo-​wings flavored. Then I had the tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons. The soup was good, but about average. There were two croutons inside. I should have gotten a different ‘meal’. My boyfriend had the chicken sandwich which looked amazing, but alas it was missing the aoli sauce and tasted completely bland. After ten minutes of trying to flag our waiter he finally got a side of the sauce. It pepped up his sandwich but we were both wholly unimpressed.
This restaurant is not cheap for what you get, and apparently overrated. We were bummed.

We came here last night for dinner. I was really excited because it was also restaurant week and I thought the menu looked great. They have a lot of vegan/​vegetarian options so that is a huge plus for people who need that.
This place is also very beautifully decorated. It’s a small space that looks like it could a fun, swanky, trendy place to meet with friends for drinks and dinner.
The restaurant week special was $ 35 for 3 courses. I’m not a huge fan of restaurant weeks and fixed price menus. I feel like they don’t really allow the restaurant to showcase their food (or maybe this place isn’t that great to begin with). Nothing was really spectacular. Here’s what I ordered: sweet potato pâté, braised short rib, and chocolate cremux.
Sweet potato pâté. What I was expecting: a sweet potato vegetarian version of pâté. Wasn’t sure how they would accomplish that but I was intrigued nonetheless. What I got: mashed sweet potatoes thinned out to a spreadable consistency and some bread. Tasted like mashed sweet potatoes on some bread. Where’s the creativity?
Braised short rib. Portion size was really small for an entrée. I was still hungry when I was finished. The flavor was all there but the beef was dry and not braised long enough. Disappointing.
Chocolate cremux. I didn’t know what cremux meant but apparently it means chocolate cream that is piped onto a plate to look like a turd. It was good and all because it was just chocolate but it looked like a poop on a plate. I wish I took a picture.
Service-​service was fine but our server could be a little on the rude side at times.
Overall, I think this place really fell short of my expectations thus the 3 star rating. To be fair, i think restaurant week ruins things because the quality of the dishes tend to go down with events like this but you would think restaurants would try a little harder to showcase to get clients wanting to come back. Didn’t happen with me. I won’t be coming back.

I was pleasantly surprised by Encantada! Sometimes museums, knowing they have a captive audience, can overcharge for ambiance/​location, and mediocre food. Not so with Encantada! The décor was a wonderful continuation of the museum and the food was simply delicious. They even had a selection of good beers on tap, including the local Union Craft brews that I, sadly, can’t get in DC.
To start, we had the olives. Olives are always delicious and there’s no way to go wrong there, right? Wrong. You can do them in ways that make them less delicious. Encantada decided to make them THE MOST delicious by infusing/​soaking them in this citrusy brine and OMG. My mouth is literally watering just thinking about it. They weren’t sweet, or tart, or salty, but kind of all of those things at once? The citrus was subtle but totally made the olives, somehow. I would seriously go back just for those olives.
I had a salad with quinoa and goat cheese and deliciousness, and the boy had the vegan buffalo burger, which he said was excellent. It’s always great to find veggie dishes that don’t try too hard to be just like meat, but are great stand-​alone items. We sat at the bar because we went on a free (and thus very busy) day, and it was a great choice. Not only were we far away from the tables with screaming children, but our server at the bar was incredibly attentive. I always admire servers that can juggle multiple patrons and orders and not only keep everything straight but also seem like they genuinely enjoy their jobs. Maybe it’s because I have such a terrible short-​term memory, that these skills seem super human to me or something, I don’t know. I just know our server was phenomenal and made us feel well cared-​for.

I absolutely love this new iteration at the Visionary Arts Museum!
I have been there for brunch and it was amazing! I love sharing so the fact that all of their food is tapas style was a bonus for me!
If I were you, I would try the crab dip special! It is a deconstructed dip with large chunks of crab and cheese on the side. Ask for extra bread from the beginning because you will run out! Note that it will be pretty oily because it’s deconstructed. But if you can overlook that it is yummy!
Their brunch drinks — bloody Mary’s and mimosas are delicious and all drinks come with Paper straws so they are Eco friendly!
Also note that the walk up to the restaurant is pretty fabulous because you get to walk through some of the exhibits and if you get there before your reservation, check out the gift shop it’s an experience in and of itself! Too fun!

I haven’t tried this place since it became Encantada, but I was glad to get a chance. It was so yummy! It’s focus is on veggie dishes, and they do them right. We started out with the Shaved Portobello, Deviled Turnips, Nashville Cauliflower — each one a meatless dish, but both having great flavor!
Then I moved on to something with meat — Roseda Farms Burger. And even though they do veggies mostly, the burger was great.
One thing I loved was the unique cocktails. I had both the The Cheshire Cat and the Pink Spotted Srunch — super delicious.
Encatada is a worthy place to grab a bite after looking at the art at AVAM. Mae sure to stop by.

My parents and I were visiting my sister and she suggested we check out the Visionary Art Museum as well as its resturaunt inside. The place is beautifully decorated and has an amazing atmosphere. The windows let in the perfect amount of light for photo foodies like me.
But enough of that, for the food we ordered:
–Autumn Grain Salad ($ 11): So good! The combination of ingredients worked really well for me although its not your typically leafy salad. It has a super unique dressing that isn’t too overpowering like so many other dressings. It’s a bit on the higher end of prices for salads but you get a good portion.
–Mussels ($ 14): Good! Mussels were relatively fresh and the soup base was extra good! It was really good to dip bread into!
–Starving Artist Special ($ 11): This is a daily special that changes but it was a chicken salad burger on the day we went. It was quite good and comes with chips which my sister really liked but to me, they tasted a bit too deep fried/​too crunchy. The chips have a bit of a «burnt» taste to them which I know is intentional but they were just so so to me.
–Roseda Beef Burger ($ 12): This is a pretty standard «gourmet» burger. It also comes with a side of chips. Good but not amazing.
All in all, the food was good but not amazing. Probably a ⁴⁄₅ if we were rating on food alone. The prices aren’t too over the top but definitely the atmosphere and location is what pushed me to give this a ⁵⁄₅ overall.

Can’t find anything to complain about!
Came here for brunch and The décor and atmosphere is very inviting and matches the museum– lots of wooden tables with funky metal legs and cute chairs and wall art. The service was great as waiters came around filling up our water even though we had a bottle of water on the table and our food and check came out quickly.
The menu wasn’t extensive but they had some typical breakfast foods, strictly vegetable options (only 3), sides and juices. The juices were very pricy ($ 9) so we opted out as there were more expensive then some of the dishes! On that note the prices were very reasonable for tapas so you can get a few dishes to share.
We got the pancakes which were really sweet but they were good and mini sized, the baby kale salad was very refreshing and light, the Nashville cauliflower (aka buffalo) were really good and did have the flavor of buffalo wings and the farmers potatoes where cooked perfectly and had some crisp to them.
Would love to come back for dinner.

Un très beau resto, avec une déco hipster dans un beau musée, l’American Visionary Art museum (que nous n’avons pas visité par manqué de temps mais ça avait l’air fun).
Le menu est assez court mais tous les plats font envie car ils sont préparés avec des produits originaux et beaucoup de légumes! Choses bien rares aux US, alors on aime beaucoup beaucoup!
Il y a aussi une liste de cocktails aux fruits et légumes assez originales, même si un peu cher peut être (y a pas d’alcool dedans).
J’ai opté pour le plat du jour: des gnocchis à la ricotta et bolognaise aux champignons (végétarien). C’était très savoureux et original, et pas trop cher (11 $). Mon amie a pris une soupe de pâtes qui ressemblait à un bol de ramen avec du bacon et un œuf et c’était aussi très bon et un peu plus copieux que mon plat.
Notre serveur était très sympathique et efficace, même s’il y a eu une erreur dans le plat de mon amie, mais la personne à l’accueil beaucoup moins: le code pour le wifi qu’il m’avait donné né fonctionnait pas, alors il m’a assuré qu’il allait se renseigner régler le problème, mais en fait non, il m’a zappé.
Donc pour l’expérience culinaire et le cadre, ça vaut un bon 4.5, mais je mets 4 pour les quelques problèmes de service.

Really enjoyed this place. As previously mentioned the Buffalo cauliflower tastes exactly like boneless buffalo wings with a good kick. Amazing and decent doze portion I think it an a whole head of cauliflower. We also tried the zucchini hummus which was quite good and different and came with a bunch if super fresh veggies to dip which were all excellent.
Drinks were creative and tasted great. Fresh juices were only available at lunch.
They have meat options as well but we didn’t try thise. We had the chocolate golden leaf dessert which was excellent. Each plate was completely finished. They also have outdoor seating which was closed for an event when I was there but would like to eat outdoors next time.

I had such a fun dining experience here… Great place for a date night! The décor is whimsical with mismatched chairs and large crystal chandeliers. It wasn’t too crowded on a Friday night, which may be because of its location inside the Visionary Art Museum. Hopefully they will get a bigger dinner crowd soon!
The menu is very inventive and full of vegetarian options for those who do not eat meat. However, there is still plenty of flavor so carnivores won’t miss out. We shared 4 dishes… the crispy BBQ chickpeas, buffalo cauliflower, vegetable fries and the gnocchi and we were stuffed!
The crispy chickpeas were super addicting, crunchy and covered with a salty sweet seasoning. Really yummy and perfect for sharing. The fries were a tempura and came with a lemon aoli. We weren’t expecting that (were thinking more french fry like) but it was crispy and delicious nonetheless. I was super excited for the buffalo cauliflower and was actually a bit disappointed because it was more vinegar-​y than spicy. I just didn’t love the buffalo sauce that coated it. However, if you like pickles and love that vinegar flavor you may like it. Finally, the gnocchi was super rich and covered in a savory mushroom sauce. Super delicious and almost TOO rich.
I did get the cheshire cat cocktail that everyone talks about. It was beautiful although didn’t change color quite like I expected. I felt that it was a bit small for the price but super delicious.
Overall a lovely evening and I was excited to try some interesting vegetarian dishes in a cool environment! Would recommend it for a special date or for your foodie friend.

Believe the hype, the buffalo cauliflower is THAT good.
The rest of the meal was great as well. Our waiter patiently waited as we tried to decide what we’d eat — everything on the menu looks so good! The starters are fantastic — the quickles are great (tomatoes, zucchini, onions, cucumbers, and plums). My mushroom-​hating wife even liked the mushroom butter that accompanies the homemade bread loaf. Even the turnips dressed up like deviled eggs are a real treat.
The creamy burrata was so good with peas and peaches. Definitely worth a try. The heirloom tomatoes are fine salad indeed — make sure to soak up the black garlic purée that comes with it! I already mentioned that the buffalo cauliflower — GET IT. It’s smoky with the right level of vinegar and spice. The cornbread and «blue cheese» dressing that go with it are great accompaniment.
The desserts are good too. They were out of the garden moss, so I went with the olive oil ice cream and my wife went for the Goose that Laid the Golden Egg chocolate crémeux. The ice cream was rich, but the olive oil flavor was subtle. The crémeux was delicious and creamy and not very sweet.
I had no room left to try the duck or the wagyu beef, but it gives me reason to come back!
P. S. The majority of the dishes are vegan or vegetarian, but most omnivores won’t miss it (and if you’re a super carnivore, there’s a few meat items too).
This is definitely worth it — try out Encantada!!!

We were lucky enough to come to this brand new restaurant on opening night. The location is ideal. It’s across from Federal Hill. The views from the balcony are historical and stunning. It was a perfect night to sit outside. It was breezy and we were sitting under a full moom.
I had a cocktail and the olives. Both were delicious. I think Encantada will be a great restaurant. I’m looking forward to going back.

Had the distinct privilege of trying out this restaurant on Opening Night and I have to say: AMAZING! Move over meat: the veggies are the real stars here with the standouts being the cauliflower (helllooooo… tasty exactly like buffalo wings for real), the brussels, and the kale salad… which I absolutely adored! I mean, I couldn’t get enough of it. We got the Waygu beef and the duck as well, but honestly, we could have just gotten all veggies and had the best dinner ever — and that is coming from NON-​vegetarians. Yes… they are that good.
Located inside of AVAM, this restaurant occupies the former Mr. Rain’s space, which boast a beautiful outside patio and ample space inside, making it great for all-​season dining, as well as private events (ask them about renting out the restaurant and hosting your own party).
The cocktails are unique and refreshing and the desserts were a bit unorthodox (olive oil cake and sea salt ice cream for example), but perfect for the adventurous diner. They also have an array of Taharka Brothers ice creams, which is always a crowd-​pleaser.
Whether it’s a casual lunch or a special date night, Encantada has got you covered with their amazingly delicious small plates and cocktails. A must visit!