Pizza is about as rampant in the city as sushi. In every pocket of Baltimore, you can find a fantastic pizza place-no questions asked. This summer, however, I was on the hunt for a pizza place with outside seating, great drink options, and close to where I’d be going out later-Fells Point.

The winner? Bagby Pizza in Harbor East! Tucked in the Bagby building of Harbor East, across from Whole Foods, the MAC, and Talara, you can find a slice of tranquility in Bagby’s.

Walking inside, you’re greeted by a warm brick facade, high bar stool tables and seating, a super warm staff, and paintings scattered around the room from local artists. 

Going during their happy hour from 4-7, I took advantage of the $3.25 Stella (let it be known, I am no beer drinker. Stella is my only exception) as soon as we ordered.

My advice is to peruse the menu online before going in-store in the chance that it’s busy. As soon as you walk in, you go up to the counter to grab a menu and order there and then seat yourself to have your food delivered. 

I had heard some rave reviews on their salads and homemade dressings and decided to try the Bagby Chopped Salad.

Let’s put it this way-I barely remembered to take a photo of the salad before consuming it as fast as I could. The salad was super fresh, filled with veggies and paired perfectly with their house dressing! Such an ideal summer salad and it curbed my appetite so I wouldn’t then indulge in the entire pizza.

With a zillion pizza options to chose from, all sounding great to me (I WILL be back for that fresh basil chicken pesto pizza), my date and I opted for their BBQ chicken pizza.

The pizza came out at the perfect time post salad and looked amazingly fresh! 

Sweet with a tangy kick, the creaminess of the cheese complimented the bbq chicken perfectly! I easily ate 2 slices and didn’t feel the usual pizza heaviness afterwards.

For a higher price pizza ($16), it was worth it. We wound up leaving with enough leftovers for the perfect Friday night late night snack and the pizza itself was gourmet and so fresh out of the oven that it put all other $10 pizzas to shame.

The exciting news is that Bagby’s is expanding! With outside seating already provided (and more coming) and a menu that surpasses pizza with sandwich options that sound tempting, I really look forward to my next Bagby’s visit!

Given my penchant for Harbor East ( the Whole Foods and South Moon Under beckon my wallet every time), this will be a great post-shop stop or pre-going out pizza place to bring the friends and relax over a few slices and some great beer!

Bagby’s takes the traditional pizza and beer night to a whole new level, offering a gourmet dash of class to every dish!