If you’re planning on jetting off to someplace fabulous this summer, I’m happy for you, and also very jealous. If you’re spending most of the season stewing right here in Baltimore, take heart. Some of the city’s finest restaurants offer an escape close to home. It’s giving Europe, without the passport renewal.

Check them out during Restaurant Week, which kicks off Friday and features discounted menus that will save you around 20% off regular prices.

Ammoora

  • 751 Key Highway
The dining room of Ammoora. (Kylie Cooper/The Baltimore Banner)

The ritzy Levantine restaurant inside the Ritz-Carlton Residences on Key Highway has gotten its share of buzz lately, including being named to The New York Times’ list of the best restaurants in the country last fall. With stained glass windows, velvet drapes and a stone fountain, the dining room alone is enough to transport you to another world. During Restaurant Week, $55 gets you an appetizer, entree and dessert — a significant savings from Ammoora’s typical menu prices. Choose from items like batata harra, or spicy potatoes, and samke harra, a variation on the classic Lebanese dish featuring salmon, spicy tahini and pine nuts.

The Duchess

  • 1000-1002 W. 36th St.
Patrons line the bar during dinner service at The Duchess in January. (KT Kanazawich for The Baltimore Banner)

The Duchess features the atmosphere of a fine English pub with a menu of Chamorro cuisine. It’s a quirky mashup that somehow just works, and things have only gotten better since the restaurant opened in December after years of delays. A three-course brunch at the Hampden spot this week is $25, and includes chef Kiko Fejarang’s trademark kimchi fried rice and a delectable-sounding ube flan. Or stay for dinner ($45) when you can try the grilled duck breast donburi. Whatever time you’re dining, add on the pancit, a delightfully smoky and vibrant noodle dish that’s not on the Restaurant Week menu.

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Cosima

  • Mill No. 1, 3000 Falls Road
Cosima, found along the Jones Falls at Mill No. 1, presents traditional Southern Italian flavors through its menu. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Banner)

Under a certain light, from a certain angle — perhaps with an Aperol spritz in hand — even the humble Jones Falls can feel like a lush and verdant escape. Don’t believe me? Ask to sit on the lovely patio at Cosima, the Sicilian restaurant inside a refurbished mill that straddles the stream. The eatery recently got a new menu, adding more approachable dishes like pizzas and Sicilian street food. During Restaurant Week, $45 gets you an antipasto, entree and dessert. I recommend the arancini, balls of rice fried until golden and served with peas and summer tomatoes.

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Costiera

  • 415 S. Central Ave., Suite A
A prawns special at Costiera. (Chris Franzoni)

There’s certainly no shortage of great Italian restaurants in Baltimore, even after the departure of Cafe Campli earlier this summer. Costiera, which opened last year in Little Italy, offers a modern perspective on Italian food in the nostalgia-heavy neighborhood. The eatery’s $45 Restaurant Week menu includes updated classics, like a Caesar salad made with fennel and celery and squid ink bucatini served with braised calamari. For dessert, chocolate Basque cheesecake sounds like just the right amount of too much.

La Calle

  • 623 S. Broadway
Barbacoa de cordero, or braised lamb shank in adobo sauce, from La Calle.
Barbacoa de cordero, or braised lamb shank in adobo sauce, from La Calle. (Chris Franzoni)

La Calle is one of those restaurants in Baltimore that’s only improved with time. The high-end Mexican eatery opened downtown in 2018 before relocating to Fells Point in 2023, better than ever. Their $40 Restaurant Week menu includes something for everyone, such as refreshing ceviche to start, as well as bronzino prepared according to a 500-year-old zarandeado tradition. Or go with the carne placero, grilled steak served with spring onions, avocado, chimichurri and smoked chili butter. Welcome to flavor town.

Alma Cocina Latina

  • 1701 N Charles St.
Views at Alma Cocina Latina right before the dinner rush on January 24, 2025. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner)

Alma Cocina Latina, one of Station North’s most beautiful eateries, is offering Restaurant Week diners a $55 menu with optional wine pairings for an additional $25. Start off with the irresistible, cheesy tequeños, then choose from entrees like pabellón, a vegan take on the traditional Venezuelan dish that reflects the country’s rich heritage.

La Cuchara

  • 3600 Clipper Mill Road
Crispy oysters at La Cuchara. (Chris Franzoni)

Now is absolutely the time to be guzzling tomato gazpacho at La Cuchara, the cavernous Basque-themed restaurant not far from Cosima. The chilled soup is an option for one of three courses served on La Cuchara’s $55 Restaurant Week Menu, alongside crowd-pleasing starters such as spinach and cheese croquettes and entrees of pork Milanese or grilled trout. No matter how full you are, it would be wrong not to get the churros and chocolate for dessert.

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The Helmand

  • 806 N. Charles St.
The kaddo borwani pumpkin appetizer at The Helmand. (Simone Phillips)

For more than 30 years, The Helmand in Mount Vernon has invited Baltimore diners to experience the flavors of Central Asia in an atmosphere of genteel hospitality. The eatery has not one but three Restaurant Week menus ranging from $30 to $40. Each one includes dessert, entree and your choice of appetizer, though you really need to get the kaddo borwani, a house specialty featuring baby pumpkin seasoned with sugar and served atop a yogurt garlic sauce.