Technically, it’s not even a restaurant. But that didn’t stop The Wren, a pub that opened this year in Fells Point, from making it to The New York Times’ list of the 50 best restaurants in the country.

In a 150-word blurb, The Times’ chief wine critic Eric Asimov praised The Wren as a “perfect pub,” noting its well-rounded drink options and “food prepared with superb ingredients and meticulous care.” Co-owner Will Mester, using just a few induction burners and a convection oven, “produces lovely, seasonal pub fare.”

Among the rotating culinary highlights soon after The Wren opened in February were Mester’s perfect duck cassoulet featuring sausage from Ostrowski’s of Bank Street, and madeleines, baked to order and still warm from the oven. As a chef, Mester often favors offal and other lesser-appreciated cuts of meat.

It’s not for everyone, though.

The Wren “is a pretty left-field, idiosyncratic project,” Mester said. “There’s a lot of people that come in and look at the menu and say, ‘We’ll see you another time.’”

As they ran errands Tuesday for the pub, Mester and wife Millie Powell said they’d been fielding congratulatory messages from friends all morning, including those in Powell’s native Ireland. They had their suspicions that The Wren would be featured in the best restaurants list after a photographer from The Times came to the bar. “And because we’re so great,” Mester said.

Mester, Powell and co-owner Rosemary Liss opened The Wren in the former Birds of a Feather space at 1712 Aliceanna St. Mester and Liss also own the much-lauded Le Comptoir du Vin in Station North.

The only spot in Maryland to make The Times’ list, The Wren joins other, more famous eateries such as Washington, D.C.’s, La’Shukran, from James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Rafidi, as well as Emeril Lagasse’s New Orleans restaurant.

For a small business like The Wren or Little Donna’s, which was named to the New York Times list in 2023, being recognized by a national outlet like The Times, particularly for a list as competitive as the 50 best eateries, can bring both an influx of customers as well as immense pressure.

“The biggest challenge is just navigating that process of people who are giving you one shot,” Little Donna’s owner and chef Robbie Tutlewski said Tuesday. He initially considered turning down the The Times’ request to photograph the eatery, fearing that the young restaurant wasn’t ready for national attention.

Two years later, though, Tutlewski, whose restaurant was also named by The Times as one of the best pizza places nationwide, was able to see a long-term benefit.

“The New York Times is a gift that just keeps giving,” he said. The chef is friends with Mester, Powell and Liss and said he was delighted to hear that The Wren, one of his favorite neighborhood watering holes, had been recognized.

Mester said he didn’t share Tutlewski’s concerns about being in the public eye.

“We need all the help we can get, doing what we do,” he said. “It’s a good thing for us.”

One thing will change at the pub, however: The Wren will soon accept reservations, at least for guests who want to dine in the lounge area. “Reservations will hopefully make things easier for some people, or get certain people in that otherwise wouldn’t take a chance,” Mester said.