Rye Street Tavern in Baltimore Peninsula set to reopen July 15

Rye Street Tavern, the waterfront restaurant at Baltimore Peninsula, will reopen later this month after an extensive renovation.

Clyde’s Restaurant Group , a Washington, D.C.-based operator that took over Rye Street Tavern in May 2023, signing a long-term lease on the 12,000-square-foot space, said the updated and overhauled restaurant will reopen July 15.

The “reimagined” Rye Street Tavern will focus on Southern-style food that changes seasonally and includes locally sourced seafood. Executive chef John Navarria, a Baltimore native who was formerly chef at MoonShine Tavern in Canton and at Kettle Hill in Market Place, will helm the kitchen.

“With a profound dedication to upholding culinary traditions and delivering unparalleled dining experiences, John’s arrival at Rye Street Tavern heralds a new era of gastronomic delight and unparalleled hospitality,” Jeff Owens, CFO and head of development for Clyde’s, said.

The new menu offers starters such as BBQ pork belly served with pickled collards and smashburger sliders. Main plates range from handhelds like cornmeal-crusted blue catfish on challah to entrees like scallops served with lemony grits and charred cauliflower. Housemade pastas include rigatoni with short-rib ragu.

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After the extensive overhaul, led by D.C.-based Grizform Design Architects, Rye Street Tavern has five dining areas, three bars — including a 75-seat outdoor bar with panoramic water views — and small and large spaces for private events. The restaurant will offer happy hour deals, weekend brunch and live music from the patio Thursday through Sunday.

“The interior features a harmonious blend of historical charm and modern sophistication, with a rich palette of wood, raw steel, leather, glass, and stone,” according to Rye Street Tavern’s website, which also notes that the new concept expects to create over 150 new hospitality jobs.

Rye Street Tavern first opened in 2017 next to the Sagamore Spirit distillery and was previously run by James Beard Award-winning chef Andrew Carmellini’s NoHo Hospitality Group.

The restaurant, which highlighted mid-Atlantic cuisine, closed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020 and then reopened for outdoor dining for several months that year. In May 2021, NoHo announced an effort to “reimagine” the restaurant’s role on the South Baltimore waterfront.

This is the first Baltimore location for Clyde’s Restaurant Group, which operates 12 other properties in Maryland, D.C. and Virginia. A Clyde’s restaurant on the Columbia lakefront closed in 2020 amid the pandemic and was replaced by a restaurant called Offshore.

Baltimore Sun reporter Amanda Yeager contributed to this article.