Guinness Open Gate Brewery
5001 Washington Blvd.
Halethorpe, MD 21227
We recently visited friends at the Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Baltimore. I figured I would share my experience in visiting there with kids in case anyone was planning a trip there soon! There were several pros and one big con to keep in mind!
We had been here several times pre-covid. We always sat outside – previously there was a big open grassy area and you could bring a blanket and let kids run around. Now, the grass has been converted to a large turf area and is largely covered by a big tent. There are tables set up on the surrounding grass – all the tables are at least 8 ft apart if not more. All seating is assigned with a max of 6 per table or 10 at two adjacent tables. When you show up they ask your party size and walk you to a table.
🍺 The host was super helpful and asked us where we preferred to sit with kids. We chose the far back corner on a picnic table on the turf – as far away from anyone as possible🤣. He went over all the rules, mask policy, bathroom locations, ordering process, etc.
🍺 Ordering food and beer is seamless – scan the QR code at your table and the menu pops up. Add whatever you want to your cart and pay by card. Within 30 seconds of placing the other I had my beer, and another minute after that we had all our food. You can go to the window to order tastes of different beers – they offered to bring samples to the table since we had kids with us. So nice!
🍺 There is a kids menu (I didn’t see that online ahead of time) and they also have donuts and other desserts. I got pulled pork for me and an ice cream sundae for the girls.
❌Kids are absolutely NOT allowed to run around/play AT ALL. When we were brought to our table our host told us it was ok for them to run around our table as long as they didn’t get near any other tables. But later on the girls were doing just that – and security came over and told them to stop. Our entire section was empty (literally 20 + empty tables surrounded us) so this is definitely a ‘no-exceptions’ type rule. Totally understand as they are just trying to keep their business running safely, but I do think this should be made super clear on their website so people know ahead of time (I would have brought more things to keep my kids entertained at the table). Also was a little confusing since we were originally told it was ok for them to do that! My advice it to think of this place more as a restaurant outing (I’d never let my kids run around at a restaurant), than a true open outdoor brewery setting like it used to be pre-covid.
If you decide to visit, go EARLY. They open at 11 on weekends. We had a whole section to ourselves from 11-12:15 before it started to fill up. By the time we left at 1:15 every single table was taken and there was a long line outside the gates (and it wasn’t even the best weather!) Over all we had a good time here! Food was great, it was so nice to be outside an everything ran super efficiently. We will probably wait to come back with kids until restrictions ease up. But if you’re looking for a way to ease into outdoor dining with kids – this is a great option!
Maryland Kid Adventures 