Sorso Cafe

Sorso Cafe
500 Harborview Drive
Baltimore, MD 21230
(443) 682-8720

Today on a whim we decided to go out to lunch with our friend Sami who works at the restaurant next door to us. After handing him a pile of our Groupons and telling him to pick one, we arrived at the conclusion to hit up Sorso Cafe because it's located on the water. Today was another hot one and a casual lunch by the water was too appealing to pass up.

Sorso Cafe is located off Key Highway behind Federal Hill on the water. Parking was a little tricky to figure out but we managed to get a metered spot and then it was a short walk to the Cafe.

This place is pretty casual and inviting with a few outdoor tables and then a small amount of indoor seating. They serve gelato, paninis, wraps, wine and cheese platters. They have a breakfast menu as well. They also have some brownies and cookies wrapped up near the register. Kryptonite.

Sami ordered a Caprese and added prosciutto. Dave got the PLT (prosciutto lettuce and tomato) panini sans T. I ordered the Harborview wrap. The sandwiches came with either chips or an apple (I got chips, they got apples) and we each grabbed a bottle of soda and then I tacked on one of those alluring chocolate chip cookies.

Everyone was sitting outside and there wasn't an open table out there so we sat in the little dining room. As soon as the boys sandwiches arrived, we dug in. (theirs were grilled, mine was cold).

My wrap was delicious. It was grilled marinated chicken with crisp lettuce, pesto, diced tomato, and fresh mozzarella cheese. It was a really great mixture of flavors between the juicy tomato chunks, the mild flavor of the cheese and the sharp taste of the pesto. In mere minutes it was gone. I didn't even offer to share, then again, neither did my husband. The cookie was a bit of a disappointment, with a slight stale taste to it. However, the wrap made up for it.

Sami's had prosciutto, basil leaves, fresh mozzarella, tomato and pesto. The only complaint that he had was that the "prosciutto is a little too thick" which wasn't even really a complaint since it was so good. He said that when he bit into the basil leaf, it took him "to Heaven and back". Excellent.

Dave's was simple with prosciutto and lettuce with a drizzle of some sort of house sauce on it. I would have liked to try it, but when I took a break from mine his was gone. I can only assume he really enjoyed it.

We have another Groupon for this place and I do believe the next time we go back we'll be sampling their gelato.

As far as the non-food aspects go, the girls working the counter were really friendly and helpful. The food is inexpensive (sandwiches ranging between 6 and 8 dollars) and the atmosphere is really casual and fun. They had a few vegetarian options which is always nice to see, and the accommodated special orders without griping. This is a great place to duck into if you're out for a casual walk along the water.

We will definitely be going back. I give it 4 out of 5 noms.

Dave's 2 cents:

Other than having to park 2 blocks away (they have no customer parking, that we could find), pay a meter and walk, the experience was alright. The shop was extremely tight, I had to move out of the way about 8 times while I waited to order, but I am glad they had indoor seating.

The food was great, each dish comes with chips, apple or banana. Jenn got pissed that I didn't let her sample my P.L.T.

Sorry, the only thing in the world better than bacon, is thicker bacon.

I wouldn't put this in our Best of Baltimore (Sandwich Shop Category), but it got close.