Fox's Den

Location: Annapolis,Maryland

Cuisine: American Gastro

Price Range:$8- $25

Website: www.Foxsden.com

 

Atmosphere: When I think of a Gastro Pub I imagine a some what fancy bar tucked away somewhere with dimmed lighting to set a nice atmosphere, a decent amount of space to move around and mingle with others, great drinks and good food! The Fox's Den owner must have been in my head and took part of my imagination because its all that and above.

  Once you walk into the entrance you begin your decent down to the fox's den. The whole under ground cellar thing is so cool to me, It makes you feel like your entering a secret location that you would need a pass code or invite to get into. There was plenty of space in the pub with a bar area and table seating if you want the restaurant feel. The lighting was dimmed but still bright enough to keep the atmosphere lively and festive which keeps you from feeling like your in a stiff, super fancy restaurant but still manages to be very classy. The bar area has TV's to watch sporting events while you mingle if you want, along with high top tables to dine and drink in the bar area. If you wanted to kinda be away from the bar there is also plenty of table seating to sit down and have a more personal dining experience. Now, I will say this; with this being a Gastropub it still is some what like a bar. So don't be the person upset because of the noise levels and amount of people! Drink, eat, talk, and enjoy the environment! Another cool aspect of Fox's Den is they have real brick ovens to cook there delicious pizzas where there is also a bar top to sit at and watch the pizza being made, kind of like at a pizzeria.

Staff: The staff at Fox's Den compliments the venue very well. The doorman, and hostess were well dressed, polite, and greeted you as soon as you walk in. I didn't have much interaction with the bar tenders because we sat at a table but our server was on point. He was really laid back but tentative and made some great recommendations for the evening. He fell off slightly when we were paying our bills, but we were with a large group so that wasn't a big issue with me at all. A good establishment has to have a good staff in my opinion to succeed, with that being said I can see the Fox's Den hanging around for a very long time.

The Food: The menu at Fox's Den is not a big one and in my opinion it shouldn't be, its a gastropub! People tend to forget that and seem like they're looking for a huge over thought out menu when it should be to the point and good. I liked that about the menu, because to be honest I find it a slight headache when a place has too many options and then you end up getting something that doesn't taste all that great. I feel you should do a few things

and do them well! Fox's Den does just that; they have ten brick oven pizza choices ranging from veggie to seafood, a few appetizers, salads and a chef's creation section that changes daily to insure your getting the freshest products.

Boardwalk

 For entrees we had the Chili Mac and the Boardwalk pizza, both dishes were creative and very tasty.
 The Chili Mac was far from your basic elementary style mac and cheese with chili mixed into it; this creation was like the daddy of that chili mac. This amazing dish was pasta shells cooked to perfection covered in a homemade 4 cheese sauce with tomatillo, jalapeno and duck confit baked in a personal sized cast iron skillet topped with a little cilantro. All The flavors in this little cast iron dish were amazing! The cheesy flavor from the creamy cheese sauce mixed with the with the slight spiciness from the jalapeno and tomatillo was a genius idea. Those components combined with the flavor of the confit and cilantro puts your taste buds on cloud nine! If you like the flavor of chili and a fan of duck, this dish would be right up your alley; Creative but still has that comfort food feel to it.

 The Boardwalk Pizza was also very delicious and packed with flavor. I feel the main components of a good pizza are the crust and toppings; the boardwalk pizza was dead on in both of those categories. The boardwalk is made with a basil arugula pesto sauce; then topped with shrimp, blue crab, mozzarella and sun dried tomatoes. All of these ingredients complimented each other very well; the crust had a nice crunch to it but was still soft on the inside which was a big plus. Then pesto sauce paired with the mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes and seafood made this pizza a very memorable one and I would highly recommend it if your a seafood lover. Based off of these two item's im eager to get back to Fox's Den and try some more of the chef's creations.

Chili Mac

Drinks: I usually don't do drink reviews but one, this is a gastropub how could I not comment on the drinks? and two you have to give credit where its due. Over the years I've become a big fan of bourbon's so with fox's Den nice bourbon selection I was very happy! I had a few Manhattan's and I will say the bartender made some good ones! well mixed and a good bite! I would definitely recommend stopping through for a few drinks.

Duck Fat Fries

Recap: The Fox's Den is a lively,classy but still laid back gastropub located in Annapolis Maryland.
 They offer great food and drink selections that would make for a great date night or night out with some friends if you enjoy a bar type atmosphere. They have great brick oven pizza's and some creative dishes that are worth trying, if your ever in Annapolis or live near and looking for a nice place to check out give em a try!

Carnivore