"Cindy Wolf's Italian enoteca in Harbor East, built on handmade pasta and 600 labels; book the Osteria for a business dinner."
Baltimore's most serious Italian wine list is not in Little Italy. It is at Cinghiale, the Harbor East enoteca that restaurateur Tony Foreman and chef Cindy Wolf opened in 2007 at 822 Lancaster Street. The name means wild boar, and the kitchen leans into the heartier end of Northern and Central Italian cooking: handmade pasta, salumi, and a cellar of more than 600 Italian labels. Plan on roughly $75 a head for a full dinner.
Cinghiale belongs to the Foreman Wolf group, which means chef and co-owner Cindy Wolf sets the standard and a chef de cuisine, James Lewandowski, runs the line day to day. The cooking is Northern and Central Italian and unashamedly hearty, true to a restaurant named for wild boar. The dish to order is the spaghetti alla chitarra with cinghiale ragù — wild-boar sauce on square-cut, guitar-string pasta — alongside the tortellini di Bologna that the kitchen is known for.
Pasta is made in house, the salumi is cut to order, and the address at 822 Lancaster Street in Harbor East gives the room a polished, harbour-side setting rather than a checked-tablecloth one. The other half of the draw is the wine: more than 600 Italian labels spanning north to south, structured so a guest can drink seriously or modestly. A full dinner runs around $75 per person before wine. Open since 2007, Cinghiale has settled into the role of Baltimore's grown-up Italian room, the one for an occasion rather than a casual weeknight bowl of pasta.
Cinghiale runs as two rooms under one roof. The Enoteca, or wine bar, is the livelier space, loosely inspired by the bustle of 1950s and 60s Milan and Bologna, good for a drink and a few plates. The Osteria, the formal dining room, is calmer and more elegant, with generous spacing and a quieter hum suited to conversation. Lighting is warm and low across both. Dress is smart-casual leaning smart, and the harbour-side setting keeps the mood polished rather than rustic.
Book the Osteria for a business dinner because it does grown-up without stiffness: a quiet, well-spaced room, handmade pasta that lands as a treat rather than a gamble, and a 600-label wine list that lets the host signal seriousness through the bottle. Service is assured and the pacing suits a long conversation. See more across our Baltimore dining guide, compare with the world's best Italian restaurants, or browse the full RFK restaurant rankings.
Not for a quick, casual bite — the Osteria is a sit-down, multi-course Italian dinner with a deep wine list, better suited to a slow evening or a business table than a fast weeknight plate of pasta.
Yes, for an occasion. Cinghiale is among Baltimore's best Italian restaurants, from the respected Foreman Wolf group, with handmade pasta and one of the deepest Italian wine lists in the city. At around $75 a head it is a treat rather than an everyday spend, but the cooking and the cellar justify it. For other options, see our Baltimore dining guide.
They are two parts of the same restaurant. The Enoteca is the wine bar, livelier and more casual, good for a glass and a few small plates. The Osteria is the formal dining room, quieter and more elegant, designed for a full sit-down dinner. Both share the kitchen and the wine list, so the choice is about mood: drinks and grazing versus a proper meal.
Lead with the handmade pasta, especially the spaghetti alla chitarra with cinghiale ragù and the tortellini di Bologna, the dishes that define the kitchen. Add salumi to start and let the wine team steer you through the 600-label Italian list, which is the other reason to come. For more pasta-driven rooms, see the best Italian restaurants worldwide.
For a weekend evening in the Osteria, book a week or so ahead through OpenTable, and longer around holidays or for a larger party. Weeknights and the Enoteca bar are easier and often take walk-ins. If you want a quiet table for a business dinner or anniversary, reserve in the Osteria specifically and mention the occasion when you book.
Via OpenTable
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Cinghiale is Baltimore's grown-up Italian room. See how it ranks against the city's Harbor East tables and Mount Vernon classics.
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