When walking through the streets of Baltimore on a beautiful night, keep walking until you hit the corner where the restaurant Ouzo Bay is located. You won’t be able to miss its nightlife and bright blue lights shining through the walls, pulling you in to check it out.

Ouzo Bay is not only beautiful on the outside, but also has a comforting atmosphere inside with booths, silver air vents, and little clear lights that hang from the ceiling. Its decor makes you not only feel as if you are in the middle of the ocean surrounded by anemones, but it also makes you recognize the blue and white colors that represent their Greek culture.

If you’re looking for a unique dish you have to try the Saganaki Tiganito. It’s a cheese and bread dip appetizer like none other. Pita bread sits to the side, while Kefalograviera Cheese lays inside of a pan which is set on fire by the server with a match. The cheese then melts giving you not only a great appetizer, but also dinner and a show.

As for dinner itself, Ouzo Bay offers a wide selection of seafood all the way from lobster, simple fish, or even something as crazy as langoustines. When ordering the seafood, you can head to the back of the restaurant, near the restrooms, and choose your favorite from the clear display case.

My dinner choice was the Brizola steak which was very appetizing. The 16-oz ribeye steak was tender and grilled nicely with lemon potatoes. The potatoes weren’t sour, but instead gave an amazing contrast which almost felt like it was needed with the steak’s taste.

All in all, the real deal was in the desserts. As a Greek restaurant, they offered authentic Greek desserts, which were all delicious (some I favored more than others). We ate dinner with a large group so we decided to get all four types of desserts provided and do a big share, which was a good idea.

The sorbets were pretty tasty, with flavors that varied depending on the day. But it got even better from there. The baklava was delicious and sweet, and was nice because it wasn’t too big and had a little cinnamon and nut flavor to it which I enjoyed.

The galaktoboureko was something that I have never heard of before coming, so I was intrigued and surprised by it. It was a type of custard but when you cut it in half it looked like it was filled with wet, small noodles. It was one of those things you had no idea what it actually was or how to describe the taste but you just felt you needed to continue eating it because it was so good.

Finally, the sokolatopita was delicious as well. I liked this dessert because it was a Greek version of chocolate cake and it tasted so much thicker and richer than the typical “chocolate cake.”

Going to Ouzo Bay was a memorable and fun experience filled with laughs and surprises. It was interesting to try the different Greek foods offered in what felt like a Greek environment.

Pia Scotto is a Community Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.