Heads up, Nomsters: this post is sponsored by Mera Kitchen Collective as part of Baltimore Restaurant Week, and as always, every opinion here is my own.
During Baltimore Restaurant Week, I got to eat my way through Mera Kitchen Collective, and it stuck with me long after the deals ended. Mera’s a worker-owned cooperative in Mount Vernon, founded and run by immigrant and refugee women, and it’s exactly the kind of place my whole blog exists to shine a light on: incredible food AND a genuine mission behind it.
I came for a Restaurant Week menu and left obsessed with a Palestinian dish called Musakhan and a saffron rosewater tres leches I’m still thinking about. One quick, important note before we dig in: the specific prix-fixe dishes and prices I’m about to gush over were Restaurant Week specials, so they won’t all be on the menu today. But the co-op, the heart, and the everyday food are very much still here, and that’s the real reason to go.
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What Makes Mera Kitchen Collective a Must Visit
Mera started back in 2018 as a collective of immigrant and refugee women cooking their home food, and it’s now a full worker-owned restaurant where the staff share in the business instead of clocking in for someone else. During the pandemic they pivoted hard and cooked hundreds of thousands of community meals for Baltimore, which tells you everything about the heart of the place.
The food itself is pan-global on purpose, drawing on the members’ own kitchens across Syria, Palestine, West Africa and Latin America, so the menu isn’t locked to one cuisine. Baltimore’s quietly one of the best cities around for immigrant-owned food (Thai Street over in Fells Point is another spot I can’t stop recommending), and Mera sits right at the top of that list for me.
What to Order at Mera Kitchen Collective
When I visited during Restaurant Week, the $18 lunch and $35 dinner prix fixe were both a great deal. Here’s what I had, with the reminder that these exact plates rotate on and off the menu.
Musakhan
This Palestinian staple was the MUST of the whole meal! Think slow-roasted sumac chicken leg over thin flatbread with lemony stewed onions and Mediterranean pine nuts, served with a cool cucumber yogurt salad. I was genuinely blown away by how tender and flavorful it was. If you’ve never had musakhan before, it’s a beautiful introduction.
Chicken Shawarma Wrap
My Restaurant Week lunch, and it was SO yummy. The chicken’s marinated in a gorgeous cardamom yogurt then wrapped in a toasted pita with toum, fries and house-made pickles right inside. Handheld, generous, and so yummy.
Saffron Rosewater Tres Leches
Unreal! I tried both the ma’amoul and this tres leches for dessert, and while the ma’amoul was delish, the saffron rosewater tres leches was on another level. I’d go back for this cake alone, and you already know I take my Baltimore desserts seriously.
What’s on the Regular Menu
Since those Restaurant Week plates come and go, here’s what to look for on a normal visit: the crispy cauliflower, hummus, muhammara and falafel are all standouts, the kofta burger and grilled chicken kebab hold down the heartier side, and the Burkinabe plantain and avocado bowl is a lovely vegan pick. Weekends bring a brunch menu with shakshuka. And good news, the drinks I loved ARE regulars: their house-made Bissap and Orange Blossom Mint Lemonade are both worth ordering.
Is Mera a Restaurant or a Nonprofit?
Short answer, it’s a restaurant, just a different kind. Mera’s a worker-owned cooperative, meaning the people cooking and serving your food are also the owners who share in it, and it grew out of years of community food work. So when you eat there, you’re getting a genuine sit-down restaurant meal that also supports livable wages and an immigrant-women-led business. Feeling good about where your money goes is a nice bonus on top of a great plate of food.
The Vibe and Experience
Mera sits in Mount Vernon and is walkable from Penn Station, in a multi-level space with a balcony and an easy, welcoming feel. Walk-ins are welcome and reservations run through Tock, plus there’s online ordering if you’d rather take it to go. They do a Saturday brunch and a weekday happy hour, and because the 20% service fee is shared across the whole team, tipping is essentially built in. It’s the kind of warm, welcoming space that makes you want to settle in for a while.
Good to Know
- 📍 1301 N Calvert St, Baltimore (Mount Vernon)
- Hours: Tuesday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday brunch 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; closed Sunday and Monday
- Happy hour Tuesday to Friday, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
- Worker-owned cooperative; a 20% service fee is shared among the staff
- Reservations via Tock, walk-ins welcome, online ordering available, and catering too
- Pan-global menu with clearly labeled vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and dairy-free options
- Street parking in the area; walkable from Penn Station
- The menu rotates seasonally, so my Restaurant Week dishes may not be available. Check the current menu on their website
Is Mera Kitchen Collective Worth A Visit?
YES, for the food AND for what it stands for. Even setting aside the mission, the cooking here is some of the most memorable I’ve had in Baltimore, and the mission makes it a place I want to keep coming back to. Go for a full dinner, a laid-back brunch, or just a drink and the crispy cauliflower, and bring someone who appreciates a story behind their plate.
Have you guys eaten at Mera yet? Let me know what you order in the comments, Nomsters, and save this for the next time you want a Baltimore meal that feeds more than just you.