Vegan
American
Beer/Wine
Delivery
Take-out
Bakery
Catering

Worker-owned bookstore and coffeehouse reopened here winter 2018 after move from 30 W North Ave. Added a full bar at this space. Find panini sandwiches, soups, salads, and vegan baked goods including doughnuts by Donut Alliance. Bar is open until midnight Fri-Sat. No longer using dairy as of Feb 2021. Relocated from 1225 Cathedral St. Open Tue-Sat 9:00am-9:00pm, Sun 10:00am-4:00pm. Bookstore open 12-7pm Wed-Fri, 11-4 Sat-Sun. Bar stays open until midnight.


Venue map for Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse
© OpenStreetMap contributors

38 Reviews

First Review by kwanza

Dev_

Points +163

Vegetarian
20 Oct 2024

A Safe Haven

An incredible atmosphere with wonderful food! Order up at the counter and pick any table, food will be brought out to you.

Pros: Staff still masking, Community events hosted here

Rcritser

Points +62

Vegan
18 Jun 2024

An Oasis

In the area for only a few days. Not a lot of options! Especially on a Monday. Found this place on a Tuesday. 🙏 So good! Their burger really is THE BEST. Great vibe. Will be back! 👏👏❤️

Pros: Burger (all food), Vibe, Allows laptops

Cons: Not open on Mondays 😞

Nineveh

Points +81

Vegan
30 May 2024

Best Vegan Cafe in Maryland

The food is amazing. Chik’n tenders tasted great. The staff is very friendly and the atmosphere is super cozy. Prices are also affordable. Love this place.

Pros: Great food, Amazing staff, Cozy atmosphere

ratnipulated

Points +36

Vegan
28 Dec 2023

Amazing

The desserts were so lovely. The atmosphere was perfect. Food and books=heaven.

Updated from previous review on 2023-12-28

FragranceOfDarkCoffee

Points +31

Vegan
19 Nov 2023

Phenomenal Everything

An excellent selection of drinks, sandwiches and pastries at very reasonable prices attached to a wonderful book store.

Pros: Good, cheap drip coffee , Nice bookstore, Great sandwiches

Trashlord666

Points +501

Vegan
26 Oct 2023

baby, i’m an anarchist

their delicious food and dangerous leftist ideologies (i.e. all sentient beings should be treated with respect and dignity; food is a right; no human is illegal; cops only exist to protect property; capitalism is a death cult) transformed me into a radical anarchist!

Pros: worker owned vegan bookstore , amazing atmosphere , BLM ACAB 161

Batgir1

Points +36

Vegetarian
16 Sep 2023

Veg gourmet and comfort food

I have been eating here for more than fifteen years. The food is always fabulous, and they have great lectures on various topics. Some of their food is priced lower than other veg places but the quality is still great.

Pros: Friendly staff, Prices are good , Lectures are great!

Cons: Parking is not always easy

jmead

Points +26

Vegan
27 Aug 2023

Best Vegan Food

I get the Egg McBluffin every time I come here. Best Vegan place in the city.

Pros: Egg McBluffin, Book store is great. , Worker Owned and great community.

Cons: I miss the Italian Panini

herownbeat

Points +1330

Vegan
14 Feb 2022

Great spot!

First, if you’re a book nerd like me, you’re going to love this spot as soon as you walk in the door. It’s a cozy place to get some food and drink, but you can’t always get what’s going n the menu. I love supporting this place though, and I look forward to visiting it again.

Pros: Awesome spot, Cool staff, Diverse books

Cons: Availability of products

Knoxland

Points +597

Vegan
08 Dec 2021

Koolness of Gritty with Purpose

Favorite RE for years when the area regardless of location. Wifi available. TLT the shiznit on sourdough. On bus line and parking good in the age of Covid. Lots of space here and customer friendly.

coachmac45

Points +150

Vegan
31 Aug 2021

Not a bad choice

I heard alot about Red Emma so I really wanted to try there food. It was good not great! The menu didn't have a lot of options on the day I went. I had the our fave burger. Not bad but I had better

jpmpbaby

Points +97

Vegan
06 May 2021

BLT minus the T add A!!!

The food is amazing. Love the friendly atmosphere. I haven't tried everything on the menu yet but I can say the chicken Cesar pita and the BLT are amazing. #beingveganistheshit

Pros: Fast friendly service. Reasonably priced food.

Cons: Sometimes items aren't available.

sydneydenae

Points +25

Mostly Veg
10 Apr 2021

Egg McBluffin is fire!!

Best vegan breakfast sandwich i've ever had, if you go you HAVE to try it! Also, they have cool prices.

NatalieLana

Points +39

Vegetarian
23 Jun 2020

simply lovely

Red Emma's has amazing vegetarian and vegan options, and they have an amazing collection of art in their cafe, and a lovely book store in the basement. Going to Red Emma's is a fully enriching and nourishing experience for the mind, body, and soul!

Pros: vegan options, vegetarian options, books!

lileezoo

Points +116

Vegan
01 Mar 2020

Good vibes

I had the breakfast bowl with avocado. It was well flavored with tofu scramble, home fries, and shiitake bacon- a great combo of flavors. The portions were rather small but it was good nonetheless. I couldn’t visit the bookstore since it was closed at the time

Pros: Lots of seating and open space

JaneWiggin

Points +252

Vegan
01 Sep 2019

Unique Place, Laid Back

You can just come in, grab a spot, and do some work here. Much better than Starbucks in that regard. Very good atmosphere. Tried a mac and cheese with ham, chicken bacon sandwich, some drinks and chili cheese fries - it was all vegan and pretty good.

Order at the bar, seat yourself and they bring out your food, no tips since fair wages for the employees are Incorporated into the prices, and the unique bookstore downstairs is totally worth checking out. I intend to go back and would recommend it.

Nunzi

Points +164

Vegan
13 Aug 2019

Empowered, fair and delicious

Employee owned, gratuity not accepted, fair wage and lgbt friendly environment with a cool book store below!

It’s mostly vegan with a few options for dairy products. Been there a few times and with a couple minor hiccups with their ordering app, things have been decent, but the salad I got was just sad..

Pros: Fair prices, inclusive environment, employee ran, Different choices ranging from burgers to Asian , Good coffee, tea, and vegan donuts etc

Cons: Salad was really lackluster in quality, Why aren’t you just fully vegan? It’s silly

bknamaste

Points +835

Vegan
24 Jul 2019

Decent breakfast and donuts

I came here once. I enjoyed my meal but the service was slow and only part of the order came out forgotten until we mentioned the other half to the server several minutes later. The vegan donut was pretty good, and they have a decent cocktail list. I haven't been back since. It just doesn't scream out to me when I'm thinking about where I want to go.

Pros: All vegan

Cons: Service slow

Numners

Points +36

Vegan
13 Apr 2019

Essentially vegan

I haven’t tried anything yet as I stumbled upon it having eaten. I had a kombucha they had on tap though, it was good. Basically, all their menu items are vegan, including some delicious-sounding desserts. They do however offer dairy milk in coffee upon request, though they are likely to transition to fully vegan. I will review more as I try out the menu!

Pros: All vegan menu, Friendly staff

plantbasedceline

Points +48

Vegan
12 Jan 2019

Great food and atmosphere!

The food is always delicious, comforting, and mostly vegan. Practically everything can be made vegan if it isn’t already! The space is gorgeous and perfect for socializing or studying, and the coffee drinks are to die for. Try the Mac and cheese or cheesesteak(when they bring it back)

Pros: So much good vegan food!, Gorgeous space, Amazing service

Cons: Parking is a challenge

Kelcy

Points +263

Vegan
22 Apr 2018

Radical organization and delicious vegan food

Red Emma's is a bookstore and restaurant that is owned by it's workers. As an entirely vegetarian restaurant with many vegan options in Baltimore my wife and I go often. I've tried nearly every vegan option on their menu and like them all with the exception of the mac and cheese (which my wife loves).

The only complaint about Red Emma's is the confusion about how to pick up orders that nearly everyone undergoes the first time they go there. If you are confused, ask the person at the register to be more specific.

Red Emma's has a great program where you can choose to purchase a drink or food item for a person in need when you make your own order. You need to know to ask to do so though because they will not ask you to do it.

Pros: Great vegan food options

Cons: confusing experience the first time you visit

MariaGarzaJonas

Points +20

Vegan
08 Apr 2018

Delicious

Went for Sunday brunch and had the vegan benny. The tofu scrabble had amazing flavors and the hollandaise sauce was light and tasty. Everything that was coming out of the kitchen while I was there looked great I can’t wait to go back for more.

wanderlustarcher

Points +98

Vegan
26 Sep 2017

I love everything about this bookstore !

& the food & drinks are amazing as well !

itzLaurenR

Points +234

Vegan
08 Sep 2017

The Best Model in the City

A workers' cooperative is the best way to conduct business, and I am happy to support this establishment, which also serves as a community center, with cultural events and a free school. The menu and the food itself are equally enticing and good quality. I only wish they would go vegan.

Pros: workers' cooperative, vegetarian establishment, great food

Cons: not a vegan establishment

CrunchyVeganGal

Points +542

Vegan
12 Apr 2017

Delicious and with all the right qualities!

Red Emma's is a staple to the Baltimore community—and not just veg folks, either. Though they're food is 100% vegetarian, they draw meat-eaters and vegans alike with their ability to offer educational and social programming alongside their superb menu. Nothing is sub-par. The food is absolutely delicious. For vegan options, you don't just have one vegan cheese to choose from, you have three vegan cheese to choose from (and one's local from PEP Foods Inc.!). The shop's atmosphere is very relaxed, and the bookstore has plenty to offer, from vegan cookbooks to books about being an active citizen. The location is perfect in Station North, and the business is doing a lot to lift up the community without displacing the current residents. It's a truly inspiring story!

Pros: Amazing vegan food, Social mission, Attached book store and speaker space

Cons: Can sometimes be hard to get a table for groups, Bathrooms are a bit creepy at times

ireneatlife

Points +103

Vegan
23 Feb 2017

My favorite Vegan bagel sandwich

I love the "Bacon Egg & cheese". The spiced tofu is always perfect, tempeh and Vegan cheese. several great Vegan options in each category of the menu, also a bomb gluten free & Vegan whoopie pie in the bakery case sometimes. Also they do housemade simple syrup flavors and make great soy lattes.

Pros: Welcoming, Good prices

Cons: Sketchy neighborhood

ohemgee

Points +823

Vegan
22 Jan 2017

love their brunch!

Amazing brunch platters! This place gets busy pretty quickly during brunch time, last time we came a line formed before they had opened.

Pros: lots of vegan options




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