Great dive! Tuesday movie nights with themed cocktails and snacks too.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Andrew Burch
They do a movie night on Tuesday. Really unique and fun experience!
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Alison Trainor
Shannon is the best bartender maybe ever??? Those dirty martinis are UNMATCHED
Charlotte Boyer
This neighborhood bar always comes in clutch when I want a drink and meetup with friends. The bar is very long, the drinks are stiff, and the service is awesome. Karaoke was super fun too!
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Shawn
Might be good to catch a live show at. Not good for catching a game. It's not acceptable for a bartender to say "you look young black don't Crack right"
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 2
Robert C.
Shelly is the best bartender. Opens at 10. Full bar . Much more reasonable prices than anywhere local. Wagyu hotdogs ,chips, tater tots. Middle of hampden, very friendly .
Christopher S.
The Lou Room upstairs is a jewel in the crown of Baltimore dive bars. The DMV's best, and the world's most mediocre performers on display in Hampden. Cheap drinks and delights.
J. Ones
I only go to watch the free open mic comedy shows. I enjoy the cringey new comedians who have bad sets. It terribly awesome. The comedy room upstairs is very LGBTQA+o friendly, and a lot of cute people hang out upstairs
Brian E. Young
With its frequent open mic nights, standup shows, occasional improv and variety shows, there's always something new to discover. The upstairs space has a cozy and intimate feel, with a bar and plenty of seating, making it the perfect spot for a night out with friends or a date.And with its history as the place where Lou Costello of Abbott and Costello entertained Hampden locals with his signature antics, there's a sense of charm and nostalgia that adds to the overall experience. The upstairs room has been transformed into a cozy space perfect for live entertainment.As someone who's performed with my improv team on The Lou Costello Room's stage, and also as a frequent visitor to see hilarious local standups and comedy variety shows, I can't recommend this venue enough.
Eric Kmetz
The Lou Room upstairs is great for live music, downstairs is a solid dive bar.
Drinks are wonderful and the comedy ghosted show was hilarious
D
Lindsay can always somehow upsell me. Best bartender in the city. Only reason i go to zissimos!
David Gray Wright
Cleaninest, friendliest dive in Hampden. The lighting is bright. The packaged snack game inventory is robust. There are comedy shows upstairs. There are Busch beers in the cooler.
Scott Frias
Local music was superb. What a classy place and lots of genuine smiles and energy.
Steve R.
I did not know they would be playing loud as * metal (?) music with screaming and reverb upstairs in the usually-used comedy space, but then I came here for a glass of Chardonnay--which decades ago would've gotten me laughed at or kicked out. Then again, this is only my third time here despite having been to most bars in Hampden and the city. Apparently, Zissimos is not nearly as sketchy as the defunct Dimitri's on Falls (now a Papi's), which I also managed to stay far away from. Zissimos is what we call a neighborhood dive bar--or old Baltimore/Hampden, hon! You can sit in silence or be ignored, observe a guy talking to himself (or is it to someone in his invisible earbuds?) or chat with the bar tender, share some laughs with a character or a story with a couple, or get a whiff of sharp cologne as a local of a certain age passes by to sit at the long long bar to watch a game on TV. I came for a bar tender I like who used to work nearby for many years--and stayed for the "show."After a small bite at the much hipper, trendier Food Market, I decided to get my Chardonnay on here (no food to speak of except Cheetos, chips and pretzels). You DO get a real sense of what the world used to be like, or sometimes is, when you wanted to be on the inside not looking out! With some new bar tenders bringing some fresh ideas for food and music and possibly shortening the long bar, Ziss's might just become bougie enough to be cool--but then nobody here really cares a fig--or should I say a hop--about all that noise. I give a solid 4 for personable bar tenders, good service and old-school atmosphere just like Uncle Joe used to like!
Great dive! Tuesday movie nights with themed cocktails and snacks too.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
They do a movie night on Tuesday. Really unique and fun experience!
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Shannon is the best bartender maybe ever??? Those dirty martinis are UNMATCHED
This neighborhood bar always comes in clutch when I want a drink and meetup with friends. The bar is very long, the drinks are stiff, and the service is awesome. Karaoke was super fun too!
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Might be good to catch a live show at. Not good for catching a game. It's not acceptable for a bartender to say "you look young black don't Crack right"
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 2
Shelly is the best bartender. Opens at 10. Full bar . Much more reasonable prices than anywhere local. Wagyu hotdogs ,chips, tater tots. Middle of hampden, very friendly .
The Lou Room upstairs is a jewel in the crown of Baltimore dive bars. The DMV's best, and the world's most mediocre performers on display in Hampden. Cheap drinks and delights.
I only go to watch the free open mic comedy shows. I enjoy the cringey new comedians who have bad sets. It terribly awesome. The comedy room upstairs is very LGBTQA+o friendly, and a lot of cute people hang out upstairs
With its frequent open mic nights, standup shows, occasional improv and variety shows, there's always something new to discover. The upstairs space has a cozy and intimate feel, with a bar and plenty of seating, making it the perfect spot for a night out with friends or a date.And with its history as the place where Lou Costello of Abbott and Costello entertained Hampden locals with his signature antics, there's a sense of charm and nostalgia that adds to the overall experience. The upstairs room has been transformed into a cozy space perfect for live entertainment.As someone who's performed with my improv team on The Lou Costello Room's stage, and also as a frequent visitor to see hilarious local standups and comedy variety shows, I can't recommend this venue enough.
The Lou Room upstairs is great for live music, downstairs is a solid dive bar.
Restaurantji Recommends
Drinks are wonderful and the comedy ghosted show was hilarious
Lindsay can always somehow upsell me. Best bartender in the city. Only reason i go to zissimos!
Cleaninest, friendliest dive in Hampden. The lighting is bright. The packaged snack game inventory is robust. There are comedy shows upstairs. There are Busch beers in the cooler.
Local music was superb. What a classy place and lots of genuine smiles and energy.
I did not know they would be playing loud as * metal (?) music with screaming and reverb upstairs in the usually-used comedy space, but then I came here for a glass of Chardonnay--which decades ago would've gotten me laughed at or kicked out. Then again, this is only my third time here despite having been to most bars in Hampden and the city. Apparently, Zissimos is not nearly as sketchy as the defunct Dimitri's on Falls (now a Papi's), which I also managed to stay far away from. Zissimos is what we call a neighborhood dive bar--or old Baltimore/Hampden, hon! You can sit in silence or be ignored, observe a guy talking to himself (or is it to someone in his invisible earbuds?) or chat with the bar tender, share some laughs with a character or a story with a couple, or get a whiff of sharp cologne as a local of a certain age passes by to sit at the long long bar to watch a game on TV. I came for a bar tender I like who used to work nearby for many years--and stayed for the "show."After a small bite at the much hipper, trendier Food Market, I decided to get my Chardonnay on here (no food to speak of except Cheetos, chips and pretzels). You DO get a real sense of what the world used to be like, or sometimes is, when you wanted to be on the inside not looking out! With some new bar tenders bringing some fresh ideas for food and music and possibly shortening the long bar, Ziss's might just become bougie enough to be cool--but then nobody here really cares a fig--or should I say a hop--about all that noise. I give a solid 4 for personable bar tenders, good service and old-school atmosphere just like Uncle Joe used to like!