Saturday Morning Soccer at the Claddagh: Why the Doors Open at 9 and What to Order

Most pubs are still stacking chairs at 9 on a Saturday morning. The Claddagh is the other kind. Its own banner says it plainly: we open early for Saturday and Sunday games. If you've been meaning to catch a match with a proper breakfast in front of you, here's how the morning works.

Why a soccer pub opens at 9

It comes down to the clock. Europe is five to six hours ahead of Baltimore for most of the year, so a match that kicks off in the afternoon over there is a morning event here, and sometimes it starts before most people's second cup of coffee. Soccer fans on the East Coast have been dealing with this for as long as they've followed the game from this side of the Atlantic. The usual solution is a pub with the doors open and the kitchen working.

On Saturday and Sunday the Claddagh opens its doors at 9:00 AM, and the kitchen opens at 9:00 AM too, with brunch served until 2:00 PM. During the week the doors open at 10:45 AM and the kitchen at 11:00 AM, so the early start is a weekend thing. Kick-off times change from week to week, so if you're setting an alarm for one particular game, call the pub at (410) 522-4220 first.

Getting settled before kick-off

The pub has two indoor levels and a small outdoor seating area, and the rooms have TVs along with walls covered in jerseys and scarves. Show up a little ahead of kick-off, find a seat where you can see a screen without craning your neck, and order early. A plate in front of you before the match starts beats trying to flag someone down in the fortieth minute.

Bring people. Soccer in a pub works because strangers care about the same thing at the same time. A group of four or five can share a table, split a couple of appetizers and still have somebody in the party who actually understands the offside rule.

What to order at brunch

Brunch runs Saturday and Sunday from 9 AM to 2 PM, and the brunch menu is bigger than most people expect. Here's one way to sort it by the kind of morning you're having.

• A long match and a big appetite: the Ultimate A.M. Starter, $16, two eggs cooked any style, two pancakes, your choice of meat, home fries and toast.
• Something you can eat with one hand: the Croissant Breakfast Sandwich, $13, scrambled eggs, bacon and Irish cheddar on a toasted croissant, served with home fries.
• The Baltimore order: the Chesapeake Benedict, $20, a jumbo lump Blue Crab cake on an English muffin with poached eggs and hollandaise, served with home fries.
• A steak person's breakfast: Steak & Eggs, $25, an 8oz New York strip grilled to temperature, with two eggs, breakfast potatoes and your choice of toast.
• Something salty and warm: Corned Beef Hash, $16, golden brown hash with two eggs.
• A sweet start: the Chicken & Waffle Stack, $16, waffles, fried chicken, honey butter, maple syrup and a touch of hot sauce.
• A lighter bite: the Breakfast Burrito, $12, scrambled eggs, cheddar and your choice of meat in a flour tortilla, with black beans, sour cream and home fries.

A word about scrapple

If scrapple is new to you, it's a Mid-Atlantic breakfast staple: pork scraps cooked with cornmeal, set into a loaf, then sliced and fried until the edges crisp. It tastes savory and a little peppery, closer to a very good sausage patty than anything exotic.

The Bavarian Scrapple at $14 is griddle fried and served over potatoes, Vidalia onions and a wild mushroom hash, topped with a sunny side egg and brown gravy. Scrapple is also one of the four meat choices on the brunch menu, along with thick bacon, Italian sausage and honey ham. If you want to try it without committing, add it to Eggs Your Way, $12, two eggs with your choice of meat, home fries and toast.

Something to drink

The weekly specials board is worth a look before you order. Saturday's list includes an Espresso Martini at $8 (open to 9 PM), Orange Crushes at $7, Michelob Ultra at $3, 30 wings at $28 and cheesesteaks at $8. Sunday's board is headed Sports Specials, with 1 lb of steamed shrimp at $23, Natty Light at $2 and Crushes & Sangria at $8. Prices are subject to change without notice, so confirm when you sit down.

Make a morning of it

Because brunch is served until 2 PM, an early match doesn't have to end your meal. Stay for the second half, then a second round, then move on to the lunch and dinner menu when the brunch window closes. The doors open at 9 on Saturday and Sunday. The rest is up to the game.