If you grew up in Maryland, Virginia or D.C., eating steamed crabs is a summer tradition. Here's a look at Eastern Shore restaurants and crab shacks you might want to add to your list of places to try.
WASHINGTON — Sometimes you just have to go on an adventure to find your next meal. If you are hunting for crabs, here are a few Eastern Shore places to try. This list is by no means all-inclusive. It’s just a claw in the bucket.
Harris Crab House and Seafood Restaurant
433 Kent Narrow Way North, Grasonville, Maryland 21638
410-827-9500
Watch the boats go by as you crack a few crustaceans at the Harris Crab House and Seafood Restaurant in Grasonville. The Harris Crab House and Seafood Restaurant is a year-round operation, and the Harris family sources the restaurant’s crabs from a number of different states. In July, they were coming from Maryland and Louisiana. On the weekends, you buy them by the dozen. Weekdays, there’s an all-you-can-eat special. The seasoning for them is made in house and can be bought separately. The restaurant has indoor and outdoor seating, and the servers won’t rush you off if you linger. The menu isn’t limited to crabs, so if you want rockfish, shrimp, lobster, or combination platters that are broiled or fried, you are in luck. For dessert, try the homemade Nutty Buddy. It will take you back to your childhood.
(WTOP/Colleen Kelleher)
WTOP/Colleen Kelleher
Harris Crab House and Seafood Restaurant makes homemade Nutty Buddies.
(WTOP/Colleen Kelleher)
WTOP/Colleen Kelleher
Fisherman’s Crab Deck and Market
3032 Kent Narrows Way South, Grasonville, Maryland 21638
410-827-6666
Relax and enjoy steamed crabs by the dozen at Fisherman’s Crab Deck and Market in Grasonville, Maryland. Crabs are priced daily and are local. The crab deck is waterfront at Kent Narrows and features a bar and live music. In addition to crabs, there’s a full menu that includes steam pots, broiled and fried seafood platters, wraps and sandwiches, seafood appetizers and adult ice cream drinks. The neighboring Fisherman’s Inn has a different menu, so if the deck doesn’t fit your needs, maybe the inn will.
(WTOP/Colleen Kelleher)
WTOP/Colleen Kelleher
The Crab Shack
9639 Ocean Gateway/U.S. 50, Easton, Maryland 21601
410-822-7301
You won’t be able to sit down and eat crabs, but you certainly can get them to go at the The Crab Shack on U.S. 50 in Easton. They’re typically cheaper than in Ocean City, so if you are headed to the beach and want to take crabs with you, hang a U-turn at Airport Road in Easton. Or if you are on the way home from the beach and want to bring the flavor of the shore back with you, the bright yellow building is just after the Airport Road traffic light.
(WTOP/Ed Kelleher)
WTOP/Ed Kelleher
Ocean Odyssey Crab House and Beer Garden
316 Sunburst Highway/U.S. 50, Cambridge, Maryland 21613
410-228-8633
Don’t let the look of Ocean Odyssey stop you from having crabs here or taking some home. You won’t be disappointed by this family-owned eatery. This small restaurant on U.S. 50 in Cambridge, Maryland, has indoor seating and outdoor picnic tables. Owned by Todd Seafood, the prices of the crabs are posted on a chalkboard by the cash register as you walk in. The menu includes crabcakes made fresh daily, oysters out of the Choptank River and some small bites — including Crab Tater Tots and Baked Oysters BubbaFellers. It carries a number of local craft beers and has its own mug club for specials.
(WTOP/Ed Kelleher)
WTOP/Ed Kelleher
A colorful 60-foot mural depicting the seafood tradition of the Todd family is painted on the side of Ocean Odyssey where the restaurant has its outdoor seating. Bradye P Todd & Son Inc. stared a small crab factory in Crocheron, Maryland, in 1947.
(WTOP/Ed Kelleher)
WTOP/Ed Kelleher
For those just passing through Cambridge who don’t want a sit-down meal, order a half-bushel of crabs or a dozen or two to go from Ocean Odyssey in Cambridge.
(WTOP/Colleen Kelleher)
WTOP/Colleen Kelleher
Suicide Bridge Restaurant
6304 Suicide Bridge Road, Hurlock, Maryland 21643
410-943-4689
Suicide Bridge Restaurant is one of those places you go when you want a long, leisurely lunch, steamed crabs and friendly service. Decorated in a traditional captain’s theme, the restaurant is situated on Cabin Creek in Secretary, Maryland, next to the infamous bridge Suicide Bridge (Yes, the 21-foot high span is known as Suicide Bridge for that reason.)
The restaurant gets its seafood from Kool Ice in Cambridge. Both the restaurant and the seafood company are owned by Dave Nickerson. The crabs are made to order, and you are told up front they’ll take 20 minutes, but when they arrive, they are piping hot.
The menu goes beyond crabs. Steaks are hand-cut. The seafood skins (potato skins with shrimp, scallops and crabmeat smothered in a cheese sauce) will leave you drooling. And the homemade chocolate éclair covered in frozen Heath Bar chocolate will have you wishing you could lick the plate.
For extra entertainment, feed the ducks on the pier, check out the Paul Lockhart’s metal crab sculptures and consider a riverboat ride on the Choptank River.
(WTOP/Colleen Kelleher)
WTOP/Colleen Kelleher
Suicide Bridge Restaurant has all-you-can-eat specials of crabs caught in the Choptank River, as well as steamed crabs by the dozen.
(WTOP/Colleen Kelleher)
WTOP/Colleen Kelleher
Save room for Suicide Bridge Restaurant’s large, homemade chocolate éclair covered in frozen Heath Bar chocolate. This huge, creamy dessert came with whipped cream and a cherry on the side.
(WTOP/Colleen Kelleher)
WTOP/Colleen Kelleher
The Masthead at Pier Street
104 West Pier Street, Oxford, Maryland 21654
410-226-5171
Kick back and enjoy views of the Tred Avon River at The Masthead at Pier Street in Oxford, Maryland. The restaurant seat 250 outside and 85 inside. The menu features local crabs, as well as other seafood dishes. The folks who own The Masthead at Pier Street also own Latitude 38, another restaurant at the entrance to this quaint Talbot County town.
(WTOP/Colleen Kelleher)
WTOP/Colleen Kelleher
Crabs from The Masthead at Pier Street in Oxford, Maryland are caught in local waters.
(WTOP/Colleen Kelleher)
WTOP/Colleen Kelleher
The Masthead at Pier Street Marina in Oxford is tucked away in a residential neighborhood.
(WTOP/Colleen Kelleher)
WTOP/Colleen Kelleher
Old Mill Crab House
8829 Waller Road, Delmar, Delaware 19940
302-846-9000
Eastern Shore locals are familiar with the Delmar, Delaware location of the Old Mill Crab House, a popular haunt known for its all-you-can-eat meals, steamed crabs by the dozen, mini feasts (choose shrimp, blue crab or snow crab) and fried chicken. The menu also offers a variety of platters.
(WTOP/Colleen Kelleher)
Colleen Kelleher is an award-winning journalist who has been with WTOP since 1996. Kelleher joined WTOP as the afternoon radio writer and night and weekend editor and made the move to WTOP.com in 2001. Now she works early mornings as the site's Senior Digital Editor.
