17 Seafood Restaurants in Ocean City, Maryland you have to try!
When it comes to seafood, in my humble opinion, Ocean City is one of the best places on the East Coast to get delicious fish. I know this because I live in Maryland and love going down to OCMD especially during the summertime! That’s why in this post, I will show you some Seafood restaurants you need to visit next time you are in OCMD.
With all the beach to explore, you won’t find a more perfect getaway for outdoor lovers than Ocean City. Whether you prefer staying close to home or exploring everything here, there are plenty of things to see and do in Ocean City Maryland.
Best Seafood Restaurants to explore in in OCMD
1. Belly Busters
If you’re in OCMD and wondering what seafood places to try especially one that specializes in steamed crabs, look no further than Belly Busters.
This casual seafood spot serves up menu items like shrimp, fish tacos, crab cake, seafood salad, and so much more.
Belly Busters also offers a daily seafood special made with fresh seafood, fish, and crab. This is the perfect spot if you’re craving something different than traditional food. If you’re a seafood fan, you’ll love this place.
This delicious place to eat is open on weekends during the spring or fall and is open every day in the summer months. It is a nice, family-friendly restaurant too! While you can find incredible sub sandwiches, grab some of their freshly steamed crabs, or you’ll regret it!
2. The Crab Bag
If you’re looking for an authentic seafood experience, look no further than The Crab Bag. This popular local seafood spot serves up fresh Maryland blue crabs, clams, and oysters in a variety of seafood dishes.
Order up an Eastern Shore seafood salad, a seared ahi tuna plate, a jumbo crab cake, or char-grilled oysters. You can also order a side of cream of crab soup if you’re craving something a bit creamier.
This place has incredible seafood platters with roasted potatoes and vegetables, which is one of the top-selling plates here. This is the perfect spot for a casual dinner with friends!
If you’re visiting Ocean City restaurants during the summer months, make sure you visit The Crab Bag. The Crab Bag is open daily and is one of the best seafood in Ocean City, Maryland, by far!
3. Hooked
For a seafood experience that’s more upscale, try Hooked. This oceanside restaurant serves up a variety of seafood dishes that are farm and ocean fresh. You can enjoy dishes like cioppino, shrimp and grits, fish tacos, and pan-roasted mussels.
This is the perfect spot for a special night out with your significant other. At Hooked, not only will you find delicious seafood, but you will enjoy its extensive wine menu.
Every day has a different special to enjoy, and they even have happy hour from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm every day! Hooked offers outdoor seating at a small bar, where you can enjoy the ocean breeze while you eat.
4. Ropewalk Ocean City
Ropewalk Ocean City is one of the best seafood restaurants in this city and offers awesome oceanfront seating outside. You can watch the sunset with your family by the fire pit in the sand, all the while enjoying some awesome seafood dishes.
Ropewalk serves up fresh Maryland blue crabs, clams, and oysters in several seafood dishes. You can enjoy Atlantic salmon, seafood cobb salad, crab cake sandwiches, Maine lobster steamer, or a Bayou steam pot.
One of the best things about this place to eat is that every day, all day long, they have a special happy hour! This is the perfect spot for a casual seafood dinner with friends or family with some live entertainment most nights. If you are visiting Ocean City, make sure you visit Ropewalk Ocean City.
5. Bonfire Restaurant
For the best seafood buffet in Ocean City, Maryland, head to Bonfire Restaurant. This place is so amazing; it has been voted the best seafood buffet for seven years in a row! This restaurant is super pretty, with stained glass, tropical aquariums, and a beautiful floral garden.
It is only open every Friday, Saturday, or Sunday starting at 4:00 pm and should definitely be on your itinerary for a trip to Ocean City! If you come during the first hour, you get special pricing too!
At the buffet, you will find fresh salmon, fried shrimp, seafood pasta, Mahi Mahi, clam chowder, seafood salad, and fried clam strips, amongst other delicious traditional food.
If you want all the seafood you can get, you cannot go wrong with the Bonfire Restaurants buffet!
6. On the Bay Seafood
On the Bay Seafood, located in Ocean City, Maryland, has some of the best crabs you will ever taste and is another top seafood restaurant in Maryland. Locals and visitors alike love eating at this place! Probably also one of the best crab restaurants in Ocean City MD.
At this family-friendly restaurant, you will find steamed spiced shrimp, blue crab, seasoned scallops, crab cake, crab soup, and more; the menu here will be sure to satisfy every craving. Eat outside, enjoy the ocean air, and all the seafood you can eat.
On the Bay Seafood is open Thursday to Sunday from 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm most nights from April through October.
7. Fager’s Island Restaurant and Bar
Fager’s Island Restaurant and Bar is another place to get some good seafood in OCMD. This is one of the restaurants in Ocean City MD open year-round and it even has a special Oyster and Craft Beer event every fall!
This fine dining restaurant also has an outside deck and bar with live entertainment. So, whether you are looking for a classy evening or a fun night out, you will love Fager’s Island Restaurant!
From the fresh catch of the day to jumbo Maryland crab cakes, Maine lobster tail, or a surf and turf dish, you will find plenty of great seafood options to satisfy your fish craving. Try out this award-winning restaurant and enjoy all the seafood your heart desires!
This is one of the only places that are open all day long and way into the night. You can head here anytime from 11:00 am to 2:00 am!
8. Marina Deck Restaurant
Another one of the best seafood restaurants with an ocean view is Marina Deck Restaurant. This is one of the best kid-friendly restaurants in Ocean City because it has a kid’s area with a playground to enjoy while you wait for your food.
Whether you try the soft-shell crab platter or the stuffed shrimp, everything tastes incredible! Other menu options include flounder, tuna steak, scallops, seafood alfredo, and lobster tail. These mouth-watering dishes are some of the best seafood in the state!
Marina Deck Restaurant is the perfect place to go with your family or for a romantic date night while you watch the sunset on the ocean.
9. BLU Crabhouse & Raw Bar
Open Wednesday through Saturday, the Blu Crabhouse is a great place to grab some fish dishes that will satisfy your seafood craving. Eat outside on the sand, inside, on the deck, or by the bar, and enjoy the fresh air.
Some of the main dishes to choose from here include stuffed shrimp, blue crab cakes, jumbo crab cocktail, poke tuna tacos, calamari, and snow crab legs.
During the fall, BLU Crabhouse offers a fun Crab Fest filled with delicious crab that you don’t want to miss.
You can enjoy a meal anytime between 4:00 pm to 9:30 pm. BLU Crabhouse is super close to the Boardwalk and is perfect for a nice meal out by the water.
10. Crab Alley Restaurant
For big crabs and fresh seafood, head to Crab Alley Restaurant. Located in West Ocean City, this place is open every day of the night in the afternoons. Along with the restaurant, they even have a seafood market if you want to grab some fresh local fish before heading home.
From crab bruschetta to seared ahi, cream of crab soup, local fried oysters, crab cake sandwich, or jumbo lump crabs, everything is homemade and simply delicious. Choose from inside dining or eat out in the fresh air on their deck, depending on your needs.
This casual seafood restaurant is good for couples, a group of friends, and even a family.
11. Marlin Moon Restaurant
If you want a fancier place to eat for a romantic date night, Marlin Moon Restaurant is the place to go. At Marlin Moon Restaurant, you can eat all day long. The breakfast bar is incredible here, filled with cereal, pancakes, fresh fruit, steak and eggs, and a whole variety of options to choose from.
For dinner, some seafood options include archer oysters, tuna nachos, seafood pasta, gulf jumbo shrimp, or fish of the day. Happy hour is from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm and offers $1 oysters and a $10 menu with plenty of seafood options to choose from as well.
Marlin Moon Restaurant is one of the best seafood restaurants in Ocean City, Maryland! It is open every day of the year from 7:30 am to 6:00 pm. Enjoy a candle-lit dinner at this place during your visit to this seaside town.
12. The Shrimp Boat Restaurant
Another favorite place to eat seafood in Ocean City, Maryland, is The Shrimp Boat Restaurant. This place has been open since 1989 and serves fresh and local seafood that is hard to beat. They even offer free shrimp samples to show you just how delicious their food is!
Here you will find the best shrimp in the state and the only head-on shrimp in Ocean City as well. There are so many awesome specials each day of the week you will love! From $1.99 crabs from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm on the weekdays to a weekend mini feast special dining option as well, everything here will be delicious and affordable to fit your needs.
The Shrimp Boat Restaurant is open from Wednesday to Sunday all day long. They also have a seafood market if you want even more seafood after you eat!
13. Waterman’s Seafood Co.
Also located in Ocean City, Waterman’s Seafood Co. has some great seafood dishes the entire family will love. It is open every day of the week except Tuesday for lunch and dinner and is a family-friendly restaurant.
There are some unique items on the menu, including a crab pretzel, dynamite shrimp, bacon-wrapped scallops, or a Caribbean jerk swordfish sandwich. You won’t find many of these dishes anywhere else, so you will definitely want to visit here sometime.
Here you will also find a seafood market, kid’s menu, and sports bar. It is a fun and casual place to eat!
14. Captain’s Table Restaurant
Captain’s Table Restaurant serves both breakfast and dinner and is a great option for some good seafood. You can get any of their appetizers for just $10 during happy hour, which is daily from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
This restaurant is known for its South African lobster tail, but they also have some other incredible options, including seafood stroganoff, pan-seared Atlantic salmon, coconut shrimp, and stuffed shrimp.
You will find Captain’s Table Restaurant on the Ocean City boardwalk inside the Courtyard by Marriott hotel, but you don’t have to be staying there to enjoy its delicious seafood! Head over there anytime between 7:30 am to 9:00 pm daily to grab some good food.
15. The Shark on the Harbor Restaurant
Another great seafood restaurant to try in Ocean City is The Shark on the Harbor Restaurant. Here you will find fresh local ingredients in every single dish. They are committed to having healthy, organic food for everyone to enjoy.
From poke to shellfish, jumbo crab cake, big-eye tuna, or middle neck clams, everything on their menu tastes amazing! This place offers a kid’s menu, happy hour, Sunday brunch, and even football specials!
16. Delmarva Boil Company
Choosing a place to eat at the beach might be difficult. Leaving the beach early means you won’t have to deal with the long queues for tables, high prices, and subpar quality of food and beverages.
Delmarva Boil Company is here to help you with your food problems in a very special and unique way.
Their “DIY Signature Seafood Boil pot-to-go” or the same delicious product prepared in-house and ready to go are both available for catering at home or taking out. Make the most of your time at the beach with a memorable lunch and an unforgettable experience.
17. Fish Tales Bar & Grill
Fish Tales Bar & Grill has expanded greatly since it first opened in 1983, but it has managed to maintain its charming, laid-back atmosphere. Relax in their original dock bar and reminisce while watching the skilled fish cutters process the day’s catch from the charter boats.
You can choose from a whole variety of appetizers, main courses, children’s meals, and interesting daily specials to find something that tickles your fancy. Stop by the bar where you can get anything from a cold drink to a cocktail to a beer straight from the tap.
Several of their go-to drinks, like the Orange Crushes, Mudslides, and Summer Sippers, are on the menu. If you enjoy large, lively crowds, it’s a great idea to come in between 2 and 5 o’clock on weekdays to take advantage of their happy hour specials, which include food and drinks!
Planning your trip to Maryland? Use our favorite resources below!
Accommodations – I recommend Expedia
Flights – I recommend Expedia
Tours/experiences – I recommend Viator
Car rental – I recommend DiscoverCars
FAQs on Seafood Restaurant while in Ocean City MD
What seafood is famous in Maryland?
The blue crab is an iconic symbol of Maryland’s seafood cuisine. Maryland-style crabs are typically steamed and seasoned with a blend of spices, such as Old Bay seasoning, creating a uniquely flavorful and mouthwatering experience. Due to this, there are lots of places to go crabbing in Maryland.
Does Maryland have good seafood?
Yes, Maryland is renowned for having excellent seafood, and it is often considered one of the best places in the United States to enjoy a variety of fresh and delicious seafood dishes.
The state is also famous for crab cakes and oysters.
What happened to Phillips Crab House in Ocean City Maryland?
Phillips Crab House in Ocean City, Maryland closed permanently in December 2021. However, a new owner is taking over the space and will be coming back as a new seafood restaurant Ocean City MD.
Final thoughts on Seafood Ocean City Md
These are just some of the best seafood restaurants in Ocean City Md! From fresh seafood to local crabs, unique crab pretzels, and more, there is something for everyone to enjoy.
You cannot go to Ocean City without eating some local seafood, so head to any of these restaurants and enjoy!
