Ocean City, MD

Only the Strong Survive

There's a lot of restaurant competition here in Rehoboth Beach. Some places are just OK, most are pretty good, and a few are exceptional. I promise you honesty and objectivity, so check out the reviews and ratings, then post your own opinions. Click any Ratings at a Glance box to see how we figure the ratings.

"Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant? I'm halfway through my fishburger and I realize, Oh my God ... I could be eating a slow learner."
---Lynda Montgomery

Keep up with the news and reviews!
Get the FOODIE DIGEST
by email every two weeks.
Click to register

Rehoboth Weather

Clear (29 ^oF • -2 ^oC)
Humidity: 85%
Wind: N at 0 mph

Sat	38 ⇒ 50 ^oF	» Mostly Sunny «
Sun	32 ⇒ 47 ^oF	» Rain «
Mon	36 ⇒ 47 ^oF	» Clear «

'Tis the Season for Specials.
Click here.

Ocean City, MD

Ocean City, MD consists mainly of one long strip (Coastal Highway) lined with restaurants: big, small, good, bad and everything in between. This category also includes reviews of restaurants in West Ocean City (on Rt. 50 west of the Rt. 50 bridge into Ocean City), Ocean Pines and other small towns bordering the bay such as Bishopville, etc.

Grove Market

Written by the Rehoboth Foodie |

Other Area Reviews - Ocean City, MD

One of the hundreds of online accolades about Grove Market restaurant includes the description, "diamond in the rough." Even a diamond in the rough is still a diamond, and this one doesn't need a bit of polishing. It's just fine the way it is.

Now keep in mind that it's my obligation to be critical and ferret-out things that you might not like about a restaurant. I'm fortunate that most of the places around here are at least OK, but I'm always on the lookout for careless slipups and missteps. So if it was my job to find any substantial fault with the Grove Market, then I did not do my job (I did have one gripe--I'm saving that for later). What I DID do was have one of the most delightful and delicious evenings I've enjoyed in a long time.

The Grove Market was converted from a bait shack (wait 'til you see it) into a restaurant in 1987, and head chef John McDonald joined the crew in '93. He is the very knowledgeable wine critic for the

Fresco's

Written by the Rehoboth Foodie |

Other Area Reviews - Ocean City, MD

Yup, that's a "9.5" alright. It means "just about perfect." So far we've only awarded a couple of these to the over 130 restaurants we've reviewed. We went back several times, desperate to find something wrong, and we failed each time. (Well, OK, the setting sun does sometimes get in your eyes when you sit by the windows that look out onto the bay.) The soft, live piano music didn't hurt, either.

The festivities begin with a basket of simple but fresh

Ruth's Chris Steak House (Ocean City)

Written by the Rehoboth Foodie |

Other Area Reviews - Ocean City, MD

It was February 5, 1927 when Chris Matulich opened the doors of Chris' Steaks in New Orleans. Unbeknownst to him, across town (on that very same day), a little girl named Ruth Ann was born. Bright and competitive, she skipped grades and eventually earned degrees in chemistry and physics. (Meanwhile, Chris--blissfully unaware of young Ruth--continued to crank out steaks down in the French Quarter.) In 1965, Ruth Fertel, now-divorced and struggling to

Nick's Original House of Ribs

Written by the Rehoboth Foodie |

Other Area Reviews - Ocean City, MD

The Rehoboth Foodie still holds fond memories of those cavernous Ocean City restaurants of the late '60s and '70s when he was bangin' out rock 'n' roll 7 nights a week at Jack & June Fisher's long-gone Hideaway Lounge. Places like the (old) Bonfire, the (old) Embers, Phillips (the one at 21st St.), even the relentlessly Italian Mario's, always had long in-season waits, and were always

La Hacienda

Written by the Rehoboth Foodie |

Other Area Reviews - Ocean City, MD

Wherever there is melted cheese, shredded and spicy chicken (or pork...or beef), chili, chunky salsa and any sort of tortilla, you can be sure the Rehoboth Foodie will be nearby. (It's no secret that The Foodie needs to get a life.) That notwithstanding, some restaurants do manage to

Liquid Assets

Written by the Rehoboth Foodie |

Other Area Reviews - Ocean City, MD

It's basically a foodie version of one-stop shopping. Liquid Assets is nestled into the crowded (but festive) 94th St. Shopping Center in Ocean City, MD, about 40 minutes south of Rehoboth. Just walking into Liquid Assets is an experience. The racks of bottles for sale and the row of glassed beer coolers suggest that

BJ's On The Water

Written by the Rehoboth Foodie |

Other Area Reviews - Ocean City, MD

Like any good Foodie worth his salt (and pepper), I do, from time to time, venture southward to the Bethany Beach and Ocean City grazing grounds, and one of the venerable Ocean City standbys is BJ's On The Water. When I think of Ocean City, I think of places like

Crabcake Factory

Written by the Rehoboth Foodie |

Other Area Reviews - Ocean City, MD

It's not hard to find the Crabcake Factory at 120th St. and Ocean Highway (ocean side) in Ocean City, MD. Flashing signs, blinking lights and neon pointers all beckon you to experience their unexpectedly delicious seafood. Part sports bar, part seafood house with big wooden booths, beer signs and an inordinate number of televisions, it is anything but

Lombardi's

Written by the Rehoboth Foodie |

Other Area Reviews - Ocean City, MD

I love pizza, and we all know that there are all kinds of styles and tastes, all different enough that a person can have several "favorites." And that brings us to Lombardi's Trattoria in Ocean City, Maryland.

Years ago, my family had a place in OC at 91st. St., across the highway from Lombardi's. My parents used to scamper across