Ocean City, Maryland Restaurant Reviews

Ocean City, Maryland -- Restaurant Reviews:

Phillip's North Rant Seafood
Ocean City MD USA

WaitSeated-Good, Wait/Servd-Good, Food Quality-Poor
Service-Fair, Restrooms-No Opinion, Atmosphere-Good
Consistency-Poor, Return-No, Value for the $$-No Impression-Poor

Phillip's is an over rated rip off. We tried the "Seafood Festival" at Phillips North. The steam tables were wretched. The prime rib bin was empty the whole time, so we didn't get any. It was amusing that they pretend to offer it. The fried foods were cold, hard and had been sitting way too long.The filler foods were cheap and pedestrian. I think I've had better food in a hospital cafeteria. $90 for 3 people... it was terrible --will never return.

Robin, info@rate-a-restaurant.com
2007/04/21
Bull on the Beach Rant American
Ocean City MD USA

WaitSeated-Excellent, Wait/Servd-Good, Food Quality-Poor
Service-Fair, Restrooms-Clean, Atmosphere-Good
Consistency-Poor, Return-No, Value for the $$-No Impression-Poor

Atmosphere is a sports bar. It's lively and energetic. It's a fun bar to be in. The mistake we made was ordering food. I ordered baby back ribs.They were tender but...they were tasteless. The sauce was Carolina style but it didn't have any pizzaz. It was just vinergary. Nothing tasted like it had been cooked with any spices. Pork needs a variety of spices...i.e. a RUB of spices as they demonstrate on every BBQ cooking TV show. My spouse had a Pit Beef sandwich. This was just dried out shaved, cold beef on a dry stale bun. This at least needed some au-jus to dip it in. We did take the beef home...we'll give it to the dog. He eats anything.

RAR Staff, 2006/10/11
Adolfo's Rant Italian
Ocean City MD USA

WaitSeated-Excellent, Wait/Servd-Fair, Food Quality-Poor
Service-Fair, Restrooms-Clean, Atmosphere-Fair
Consistency-Fair, Return-No, Value for the $$-No Impression-Poor

A cutesy, funky restaurant a block from the end of the famed Ocean City Boardwalk. We've passed by this place a zillion times and finally decided to stop in for some Italian food. The building is old but doesn't smell musty. The experience, in a nutshell, was overpriced, poor quality food.

I ordered a glass of the house Chianti and it came in a glass so small that after 3 sips it was over - this is a recurring theme in Ocean City restaurants. The quality of the Chianti was merely mediocre. How can an Italian restaurant have a simply mediocre "house" Chianti???

The salads took about 25 minutes to get and were actually wilted since the plate was still hot and must have just came straight out of the dishwasher. Even though it's an Italian restaurant they do not offer Caesar salad, always our first choice. The limp salad had one cherry tomato and was tasteless - the house "Italian" dressing didn't seem to have any garlic or even salt. On top the bread basket, they strangely placed four slices of pepperoni. That pepperoni would have been better served in the salad to give it some flavor. We had eaten the bread by the time we received our salads.

The meals came after we'd been there for 45 minutes and were uninspired to say the least. Our entree's were a Fresh Grouper cooked "Italian Style" and Veal Michini which was Veal topped with three shrimp, provolone cheese and a sauce. The grouper was overcooked in the oven - should have been pan seared - and the "sauce" was an unappealing glaze. The dish had no visual appeal at all. It was also bland as well as being overcooked. The veal was a low quality meat that was also overcooked, dry, a bit tough to chew. The three medium sized shrimp on top were not fresh, they were rubbery, tasteless and probably came frozen from Costco. The entrees came with a side of pasta with a meat tomato red sauce that tasted like way too much basil and just didn't taste like a burst of tomato flavor.

Entrees in this restaurant range from $18.00 to $25.00. The food was overpriced and bad, we left feeling ripped off. Three Brothers is a lot better.

Kim Olson, info@rate-a-restaurant.com
2006/09/10
Grove Market Rave American
Ocean City MD USA

WaitSeated-Good, Wait/Servd-Good, Food Quality-Excell
Service-Excellent, Restrooms-Clean, Atmosphere-A dive
Consistency-Excell, Return-Yes, Value for the $$-Yes Impression-Excellent

This restaurant is in Bishopville almost a mile past Lighthouse Sound golf course. It's a small old crab shack that doesn't have a lot of tables. You will be sitting on lawn furniture and the table settings won't match. Reservations are a must as is Cash - tip well to insure future reservations. They don't take plastic. Wine list is quite good and bottles range in price from $20 - $35 with one red at $48! They don't serve wines by the glass and don't serve cocktails - it's beer and wine only.They don't have a menu - the waiter recites the nights items to you. He first tells you the appetizers and you order your first course. He then comes back with appetizers and tells you the main courses - which are usually about 5 or 6 choices. After dinner he recites the desserts and informs diners that they only have regular coffee. The portions are LARGE and the food is quite good. The house special appetizer - smoked salmon pate was made with chunks of smoked salmon that was smoked out back, onions and cream cheese. It was very good and filling. It was spread on my bagel the next morning for breakfast. My spouse had a duck liver pate - flat out to die for. I should have ordered a salad and we could have split the salad and the duck liver pate. My main course was a pan fried red fish with a curry cream sauce. It was deeelish! Our other main course was a twice cooked crispy duck. It was fall of the bone tender - very tasty. We splurged and had coffe and desserts - a chocolate pie dessert and 4 layer coconut cake - made by a woman 3 doors down. The cake was moist and fluffy and incredibly good! In the end it was way too much food for us but it was all high quality food...who could ask for more. Now for the prices you ask? We had 2 beers waiting for our table, appetizers, bottle of Red Wine, main dishes and desserts. All for...$124 before tip. It was a great meal and a great deal!

R-A-R Staff, 2006/08/11
Castaways Rant Seafood
Ocean City MD USA

WaitSeated-Good, Wait/Servd-Poor, Food Quality-Poor
Service-Poor, Restrooms-Clean, Atmosphere-Good
Consistency-Poor, Return-Under duress, Value for the $$-No Impression-Poor

Someone else reviewed this place a while back, and said that they'd hoped the food would improve, since the physical aspects ARE good...well, just letting you know, the food is STILL absolutely terrible.

"Mismanagement" is the word that you find yourself repeating like a sad mantra, as you look for glimmers of hope that maybe one of the employees that are constantly flying by MIGHT BE YOUR SERVER (where are they all going? on what mission? how did they get so good at avoiding eye contact? who ARE they taking care of, and why not MEEE??) Finally, one of the fly-by employees DOES stop at your table, asks for our drink orders, then leaves the premises forever. Just when you think you couldn't possibly be thirstier, and realize that you've seen an entire episode of Bonanza on the "Sports" TV overhead, a DIFFERENT person returns with the wrong poorly-made drinks, and starts to run away, when you trip them, and lasso them with rope made from cocktail napkins, and insist that they take your food order.

In the meantime, you wander over to one of the twelve bartenders who are seemingly standing around (although ONE of them is furiously busy and can't keep up with the servers' drink orders), and ask if maybe one of the five thousand TVs could be changed from Murder She Wrote to the Orioles game. Everyone nods silently, but no one does anything, and, five hours later, as you try to ingest the inexplicably tasteless, barely recognizable cold objects on a plate that they laughingly call "food" in this place, you come to realize that, by now, the Orioles may have been sold and moved out of state. The good news is that you've seen seven episodes of The Andy Griffith Show, and can count yourself among the few who have actually seen Opie grow old before their very eyes. I have a friend who defends Castaways by saying..."well, you have to know what to order"... According to him, they make damn fine French Fries as long as you order on a Tuesday before 5PM, and the mayo that comes with the Faux-Fish Sandwich is always first-rate. Maybe he's right. And, to be fair, one of things we ordered, a prosciutto/cheese thing as I recall, was edible, and at least tasted like something, although that SOMETHING was mostly SALT. On the other end of the spectrum, stay away from their so-called "specials"; it turns out that Castaways' use of the word "special" is like Special Olympics and Special Education. One of the "specials" that night was Horseradish Encrusted Grouper, but there must have been some mix-up in the kitchen, because they brought me what tasted like Grouper Encrusted Horse. A fishy-tasting non-crispy coating reminiscent of wet newspaper and sardines surrounded a huge portion of some marbled, dark protein-like DNA sample, with the consistency of an authentic Indian Mocassin and the taste of bilgewater. One positive note; there WAS plenty to share.

As I left, with my stomach and wallet emptier than when I arrived, and I passed the six hostesses loudly cracking gum and discussing the relative merits of which illegal drugs were the best to take while drunk, it crossed my mind that, I begrudgingly had to admit,....I was now a Better Man, and was resolving to live a Better Life. YES...SEEING HELL IN PERSON, and spending an evening on a barstool there, has changed me, and, like Ebenezer Scrooge, I will use what's left of my Life to make sure that I do not spend Eternity in Infinite Torment waiting for a Cosmopolitan.

Jeff, skipper92@comcast.net
2006/08/11
PGN Crab House Rave Seafood
Ocean City MD USA

WaitSeated-Excellent, Wait/Servd-Good, Food Quality-Excell
Service-Good, Restrooms-Clean, Atmosphere-Poor
Consistency-Excell, Return-Yes, Value for the $$-Yes Impression-Excellent

This is a typical Maryland Crab House that has not been redesigned since they opened 30-40 years ago. The atmosphere is old and grody, and the lighting is not so good. One feels like they are back in time in this place.

However, the food quality is excellent and they are always crowded. They offer good quality crabs and steamed clams and they have best deep fryer in Ocean City. The Fried Chicken is GREAT! This Crab House place gives KFC a run for the their money.

We often get their food to go.

Robin Olson, info@rate-a-restaurant.com
2006/05/15
Sakura Rant Japanese
Ocean City MD USA

WaitSeated-Excellent, Wait/Servd-Poor, Food Quality-Poor
Service-Poor, Restrooms-No Opinion, Atmosphere-Fair
Consistency-Fair, Return-No, Value for the $$-No Impression-Poor

(Letter sent to Management)

Years ago when Sakura in Germantown, MD first opened, we were pleased that our neck of the woods finally had a decent Japanese Steak House. However the luster has worn off.

The problem for us is that our youngest son absolutely loves this style of food, but my husband and I have become disenchanted as the same flavors tend to become boring after awhile.

That's not my main issue however, my main complaint against Sakura and other Teppan style restaurants...is this...the over cooking of the food by the "chefs" 100% of the time, and it's always expensive ingredients; Lobster, Shrimp, Filet Mignon...

Last night April 7, 2006, we went to Sakura OC for the first time at our youngest son's request. We had a Russian waitress who could not speak English and we had to repeat the order 3 times.

The chef came to the table, he was humorless, had zero personality, and appeared nervous and I realized right away that he had no experience in cooking this type of food, even though he looked Japanese. (He did not flip the knives at all, and he sliced very slowly.) The ordered was all screwed up and he bickered with the waitress and we had to wait until new ingredients were brought out.

The timing of his putting the ingredients on the grill was completely off. He first undercooked the vegetables and lay them on the plate. (They sat alone on the plate for the next 25 minutes and were cold by the time the other food was ready.)

The rice that was brought to the table for him to cook was completely underdone to start with, it was hard, crunchy and got stuck in my teeth. He did not season the fried rice, it was flavorless and he added a full cup of the cream colored dipping sauce to the rice.

It was unappetizing to watch that and I have never seen that done before at other places. He did not put in enough soy sauce and he didn't add any teriyaki sauce plus he put in too much oil, so the rice was very greasy.

For my appetizer, I asked for the chicken livers which he killed (over cooked dry and inedible) and he cooked my son's shrimp appetizer into a charred, hard as rubber, unrecognizeable mess. I realized that my filet mignon and shrimp would meet the same fate so I asked him again to please cook my filet mignon 'extra rare'.

(We were the last table, the restaurant was empty by this time, but we had a full table of strangers. I saw him overcook their chicken, shrimp and steak and the other people complained to us that he ruined their food, too.)

Before the chef cooked my main dishes, I went up to the manager at the front desk and told him how our meal was progressing. I complained about the hard, uncooked, flavorless, greasy rice, the over cooked appetizers and I told him that I ordered rare filet mignon and that I was sure he would over cook it even though I asked for rare.

Alerted, the manager hoovered by and watched the rest of the process unfold at our table.

I sat back down and reiterated to the chef I wanted 'rare' filet mignon. Of course, he ignored my request and cooked the meat and shrimp well, well done. Not a speck of pink existed the meat. The shrimp was hard.

I looked at the manager and pointed to my dish and he saw for himself the over cooked filet and shrimp and I did not eat it. My son did eat his over cooked shrimp and my husband only ordered 3 orders of sushi. (He apparently knew better than to order Teppan food.)

FYI, it only takes ONE MINUTE TO COOK SHRIMP TO DONENESS. This guy cooked the shrimp for 10 FULL MINUTES!!!

We asked for the check. To our surpise the manager comped the whole bill which he did not have to do and I was impressed. He knew that I was right about the ruined dinner and chef with no skills. We offered to pay for the sushi and he refused to let us.

So that was good news for us, we didn't have to pay for inedible food.

But the bad news for Sakura is that this situation is a permanent problem and we will not return. Even though last night only three of us came for dinner, we are a family of five, the bill for the whole family is always at least $200.00 and we used to go at least 6 times a year at the request of our kids. That's a loss of $1200.00 just from us.

Under skilled chefs, over cooked, expensive seafood and meats, chronically under cooked rice = an over priced bad meal. Maybe not everyone takes the time to complain like I do, but I assure you, you are loosing customers due to these issues.

Robin Olson, reviews@rate-a-restaurant.com
2006/04/08
Plantation House Rant Seafood
Ocean City MD USA

WaitSeated-Excellent, Wait/Servd-Excellent, Food Quality-Poor
Service-Poor, Restrooms-Clean, Atmosphere-Poor
Consistency-Poor, Return-No, Value for the $$-No Impression-Poor

My wife and I arrived and waited at the front for a hostess. When a server came up and seated us, there was no one in the place. It was Saturday at 8 pm. We were a bit leary or this, but proceeded to sit down. The server that sat us, waited on us. She was very quick to get our orders and was not good at reccommending a dish. We had two steaks, potatoes, and spinach. The steaks were tasteless and small. The sides were so-so and our martinis were watery. We think the place was a train wreck! Save your money! The atmosphere is pretty, but it is overcrowded by tables and chairs, (Not with people because it sucks), loud due to all the tile and bare walls, and the food it terrible. Unless you want food from a can and a bland steak, stay clear! It is expensive and down right horrible!

Me, 2006/03/31
Macky's Bayside Bar & Grill Rave Seafood
Ocean City MD USA

WaitSeated-Excellent, Wait/Servd-Excellent, Food Quality-Excell
Service-Excellent, Restrooms-Clean, Atmosphere-Excellent
Consistency-Excell, Return-Yes, Value for the $$-Yes Impression-Excellent

This place is great as a lunch, dinner and Happy Hour location. It is beautiful! The food is great, the drinks are glorious and the staff is very friendly and fun! Check it out for yourself!

2006/03/31
The Wedge Rave American
Ocean City MD USA

WaitSeated-Excellent, Wait/Servd-Good, Food Quality-Good
Service-Fair, Restrooms-Clean, Atmosphere-Excellent
Consistency-Good, Return-Yes, Value for the $$-Yes Impression-Good

The Wedge in West OC is a neat little hang out with 360 degree panoramic views of Ocean City.

The food is your basic "pub grub" but the setting is so nice it makes up for "just okay" food.

Be sure to go there for drinks in the late afternoon for the full atmosphere.

Robin Olson, reviews@rate-a-restaurant.com
2006/03/23
The Blue Ox Rant Steak House
Ocean City MD USA

WaitSeated-Excellent, Wait/Servd-Good, Food Quality-Poor
Service-Fair, Restrooms-Clean, Atmosphere-Good
Consistency-Poor, Return-No, Value for the $$-No Impression-Poor

The Blue Ox menu is mainly "Steak House", and the entrees are fairly expensive. The steaks range from 20-35 dollars. They have chicken and fish entrees from 15.00.

We went at 4:00pm in the afternoon for a snack, as we were about to leave town. My husband ordered the Crab Imperial Stuffed Mushrooms and Ahi Tuna and we decided to split a Caesar Salad. I ordered the Cream of Crab soup, which should be renamed 'Cream of Muck' soup. Blue Ox's rendition of this soup was inedible. It was unappetizingly thick and lumpy and it had pools of orange grease floating over the top. The soup base was made with too much flour and to top it all off they added too much tarragon. In this case, tarragon was the wrong herb to use as it over powered the subtle taste of crab. It would have been a crime if they had used (and wasted) real Chesapeake Bay blue crab, (Or Carolina, Florida or Texas Blue Crab) however they didn't --they used the fake Asian Crab.

For future reference, classic Cream of Crab Soup usually has a noticeable 'cream' base, a hint of Sherry and a sprinkle of Old Bay Seasoning. The Caesar Salad was good, it had nice slices of parmesan cheese in it and a pleasant tasting dressing. However, I was less impressed with the cheap, grocery store croutons. The hot, fresh crusty bread delivered to the table was excellent. I wondered aloud to the waitress why they didn't bother to make the croutons out of this leftover bread.

My husband enjoyed the Seared Ahi Tuna which was grilled rare, sliced and presented in a circle over a wasabi cream sauce and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. The only thing that could have been done a bit better was that the Tuna had no flavor or spices on its own and the Wasabi sauce was very strong and could have been toned down a bit.

The Crab Imperial Stuffed Mushrooms tasted ok, however... they used button mushrooms, so each mushroom was one small bite. Because the mushrooms were so small, you couldn't see "Crab Imperial", it was just a tiny dollop of crab meat on top, and in fact the mushrooms were not actually "stuffed" like the name proclaims. With 5 small mushrooms for $11.95, that's $2.59 a bite, not a good value for the money.

Lastly, the coffee was served luke warm and wasn't fresh. The waitress was nice and eager but not very experienced.

We weren't there for dinner, so we have no idea how their signature steaks would be, but judging from the appetizers experience, we probably won't bother to go back. Low quality food at high quality prices.

Robin Olson, reviews@rate-a-restaurant.com
2006/03/22
Mario's Rant Italian
Ocean City MD USA

WaitSeated-Excellent, Wait/Servd-Good, Food Quality-Fair
Service-Fair, Restrooms-Clean, Atmosphere-A dive
Consistency-Poor, Return-No, Value for the $$-No Impression-Poor

This is an old time OC Italian Restaurant. We've now been there 3 times - you really don't know all about a restaurant unless you go 3 times. I was told by a local that Mario's has "the best steak in town" so we decided to try it. When you first walk in you are immediately struck with two thoughts - this place smells really musty and there isn't anyone else in here. The "Best Steak in OC" turned out to be the only steak on the menu. A NY strip with no seasonings or sauce. It was an ok piece of meat but uninspired. I like Rib Eyes better anyway. I would like some choice and some flavor. One night I ordered the prime rib special and they were already out - apparently the two pieces they had were taken by the table next to us. We also ordered the Veal Picata - the first night it was awesome - just like "buttah" but the other 2 times it was less than good. Salads are just not very good. For an Italian Restaurant the wine list is awful. Ther servers were lifeless Eastern Europeans who were just "punching the clock". Bottom Line is that after 3 times eating at this restaurant I must say I've never felt like it was even a good dining experience. This place should be mowed down. Don't ever go to Mario's.
Fall 2005

RAR Staff, 2006/02/26
Fresco's Rave Italian
Ocean City MD USA

WaitSeated-Excellent, Wait/Servd-Good, Food Quality-Excell
Service-Excellent, Restrooms-Clean, Atmosphere-Excellent
Consistency-Good, Return-Yes, Value for the $$-Yes Impression-Good

WHAT YOU'LL LIKE: On their good days this is one of Ocean City's best - if not the best - restaurant. Food is fresh and for the most part exquisitely prepared. When done right the crab stuffed rockfish is awesome. The carpaggio appetizer is buttery. The veal chop is great with a superb red wine reduction. I love the Caesar Salad (we usually split the Caesar). Pasta's are fresh and cooked to perfection. The kitchen is very creative which makes it fun to try the various specials.

WHAT YOU WON'T LIKE: When this restaurant is crowded the service and food quality can be iffy. The veal chop is awesome when it's an actual bone in rib chop but lately they've been serving a veal porterhouse and calling it a veal chop - not good. The crab cake was shredded on the plate and very dried out...like it sat under a super hot broiler. DON'T EVER ORDER THE CRAB CAKE. I've had the crab stuffed rockfish 3 times - once it was to die for and twice it was mediocre at best. While the wine list is excellent (but not cheap) the wines by the glass aren't even as good as the Outback's selection. I don't understand why a restaurant that is this busy can't offer some quality wines by the glass (it doesn't have to be like Ruth's Chris wines by the glass list - how about a few really good ones??). Hey it's an Italian Restaurant with real Italians running it...how about some various Chianti's - and at least one that isn't too dry that would be a great alternative to a California Merlot or Australian Shiraz - from some relative's vineyard?

Kim Olson, reviews@rate-a-restaurant.com
2006/02/26
Atlantic Hotel Rave American
Ocean City MD USA

WaitSeated-Excellent, Wait/Servd-Excellent, Food Quality-Excell
Service-Excellent, Restrooms-Clean, Atmosphere-Excellent
Consistency-Excell, Return-Yes, Value for the $$-Yes Impression-Excellent

Unique historic building, wonderful atmosphere in Berlin. Dinning room is gourmet food and bistro is casual dinning. Reservations are a good idea.

Reese F. Cropper, Jr., reesandy44@hotmail.com
2006/02/12
Castaway's Rant American
Ocean City MD USA

WaitSeated-Good, Wait/Servd-Fair, Food Quality-Poor
Service-Poor, Restrooms-Clean, Atmosphere-Excellent
Consistency-Fair, Return-Undecided, Value $$-Barely Impression-Poor

Castaway's is a large, brand new restaurant where Capt. Bob's of 30 foot Cow w/ Sunglasses on fame used to be. The owners spent a mint making the place, and the decor is beautiful. It has a spacious, tropical feel, with the palm fronds everywhere, 20-30 foot high ceilings, dark wood, shiny teak bar top, bamboo accents, good lighting, tropical murals, very Tommy Bahama feeling.

We sat out on the deck on a warm August night, very crowded, good atmosphere, we could hear the band... but it took nearly 1/2 an hour for the Russian waitress to even ask what we wanted to drink. We almost left and we should have left. The dining experience was regrettable. My husband got the Jambalaya, which he pronounced terrible tasting and served only luke warm. I wasn't that hungry so I ordered the coconut shrimp appetizer. They were straight out of the freezer box from Costco, nothing special. It seems they spent all their energy on making the restaurant and not enough energy on the food.

However, we will try Castaway's again at some point to see if they worked the bugs out, as it's such a nice atmosphere.

Sometimes it takes a while for new restaurants to get a good groove on. Castaway's we're rootin' for ya!

http://www.occastaways.com

RAR Staff, reviews@rate-a-restaurant.com
2006/01/27
General's Kitchen Rave American
Ocean City MD USA

WaitSeated-Excellent, Wait/Servd-Excellent, Food Quality-Excell
Service-Excellent, Restrooms-Clean, Atmosphere-Good
Consistency-Excell, Return-Yes, Value for the $$-Yes Impression-Excellent

General's Kitchen opens at 6am and closes at 1:00pm, as it's a breakfast place only. Well, the good General, Gus Bollas, died a few years ago, but his beloved restaurant lives on. It appears to be run by his wife now. The lines are always out the door in the "on" season, but the longest we've ever waited was 15 minutes. Hats are given to General's by the patrons and lines every inch of wall space. The kitchen is efficient, you will be served your juice or coffee within two minutes of sitting down and served your breakfast within five minutes. The food is always hot and fresh, the hash browns are excellent, really tasty. I go there for the 'to die for' (literally) "SOS", Cream Chipped Beef over toast, biscuit or grits. So rich! My husband always orders the Kitchen Special, which is scrambled eggs with ham, cheese and onions. Lastly, the prices are extremely reasonable for Ocean City. The average cost of a breakfast is only $5-6 dollars per person. A 5 person family can get a great, satifying breakfast for $30 or under.

RAR Staff, info@rate-a-restaurant.com
2006/01/24
Yokozuna Rave Japanese
Ocean City MD USA

WaitSeated-Excellent, Wait/Servd-Good, Food Quality-Excell
Service-Good, Restrooms-Clean, Atmosphere-Good
Consistency-Excell, Return-Yes, Value for the $$-Yes Impression-Excellent

We call Yokozuna "Designer Sushi'. They have so many original dishes and all are good. Our favorite rolls are the Lady Di and Daddy Long Legs. The only down side is that it always seems to take at least 35 minutes after you order to get any food. But after you get it, you're glad you waited. Open all year in the Gold Coast Mall.

http://www.yokozunaoc.com/

RAR Staff, info@rate-a-restaurant.com
2006/01/23
Coach's Diner Rave American
Ocean City MD USA

WaitSeated-Excellent, Wait/Servd-Good, Food Quality-Good
Service-Good, Restrooms-Clean, Atmosphere-Good
Consistency-Excell, Return-Yes, Value for the $$-Yes Impression-Good

Coaches is like stepping back into time, the 1950's to be exact. It's just a good ole' fashioned diner. Prices are reasonable and the food is down home cookin'. We've only been there for breakfast, they do also serve lunch and possibly dinner... While we don't recommend the omelets, we do recommend many other favorite breakfast items. The SOS (Creamed Chip Beef) is almost as good as the legendary General's Kitchen. The blueberry pancakes were excellent, filled with fresh blueberries. Fresh squeezed OJ, Bacon, hot, fresh, good, crispy. Good view of Coastal Highway at 62nd street where the Rt. 90 bridge comes into OC. A very pleasant and satisfying breakfast experience.

RAR Staff, info@rate-a-restaurant.com
2006/01/23
Captain's Galley Rant Seafood
Ocean City MD USA

WaitSeated-Excellent, Wait/Servd-Good, Food Quality-Poor
Service-Fair, Restrooms-Clean, Atmosphere-Good
Consistency-Poor, Return-Under duress, Value $$-Barely Impression-Poor

Captain's Galley is an established, popular restaurant situated in West Ocean City and boasts a panoramic view of the bay, leading out to the ocean. It has a nice atmosphere ( a bit out dated) and a large bar upstairs with a pared down menu of the main dining room menu, plus some typical pub grub items. They also have a large crab deck open in the summer.

Captain's Galley has a cute salad bar, it looks like a converted row boat. I was expectant when I walked up to it, but disappointed when I got there. The food in the salad bar lacks imagination, not verymany items to choose from --it's a very unimpressive display of vegetables and lettuce choices. To top that off, the lettuce was wilted and the evening we were there, most bins were empty to the bottom.

My husband said his crab cakes were good, not great, but good. For my entree, I asked the waitress if their Fried Oysters were 'fresh". She said they were, so I ordered them. Well, they were NOT fresh, definitely frozen with a mediocre, very salty coating, and a tad bit over cooked to boot. Frozen oysters are always large (about 4 inches), flat, sort 'tongue' shaped and not juicy. Fresh oysters are smaller, (2 inches) plumper, round in shape and usually juicy if cooked right. When I finally saw the waitress and told her that the oysters weren't fresh and that they were so salty that I couldn't eat them, she just said "Oh, sorry, I thought they were fresh." And then she walked away and hid the rest of our meal. She did not offer to bring me anything else and ignored the full plate of uneaten oysters when she dropped of the bill.

The vegetables tasted like they were out of can, very mushy, like something you'd get in a school lunch. Overall, the food is pedestrian, the service lacks, and lastly, the wine list is awful, the staff is clueless about wines to offer and they offer no decent wines by the glass.

Captains Galley tries to act as if they're a fine dining experience, and they charge prices as if they were, but they're not.

RAR Staff, reviews@rate-a-restaurant.com
2006/01/23
BJ's Rave American
Ocean City MD USA

WaitSeated-Good, Wait/Servd-Good, Food Quality-Good
Service-Good, Restrooms-Dirty, Atmosphere-Good
Consistency-Excell, Return-Yes, Value for the $$-Yes Impression-Good

TWO WORDS for you - "PUB GRUB"
Stick with anything fried.. soft crab sandwich, crab cake, seafood skins... but my husband always wants to order fresh fish when we go to BJ's... and he's always disappointed as they always overcook his fish! (It's happened over the years at least 5 times) So I say to you what I always say to him: "Order PUB GRUB!" I give BJ's a rave rating anyway, as we love sitting in the booths a few steps up from the bar, you can see 10 TV's and they often have live bands and Keno. It's a fun restaurant. Our son loves the desert called the Chocolate Volcano and he always gets the Seafood Fettuccini, which he says is good. The service is uneven. Sometimes, it's great, sometimes it's not, it depends on the server. BJ's is like a second home, we've been going there forever. Very crowded on week-ends, even in the winter. We only go there during the week.

The Salad Dressing factor... years ago BJ's used to serve the salad dressing in these little metal gravy boats, it probably added up to 1/4 of a cup of dressing. Now they serve the dressing in opaque plastic, throw away ramakins. They only hold about 1 tablespoon of dressing which is never enough, and it looks so paltry. I always try to remember to ask for at least two of them for my salad, when ordering. One time I asked our waitress for a second salad dressing and by the time she brought it, we were already done with our entrees. In the restaurant industry it's all about the timing!

RAR Staff, info@rate-a-restaurant.com
2006/01/23
Watermans Rant Seafood
Ocean City MD USA

WaitSeated-Excellent, Wait/Servd-Fair, Food Quality-Poor
Service-Good, Restrooms-No Opinion, Atmosphere-Fair
Consistency-Poor, Return-No, Value $$-Barely Impression-Poor

Ocean City has no shortage of Seafood Restaurants in the spring, summer and fall --but in the winter it's slim pickins, so we went to Watermans. We ordered the Angels on Horseback as an appetizer. (That's shrimp wrapped in bacon with BBQ sauce.) The shrimp had a weird freezer smell, not fresh and they were killed (overcooked) --totally inedible so we sent them back. We did not get the reorder until we were finished with our dinner and waiting for the bill about 45 minutes later. The waitress refused to take them back so she packed them in a to-go box, which we promptly threw away when we left. The fresh fried oysters were good, but were only lukewarm when served and the fries were cold. The lobster had a weird freezer smell. Lastly, they don't give real drawn butter, they use that cheap pretend butter oil which has a gross flavor. I hate that crap! Scratch Watermans off the list. If I am paying for Lobster, I want to eat it with real melted butter, for goodness sake!

RAR Staff, info@rate-a-restaurant.com
2006/01/20
Hoopers Rant Seafood
Ocean City MD USA

WaitSeated-Excellent, Wait/Servd-Fair, Food Quality-Poor
Service-Fair, Restrooms-Dirty, Atmosphere-Excellent
Consistency-Fair, Return-No, Value for the $$-No Impression-Poor

"I GOT HAMMERED AT HOOPERS!" That's the saying on the back of the T-shirts that Hoopers sells in their gift shop at the front of the restaurant.

Hoopers is a long time, popular, seafood restaurant housed in a large barn structure at the base of the Assawoman Bay Bridge that enters Ocean City, Maryland. The original restaurant burned down last year and they rebuilt it, just completed for beach season 2003.

The restaurant is very large and was busy and appeared to have a full staff. We had a twenty minute wait for our waiter to appear. My husband ordered the crab cake dinner, an approximately $20.00 entree, I ordered clam chowder and a dozen steamers (clams), our ten year old son ordered the 'Kids Seafood Special' at $7.95, as did his friend that we brought along with us on vacation. The 'kids special' is 2 hard crabs, hush puppies and fried clams.

I received my clam chowder right away, which was hot and good. After a forty minute wait, the rest of the food arrived. Everything was COLD, excuse me, ICE COLD. The fried clams were hard as rocks. My husbands crab cakes were inedible, as were my "steamers". I got up and looked for a manager and took a cold clam with me.

I stood patiently while another customer complained to him. I then handed him the cold clam and he followed me back to the table. He leaned over our table and we showed him what we'd been served. He said "What can I do to make you happy"? I said: "FRESH, HOT, FOOD".

After twenty minutes, we received "fresh, hot, food". Now the 'real' review begins: I asked for drawn butter to be served w/ my steamers because when I received the first (cold) plate, there wasn't any served with the plate. What I received was a plastic ramekin of OIL, served as "butter". Why they don't serve real butter with seafood is beyond me. I certainly don't dip my seafood in oil at home. The only conclusion is that Hoopers is too cheap to serve real butter.

The 'hot steamed clams' were strange tasting, bitter, very salty and rubbery. The clams tasted like they were injected with salt. They were large, rubbery and inedible. I only ate two of the twelve, but didn't complain to the hapless waiter. After all, I asked for FRESH, HOT FOOD. I should have said FRESH, HOT, 'HIGH QUALITY' FOOD.

Two of the four hard crabs served to the kids were inedible, ammoniated and bad. My husband's 'hot' version of the Crab Cakes were just barely 'OK'. For a $20.00 entree, and being in Maryland, which is known as the CRAB STATE, one would think they would served, REAL Hand Made MARYLAND CRABCAKES. NOT! They were "tasteless, mushy and bland" (but they were hot).

For $20.00, these crab cakes should have been freshly made of Backfin Lump Blue Claw Crab. These were obviously frozen, pre-fab crab cakes, not a hint of Blue Claw backfin crab meat used. It was comprised of cheap, shredded meat and not even made of Maryland Crab.

The lastest 'fad' in the restaurant industry is that they substitute inexpensively attained Asian crab for Maryland crab but charge Maryland Crab prices. I guess the average consumer can't tell, but to us 'crab aficianados', you can't fool us. Serving Asian Crab meat in replace of Blue Crab, is like ordering a good steak and being served hamburger and being told there's no difference. But you paid for steak!

The last gripe is that Hoopers serves pre-packaged Tarter Sauce to be served with their seafood. The pre-fab Tarter Sauce has a bitter after taste due to the preservatives. HELLO? You're a SEAFOOD restaurant. How hard is it to break out a jar of mayonnaise, add pickle relish, stir it up and serve it in a metal ramekin?

This waste of money cost us $70.00, not including the tip. Our experience in the 'new' Hoopers will keep up from returning.

Yep --WE GOT HAMMERED AT HOOPERS!

The bottom line is that Hoopers cares a great deal more about THEIR bottom line, then the satisfaction of their dining customers.

RAR Staff, info@rate-a-restaurant.com
2003/07/22
Fresco's Rave Italian
Ocean City MD USA

WaitSeated-Excellent, Wait/Servd-Excellent, Food Quality-Excell
Service-Excellent, Restrooms-Clean, Atmosphere-Excellent
Consistency-Excell, Return-Yes, Value for the $$-Yes Impression-Excellent

We recommended Fresco's which is a new Italian Restaurant in Ocean City. We've visited three times and have never been disappointed by the service or the food. The pastas are excellent and reminiscent of our meals in Italy. We inquired about how they make their pasta and were told that not only are they freshly made, but the chefs are in fact from Italy. The only item they could really improve upon is their Caesar Salad, which is quite pedestrian.
The cannoli's are 'to die for'.

RAR Staff, info@rate-a-restaurant.com
2003/07/21
Sole Grille Rave Seafood
Ocean City MD USA

WaitSeated-Good, Wait/Servd-Good, Food Quality-Good
Service-Good, Restrooms-Clean, Atmosphere-Excellent
Consistency-Good, Return-Yes, Value for the $$-Yes Impression-Good

We had a very enjoyable dinner at the Sole Grill in Ocean City, MD. The cream of crab soup was excellent, but if I could change one thing, I would have prefered a touch less pepper. They have a varied menu of fresh seafood entrees and a large selection of sushi. We sat in the bar, there was live music, very festive. We only had one problem, our friend ordered Mako Shark with etoufee which should be served with rice. They served it with mash potatoes, as they were out of rice, but the cook didn't tell our waiter. We will definitely return!

RAR Staff, RAR@rate-a-restaurant.com
2001/7/03