Each year OceanCity.com readers vote on the best of everything in Ocean City. We also have a panel of experts around Ocean City who pick their favorites based on local experiences, which we refer to as Editorโs Choice. Click here for the 2020 voting.
Whatever youโre in the mood for, thereโs a restaurant for it in Ocean City (especially if youโre in the mood for crabs). With seafood, buffet, pub-style and pizza joints on every corner, the possibilities are endless.
Restaurants who have placed in a โBest Ofโ restaurant category for 5 straight years include Harrisonโs Harbor Watch, Dumserโs Ice Cream, Kohr Bros, 28th Street Pit n Pub, Smokers BBQ, Anthonyโs Carryout, Hooperโs Crab House, The Crab Bag, The Crabcake Factory, Tequila Mockingbird, Blu Crabhouse, The Bonfire, OC Wasabi and Belly Busters. Congrats to those fine award-winning establishments, and to all of those listed below!
Best Pizza
Grotto Pizza
Where are you getting your pizza from? There was no clear winner in this category, with over 1,000 voters writing in a favorite pizza place that wasnโt on our poll. That’s typical for this category, one of our most popular (this year it received almost 6,000 votes total), so we wrote about some of the common write-ins that voters chose. To be fair, there are a lot of pizza options in Ocean City. But ultimately the winner was Grotto Pizza, a Maryland and Delaware pizza tradition since the 1960s. The family-friendly pizzeria has locations on 14th and 125th Street and also offers subs, salads, pastas, wings, strombolis, calzones and more.
Runner Up: Lombardi’s
Editorโs Choice: Mioneโs Pizza
Best Seafood
Crabcake Factory USA
They say that crab is on the menu all day at Crabcake Factory USA, and so are their Bloody Marys, which make the perfect complement to a crabcake. Itโs no wonder that with five locations (their original location at 120th street, bayside in Selbyville, DE, a seafood house across from the original restaurant, an express store at the boardwalk and poolside at the Tidelands Hotel) and an option to get their crabcakes shipped straight to your door, Crabcake Factory is the clear winner for the Best Seafood of 2017.
Runner Up: The Crab Bag
Editorโs Choice: The Shrimp Boat
Best Crabs
The Crab Bag
The Crab Bagโs โfattest crabs everโ are, according to the seasoned crab pickers and โBest Ofโ voters, by far the best crabs in Ocean City. With so many crab restaurants on the Eastern Shore, the Bag must be doing something right to garner so much support for their male blue crabs, which are steamed for 20-30 minutes and offered with sides like fries, corn and fried chicken in their โFeastโ entrees. Pick a picnic table and get pickinโ.
Runner Up: Hooperโs Crab House
Editorโs Choice: Blu Crabhouse
Best Crabcakes
Crabcake Factory USA
Are you surprised? In addition to taking home the Best Seafood award, the Factory has also been crowned Best Crabcakes, winning by a landslide thanks to their signature entree. Whatever underwater creature youโre craving, Crabcake Factory literally takes the cake.
Runner Up: Coins Pub
Editorโs Choice: Hooked
Best Ice Cream
Dumserโs
An Ocean City staple since 1939, Dumserโs Dairyland wins Best Ice Cream yet again. The ice creamery has expanded to seven locations throughout OC since the 30s, when Mrs. Gladys Dumser made her first homemade batch on the boardwalk, and today the family-owned-and-operated business offers every flavor and topping under the sun. Whether youโre dining in at their 49th or 123rd street locations or getting your dessert to go, Dumserโs is sure to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Runner Up: Kohr Bros Frozen Custard
Editorโs Choice: Island Creamery
Best BBQ
28th Street Pit & Pub
For delicious barbecue including house-smoked brisket, pork, chicken, ribs and wings, look no further than 28th Street — the 28th Street Pit & Pub, to be exact. You’ll also find this smokehouse in North Ocean City and, as of this year, in Salisbury, too. The Pit & Pub offers a casual environment where you won’t be ashamed to get your fingers a little saucy, and they also have a great daily Happy Hour from 3-6 p.m.
Runner Up: Bull on the Beach
Editor’s Choice: Smoker’s BBQ Pit
Best Subs
Anthonyโs Liquors
The shop on 33rd street with the dancing light-up beer cans isnโt just a liquor store. Anthonyโs also carries beer and wine, and the best subs in Ocean City. For 45 years, their deli has been serving top-quality sandwich meats from Boarโs Head and Critterio, so when youโre in the mood for a hoagie, Anthonyโs is the place to go. Be sure to stop at the bar for a cold brew on your way out.
Runner Up: Anthonyโs Carryout
Editorโs Choice: Billyโs Sub Shop
Best Waterfront Dining
Sunset Grille
Down at the Sunset Grilleโฆ youโll find some of the best deals in town, including $6.99 lunch specials Monday through Thursday and half-priced drinks at Happy Hour. But those deals arenโt even the best part of dining at the Sunset Grille. The best part is being able to enjoy your meal sitting dockside under an umbrella, watching boats roll into the harbor while the sun sets over the bay. Combine that view with a couple of drinks from Teasers Bar and youโll never want to leave.
Runner-up: Fager’s Island
Editorโs choice: Shark on the Harbor
Best Raw Bar
Harrisonโs Harbor Watch
The Harrison family has been local to the Ocean City region for over 100 years, and maybe thatโs why theyโre so dedicated to offering the freshest shellfish in all of OC. Fish on the restaurantโs menu are often served the same day theyโre caught, and in the summer, produce comes freshly picked from the Laurel Produce Market in Laurel, DE. Chow down on the oyster stew while enjoying one of the best bay views the island has to offer.
Runner-up: Blu Crabhouse & Raw Bar
Editorโs choice: Seacrets
Best Buffet
The Bonfire
The Bonfire has been serving up a large and diverse array of food since 1973. At their 70th street buffet, pretty much any craving can be sated, whether it be with seafood, steak, ribs, crab legs or any other fresh buffet staple. The Bonfire proves to be Ocean Cityโs best buffet (and there are lots in this region!) because here, as you sit under their beautiful stained glass with a view of the restaurantโs tropical fish tanks, all your senses will be satisfied.
Runner Up: Embers
Editorโs Choice: Horizons Oceanfront
Best Breakfast
Barn 34
In the barn-style building formerly home to the Pirateโs Den, Barn 34 continues the tradition of delicious breakfasts and other great meals throughout the day, too. Downstairs you can dine-in or order a drink at the Rum Bar, or upstairs, hang out in the Loft Dining Room and Bar. Either way, your experience will be accented with great food, live music and maybe even a game of ping-pong.
Runner Up: Bayside Skillet
Editorโs Choice: Bad Monkey
Best Wings
Shotti’s Point
Shotti’s Point is only a few years old (and their second location on the Boardwalk just opened this summer), but in a short period of time, their wings have taken Ocean City by storm. According to Best of Ocean City voters, their pizza isn’t bad either (it received a ton of write-in votes!) and their fries are second only to Thrasher’s. You might have to schedule several meals at Shotti’s Point just to try all the highly-favored food they have to offer.
Runner Up: Hooters
Original Choice: The Original Greene Turtle
Best Carry Out
Anthonyโs Carryout
Best Carry Out was a close race between 17th Street Anthonyโs and the other Anthonyโs, but the audience choice ultimately goes to Anthonyโs at 17th street. Tried and true and owned by the same family for 45 years, Anthonyโs serves the best takeout breakfast, fried chicken, subs and pizza in Ocean City. Theyโre cash only, so be sure to hit up an ATM before you go!
Runner-up: Belly Busters
Editorโs choice: Anthony’s Liquors
Best Asian Food
OC Wasabi
OC Wasabi wins Best Asian Food in a landslide. Come try the freshest sushi and sake on the beach, dine-in or carryout, or hit up the bar for happy hour specials on beer and house margaritas. If youโre feeling adventurous, be sure to order the fried ice cream for dessert, or the mochi, a sweet Japanese classic.
Runner-up: Blue Fish
Editorโs choice: Nori Sushi Bar
Best Italian Food
Touch of Italy
Hands down some of the best pizza you can get on the beach. Touch of Italy started out as a Lewes, DE exclusive in 2010, but today their artisanal pizza can be found in Ocean City and Rehoboth Beach, too. Check out their pasticceria, better known as a pastry shop with biscottis, pastries and cakes, or their salumeria, the Italian version of a deli. And whatever you do, be sure to treat yourself to an authentic Touch of Italy pizza.
Runner-up: Lombardi’s
Editorโs choice: DiFeboโs
Best Mexican Food
Motherโs Cantina
Motherโs Cantina prides themselves on their bold flavors and local, organic ingredients that make their Tex-Mex entrees so delicious. Motherโs Cantina is not only authentic but also affordable, so when youโre in the mood for a Mexican meal, you can dine-in, carry out or hit up the market at their 28th street restaurant. Happy hour is every day from 4-7, so keep in mind that a margarita is the perfect complement to a spicy fajita.
