Posted on December 9th, 2017
Anyone that has lived in Ocean City for any amount of time knows Waterman’s Seafood in West Ocean City….they’ve been serving up Eastern Shore tradition since 1982. What was once just a seafood takeout joint has expanded over the years into a full sit down restaurant serving all-you-can-eat crabs and some of the area’s best fried chicken, and following a major renovation in 2014 they’ve expanded into a year round restaurant with an extensive menu, a couple of bars to watch the games and facilities to host awesome Holiday parties.
My wife Kristen and I went on a night during the middle of the week and though the parking lot was full and they looked busy, we were seated right away. The dining rooms are nice and the tables are comfortable and practical. Bench seating with cushions and a stainless steel table are perfect for eating dinner or cracking a bunch of crabs.
Our waitress was there quickly to get us a few drinks and we decided to start with an appetizer and a couple of bowls of soup. The hot crab dip was delicious and the bread served along side was perfect. Warm and crunchy on the outside, but soft on the inside so you could get a good scoop of the gooey crab dip and take a nice bite without it exploding into a thousand crumbs.
The cream of crab soup was also delicious. It arrived with crackers at perfect eating temperature and was full of nice chunks of lump crabmeat. The flavor was awesome too.
Our salads were up next and to me a salad is a salad, but the greens and veggies were fresh and the dressing was really good.
Kristen decided on the very popular fried chicken for dinner and was not disappointed. This is a local’s favorite and is crunchy, moist and delicious. The kid in me couldn’t pass up a giant plate of fried seafood so I opted for the fried seafood combo with coleslaw and hush puppies as sides. The combo comes with hand breaded shrimp, crab cake, a nice sized piece of haddock and clam strips….yes, some of it went home with me! Everything was fried really well and very flavorful. I’m sort of a hush puppy connoisseur and these were awesome! The awesome hush puppies are included in the two feasts that they offer in season too. The Shrimp Feast is all-you-can-eat steamed shrimp, fried chicken and hush puppies and the Original Feast is steamed crabs, shrimp, fried chicken and hush puppies.
Unfortunately I can’t tell you about the desserts because I just didn’t have enough room to try any. Waterman’s offers a brownie sundae, apple pie, cheesecake and a selection of locally made desserts that varies.
Waterman’s still has the full service take-out seafood market where you can get fresh seafood for home.
They have a couple of bars with several beers and full liquor menu to chill and/or watch the game.
And if you’re looking for a great place for a Holiday or work party they have some nice rooms where they will take care of everything for you.
Waterman’s Seafood Company is located on Route 50 right next to Keyser Point Rd in West Ocean City and is open year round. Check them out at CrabsOC.com or give them a ring at 410-213-1020 for more information.
