The eating guide · Checked and current
Eat well in
Calvert County.
Plum Point sits in the middle of Calvert County's food map in Maryland: crab houses and a rooftop Italian ten minutes north in Chesapeake Beach and North Beach, and the county's densest restaurant row thirty minutes south on the Solomons Island waterfront. Every place named here is one we would send a guest to this weekend; when a spot closes or slips, it comes off the list.
The local food group: steamed blues, brown paper, and a wooden mallet.
Chesapeake Beach & North Beach
Ten minutes from your porch.
The Twin Beaches cover the whole week: crab decks, a rooftop date night, a brunch room, and an ice cream crawl for the boardwalk. You can be seated at any of these within about fifteen minutes of the cottages.
Traders Seafood Steak & AleChesapeake Beach
The county's steady hand: a prime rib with a genuine following, proper crab cakes, and portions that plan your lunch for tomorrow. The kind of room where locals take visiting parents.
Abner's Crab HouseChesapeake Beach
Steamed blue crabs by the dozen at a family-run crab house near the marina, brown paper and mallets included. This is the Maryland ritual, done straight.
Rod 'N' Reel RestaurantChesapeake Beach
The 1946 waterfront classic, fresh off a top-to-bottom renovation, with big water views. The same resort also runs CBQ for quick Maryland barbecue and the 1936 Bar & Grill for a casual round over Fishing Creek.
Baia Coastal Italian Kitchen & Wine BarChesapeake Beach
The date night: coastal Italian and a serious wine list on a rooftop deck over the bay. Order whatever has blue crab in it and watch the light change.
Hook & Vine Kitchen and BarNorth Beach
Southern coastal comfort a short walk from the boardwalk: warm room, generous plates, and a kitchen genuinely glad to see your kids.
Neptune's Seafood PubNorth Beach
The neighborhood seafood pub. Regulars order the mussels and the garlic bread, and see no reason to discuss it further.
Mornings & sweetsNorth Beach
Breakfast at North Beach Cafe & Creamery, pastries and coffee at The Bakist, and a boardwalk ice cream crawl through the Cold Penguin and Holy Cow Creamery, with dairy-free soft serve at Jango's.
Solomons Island
The waterfront worth the drive.
Thirty minutes south, the Solomons waterfront eats like a town five times its size. Park once, walk the Riverwalk, and graze.
Coast 2 Coast Seafood Bar & GrillSolomons
The lively deck over the marina, directly across from the boardwalk, and current holder of the island's crab-dip bragging rights. Live music on the right nights, and a kids' menu that gets its fries right.
The Pier RestaurantSolomons
Jumbo lump crab cakes with very little filler, panoramic river views, and a patio pointed straight at the sunset.
CD CaféSolomons
The island's chef-driven mainstay since the 1990s and the local answer to any special occasion. The savory cheesecake and the crab risotto have earned their reputations; the room is small, so plan ahead.
Island HideawaySolomons
Southern Maryland seafood and steaks on a wide deck over Back Creek. The sleeper pick that locals would rather you not find out about.
The Ruddy Duck Brewery & GrillSolomons
The county's brewpub: house-brewed beer beside a from-scratch kitchen, crab cakes that win local polls, and a family-friendly din.
Bugeye GrillSolomons
Where the island has breakfast: beignets, banana French toast, and biscuits and gravy before the museum doors open.
The Lighthouse Restaurant & Dock BarSolomons
Dock-bar drinks with the best water view on the strip. Go at golden hour and settle in.
The Tiki BarSolomons
Not dinner. An institution: orange crushes under the torches since 1980, live bands in season, and a spring opening weekend that amounts to a regional holiday.
The inland detour
Wine country, fifteen minutes west.
Running Hare VineyardPrince Frederick
A Tuscan-style vineyard with a beer garden pouring Calvert County beer, stone-fired pizza, and live music on weekends, on a lawn that welcomes both kids and dogs. Wine slushees exist here, and they work.
Steamed, by the dozen
Hot blue crabs, heavy on the Old Bay, dumped straight onto brown paper.
Mallet and knife
One wooden mallet, one small knife, a stack of paper towels, and no hurry at all.
Spring through fall
Local blues run roughly April to November. That is when the crab decks hum.
Come as you are
Nobody in the history of Maryland has dressed up to eat crabs.
Come hungry.
Stay put.
Six pet-friendly waterfront cottages with free kayaks and a fire pit for the after-dinner hour, from $198 a night.
Find your cottage