Two great specials there: Tuesdays are crab cake day-1/2 lb crab cake with 2 sides and free creme brûlée $17.99! The best home made ranch dressing, too. Then on Thursdays it's steak and chops day. The picture is my 24 oz porterhouse perfectly cooked with 2 sides $20.99. There are other specials on the website. One of our favorite restaurants read more

By The Docks Restaurant - 24 oz= 3 meals for me - Seafood Near Me - Middle River, Maryland

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Not a bad spot. I don't care for the new menu so much. Restaurant is ok. The previous menu was much better to me.

Like I totally sick the last time I ate there crabcakes never again. I don't even know why I ever ate there a friend of mine had a silverfish on the bottom of her crabcake. . read more

Went to restaurant based off friends suggestion. We got carry out. The food was incredible. Hot, fresh, and delicious. Highly recommend the crab cake, creamed spinach, roasted veggies, and French fries. Drove across town to get here and it was worth the money in tolls and gas money. Will be back! #supportsmallbusiness #bethereforbmore read more

By The Docks Restaurant - Single crab cake platter - Seafood Near Me - Middle River, Maryland

My sister and I stopped in for dinner. It was Restaurant week. The food was great! We ordered the crab cake and fried shrimp dinner. The rolls were so good we ordered seconds. We were seated on the balcony which looked down on the floor and tables below. Our waiter Francesco was the best! He was very happy to take care of his tables and made sure to get what ever we needed. A very pleasant experience. Will definitely make a return visit. read more

By The Docks Restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Middle River, Maryland

This another one of my favorite restaurants in the Essex area. Great place for food and drinks. Prices are not bad. they offer brunches, and deals daily. read more

Well... I have been going to by the docks since they opened their doors. I have never had a complaint... Today however... I must say I was disappointed... 1. During this Covid era... I was still under the impression that restaurants were still complying to some rules.. No servers/ employees were wearing masks 2. The tables were so close together... you could barely squeeze between them... and I'm not a big person 3. Because the tables were so tight...we were seated next to two very loud tables... I could barely hear the person I was with...every table was taken! 4. The drinks and food took forever... I have come to expect that post Covid... employees are hard to come by The food was ok I got the crabcake/ 2 shrimp special... the crabcake was good ... the shrimp were very dry and not as tasty as usual. Our waiter was pleasant enough But never asked if our food was ok or if we wanted another drink... So... my friends first visit was disappointing read more

By The Docks Restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Middle River, Maryland

I was craving a crab cake and I've honestly been so disappointed recently in a few places that I've tried, but WOW, By the docks made up for that! I stumbled upon this gem while I was getting my hair done in the area and I decided to give them a try. I was very pleased with the quality. From the outside, it doesn't look like it would be a winner but from the moment I stepped inside, I knew I made the right choice. We were greeted by a very friendly gentleman and seated promptly, I've heard this place can get very busy but we had a late lunch a few Saturday's ago (around 3pm)and had no problem getting a table. Started off with the Parmesan fries, they came out piping hot and were very good. I ordered the single crab cake with a side salad and a side zucchini. The crab cake was huge and although it had a little more filler than I normally care for, it was still very good. My partner got the jambalaya, which he did not really enjoy. he tried my crab cake and regretted not ordering that instead. Our waitress was sweet as can be and was extremely attentive! Highly recommend the crab cakes here! read more

By The Docks Restaurant - Award-Winning Colossal Crab Cakes - Single - Seafood Near Me - Middle River, Maryland

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I have a lot to say about this place.... First and foremost the hostesses ignore you upon entrance. I have seen it happen on three occasions. They're so involved in their own gossip that they don't even notice a customer approaching. Immediately puts a bad taste in my mouth. Minus one star. First impressions are everything! We were seated all the way in the corner, secluded. It was "intimate" I guess but to me I would have preferred to be around other people. Very odd setup to me, but this is personal preference so no star lost here. Service was good, nothing spectacular, very average. There was no "wow factor" nothing memorable about the service. One star lost just because I didn't feel any type of connection to the server it was almost as if they were so use to the routine they could careless about providing the "wow factor" Now here is where it all counts...THE FOOD! I ordered the crab cakes which were HUGE! I'm talking 8 ounces of meat per crab cake. They're good. Not THE best in Maryland, but they are ONE of the best. Very impressed by the size. Only thing I disliked about this place is they didn't really have a "kids menu" for kids to color or entertain themselves with which can be a turn off if you're a parent. But no star lost here because again, this is personal preference. Give this place a try. It's worth it at least for one visit. I don't know if I will be back. But at least I can say I experienced a colossal sized 8 ounce crab cake that was pretty appetizing. read more

By The Docks Restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Middle River, Maryland

Good food at a fair price. Depending on server, it's a good dining experience. The majority of food is delicious but sometimes service is lacking read more

Never had a bad experience until tonight. Our server was great, shout out to Kimberly. She was amazing and the most attentive spirit. However, the manager on duty, Mike, was a different story. Not personable and when I changed my seating situation to fit his narrative, after his extreme rudeness to me, he continued to be rude and chastised the whole situation. Made a joke about the whole situation and how he should 'find a new job''. Clearly not taking the criticism to better his interaction with clientele. Mike is a joke of a manager. read more

Nice atmosphere. Food is good. Pricey depending on what you order. My favorite menu item would be the crab cakes.

First time visiting By the Docks for a work farewell lunch. We both ordered the Crab Cake platter. The cakes are award winning and huge- they didn't disappoint! I would say now on my top five best list. Substituted the Greek Salad for one of the sides and it was excellent! Our server was wonderful! Didn't have dessert but it looked like Yia Yia's bakery is their vendor and you can't go wrong with them. The only thing that would make this place better is outside seating. read more

By The Docks Restaurant - Crab Cake with Rice Pilaf - Seafood Near Me - Middle River, Maryland

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I went there tonight for a financial retirement seminar and the menu featured crab cakes, salmon or steak. I selected the crab cake and it was very big moist and had lots of lump in. read more

By The Docks Restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Middle River, Maryland

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Good location Good service Price is reasonable Foods is average Prime meat is too fat and the beer will be better if come with ice cold glass cup (not a warm glass cup just washed with hot water ) my cold will changed to a warm beer ! Tanks for your attention! read more

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Great crab cakes!!! Lobster ni on Mondays are great I ordered imperial crab stuffed lobster My go to place to bring out of town guests for Md crab cakes read more

We got some to takeout on a recent Sunday during covid19. The order took longer to come out than the promised time, but the parking lot was full when we got there, and it was a Sunday night... The crabcakes were good, but as good and indistinguishable to us compared to G&M's or any other restaurants in Baltimore. I got a pasta dish with crabcakes and mussels as well as a MD crab soup. The crab soup was very salty - two of us sharing it as an appetizer could barely have half of it - while the pasta had zero salt in it! A major imbalance and turnoff. The crabcakes were nicely marinated, but the pasta was a major disappointment. I'd not try another pasta again from the Docks. I've yet to be satisfied by a pasta dish I order at seafood restaurants, so maybe the universal lesson here is to order seafood pasta at an Italian restaurant. read more

Absolutely a 5 star restaurant! Food... excellent! Large portions! Price... unbelievably affordable! Atmosphere... very comfortable, go dressy or casual! Super clean! Service... our server, Kimberly was awesome! We were working in the area and wanted some good seafood. This place was spot on!! Delicious! A wonderful menu selection. I couldn't believe how many different ways they will prepare your Salmon. And so many side choices. All around excellent restaurant!! read more

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Not what it use to be , soup was really good, entree was served warm , steak was not prepared right , but the seasoning was good , made up for the med rare verses med well read more

The food is okay. I liked the ambiance of the place and the appetizers. The drinks and entrees were mediocre, not worth the prices.

Generally nice. Service was generally good. The crab sandwich was a bit bland. And the interior looked a classic 50s vibe but redone to today's standard. read more

I have found my new crabcake spot when visiting Maryland.. the crabcakes are absolutely divine with very little filler and plenty of jumbo lump crabmeat. Cant remember my server name but she was sweet and made sure everything was to our liking. read more

Very good food and the atmosphere is pleasant The bartender is great and friendly The bathrooms could use more attention and the owner is a friendly guy read more

I've heard so much about By the Docks. When I learned that they were participating in Restaurant Week, it was a no brainer that I was checking them out. Pros: * Plenty of parking. * Our waitress was at our table within a minute of us being seated. She bought bread with her. Her serving pace was perfect which allowed each course to come incrementally on time. * The Bread. Rarely do I have bread so good that I place a piece in my to go container. Cons: None First Meal: Maryland Crab soup. Very hearty, flavorful and full of crab. A- Second Meal: Rockfish and Yucatan Shrimp. I've never had Rockfish and thought to try it. This was an excellent decision. The fish was succulent, well seasoned, and kind of thick like salmon. The shrimp on top were huge and awesome. The two together receives an A+. Dessert: Double chocolate cake. Smh. I just had a flashback. This. Cake. It is made with real chocolate goodness. The icing is ungodly. A+ I'm looking forward to coming again to confirm the consistency of their goodness. read more

This place is very nice! The food was good,All though my steak was tough and had to get sent back, the staff was very nice and apologized and gave us a free slice of strawberry shortcake! Which tasted soooo good and moist. It was lobster night and my brother had the stuffed lobster which he devour! The Neptune salad was huge! Blacken salmon was cooked perfect. Oyster Rockefeller was good. Red Sangria was really good, was mad we left some in the bottle read more

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My Thanksgiving three course lunch meal was delicious since it's our first holiday here in Baltimore after moving two months ago. I was told to try this restaurant and I loved it. I would like to go back and try other meals. It's a great atmosphere and to make reservations is a great idea because we didn't have to wait. read more

By The Docks Restaurant - Broiled seafood platter with flounder fish, shrimps, carb cake scallops and stuffed oyster. - Seafood Near Me - Middle River, Maryland

I wanted to check out the eating scene in east Balti county so I googled best restaurants and this popped up! I came for lunch. Seating was fast but my bread was cold in the middle. No worries, it was replaced within a few minutes!!! I was here for restaurant week for $20 Crab Soup, Crabcake Sandwich, and Strawberry shortcake (to go) The crabcake was HUGE and fluffy and flavorful. The bun it came on was quality, soft and "buttery". The sandwich came with seasoned fries that looked handcut, they were very tasty. With the decline of MO's over the years, I've been looking for a "down to earth" replacement with fresher food and less ehhhemmm "congestion". This could be it. After a few minutes, the place got busy, but in a good way !!! I'm coming back for brunch for the final test. read more

By The Docks Restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Middle River, Maryland

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We did indeed have out of town guests and decided that Dock by the Bay was the restaurant was the place to take them. The food was fantastic and our waiter was one of the best that I have ever had. He was attentive without being over bearing. Getting back to the food, I think the table had a nice varied selection from the menu. Every thing was great. From salads to sandwich to pasta and of course the crab cakes. We have eaten there before and will continue as well as bringing out of state visitors. read more

I went her for a meeting and the steak and crab cake is fabulous. The restaurant should expand , very busy and great service.love the restaurant we had a great space for our meeting. Thank you read more

The power of the internet drew me to this place. As a love of crab cakes, I saw an ad on Instagram and was immediately in drawn in. Aside from social media being the main source of recommendation, one of my colleagues/ Facebook friend posted about the restaurant and gave me raves reviews. We drove approx. 30 minutes to check this place out so I was hoping that it was worth it. Front entrance As soon as we walked in, I noticed the chalk board with menu items listed on it for various days of the week. It was refreshing to see that they had theme days. The front was semi modern but when we walked in the restaurant, the modern theme went out the window. Inside the restaurant Based on the pics on Yelp, their website and Google images, I figured the restaurant would be very a very classy environment. When we arrived inside, I felt like I was in a bad episode of "Spongebob Squarepants" with all of the "under the sea" decor. There are Fishermans nets on the way and even a white tube one the wall. Apparently there are lights hung up on the walls but they aren't lit (kind of a waste of space). I give the decor a 2 out of 5 stars. I wasn't impressed and really feel as though it may be time for a facelift. The service Our waiters name was Adam, he was very attentive and extremely honest about the menu. He gave us as much time as we needed to review the menu while he went to retrieve our drinks. He seemed very at ease about his job and knew what he was doing. I give the service 4 out of 5 stars. The food So apparently this establishment is "known" for their crab cakes however I feel as though I've had better from Romano's or the Blur Dolphin. I mean they were good but they weren't anything to write home about. My friend ordered the Neptune salad, he said it was good with the exception that the salmon was kind of bland in taste. If give the food a 3 out of 5 stars. I give my entire visit a whopping 3 out of 5 stars. I just wasn't super impressed by the decor and ambiance is everything to me in a restaurant/lounge. read more

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I wanted to love this place because everything on the menu looked so tasty; unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. Let's get the crabcake discussion out if the way first: Yes, they are freaking enormous as you've undoubtedly read in every other Yelp review of this place. And they're fine... unless you're a crabcake snob (like me). They had a decent amount of filler, were missing that coveted, delicate, buttery crab taste, and were quite underseasoned. While voted "best" by readers of some magazine, the only thing memorable about them was their size. I'd take a smaller, better tasting cake any day. Decor is outdated, they *sorely* need a remodel. Service was fine, not very enthusiastic but she seemed sweet enough. Crushes were not served with crushed ice (booo!) but were tasty. Side salad for an upcharge was...sad looking but the ranch dressing tasted homemade and delicious. Also! The whole reason we drove out of our way on the ride home from NJ was to get a shrimp po boy (I swear, I have cravings like a pregnant woman!), but we were delivered an oyster one instead :( Heart broken. I won't waste food so we didn't send it back but it wasn't what we wanted or what we ordered. Sandwich bread was also kinda stale and remoulade was not very tasty...almost sweet. On a positive note, the crabby nachos were AMAZING. The ratio of toppings:chips was literally perfect and the chips were crunchy enough to withstand the hot, gooey crab dip without turning to mush. French fries were also delectable and the only other thing I'd order again. All that to say, it wasn't as good as I anticipated, but it wasn't terrible. 3.5 - I'd come back for more junk food (apps) but would be hesitant to spend the money on another entree. read more

By The Docks Restaurant - Order these nachos covered in crab dip, melted cheese, and cheese sauce. Your waistline will not love you but your tastebuds will! - Seafood Near Me - Middle River, Maryland

Gorgeous restaurant on the inside. Wonderful staff and good food. Oh and there is ample parking as well. Enjoy and evening at By The Docks. Nice enough for a special occasion. Chill enough for every day. Was surprised by it's participation on Restaurant Week so got a fabulous meal for a fabulous price. Though, the portion sizes were good for their normal prices as well. Crab cakes are the size of a CD and the Brussel sprouts must really rock because they were sold out. I have dessert but couldn't taste it because I am so full (and took half of my food home) - definitely recommend. read more

The food was good the service needs some help. Do not pay with cash because the service will tell you your short and you Have to take their word for it. read more

Always been good food. Stories of not being able to make substitutions has kept us from returning.

Came here for my moms birthday. Made a reservation so we didn't have to wait to be seated. Our server was really nice. She was patient with us when ordering and gave us great suggestions. Our food came out quickly and she always asked if everything was good and if we needed anything. We had coconut shrimp for our appetizer, it was delicious and it wasn't too much coconut. For our entrees I had seafood paradise which was shrimp crab meat with pink cream sauce over penne pasta. It came with garlic bread and a salad, food was delicious the shrimp was fresh and so was the crab meat. My mom had crab cake, steak, and shrimp. My aunt had the Seafood Imperial which was Shrimp, scallops, and crab meat, both their entrees came with two sides. Overall great place and great service. read more

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This was our first meal out.. inside a location.. since the pandemic.. this place had to be at 100 or 90 percent capacity. We were seated at a two person table when we first got there. The parking lot was packed at 8 pm on a Saturday. It's popular. This table was so busy we had to be asked to move. We were on the way to the kitchen and it was nuts. trays of food whizzing by. We order crab soup cups and they came immediately. We loved the soup. The bread for the table had various degrees of freshness and the butter.. put it in your hand to melt it because it comes right out the freezer. We had some fresh rolls but it was strange because this place was the busiest restaurant. There were so many to go orders that if you started counting them coming out the kitchen you'd quickly lose count. After the appetizers we had to wait a bit for the main course. No lie they sat an 8 person table right next to us. 4 feet maybe. There was already a 6 person table next to us. Please work vaccine. The main course came around 45 minutes after the appetizers and they were beautiful. Oh man.. we drove an hour for this experience and it was not disappointing. Please look at the pictures. My wife had a crab sandwich and it was huge. She kept asking should I cut this in half? I am like. Lobster and one crab cake is more than enough for me to tackle. Oh man.. it was a lot. She brought her food home. Ok.. they are old school with the register.. so review your bill. I found a mistake and they corrected it.. no problem. Loved this place. You should visit. read more

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The quest for seafood brought us here. Hubby ordered fried flounder with broccoli and steak fries and I ordered single crab cake with rice pilaf and broccoli. Our total meal was $67.77 w/o gratuity. We were greated promptly by the hostess and seated at the bar with no wait time. Large paking lot. We ordered the Typhoon Punch and the By the Docks signature drink. The "Docks" was superior in taste. However, neither had an abundance of liquor. For an appetizer we ordered chicken tenders. Not bad...they appeared to be hand cut and breaded in cornmeal. Kudos for not selling standard tenders and homemade bbq sauce. The steak fries were cold and the rice pilaf bland and over cooked. The broccoli had NO seasoning at all. My crab cake had lumps of meat, but it was pasteurized crab meat. If you know/love MD crabs...fresh is always best. Personally, I don't like pasteurized crab meat or anything made from it. It doesn't have that sweet delicious flavor of fresh MD blue crabs. Hubby said his flounder had no seasoning, but 2 hearty fillet were served piping hot. The server was attentive and the bar was very clean. Will we return? No, because of the type of crabmeat used and the lack of flavor. Skipjack's had better crab cakes, but their service was sorely lacking. read more

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Thoroughly enjoyed this place. Reasonably priced for good seafood. I had the crab cake and it was delicious. Server was friendly and the atmosphere was nice and quiet. Whoever was in charge of the music obviously had a sense of humor. As a snowstorm kicked in, they played the song from frozen. read more

By The Docks Restaurant - Crab cake - Seafood Near Me - Middle River, Maryland

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Wow!!!! We came for Brunch while in town for The Maryland Bass Nation High School State Championship Fishing Tournament our of Dundee Marina! This brunch Buffett was the best I've ever been to. Everything was so fresh and tasted as it was prepared and cooked to order! Beautifully displayed and staff was on hand to close kids and keep good fresh! Bottomless Bloody Mary's for $10 were sooo good! My only complaint is now I need a nap! We are planning to bring our whole team back for dinner tonight! So glad we found this place! read more

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If I could give a zero I would. Ruined my birthday dinner. We had a reservation for 8. We waited 15 minutes before anyone came to our table and it was not even busy. When someone finally came we asked for the drink menu and waiter said he would be right back with one but he had to stop and have a 5 minute conversation with the white party that had just walked in the door. They sat us in a corner away from everyone and no one even acknowledged us the whole time we were there. I will not patronize a business that does not want my business. read more