Best place in Chincoteague for seafood! They even sell crabs, very hard to find on the island. I love their oysters the best in the world!

I have been going to Chincoteague Island for over 40 years and know there are some great places to get fresh seafood. Gary Howard seafood is an institution on the a island that is best know by word of mouth. They have seafood available for you to cook on your own or they will steam it for you. One thing to note is that they no longer offer fried seafood. This was a bit disappointing because they used to offer some of tastiest clam strips around. This time we had steamed crabs and they were amazing! The medium seasoning was perfect. Another overlooked fact is that blue crabs are meatier (heavier) in the fall, so September is a great time to enjoy them and at a more reasonable price. read more

Gary Howard Seafood - Gary Howard's Seafood - Seafood Markets Near Me - Chincoteague Island, Virginia

Don't go here - it's not good- we wanted grouper and the fish they had was actually grouper and so we bought it. We know very well to tell the difference and once we got ready to cook the fish we thought was grouper filet we found out it was tilapia and it was definitely frozen before and then thawed. They had no signs of tilapia on their display and all fish was labeled as fresh. This was deceitful and no good business practice. read more

YUM. Yum and yum. Got flounder and snapper. Good selection and market prices. That is all. read more

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Amazing place where I was able to get a dozen medium sized steamed blue crabs for $20. 50 little neck clams cost $15 and came with a side of butter. The lady was nice enough to give me a mallet and a roll of paper for the feast. This place is a best kept secret of a best kept secret (Chincoteague). read more

During our last night at Chincoteague, we decided to order seafood from Gary Howard Seafood. We stopped by to order in the morning and set up a pick up time for later. We ordered two pounds of snow crab legs and one pound of shrimp to split, and everything was very reasonably priced. Our order was prepared on time, and everything was steamed and seasoned perfectly. Butter and cocktail sauce were already in with the food, which is nice especially if you are taking it back to a hotel room and would probably not have these things. The staff here are friendly and efficient. Make sure you bring cash to tip them. If you pay with a card, there isn't a line on the receipt to add a gratuity. Since this business is more of a seafood market than a restaurant, they do not have a lot of seating on their porch. We were glad we ordered our food to enjoy at our rental home. We also have found during this week that ordering from seafood markets instead of going out to dinner seems to be the way to go for a better quality, more reasonably priced meal. read more

Gary Howard Seafood - Cat outside Gary Howard's that doesn't want its photo taken - Seafood Markets Near Me - Chincoteague Island, Virginia

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Just had the BEST salmon we've EVER had ANYWHERE! It was super fresh, remained perfectly moist during cooking, and had the best texture! We cooked it on a charcoal grill, and it was pure perfection. Don't miss a trip to this seafood house. read more

Small market, but still some good options. We wanted seafood for a big family dinner. We got scallops, grouper, salmon and shrimp. It was all very good, but a bit pricey. The lady working the register was very nice. The place is older and definitely resembles what you think of when you think island seafood market! Overall we liked all that we got! read more

Amazing seafood. Location looks like a hole in the wall backyard trailer, but the prices are great and the food is amazing. Crabs come in during the afternoon and sold by the evening. They steam crabs, claims, and snow crabs. Shrimp came with cocktail sauce which was nice. Highly recommend. read more

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Overall: 2.5 stars To be clear, this is first and foremost a fish and seafood store. They catch much of the seafood and fish themselves and offer it up for sale. However, you can also order for takeout. The food is all fried and comes with a choice of french fries, hush puppies, salad, fruit, and corn. You place your order and usually will have to wait for the food to be cooked. There are some tables outside where you can sit and eat, but this is not a restaurant. My family of three ordered crab cakes, fried flounder, and a softshell crab platter. This came with a tomato salad, fresh corn, and an assortment of condiments. If this were Washington DC, the food would get two stars, but, being in a place where there is not much choice, we give it three stars. Unfortunately, the delicious looking fresh fish was so deeply fried that it lost its taste. The best part of the meal ended up being the fresh corn. I imagine the fish is wonderful if you cook it at home, but I would give this place a pass if you are expecting well prepared seafood and fish. read more

Gary Howard Seafood - Seafood Markets Near Me - Chincoteague Island, Virginia

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The best place to get seafood on the island. Fresh, friendly and local. Love coming here to get seafood to cook when visiting the island. $$

Amazing place! We got 2 dozen blue crabs. Ordered them day of, actually added on the second dozen later on and they were very accommodating. Very flavorful crabs and the prices were amazing! $30 for a dozen. That's a crazy deal compared to restaurant prices. They steamed and seasoned the crabs for us (they offer mild, medium, or spicy) we got medium. Went home and had a wonderful little crab feast. read more

Been living in Captains Cove since 2011 and just now discovered Howard's. Thanks to good friend Mary Back, who lives in Capt Cove. "Thanks Mary" read more

The freshest and friendliest place on the island! We always go to GH for all of our fresh fish- crabs, fish, scallops... they have the best! Amy is also the sweetest! We so miss GH when we have to leave at the end of the season! read more

Have always loved this market - great seafood and super nice people. Thanks for requiring masks and being conscientious about Covid safety. We appreciate it! read more

I bought a bag of 50 clams and brought them home to make linguini and clam sauce. Every clam opened up and they were so fresh and clean. I will be back to this family run business. The service at the store was friendly and nice. You could tell Gary was a hard working owner. I am a New Englander and these clams were just as good amd for $18 a bargain!!Thank you! read more

Always the best seafood on the island. Super fresh! If you love to cook seafood at home, this is the place. We always agree homemade seafood from Gary's beats any seafood you can buy at a restaurant. We've been going here for years, and always take some flounder and crab home to freeze and enjoy later on. The pints of scallops are delish - the scallops are GIGANTIC. Gary Howard's *might* be our favorite stop in Chincoteague! read more

Fast friendly service. Chincoteague has the sense of charm of a small town. This place is located about 5 minutes from Main Street and has fresh seafood. We got a dozen #1 Males for 18 bucks. We took them back to our hotel and ate them water from watching the sunset. Amazing. The crabs were heavy and lightly seasoned and definitely fresh. I'd go back. read more

Gary Howard Seafood - Seafood Markets Near Me - Chincoteague Island, Virginia

We stopped by to order take out on a Saturday in August, 2020, and as we walked toward the door they shut off the lights and closed the door at 7:58 pm. Don't bother cause they can't be. read more

I stopped in during my vacation to get a pound of backfin crab meat. It's a little seafood shop, and had a variety of options from fish, crabs, clams. The crab meat was reasonably priced and fresh. The shop was open later which I appreciated. The lady that helped me was friendly and efficient in processing my transaction. I'll be back. read more

Our usual Chincoteague dining habits were thrown for a loop a little this summer due to the pandemic, but places like Gary Howard Seafood helped us create new memories. Out were sit down restaurants and in were family dinners on the patio. We went to Gary Howard's for crab cakes (which we took home and cooked our selves) and a couple pounds of steamed shrimp. The crab cakes were some of my favorite on the island. Liked them so much that we went back to purchase extra to freeze and take back home to Pennsylvania. Only negative I have is that the shrimp seemed to have been steamed too long. It happens, no worries, we'll be back! read more

Our go to place every time we go to Chincoteague for fresh seafood. We have never had bad seafood from this small but consistent establishment. The two young ladies that work there were very friendly, which doesn't always seem to be the case in Chincoteague.The grouper fillet was incredible, the tuna was very good and super fresh. Their oysters are out of this world at around $8.50 for a dozen. Very good supply of fresh chincoteague clams. Give it a try I would recommend this place to friends. And be friendly to the cat or you will be told to hit the road. They do have some type of cooking on premises I'm not sure what it is because we've only purchased fresh seafood to cook at home. They do except credit cards debit cash. Once again the place is clean and give it a try. read more

Tasty steamed blue claw crabs, got them with spicy seasoning. Fresh oysters too but you will need to shuck them yourself at home.

I have been buying seafood here for a long time and have never been disappointed. The customer service is awesome, the staff is awesome, and the crabs are seasoned the way you request. The crabs are delicious and reasonably priced. I always look forward fo coming here because I know I will leave with great food that was prepared and served with a friendly smile and welcoming attitude. Keep up the great work!! read more

Fresh as fresh can be. Picked up some flounder and oysters and having grown up on Chesapeake Bay seafood, I was impressed! Some items were out, but that's the sign of a good, fresh, local seafood market! read more

Crabs were overcooked. Also long wait time. Overheard employee being rude to a customer. Not very friendly at all.

Highly recommended! We're out of towners, but we came here twice during the long weekend of Memorial Day. On Friday when we called at 6:45pm, they had sold out of crabs, but they got some fresh ones in on Saturday. We ordered a dozen, steamed (mixed mild & medium) for $20 for lunch. We placed our order on the phone and even though we got their earlier than anticipated, they were able to get out order out to us fairly quickly. The crabs were DELICIOUS. Perfectly seasoned, good sized crabs, and of course, very fresh. For dinner we came back for 50 steamed little neck clams and an order of fries. There was a little bit of a wait this time because of the dinner rush, but the clams were good. They say they are cooked with lemongrass, but the clams just tasted of the sea, which was fine with us. Fries were decent, although not as crispy as I normally like them. We kept calling to see if they would have oysters on the half shell, but they weren't shucking them Friday or Saturday and on Sunday they'd sold out. It was a busy weekend, but if you called ahead, the service was fast and friendly, and the seafood was FRESH, delicious, and super affordable (compared to the restaurants). They packaged the cooked seafood for us in a large box, with a plastic bag, so there was no worry about spillage. We picked up one order by car and another by bike and had no trouble transporting our food. Note that there aren't tables around to eat. We took stuff back to our B&B and ate there. read more

Picked up flounder from this store for dinner our second night on island, and it was so fresh and delicious that we went back the next day and picked up both flounder and grouper for dinner again! You can tell the catch is super fresh; it's also reasonably priced, and the staff were very friendly at the store. There's no photo evidence to show you of either the flounder or grouper we chose because it was just that good. Highly recommend that you stop in to get your fresh seafood from this location! Great alternative to eating in restaurants while still supporting a local business. Yum! read more

Fresh fresh fresh. If you want to sit down and eat out, this place is not for you, but they have some of the best fresh seafood on the island. Had everything steamed and it came with butter and cocktail sauce, shrimp, snow crab, and clams. Excellent. Highly recommend if you aren't looking for fancy. Nice employees too! read more

We actually swung by three days in a row for a dozen female crabs extra spicy. Wife loved it!

You won't find a spot for better seafood anywhere. The selection is small, but that's because it's fresh and extremely high quality. Don't go in there looking for a specific thing. When I'm on the island, I head to Gary Howard's and whatever they have, that's what I cook. Wouldn't be my first stop for prepared food, but if you like to cook and you want fresh, gorgeous seafood, this is the best. read more

Bought a dozen steamed crabs, they were great and I couldn't believe the price. The service was quick and friendly. Wish I was a local so I could go once a week. read more

Gary Howard Seafood - Seafood Markets Near Me - Chincoteague Island, Virginia

I heard about Gary Howard's seafood from the new Chincoteague foodies facebook group. The first night I called in to make sure it wasn't too late to order steamed crabs, they said I was fine and to come on in. We got 2 dozen because 1 dozen of #1 males was only $20. The crabs weren't huge but they were sweet and delicious! I enjoyed them so much that I went back the second day! The ladies in the front were super nice and remembered me from the night before! One of them even gave me a few extra crabs for my wait! I was so please that I went back the next day for a dozen to take back home with me! It's really great to know that there is a place where I can go on the island to get some delicious steamed crabs! We just picked up the box and headed to a pavilion behind out motel. We put down some newspaper and got to crackin! I totally recommend Gary's for all of his fresh food! Get there early or call ahead cause from the looks of things, they get pretty busy and will sell out of things like oysters and clams very quickly! read more

Most ridiculously cheap blue crab prices I've ever seen. $10 dozen female, $18 dozen number one males. Most of the males were not number one size, and some of the females were very small. However they were fresh and tasted amazing. For the price it can't be beat. read more

after reading the positive reviews I decided to give this Seafood carry out restaurant a try. Wow, it was fantastic! fresh and mildly seasoned. There were others picking up their orders and leaving too, so I'm sure they have a good amount of customers. read more

Gary Howard Seafood - popcorn shrimp dinner and 2 crab cakes dinner. both dinners with coleslaw, 4 hushpuppies, fruit cocktail, butter and tartar sauce. - Seafood Markets Near Me - Chincoteague Island, Virginia

We bought a pound of steamed shrimp which were not edible. A pint of scallops which contained Six. This place has turned into a tourist trap, sadly along with the rest of Chincoteague businesses. We will not return. read more

Does not live up the expectation. The customer service is horrible. Beware of switch and bait when they cook your food. The people working there are scams. read more

This is my first stop before checking into the hotel I'm staying at. I buy a 50 count bag of little neck clams that are so clean of sand and super fresh. My electric fryer from the 70's does a beautiful job steaming them. One afternoon I decided to order 1/2 dozen steamed crabs that were prepared for me within 10 minutes. I took them back to the hotel and ate them waterside in my room, 9 dollars. Can't beat that! The seafood here is fresh and on point. Funny how this is my first stop coming onto the Island and it's the last place I go before leaving. I always have to leave with 100 or so clams, they are tender and delicious!!! read more

Best place to get local seafood on Chincoteague island. Great selection and good prices!

I have nothing but positive things to say about this joint. Mainly because of the hard working, friendly gals who work the counter. They are knowledgable and give good pointers on how to transport crabs home. The price is great, quality is just as great. I just wish we lived closer. read more