I used to go here regularly 10 years ago and was excited to go back and bring my family -- it's basically THE place to go for seafood on the boardwalk. Unfortunately, it was just... really bad. We ordered the Super Steamer for $130. Two of the four ears of corn were unripe and didn't get replaced (waitress forgot). Crabs were caked in mud. I mean, I get it -- you cook them live. Could at least give them a rinse first. Three of the steamed clams we were served remained closed -- generally considered to be a food safety concern. The waitress suggested that we could eat them anyway, and that many people do. I had to ask again for them to be replaced. The FDA guidance is clear on this: https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/selecting-and-serving-fresh-and-frozen-seafood-safely "Clams, Mussels, and Oysters: The shells open during cooking -- throw out ones that don't open" Two other weird things: I'm visibly pregnant. Like, the waitress was literally just telling a pregnant woman to not follow shellfish food safety guidance? Also, I called the manager the next afternoon (during a non-busy time) hoping to get this straightened out and HE doubled down and said the unopened shellfish were fine to serve. I've never eaten at a restaurant where we differed on fundamental food safety guidance before. Just an absolutely bizarre experience. read more

- Quick seating: we checked in with the hostess for a table for two around 6pm on a Saturday night without a reservations and were seated within 15 minutes. - Outdoor seating it down steps and not easily accessible if you have mobility issues or if you have a stroller. - Staff was quick and attentive and our orders were taken and food arrived within 15 minutes. - Steamed shrimp were small and not deveined. - The corn that comes with the meals was not good. I think they cooked all of the corn earlier in the day and let them sit in the wet husks for hours until they became soggy and inedible. The meal wasn't terrible, however for the price, the quality didn't meet my expectations. read more

Mug & Mallet - Fish tacos and steamed shrimp and snow crab legs. - Seafood Near Me - Ocean City, Maryland

Although I did enjoy this delicacy entree. I would have to technically rate it a 7.5/10. The seasoning was more on the saltier side. Also, the bread could have been more softer when it comes to re-heating. Other than that I still have to respect this beauty and pay homage to the seafood gods. read more

Mug & Mallet - Soft Shell Crab Sandwich - Seafood Near Me - Ocean City, Maryland

The food was fantastic The services great and fast It was 37 years since I have been there and it did not disappoint Will come back again and read more

I can't say enough good stuff about the VEGAN options. Vegan crabcake, vegan fish and chips, and vegan shrimp cocktail were also awesome. Even vegan tartar sauce. (The shrimp is eerily realistic) + the corn is vegan as a side (no butter or anything) Our server was great and knowledgeable about vegan options and even the origin of the vegan menu. We sat outside and it was nice with the breeze from the ocean. So grateful to have these very legit vegan options in an otherwise dead zone. read more

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The customer service was good, and the crab dip was fantastic. Unfortunately, the rest of the meal was underwhelming. read more

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Small inside but they make it work. The bathrooms are sooooo tiny but we're clean. We sat inside as it was going to rain and was dark and cold. We went off season beginning of May. Waitress was super sweet and brought over another corn for my daughter as she dropped hers. The seafood we got was yummy. Just the calms we're so Over cooked they were tiny and hard. read more

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Love their steamed shrimp and crabs! I get shrimp every time I go and it's the only place towards the end of the boardwalk that you can get md crab. I like the divey feel and staff is always friendly. read more

Mug & Mallet - Rockfish filet - Seafood Near Me - Ocean City, Maryland

Had a terrible experience with the host at this place. The most inexperience, untrained, and nonplussed host ever witnessed. To make a long story short I happen to show up the same time Princes Prima Donna showed up. Apparently some friend of the manager and/or owner of the place; unsure. There was already a line at the entrance, and this young female showed up very pushy. Literally pushed into the people in front of us. Seeing this I told them "The line starts here". She started back at me with the most entitled discount Paris Hilton look I've ever seen. Her along with her crew of two or three other females. Very pushy, but I moved close behind, the people in front of me so they couldn't cut in line and told her "After me, you come first". The host (with all those nice tattoos all over her arms) asked discount Paris if she has a table (as in a reservation). Discount Paris answered "no". And then said something like "Come on! Does Rochel (I think the name) know?". As in "Don't you know who I am??" And let them cut in front of us. Now this in itself wouldn't bother me. I've seen plenty of entitled (and/or the delusional for that matter) and mostly ignore them. But what irked me was this host and how she failed to handle the situation. The first thing a person comes in contact is with the host. And this one had no clue, and seemed not to care at all. No understanding of etiquette et al. Made me feel like garbage really. At this point I should have just left, but my family did want to try this place. So I let her give us a table. But discussed, I needed to speak to the manager about the whole affair. The manager was really a piece of work too. He did apologize at least, but seemed to care even less than the host. Take it or leave it. I got up with my family and left.. Mind you this is my first ever negative review here, and go out of my way not to be a jerk to people. I'm the least entitled person. I go out of my way to tip people well when even the service of a place is even halfway decent. I'll often tip people more then the cost of the food/service/goods, because I started out with many minimal wage jobs myself but became pretty wealthy later in life. P.S. I hope discount Paris chokes on it, whom ever she was.. read more

So glad this place offers vegan options!!! I can't give it 5 stars because as a vegan it's kind of an intense experience with people hitting their crabs with hammers and cracking them open. I don't begrudge people eating what they want but it's just that crab eating like lobster eating and crawfish eating is... objectively, I think, kinda... gross. They offer konjac vegan shrimp in a number of options. I had the shrimp cocktail and I gotta say the cocktail sauce was BOMB! It was full of flavor and nice spiciness! They offer Gardein fish fillets which are pretty delicious. I had fishless and chips, my wife had fishless tacos. It was pretty tasty. Daughter had a decent beyond burger but was bummed there weren't any pickles available. All in all good vegan food on the OC boardwalk is great! read more

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I used to come here every year on my birthday, then it went downhill. Decided to give it another try. We were extremely pleased. We got snow crabs steamer which included 2 lbs of crab legs, 2 lbs of steamed shrimp and two ears of corn.We also tried the fried mozzarella sticks which were excellent. My only complaint is they served margarine instead of butter. Yuck! Our server, Virginia, was excellent! We sat outside at small table for two which was a bit cramped but we made it work The prices were reasonable. Sorry, I was so excited to dig into the food that I forgot to take pictures! read more

Outdoor seating on a busy night in the boardwalk! Large family seated quickly, service was super attentive and felt like 5 star dining. We made a mess, had tons of fun and enjoyed all the seafood. Highly recommend blue crab, corn on the cob and the house white wine was superb. Enjoy!! read more

I ordered a crab imperial and I was served something that resembled cat food with dark brown "special sauce" warmed over. I tried it in any case and it tasted as bad as it looked. It truly had morsels no lump crab whatsoever. I only took one small bite and didn't eat the rest. I ordered broccoli on the side that tasted like they had been freshly dipped in vinegar and thrown into a pan to warm it up. The small potatoes were tasteless. I regret going there. The other dish that was served was chicken on a bed of lettuce that was bland. As soon as we left I grabbed a fantastic burger and fries on the boardwalk because I was starving that costed a quarter of the cost that I paid for a can of cat food. From the other reviews on this site it looks like the crabs here aren't much better! Chef Ramsey would have a field day! read more

Great food and great service. Seating is tight outside, but we dont mind it. Food was excellent and service was stellar! read more

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The food was average, the fish and chips was meh at the best, quite fishy. The service was good, from the bartender to our server; thus the 3 star. read more

The best part of the meal was leaving the restaurant. The service was nonexistent. The waitress did not ask us how we were doing or offer to fill up our drinks. The food was disappointing. The wings had a funk like they were fried in old oil used for frying seafood. The hamburger was like a defrosted lump of meat on a stale bun. The shrimp and crabs were overcooked to the point of being rubbery and mushy. We couldn't finish one item because of the poor taste, texture and quality. Please visit another restaurant and spare yourself the disappointment, grief and rumbling stomach that this place offers. The name of the restaurant is clever though because you'll want to beat yourself with a Mug & Mallet after eating there. read more

Too start off my experience here wasn't good. I am a waitress and I hate complaining because i understand the struggle. My waitress was rude and when I asked her for directions to somewhere she brushed me off. To top it off the "sweet corn" is feed corn for you know cattle. I grew up in the country I know what it taste like. overpriced and bad qualit. read more

Mug & Mallet - See the kernels are bigger and the corn is dull which is also an indication of feed corn - Seafood Near Me - Ocean City, Maryland

Went to mug & mallet to satisfy my Maryland blue crab cravings, I think we got the steamer delight, the food portion was pretty big for 2 people. Although I ate most of the blue crabs my bf ate the snow crab legs. The service was pretty fast. The only complaint I had was that I felt like the hostess was a bit rude, she was rushing us to leave right after we paid our check. She literally came to our table and asked us if we already paid and literally kicked us out. The hostesses needs some customer service retraining, IMO. They seem very dismissive and don't really greet you when you're in-front of them. Ambience was a typical seafood bar/restaurant, nothing special. read more

Great crabs, great prices, great service and a friendly crowd at the bar! I will definitely be back!

Just stopped in while grandkids were sleeping after morning at beach, wife knew I was stir crazy, just hit the bar downstairs from boardwalk, bartender was attentive and made a good drink. Ordered a crab cake with side of Cole slaw, one of the better crab cakes I've had in some time, came as a sandwich, but best way to judge is just taste the plain crab cake. I'll definitely hit this place with my family before Iwe leave in a few days. read more

Found long human hair in my fish taco and my husbands - two separate meals. Not even hidden - sticking out of the top. We did get our meals replaced quickly, but were then not comped anything on our bill. I was completely expecting to have our two meals comped for that disgusting experience. The review would have been significantly better had they made it right. Food was average, though a very long wait for it. Server was nice. Music was great. Host was lovely too. read more

Went here for a late dinner while staying at the adjoining hotel (Plim Plaza). We got the crab dip starter, and I got the crab cake sandwich with pasta salad and he got the fish tacos! Food was fresh and delicious. The crab dip was fabulous! I could have done without the pasta salad, but I think it's a regional recipe that is just not my preference. I must say, otherwise, I was a bit surprised at the incredible flavors of each ingredient at this small no-frills establishment! Our waitress was great even though she was the only waitstaff there, servicing multiple tables. We showed our room key for 10% off as mentioned on their website. I'd definitely come back again! Next time I might get whole crabs - majority of the other diners chose them and they looked and smelled delicious! read more

Mug & Mallet - Crab dip appetizer - Seafood Near Me - Ocean City, Maryland

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Just a super fun spot. Kids love it. Service was great. Food was really good. Live rating on the beach.

We really enjoy coming to the mug and mallet every year! We had jordan serve us the other night and she was so upbeat and professional despite the crowded outside seating and some people who we could hear being rude and difficult. The fries with crab and cheese were amazing and new to us, and the drinks were excellent as usual. My sister also ordered hush puppies for takeout today during lunch (theirs are amazing and they're weirdly hard to find in OC!) and they were up and ready in six minutes. Thanks for trucking on through a tough time and keeping service up! read more

I hate leaving a bad review, especially right now -- but we pay sky high prices for seafood everywhere and it should be edible. The Blue Crabs here are boiled or left to sit and were mushy and extremely watery -- to the point it almost soaked through the paper. I should've looked up other reviews which I now see cite the same issue. We paid for a dozen and left at least four behind whole because we just couldn't do it -- but the server was clearly swamped and I didn't want to create more stress for her. Avoid if you are looking for a good crab experience. read more

Mug & Mallet - Eatery Blue Crabs - Seafood Near Me - Ocean City, Maryland

My family have dinner here on a Saturday night. Service and food were excellent. I am joyed the fish, tacos and peel and eat shrimp... raw oysters were very good. Food is fresh and comes out quick read more

Don't eat here if your on the boardwalk. The food here is over priced and terrible. Not fresh at all fries are reheated, seafood is re cooked.the service was good but the food taste terrible and the seafood was old read more

Super nice staff! Good food! Right on the boardwalk, Doesn't get more authentic than this! read more

Seafood experience on the boardwalk was terrible. The crab legs and shrimp were over cooked. Had to fight to get the crab meat out. The so called Maryland crabs tasted terrible. It was cooked once and when ordered it was steamed again so it was mushy and hallow. read more

Mug & Mallet - Over steamed shrimp. - Seafood Near Me - Ocean City, Maryland

The restaurant has made some upgrades with new seats and tables. They clearly made some updates with new paint to make it brighter and multiple fans! I love the upgrades! We ordered crab dip and the super steamer. The crab dip was good - there was a lot and we could have used another pretzel or two! The super steamer had a lot of crabs, they were good. The clams were just empty shells. The snow crab legs were really great and we had a lot of shrimp! Overall great food! The waitress was okay. Not excellent service. But the food made up for it read more

The service was great, very nice and friendly people. I ordered the lobster Mac n cheese, very good. The crab dip was just so, so, after eating others, this one was just ok. Ordered the Maryland crab and shrimp, was delicious. I give review a 4 star because there was a price confusion at the end. read more

Mug & Mallet - Maryland crab - Seafood Near Me - Ocean City, Maryland

The crabs were so good and I'm from Baltimore so I was shocked they were so much better then what I normally get. Our server was great! And sitting outside watching the beach was awesome. read more

The restaurant is very small but the staff are very nice! My husband and I came in and waited for a table as the high tops were hard while pregnant to sit at. I had the lobster and my husband had the crab imperial with broccoli and corn. We also had the crab loaded fries! Food was excellent! I had the mocktail and which was a strawberry mule but found it to be very good but 8 dollars for a non-alcoholic drink seemed a bit much to pay for. I also thought they should have proper crab crackers instead of just mallets. I would say it is a great seafood spot though and nicely located on the board walk. read more

Service was fantastic, our waiter was on it with refills and checking in even with a packed restaurant. Service was 5 stars, the food was alright, we got the steamer with the blue crab, crab legs and shrimp. The blue crab were small and shorted us one, the crab legs were gummy and the shrimp was not deveined but plentiful. All in all not bad for a boardwalk joint but will get my crab somewhere else next time. Highly recommend the rum lovers crush. read more

Mug & Mallet - Seafood Near Me - Ocean City, Maryland

Great food and Great service! My go to place every year! Nothing like eating crabs and drinking cold beer on the boardwalk read more

Awesome beachfront bar with good food at great prices! Happy hour from 1-4 pm. 20% off apps $2 domestic drafts $3 specialty draft $4 rail drinks $5 Orange Crushes Add the above to the list of things I love to hear during a beach day excursion. And with so many delicious apps to choose from, my best friend and I couldn't help but to take full advantage. We order the fried calamari, clam strips, lobster mac and cheese, shore fries, and crab "fluff". The calamari was very good. An order of uniform sized rings (none of those creepy tentacle clusters. Blech!) fried just right with that delightfully chewy (not rubbery) texture. The clam strips had just a bit too much batter and were fried just a little too hard, so it was very difficult to taste the clam. The lobster mac and cheese was too salty and I was barely able to taste the lobster. Wouldn't order that again. The shore fries, on the other hand, were the Holy Grail of cheese fries. Two types of cheeses, including a rich cheese sauce, covered in crabmeat and then sprinkled with Old Bay... ooooh my goodness! If I'd known they would be that good, I would have order them by themselves. The crab "fluff" was basically a deep fried crab cake, and there was absolutely nothing fluffy about it. Once you got through the firm fried crust, it was actually pretty good, but I think it would have been more delicious either baked, or lightly fried. The bartender was really sweet and very friendly, but not that attentive. She spent most of her time at the far end of the bar flirting with the regulars. I'm not mad at it... get your money, girl. read more

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This was a really good place to eat for larger parties . Sat outside & had a great time Kadie & Conner ( Who was brand new employee from Ireland . That was in training) Had to deal with our Crazy Group. They did a great job. Highly recommended the Steamer Dinners (Some of those can feed 2-4 people) Good food & Great times ! The classic rock playing made it even better read more

We had an excellent meal. First time trying crabs, and our waitress put on gloves and demonstrated how to open them and eat. Great burger. Good hush puppies. Amazing crab cake sandwich. Good wings. Been in OC a week, and this was better than all the pricey places we ate on the bayside. read more

I enjoyed my time eating here maybe because I love eating crab so much. The mozzarella balls were really good. I wish the corn wasn't so soft/over cooked. The bathroom is a bit cramped the service is was nice and the wait was long. read more

Mug & Mallet - Seafood Near Me - Ocean City, Maryland

The food made up for the cruddy service. We were told it would be a half hour wait, gave our phone number and went to talk to board walk, not even 5 minutes later we got a text that our table was ready, great, now we walked back and we were seated. It took 10 minute till someone acknowledged us and then another 5-7 minutes till they got our drink order. The food service was also slow. The food was delicious my fiancé got the snow crab legs there were kind of sad $35. And my mom and I shared the middle tier steak pot. It was a lot of food and very good just wish the service was a little better read more