Hands down the best place to get your seafood in OC. Not only they make things fresh to order but their service and prices are great! Will definitely comeback here. Thank you for the great food and service! :) read more

Hubby and I were determined to try our hand at cracking some crabs before we left Maryland. We arrived on a Thursday around 130 pm, and there was no line to order. Helpful counter gal helped us make choices as we are BLUE CRAB VIRGINS! We chose 1 1/2 dozen medium to large crabs for two people. Based on other reviews, I also ordered a single crab cake, corn and hush puppies for the man. I asked her to send someone out to demonstrate how to open the crabs, and she said absolutely! After a short (seemed really long) wait sipping Coke and water with our toes in the sand under the paper covered table, our crabs were steamed and brought out. A cheerful young man showed us how to open the crabs and which parts we wanted to remove and discard. Armed with the provided mallet and pick, we went to work. On first smash, husband sprayed me with crab juice, so I donned a charming and attractive plastic bib for the remainder of the meal. Technique improved with practice, but I found it to be a lot of work for a tiny amount of meat. Very flavorful, and improved by dipping in drawn butter and old bay seasoning, my little pile of crab meat was shoveled into my mouth with a fork as no pieces were very large. I made time to try the crab cake and munch on the corn in between wrestling with the blue crabs. Crab cake was not as much crab as filler, although tasty enough, it wasn't the best I have had. The corn was stellar, not mushy or overcooked. His hush puppies were crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. A generous serving, we took half home for the air fryer. We devoured every last bite of the crab though! A real treat occurred when we were nearly finished with our meal, the owner Rob came out to chat. Fascinated by his slip trip and fall prevention device, we had a long conversation about his inventions and marketing them. He shared his business card and even demonstrated the wet floor verbal indicator. Husband really enjoyed meeting him and talking (engineer to engineer). It made the day! read more

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I was really looking forward to this place. Reviews overall looked good. We got the crab cake platter with two crab cakes, corn and coleslaw. Also got the creamy crab soup. The soup was a little disappointing. Watery and not a lot of flavor. I was expecting a Wow moment and didn't get it. I had to add hot sauce and a bit of their seasoning to make it a little better. The coleslaw was good but the corn tasted older and not very sweet. The crab cakes had a lot of crab but again, a lack of flavor. It was a so- so experience. I would try another place before coming back. Too many other competitors to choose from. read more

Cute outdoor place about a block in from the beach. Sandy floor with picnic tables to eat at. Lots of shade over the tables with fans to keep it cool. Everything from homemade crabcakes to softshell crab to calamari to scallops to shrimp and more. Crab cakes were ok flavor-wise. Lots of meat. Creamy crab soup was bland. Coleslaw was very good. Corn on the cob tasted a few days old. read more

On The Bay Seafood - Seafood Near Me - Ocean City, Maryland

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The best crab restaurant in OC; we go every year and squat for 3 hours with 10-15 lbs while the kids play in the sand. Later that evening we pick up another 10 lbs and squat in the hotel or somewhere else and eat for another 2 hours. read more

We were so worried we'd pick the wrong place for crabs in OC but these were perfect! We got the 5lb crab feast and the crabs were JUICYYYYY and also fresh and hot and had just enough seasoning. It was nice that they came with butter, even though we didn't need it, and the drinks were frozen perfectly and delicious! We also stayed for a while and they cleared the buckets of old crabs out and made sure we had everything we needed. It's also so cool that the restaurant is in sand, even though it's not directly on the beach, the vibes make it feel like you're still on the beachfront read more

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It might not look like it's a fanciest restaurant on OC but it was good the atmosphere was very laid back casual you could go in short flip flops the food was very good the the service was great because basically you ordered your food and you went and picked it up at the window so they can be no better service than yourself but the food was top notch would go again read more

Highly recommend if you're a seafood lover! The crabs here are a must-try. Loved that they weren't as salty as other similar places we've tried. Would definitely go back when we return to the Ocean City. read more

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Had the most delicious crabs at On the Bay Seafood today! They are cooked to order and they serve it with a secret butter that's quite addictive. The crabs were nice and heavy, not a bad one in the bunch. Family owned and they are the nicest people, service was great. Seating is outside under their building on picnic tables in the sand. Very comfortable place to enjoy dinner. They also have lots of other things on their menu and I haven't tried anything I haven't enjoyed. Our go to place for crabs every year. read more

We had plans to eat at another crab house today but they didn't open until 4pm and we wanted to eat at noon. We found On The Bay Seafood and decided to give it a try. Rob and Rose greeted and welcomed us. We ordered the Medium steamed Crabs, Crab Cake Sandwich, Crab Bisque, corn on the cob and Hush Puppies. Wow! What a treat so early in the season. The Bisque was excellent. It's not too spicy but they give you extra seasoning and spice to add according to your personal taste. The Crab Cake was just as advertised. No filler, fresh Crab, Eastern Shore style and delicious. The medium crabs were very good. Some establishments would be seeking them as Large. They were seasoned and steamed perfectly. Heavy and sweet. The sides; Corn on the Cob, steamed in the Husk was very good and the Hush Puppies were a perfect pairing. My apologies for lack of pictures, we ate most everything before I started taking pictures. Rob and Rose were very attentive. They told us their story and shared a scrap book of their off season home in New Mexico. They were in the process of training and orienting their summer staff while we enjoyed our meal. The attention to detail, customer first, quality service and passion for excellent food was on full display. The dining is beach rustic and perfect. There's a good amount of parking and it's easy to find them right along coastal highway. What initially seemed like a disappointment today turned into a wonderful discovery of a new favorite. On The Bay Seafood is a must try if you're at the shore this year. read more

On The Bay Seafood - Location - Seafood Near Me - Ocean City, Maryland

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Really tasty, fresh cooked simple and straightforward food, casual ambiance with sand under your feet. always a favorite of ours. Order at the register, eat at a picnic table, no fuss. read more

Crab stew, clams, shrimp, and oysters were all good. The service was good, although it is walk up, they came by and checked on us. Nice shady picnic tables by the roadside. Nice! read more

First time in Ocean City, Maryland and since they're known for their blue crabs, we decided to check this place out. We ordered a dozen steamed little neck clams, homemade crabcake, half dozen medium steamed crabs. They give you these hammers to hack away at the crabs to break the legs open. The crabs and clams were good, especially dipped in the drawn butter. The seasoning on the crab is slightly spicy, but it was very much tolerable for someone like me w/ very low tolerance for spice. My favorite was the crabcake though. They have plenty of outdoor seating and they have a wash station conveniently next to the seating area so that you could wash your hands after getting your hands dirty eating. I don't think they provide gloves for eating but that would have been nice! Ordering was quick and the staff was super friendly. The owner was walking around greeting everyone and cleaning some of the tables. I could also tell the staff were well loved bcus at one point, I could hear them inside singing happy birthday to one of the staff. read more

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Really wanted to like this place for something other than crabs. Crabcakes only come fried for a reason, they suck. Fried clam strips were typical B grade Sysco. The only thing good about our last visit was the coleslaw and pasta salad. I'd come back for those, as they were clearly home made. They really can and should do better crabcakes. We probably won't be back. read more

The absolute best place for fresh steamed crabs and shrimp and the sweet corn is to die for. Every time we come to OC, this is the highlight of our vacation and something we look forward to all year. Everything is just perfect! Great atmosphere with outdoor dining, the drinks are cold and crabs are juicy and the staff and owners are just the friendliest people. read more

If you've never been to Maryland and wonder why people from Maryland are so obsessed with crabs and the experience of eating steamed crabs, this is the place to come and find out. On The Bay Seafood epitomizes what the Maryland seafood experience is all about. Positioned Ocean Side in OC, the restaurant has outdoor seating, some is covered, some is not and we chose to enjoy the sun on this beautiful day. We ordered jumbo steamed crabs along with clam strips and hush puppies. The owners took our order and then mingled around while everyone ate to make sure they were taken care of and also, just to talk and get to know everyone. Really nice people. Our food came out quickly. The clam strips were hearty, seasoned well and delicious. You could tell they used only the freshest oil. Delicious!! Likewise with the hush puppies. I do have to say that the hush puppies were the best I've had. The steamed crabs were impeccable. We ordered jumbo, they were jumbo. Steamed and seasoned well. Fresh. Amazing!!! We came just outside of the hectic summer season. I hope to do it again soon and this is a "must do" in Ocean City, MD. read more

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Visiting for the first time in decades and found this to be well recommended on Yelp for steamed crabs. Perfect set-up with picnic tables outside, brown paper coverings, rolls of paper towels and buckets for trash. The menu board was large and you order at the counter with a smaller menu there for reference. We decided on a 1/2 dozen of the XL sized crabs, an order of clam strips, and an order of hush puppies. The clam strips and hush puppies were fried to a golden brown and tasted delicious. Our crabs were large and heavy, spiced well and full of crab meat. We were checked on often and our trash dumped for us as well as we enjoyed our food. The outside cleaning stations were really convenient and very needed after eating the steamed crabs. Highly recommend for not only the crabs but other items as well. read more

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This place is great! My sons and I went in, ordered crabs and had a little difficulty with them. The owner sat down and gave us a lesson on how to eat crabs. So nice! Prices were pretty reasonable for crabs. read more

We tried the soft shell crab, fried oysters and fried fish sandwiches. All was good. We also had snow crab legs and steam blue crabs and they were excellent. We ate here before and we didn't like the sand and mosquitos.... It wasn't really our thing so this time we just brought everything back to the hotel and it was great. They gave us all the supply and paper to go. The blue crabs are so delicious and fun to eat. Highly recommend if in the area. read more

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You order at the window and they text you when to come get your order. The crab cakes are the best crab cakes you will have in your entire life. Don't get one to share, splurge and get your own. It's great. While we were there a fisherman came and brought around a big blue crab he just caught. That was cool. We had the half dozen steamed blue grab and it was awesome. All seating is outdoors. It's not fancy but tastes fancy. read more

On The Bay Seafood - Half eaten crab cake and a half dozen steamed crab. Highly recommend. - Seafood Near Me - Ocean City, Maryland

Good afternoon: I did have a very bad experience at the register; I bought a pit of beer and I was ask for identification, at to that point, all normal, but the cashier took pictures of my id as well the one of m wife, I complained but no response. Avoid the place, asking for id don't have to include a picture of your id. It is that even legal?? read more

Food was good and well portioned. Family friendly in dining area. We had 5 adults and 2 small children. We will go back again next time we're in the area. read more

The food was amazing steamed shrimp, steamed crabs and corn on the Cobb. All the fixings and everyone is so nice. Owners are very involved they come about and chat make sure everything is good. read more

I am not sure where the $$ comes from. This place was far more expensive then the high end restaurant we went to the previous night and we didn't even drink half as much. The crabs were very good but at about $8 each seemed a little on the expensive side. We ate on the roof top and enjoyed the music though it was so loud that communicating amongst ourselves was nearly impossible. Drinks from downstairs took 20 minutes and a salad 30 minutes. The salad was a wedge salad and came with blue cheese and we had to ask for dressing and the waitress was surprised. Do they actually serve it like this, dry lettuce and blue cheese. Overall it was a mid experience with a very high price tag. If we are going to eat at picnic benches we should not be paying for big ambiance. I would recommend looking elsewhere for the crab experience if that's what you wat. read more

Very reasonable prices , great service and setting. Outdoor eating Crabs on Picnic Tables with Pitchers of beer and crabs . We got the two of the 5lb special and it was perfect for a group of 5 . If you really want more/big crabs your gonna have to pay for them. I started with the Crabby Mary , I would recommend starting with one. Definitely coming back , 5 stars because this is how you should eat crabs. read more

On The Bay Seafood - Crabby Mary - Seafood Near Me - Ocean City, Maryland

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On The Bay has always been consistently serving up one of the best crabs in the OC area. They keep it simple- seafood cooked right, casual no frills dining area and fair prices. $125 for a half bushel, specials of $50 for about 15-18 crabs with different weights. They also have seafood platters and seafood sandwiches like butterfly shrimp, crab cakes , soft shell crabs, clam strips and the like. Their sides are also good and corn is served with butter. Beer by the pitcher or by the glass. No reservations, lines can be long but it pushes along in a decent amount of time. Sand 'floor' with a small table of area of sand for kids to play with. Cards cash and Apple Pay accepted, small parking lot. Friendly service. Clean tables and chairs, the staff makes sure customers are happy and they empty out the shell buckets often. Always are go to for fresh meaty and fatty crabs! read more

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Great place to bring the family including the littler ones to enjoy their well-prepared and delicious food. On-site and present owners, the best crab cakes by far, authentic side salads especially the coleslaw, macaroni salad and potato salad - corn on the cob cooked properly in husk. A great drink selection too! read more

Came here with my family and everyone enjoyed their dinner. I was pleasantly surprised with the vast selection of food. Pros: Fresh delicious seafood Plenty of seating Nice employees Lots of gluten free options Cons: Hard to take a toddler no high chairs Lots of flies Parking is hard read more

On The Bay Seafood - Seafood Near Me - Ocean City, Maryland

My family and I were looking to get crabs and our usual place closed down so we tried on the bay out. This is a small place with various tables that are seat yourself, if you have a smaller party then be prepared to share with others. You order at the front and they text you once the food is ready and you pick up at the window. I cant say enough amazing things about this place started from the food and overall dining experience. They have workers around constantly cleaning up and keeping up appearances. The dining area is covered and there are fans over each table. The food was INCREDIBLE!!!!! Crab deal is hard to beat and the crabs were delicious, hot, fresh and juicy. 5lbs various sizes for $48: All of ours were decent sized and enough to feed 4 people. We also got cole slaw, calamari, corn, two orders of hush puppies. Everything was so good and portion sizes are perfect to share. Dining for 4 people around $100 is hard to beat, especially in OC. I wanted to come back the next day! I am looking forward to my next visit. Couldn't recommend this place enough. read more

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This place was so disappointing. Not sure how this is a highly recommended place on yelp. The hush puppies were dry. The crabs were average. You order from the front and then sit on uneven picnic tables. When you want a refill or another drink you have to go back into the line and order and pay again. Cleaning off our hands in the porta potty was disgusting. There are limited drink choices as well. Don't recommend!!! read more

Best crabs in ocean city possibly Maryland. Shrimp too. Owner is so nice! They've been serving my family down the street for decades. Blake Segal says hello! Thank you for serving Mt family for decades. Hope to come visit you guys soon. read more

Absolutely fantastic people, and even better crabs! The staff are super friendly and checked up on us often to make sure we were comfortable. Great casual place to visit if you like crabs! Outdoor seating only, but there's an awning and overhead fans! The picnic style tables have paper towel rolls, and there is a hand wash station near the ordering window. Both are absolutely necessary because eating crabs is messy business! The crabs are fresh, huge, heavy, and steamed to order. They give you extra old bay and melted butter to go with it, and each person gets a mallet to crack open the claws. It's surprisingly effective-- I recommend using some paper towels from the rolls at the tables to cover the claw before you smash it to keep bits from flying everywhere! You get to keep the mallet--my dad tried it and was amazed at how well it worked compared to the usual crab claw crackers. Beware of flies trying to get your food; the overhead fans help, but we were locked in a constant battle with the bugs. read more

What an a absolute delight. Delicious, great service, good food. Owners couldn't have been nicer. Must stop when you're by the beach. read more

On The Bay Seafood - Soft shell sandwich - Seafood Near Me - Ocean City, Maryland

Absolutely the BEST crabs and sides my family has ever had in Ocean City, hands down! Prices are incredibly reasonable for what you are getting and the crabs are steamed to order so they come out piping hot! The place is a total crab eating vibe: sand floors, all the crab supplies you can think of, and they even have outside blinds they'll pull down when it's super sunny so you don't get burned. They fill their pitchers of beer to the absolute brim and they're very well priced. Service is also incredible too, very friendly and checking in to make sure all you needs/wants are met! 5 stars for everything! Only place I'll be getting crabs from when I'm in OC! Prices aren't listed on their website but for 5lbs of crabs (mixed sizes, up to 18 crabs) is 45 bucks. Their veryyyy heavy XL crabs are 135 a dozen and they also have half dozen options. Deals on half bushels too! Seriously couldn't recommend this place more read more

Service was great. Food came out quickly. Steamed shrimp with the seasoning was kind of bland, hard to peel and the cocktail sauce was frozen. It was at the beginning of the season so we were the only ones there. I would possibly go again during a busier time. The music playing was great and I think it would be fun during the busy time read more

Went here twice, we tried four different meals between the two visits. It's ocean side, small parking lot, walkable from 42nd street where we stayed. Nice outdoor seating even for October. The first time we ordered the 2 jumbo crab cake sandwiches with Mac salad and Cole slaw, and 1 lb of steamed spice shrimp. The crab cakes were heavily breaded and commercially appearing. The shrimp tasted like farm raised. The Mac salad was a standard Mac salad that tastes store bought and Cole slaw that was missing the dressing it seemed. The next time we got a soft shell crab sandwich and a fried fish filet sandwich with potato salad. The soft shell crab was small but meaty. The tree sauce was a lot of mayo and missing a lot of relish. The fried fish sandwich was huge and tasty. Standard buns on both. The potato salad was also standard grocery store taste. We were able to see coastal highway and all the classic cars so that was nice. read more

Had a better experience last summer. Our crab legs and shrimp were overcooked but the blue crabs were solid. Service is always very friendly and the owners walk around. Really appreciate that! read more

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Great food and fantastic service. Go there as soon as we get to ocean city. Crabs are always heavy, and the spice on the crabs is out of this world. When in ocean city, one place you need to visit. read more

Awful cream of crab soup! We thought it was inedible. The soft shell crabs were overcooked but the French fries were uncooked. Go figure! read more

Food was great! Ambiance was family style low key non dressy. I liked it perfect by the ocean. Service was prompt. Our server was sweet and helpful! Will return again. This was my 2nd time visiting read more

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