Fun atmosphere, friendly service, amazing tacos and nachos. The tsunami nachos can easily be a meal for two! We usually get the house meat (similar to barbacoa) with a side of guacamole. We never leave disappointed, and never leave hungry! Hoping their patio will open up next summer and we can enjoy margaritas in the sun! read more

Nice ambiance, good food, friendly service. Mahi-mahi was fresh and well prepared. Mussels and tacos were tasty. Good sweet potato fries, too. read more

This is my third visit to the Surf House and I am updating my review with a higher rating. My husband and I shared a Dude Burger with fries as it's a 1/2 lb burger. It. Was. Delicious! They have a large selection of beers on tap and the service was very good. read more

This is a cutely decorated seafood house. The calamari is huge and a large portion. We had fish tacos and the toro toro salad. All was very fresh and a good size portion. Our server, Sam, was very pleasant and helpful. Great little nugget of a place. read more

Wow, so disappointed after reading all those positive reviews. I ordered take out since I had an appointment nearby, specifically the shark bait burrito. It sounded delicious since it comes with shrimp, bacon, and spicy chorizo. What I received was the saltiest meal of my life. Just absolutely terrible. I choked down half of it because I didn't want to waste the $15 it cost but I was just making myself sick so I gave up. I know a few places where I can get good seafood so I don't plan to bother with Surf House again. read more

Their food is so fresh and delicious, we are back in 2 wks for more! Great job and have told many friends.

Last night, my wife and I had a rare kid-free evening and went here for dinner. We were seated right away and our server was super pleasant. They have a great selection of craft beers. I ordered a Magic Hat Barroom Hero. (It was fantastic, btw.) They've added some things to their menu since the last time I was there, including shrimp and grits, which is a favorite meal of mine, so I ordered it to see how theirs was. I wasn't disappointed. It was a little different than shrimp and grits I've had other places, but boy was it good! Creamy, and smoky, with andouille and greens and diced bell peppers, and 6 or 7 large shrimp in a circle around the center. If I had any minor complaint it's that they left the tails on the shrimp. I know it's common practice but, with the exception of a shrimp cocktail, that's a pet peeve of mine. But, that's just me, and the dish was exceptional. The grits were perfect and the seasoning was amazing. My wife ordered the crab cake sandwich without the bun. She ended up with a large lump crabcake that was fantastic. Deliciously seasoned with very little filler. She got a side of sweet potato fries with it. We also ordered the calamari as an appetizer. More on that in a minute. After we were seated, the place started filling up quickly. I don't think they expected it because I only counted two servers, and they were quickly swamped. But, through it all, our server was pleasant and attentive, apologized for delays and made sure we had what we needed. Which brings me back to the calamari. It actually came out after our entrees and the server apologized and said the kitchen had two sides and the appetizer side was a little backed up. She offered to comp the calamari. I told her that wasn't necessary. It was clear they were swamped and she was doing a great job. And now I'll say this... it was completely worth the wait. If you like calamari, go get it here! It was perfectly fried. The (I'm guessing) beer batter was crispy and light, the calamari was tender and not at all chewy or rubbery, and the dipping sauce was great! The calamari stole the show and was better than the entrees, which were fantastic as well. We ended by splitting a piece of key lime pie. That was the only downer of the night. There was no subtlety at all. It was ALL lime. Like, slap you in the face with a lime while pouring lime juice down your throat. We finished it, but almost as a challenge to each other. Like "I bet you can't finish that!" In all seriousness, it wasn't inedible, but there was definitely a pucker factor and they need to back way off the lime. Also, I didn't get the coffee I ordered with the pie, but it also didn't show up on the bill and, like I said, our server was running around like crazy. At the end, when the bill came, the server had quietly gone and comped my beer for the delay with the calamari. I thanked her and told her it really wasn't necessary. Point is, the service was the best I've had in a long time. If you're still on the fence after reading all of that, I've been here several times prior. I've had the tacos, I've had the Goofy Foot and the Fat Panda burritos, I've had the Lava Rice Bowl, my kids have had the wings and the burgers, and all of it is top notch. read more

Such an amazing venue to relax and unwind from life! The menu and service is the best in Frederick! Friendly staff, impeccable service and awesome vibe!!! My personal favorite is the Shark Bait Burrito w/ added ( freshly made daily) guacamole (to die for). Let's not forget dessert - made in house- Key Lime Pie; The best I've ever tasted-try it for yourself ;-) Thank you Surf House for another perfect and scrumptious meal !!! See you again soon ;-))))) read more

My boyfriend and I've been here twice. We love the atmosphere and the people are very friendly. Our service was excellent. We were helped by Connor who guided us thru the menu. Boyfriend ordered the shark bait burrito which was amazing. He also loved the hot sauces that were at the table. I ordered ahi tuna tacos. The flavor was amazing. The only thing I would change is the way the ahi tuna was cooked. I was looking forward to it being rare and it was cooked. Also a highlight is the beer selection which is a huge plus. We have many more dishes we want to try so we will be back. read more

Awesome place and unexpectedly good across the board. I had the Mahi and Salmon tacos blackened and delish! Wife had the shrimp bacon burrito, a bit hearty, boys had real chicken tenders and sliders were tasty but a bit dry. The fries were super tasty as was the Mac and cheese. Our appetizer was the calamari, like everything else, very good, perfect aioli on top. Joe was our server recommending good dishes. Overall loved it...if you're passing thru like we were, then it's probably best place to eat in town. read more

So excited about this new spot in Urbana! Wanted to check it out since it's a short drive from mi casa in downtown Frederick. So glad we did! A must try are the Lava Rice Bowls, fresh Japanese style stir fry, with veggies and your choice of sustainably sourced seafood. Yummmmmm. We also tried the MD crab fish tacos, and the red snapper tacos. Whoa, another delight! My picky son was very pleased with the Puka dog, all beef hot dog served inside a warm Hawaiian bread roll, which came out right away, which allowed us adults at the table to enjoy some craft draft beers while we waited on our food. The service was very friendly in a relaxed atmosphere when we went (early evening on a Tuesday). Can't wait to revisit ! read more

A fabulous meal. Great craft beer selection. Excellent menu. Homemade Key Lime Pie is perfect

Holy. Crap. The calamari alone is worth coming for, but the Shark Bait burrito is a Caribbean-Mexican party in my mouth! Will definitely be coming back!!! read more

I work for a food distributor. I have eaten in a lot of restaurants in the D.C. area. Service, ambiance, food, quality, and overall experience: outstanding. Definitely worth every minute of the 270 traffic BS on a Saturday. read more

The food was good. I might eat here again if I were in the area but probably would not make a special trip to eat here. Ordered Mussels from PEI for an appetizer. The mussels were very tasty but quite small. The sauce was excellent. The tiny piece of bread that came with them was not enough. I asked for more bread and was told I would have to pay extra. I mean ---- the bread was SMALL and to be asked to pay for an additional small piece rubbed me the wrong way. I declined. We ordered a bottle of Ned Sauvignon Blanc for the meal (My wife's birthday dinner meal). I have had this wine before in New Zealand - where it is made. It was excellent as it is there - But - the waiter did not bring an ice bucket or any another way to keep it cool. Waiter was not good at making sure water glasses were kept full. My wife said her fish tacos were very good. My rice bowl was very good but I did not care for the sea weed salad on top. I ordered Tuna as the protein for the dish. The dish arrived with the Tuna being practically raw. I asked to have it cooked some more and they did. Overall the food was tasty, the service lacking. You may have a better experience with a different waiter. read more

This was my first visit to Surf House and I truly enjoyed it! I had the shrimp and grits which was the special that day and it was D licious! I had never tried shrimp and grits before so I thought... why not? It was a very good choice, I was not disappointed. The atmosphere, the food, and the service was great! The location is in a prime area and easy to find. I would definitely recommend this establishment because of their excellent service! Management came around and asked us how our food was and spoke to us like he's known us for years. We felt like we were regulars there, like we were in "Cheers" in Boston where everybody knows your name! I give one star for excellent customer service, one star for prime location, one star for outstanding food, one star for the "beach theme" decor, and one star for making our night pleasurable! I will be visiting this establishment again. "People may not always remember what you did for them but they will always remember how you made them feel". read more

Menu has a wide variety of dishes...all excellent. They have a great choice of beers...always changing. A bit expensive...if they lowered their prices 20% I would eat there more often. read more

Can this place be any more awesome??? Unlikely. Great staff, food, and service. I don't think I have ever had to order anything, leaving that decision making up to my assorted waitstaff, and I have yet to be disappointed. Catfish on a Biscuit is out of control! Surf House has made my transition to the Frederick area amazing. Having spent most of my life between San Francisco and San Diego, finding a gem like this, with killer seafood and great prices, is as sweet as it gets. Thanks Surf House!!! read more

I had really high hopes for this place. The restaurant itself looks great, the menu sounds inventive. Very different than anything else in the area and I was eager to try it. First, we ask what the waiter recommends and oddly enough the tacos (which they advertise often) were not mentioned. We should have taken that as a sign! We ordered the calamari as an appetizer and that was ok. I ordered the local lump crabmeat taco, shrimp taco, and a side of rice and beans. The crab on the taco had absolutely no flavor whatsoever. The shrimp were better but both tacos were nearly impossible to eat due to the slaw being cut so thick. It must be made in the morning because it was very rubbery and hard to chew. You could hardly bite through it without getting huge chunks of tough slaw falling out. We will not be going back. read more

The food seems good. We like our meal. We need to go again to refresh our taste. The waitress is not great. She spend a lot of time with the usual customers. She stays there maybe 5 minutes. I need my coffee refill. End up I do not get my coffee refilled. read more

Found this place by accident with a coworker. Service was super friendly and fast. Menu had tons of great sounding dishes on it. All sounded flavorful and quite a few seemed to be Hawaiian inspired. I tried three of their tacos: shrimp, salmon, & pulled pork. They were huge, taste was 4 out of 5. The side salad had a very nice asian ginger dressing. The fact that they have Kona Koko Brown gave it the fifth star. :) read more

Went to dinner with a girlfriend last night. Got one fried oyster taco and one mahi mahi taco. Both were amazing! Everything tasted super fresh . After we got seated service was fast. They have a pretty impressive drink menu ( one that I couldn't indulge in since I'm 7 months pregnant) but my friend had a few of their "Pain Killer" cocktails and said they were delicious . It's cute inside and I can't wait to go back and try more menu items! read more

We ordered takeout, and while we waited had a drink at the bar. Bar service was incredibly slow and the bartender was not the friendliest that I've ever had. While we placed our order, the staff was confused about how to enter certain items for take out (which is okay, it just opened, after all), but my main issue was with food quality. I was so excited to have vegetarian options, but the food we ordered left something to be desired. For example, the tofu seemed to have been just thrown in a burrito without flavoring or cooking, which is gross! If someone were trying tofu for the first time, they would be grossed out (which is disappointing for those of us who know how delicious vegetarian food can be). We will try it again, hoping it is new restaurant jitters, but our first time was disappointing. read more

Super impressed by this place. Just saw it opened and decided to grab some food for lunch. I got the chips, salsa, rice & beans, sweet potato fries and veggie tacos and I loved it all!!!! Awesome that the tofu is organic, I try to eat as organic as possible and it was super yummy. Loved the food and the people seemed very friendly even though I just grabbed order to go. Will definitely return soon. read more

This place does not disappoint. We went here over the weekend to try while my mom was in town since we live close by. We started by ordering the calamari and chicken dumplings. Both were great. There was a wonderful sweet spicy sauce on the dumplings and they were just crispy enough. I do not really like calamari, but I helped my brother eat his. The breading and spicy mayo sauce with it made it perfect. I ordered two ta os for dinner, the shrimp and the steak. My husband and brother got burittos. They were huge and flavorful. One was the shark bait and the other was steak. The flavor of their mango salsa in the steak Burrito was so good..there was nothing about the meal we had complaints about. We had a short 5 minute wait and it was no problem at all. For that food I would wait longer, well worth it and happy to have a place like this in urbana. read more

I'm shocked to see so many good reviews for this place. I was hoping my first trip here was just an opening week aberration, but after my second meal there today, I can say that it will be my last. Yes, they have a very good beer selection. But it is all down hill from there. The main courses came out before the apps, and none of it was very good. The burrito was sloppy and flavorless. In the salad, instead of cooking the tofu, they just dumped raw tofu onto the dish while forgetting the dressing and the feta as well. I'm not sure if they have dedicated bartenders because I noticed the waiter making drinks, but if there is a bartender, he/she is painfully slow. The decor and vibe are great but the service and food are not. I was really hoping Urbana would finally have a good restaurant, but unfortunately, this isn't it. 5/25/16 Update: From the Frederick News Post May 22nd edition,critical violations not surprising at all - Surf House Island Cantina, 8925 Fingerboard Road Unit A, Frederick, April 22. Food protected from contamination, spoilage and adulteration; potentially hazardous foods held to proper hot and cold temperatures; adequate equipment provided read more

I was excited to try Surf House after all the great reviews, but I have to say my experience was just okay. Went for dinner with a friend and I had a mahi mahi taco and an ahi tuna taco. The ahi was a bit overcooked, but had a good flavor. The mahi, however, was dry and had zero flavor. I wasn't impressed at all. When I wanted to order a beer, I was told they had run out of my first two draft choices. The waitstaff was friendly, but I was surprised to see that they weren't wearing any kind of company shirt. It's a casual place, but you couldn't tell who worked there and who didn't. I'll probably go back and try something else off the menu, but I'm not in any hurry to do so. read more

This a pretty cool place. The food is so good, so good! The price is great. Staff very friendly and attentive. Will be back to try their other food. I had their G.O.A.T taco, delicious!!!!. read more

Usually, there's a nice stack of bacon on their burgers. I loved their pulled pork appetizer.

Bad service. We went on Sunday for lunch, order main dishes and drinks. The food was taking too long, we had to wait for 45 minutes after we ordered the food. I lost my appetite after a long wait. Burger was a little cold. Not a pleasant experience, and will not go back there. read more

Great beer selection, tacos were amazing. Steak was so tender and the staff was so helpful and very friendly. Had to send my first plate back not bc it wasn't good, but it had red onions and I am extremely allergic, waiter understood completely and was very nice about it, he even brought me a plate of fries while I waiting for my tacos to come back. We will Def be back!!!!! read more

We were driving through from Richmond, VA to Hershey, PA and stopped for lunch...Surf House had exceeded all expectations!! The service was exceptional and the food was fabulous!! We shared the stew and potstickers plenty for two..I highly recommend..the best was when we walked in and a local offered to move over at the bar so my husband and I could sit at the bar. Great people, great atmosphere oh and great beer selection read more

This place is SO GOOD. I have been here twice now and I was very pleased both times. The first time they had soft shell crab sandwiches on special with an old bay aioli (yum!) and the second time I got the tacos, one mahi-mahi and one tuna. That soft shell crab sandwich was the best thing of all time. I wish they had it on a more permanent basis because my goodness, was that delicious. The tacos were also fantastic. The fish is cooked perfectly, and the crema Fresca, pico, and Thai slaw round it out really well. Also as a side note, I'm pretty sure they make their own ranch and it is fabulous. Surf house is a must visit! read more

Surf House - Soft shell crab sandwich... sorry I had to take a bite first. It just looked so good! - New American Near Me - Frederick, Maryland

See all

So my boyfriend and I were vacationing from Connecticut and staying in Frederick md. When deciding on dinner, I used yelp to find out where was a great spot to eat. I was immediately attracted to the surf house, it had great reviews and everyone said awesome things about it about as well as the food looked absolutely delish! Well we got into the restaurant and we're immediately impressed by the hostess and the awesome decor of the building. We were seated and then greeted by our waiter Tom. He seemed pleasant and we'll put together at first. We ordered 2 lemonades to drink,and put in for the pot sticker app. He gave us a few minutes and then came back to ask our dinner order. After taking our order a couple came in and sat in front of our booth and a table of 5 sat behind our booth. After 20 mins of waiting for the appetizer, both the table behind and in front of us had already received their complete orders..... we looked into the kitchen and it seemed the staff was doing everything they needed and looked super clean, professional, and VERY focused on delivering the absolute best dishes possible. 10 more minutes went by and ANOTHER server came up with our main dishes, not even receiving our appetizer. I was polite when he asked if we needed anything else and said we've actually never received our appetizer. He said oh I'm so sorry let me get that for you. Mean while, Tom has passed our table several times and won't even address that there's been a problem or look at us as he's walking by. I'm assuming he KNEW there was a problem but really didn't want to face a confrontation in the event that we were angry (which we were upset about the organization but to be honest even MORE upset that our server seemed to be legitimately avoiding us. After eating our dinner we finally received the appetizer at which point the other server brought it out for us with a double order which was a nice gesture, but we were full haha. So we waited another 10 mins for someone to realize we have eaten our food and we're awaiting a box and a check. At this time a very nice gentleman who seemed to be an owner or manager came out and asked if we needed anything and immediately recognized that we had received an appetizer way too late. He apologized to us and told us that it would be "paid for by the bartender" so I was assuming that the appetizer at this point would be comped. 10 minutes after seeing him, Tom checks on the tables behind and in front of us to then come to us and ask if we needed anything. We said we were all set and needed the check. Upon receiving the check, the pot stickers were still on the bill. I've worked in the restaurant industry for 10 years, being a head manager of 2 major restaurants back home. I stayed calm, patient and optimistic through the entire dinner. I was very polite and kind to all of the staff but in the end was severely disappointed in the lack of organization. I can tell this restaurant IS WONDERFUL. The food we got was simply AMAZING out of this world. The restaurant is super clean and beautiful, and I'm glad it's doing VERY well. I'm just disappointed that we had to be the customers to received the bad service that made us look at this restaurant much differently than its 5 star reviews. To the owners, I'm honestly very happy for you and your restaurant it is awesome, and i don't know how the other servers are, but I don't believe Tom is a good fit. The restaurant wasn't very busy, and in this day in age, customer service is sometimes much more important than the quality of the food. I apologize for not paying for the entire bill (we didn't pay for the 8.00 pot stickers). Maybe when we come down to visit well try it again. Thank you. read more

I love love love this place! The vibe is very beachy, the seafood is real and delicious, and the staff are always great. Overall one of my favorite places to eat. read more

The calamari is great and the little cups of coconut cream pie are fantastic. Good operation and tasty food.

OMFG!!! This place is still rocking it!!! Great food and even better service!!! Thank you Connor, Sarah, and Megan!!!!!

New Restaurant in Urbana that actually has healthy food choices!!! Not a chain with same old boring foods. Had the calamari with seaweed great combination!! Mahi tacos delicious. Staff was very friendly. Calamari cane out with our meal but staff was very apologetic and offered us free desserts. I am excited to go back to keep trying new things. read more

Surf House has great food, and a great atmosphere. We really enjoy all the items we get, and their drinks are on point. However, it is only 3 out of 5 stars is because every time we go... Once the order is placed, even if we are the only customers in the restaurant, we wait up to half an hour to forty five minutes for our TWO dishes that we order. It is very disappointing to be at a restaurant, especially with smaller children, and have to wait that long for a simple meal. While we have done carry out and it was pretty quick, we like to sit and eat at Surf House because we do enjoy the ambiance. The other really kicker for Surf House is that if you order a side protein, you pay up to almost ten dollars for what is close ONE ounce, maybe 2, of the chosen protein. You would be better off ordering a whole meal for that price. Very sad by the service and the cost. read more

So good! I got chicken nachos as an appetizer,SO GOOD. then I got the pulled pork tacos. Not much to them just pork and lettuce served with fries. Also got a sangria which was so good as well. Will definitely be back! read more