American

To be sure, this is where the well-known chefs go for their own special occasions. The Back Porch Café offers cozy, intimate dining. Much of the menu is seasonal, but you’ll likely find the jumbo lump crab-and-shrimp cakes.

Rarely will you find the kind of warmth served at The Café on 26. Retro dishes make a big comeback here like French onion and cream of crab soups, steamed mussels or clams, spinach and Caesar salads, and grilled pork chops.

If you’re looking for a couple of big gulps to try, Nalu in Dewey and Rehoboth serves the Wipe-Out—144 ounces of Parrot Bay, coconut, pineapple and passion fruit rums with orange, pineapple and cranberry juices in a souvenir Nalu bucket.

Big Fish Restaurant Group has taken over the management of Obie’s by the Sea. The redesigned menu focuses more on fresh seafood and less on burgers, though the land-locked fare that remains is delicious. Entertainment is in the works.

Victoria’s Restaurant strives to grant guests an experience with good food right on the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk. Menu options include Crab Cake Sandwiches, Duck à l’Orange, and Lemon Dill Salmon.

Victoria's Restaurant in the Boardwalk Plaza Hotel is known for al fresco dining.

From waffle-cone shakes and ice cream doughnuts to lilac-colored lattes.

Boasting the “best bayfront seafood” of the East Coast, the Rusty Rudder restaurant offers plenty of surf-and-turf. Menu options include salads, sandwiches, tacos, and entrées including Ahi Tuna Poke Bowl, Flat Iron Steak, and Maryland Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes.

American fare in a beach-style setting

With an outdoor environment reminiscent of a beach party, Hammerheads grants customers the opportunity to kick back and relax with a delicious meal—all against a calming, sun-kissed backdrop. Menu options include soups and salads, sandwiches and wraps, and shared plates including Blackened Tuna Bites, Peel and Eat Shrimp, and Crab Balls.

If you’re looking for a couple of big gulps to try, Nalu in Dewey and Rehoboth serves the Wipe-Out—144 ounces of Parrot Bay, coconut, pineapple and passion fruit rums with orange, pineapple and cranberry juices in a souvenir Nalu bucket.

A charming mainstay in an old house serving home-style meals in the heart of Ocean View.

In 1997, brothers Eric and Norman Sugrue opened the doors to Big Fish Grill. It has grown from one 90-seat restaurant to the Big Fish Restaurant Group, which includes multiple Big Fish restaurant locations and a variety of other restaurants throughout the Delaware region. Big Fish offers delicious and approachable family-style seafood.

With an outdoor environment reminiscent of a beach party, Hammerheads grants customers the opportunity to kick back and relax with a delicious meal—all against a calming, sun-kissed backdrop. Menu options include soups and salads, sandwiches and wraps, and shared plates including Blackened Tuna Bites, Peel and Eat Shrimp, and Crab Balls.

This upscale coastal farm-to-table restaurant bases their menu on seasonal, local harvest. Chef Christian Costantino is a 2022 Best of Delaware winner for best downstate chef.

Dock at Big Chill Beach Club and enjoy its array of lunch and dinner options—all alongside priceless views of the Indian River Inlet. Menu options include salad shreds and bowls, crabcake and shrimp sandwiches, and SoCal-style burgers and tacos.