"Well when Brew River goes out of business. I will be the first to say "I told you so" My son and family are home for the holiday. His friends came over from DC to see them. They wanted a nice place to go for lunch today and wanted seafood and I suggested Brew River ( I rarely go there anymore). They took my advise and went. When they returned I said how was lunch. Their reply was that they waited 30 minutes on the deck where they had been seated. No one came to take their order or bring them a drink. It was about 12:15 and they were not busy. SO, they left and went some other place. What a shame. I did go to Brew River for Mother's day about 4:30 p.m. Not crowded and service fair. I had not gone there for a long time. Guess it will be a long time again. Like Waterman's, every few years I would give them a try. I went to Watermans' the week before they closed. COLD BAKED potato, and everything else just fair. Is there a good place in Salisbury for seafood? I have lived here for a very very long time, and I can't find it.. I guess it just depends on what you want! A nice piece of FRESH fish broiled or a good crab cake, is that too much to ask when I go out and spend $$$$ . Signed Sad."
80 comments:
No, there is not a good restaurant in Salisbury anymore. Better off to go buy the crab meat and make the crabcake yourself -that way you know what's in it and how it was handled.
Brew River sucks.
hit 213.
I moved here 5 yrs ago. Since then I've never had such bad service anywhere in my life. From being ignored, to being rushed through dinner, to having numerous carry out orders(different restaurants)being horribly wrong. There isnt a very high standard locally. Expect bad service and you will be surprised when its good.
I have always been partial to Goin' Nuts. They have a good crab cake and the prime rib sandwich is a real deal. Someone told me that Fratelli's has an awsome crab cake, but I haven't tried that one yet. For fish, don't go anywhere else but Boonie's. Their rockfish is superb - either the dinner or (my preference) the sandwich. There is good eating - you just have to look for it.
Mother's day is the busiest day of the year in the restaurant business. If you aren't busy on Mother's day you aren't ever busy.
I think Brew River has become a nightlife watering hole. To have a restaurant lisence you must sell more food than you do in alcohol sales. Are they meeting this criteria? If not they need a nightclub lisence that's far more expensive.
If I want crabs I'll drive to the docks of Deals Island, or stop at a 7-11 restroom!
JD Shuckers outside of Millsboro heading to Rehoboth is well worth the drive. Talk about Seafood.... The Salmon stuffed with crab,scallops and shrimp will make you want to smack somebody, including your grandmother. Your choice of how you want it fixed.
Watch your credit card a BR. If you put your drinks on a tab, you need to give them your credit card. At the end of the night if you pay off the tab in cash some of the low life help they employ will still charge your credit card. Be careful and check your card, keep your receipts.
And when Brew River goes under, Frank Hanna will blame it on people having to pay for parking.
Couldn't possibly be the mediocre food and lousy service.
He's made his mint with a monopoly over there and special favors from the city. He'll ask an arm and a leg for the place.
Restaurant 213 in Fruitland is great! So is Fratelli's. Crab cakes are fantastic! Red Roost & Boonies are both great restaurants if you're up for the drive.
Yeah lets get the torch s and pitch forks and head OVER THERE
Franks and Henry have switched ownerships of Brew River and Harpoon Hanna's, once if not twice or maybe the Royal Exchange Pub was involved in one deal. Not sure if Frank or Henry owns it anymore.
skipjaks and treasure by the se never go wrong there
t/n
Your and idiot for going to brew river for sea food, go to a sea food restaurent like the old mill or red roost.
If you want good seafood, make the drive to Waterman's Inn in Crisfield. Well worth it.
try market street in for the best crab cakes
went to market st. friday night, dinner, we both had ahi, fabulous as always..we are also partial to marlin moon in west oc...again always delic...you get what you pay for...
The food's gotten alot better . We ate there on thursday night and the crab cakes were great but the service was terrible.
Peaky's in Princess Anne is good too! Have not been there in a while myself and hope that they have not closed too!
We went to Brew River Easter weekend. We had great food and service... Maybe it was a fluke...but we still had a good meal and a good time
Goin Nuts has a fabulous crabcake!
All there food is good
While Brew River is not my favorite place to eat and the food is OK at best, and while Frank Hanna may be the cheapest jackass to ever run a restaurant he has this strange and annoying habit of not going out of business due to stupidity and poor planning which is a skill set many other local restaurant owners have not acquired.
Frank Hanna stepped up to the plate to locate on Fitzwater, widely considered a dangerous s**thole, when no one else would even consider it. He put tons of money and effort into the restaurant and the City has cooperated in their usual fashion by letting the marina decay to a poorly kept, bird crap infested mess.
Re the pissed off guests if business is slow and a waitress (in any restaurant) has not attended you within 10 minutes it really doesn't require a Mensa level intellect to figure out that they probably do not know you are there, and a heads up would solve the problem.
Just go to the Old Mill in Delmar. Great food & great service
What's wrong with local restaurants? One word - Sysco! Lazy/Cheap restaurant owners hire college kids to microwave some ready made processed crap from Sysco and call it dinner. What ever happened to pride in what you do? Why can't these owners get in their head - people will pay for quality!
Suicide Bridge in Secretary has the best seafood I have found.
Green Hill has the best all around crab cakes on the eastern shore. i would definitely give them a shot.
LORA- Local Owner Restaurant Association. If they are not a member then don't go. Personnal service and great food. 17 restaurants, caterers, and cakes by David you can't go wrong. www.lorarestaurants.com
WAKE UP SALISBURY....
I like Brew River... all you can eat ribs and snow crab legs for $20 (on Monday nights, I believe) is a great deal.
11:57-get your head out of your ass. It doesn't matter where food is purchased. It matters how it is prepared and served. Sysco has nothing to do with whether a restaurant is good or not. It depend on the kitchen. I venture to say that every recommended restaurant on this thread purchases food from Sysco.
If you don't mind driving to Cambridge, try the Blue Point Provisions Company located in the Hyatt there. GREAT food and service. Food prices aren't high either.
i have never had a bad meal at cactus taverna. great service, terrific atmosphere. owner/manager is on premises daily and is frequently on the floor tending to tables, chatting with guests. great seafood specials, prepared in unique and delicious ways.
as far as crab cakes go, fratelli's has the best.
old mill? went there opening weekend. the crabs were rotten. you could actually smell the rot on the crabs once they were chunked on your table. the owners ended up charging only for fried chicken that night.
Fratelli's has the best food in town and plenty of it.
Try the fountains. The crabcakes are very good and the service isn't bad either. Also I think the prices are reasonable.
I've been to Brew River twice since living in this area for five years. First time was for the Thanksgiving brunch. We sat for every waiting for a waitress. The waitress that finally came over looked like she slept in the clothes she was wearing. The food was institutional grade at best. The second time was for a private party. I asked the bartender what brands of bourbon they carried since I drink my bourbon up and only top shelf. The young blonde had no clue what bourbon even was. I guess because she was young, blonde and had a couple of bulges from her blouse made her a "bartender." I have no interest in stepping foot in that shit hole again. I guess the management thinks that because they sit on the water they can offer up crappy food and piss-poor service. Maybe down here on da shore they can get away with that nasty stuff they call food. Any where else, besides Ocean City during tourism season when nasty found is abound, and that would be an empty waterfront business.
My friends went to Brew River over a year ago. They told me that they found a roach in their food. Neither the waitress nor the manager seemed concerned. They won't be back again and neither will we.
You all should really try Circle Inn in Crisfield. Great family place!!!!! Great Food and even better prices!!
Thanks for the tips on seafood folks and I think we will hit Boonie's this week sometime. Been there before and it was good. Goin Nuts is right on George. we love their crab cakes and the prime rib sandwich is just enough.
Shout out for Sobo's! Good food, good service. A little loud, but tasty.
11:57, you couldn't be more wrong. Its the corporate chains around here that "nuke and serve" poor quality food, yet patrons on Delmarva consistently dine at those places despite their mediocre quality. The local places that prep and serve quality food sometimes struggle with consistency because their volume is so inconsistent. And people in this kind of low socio-economic environment WILL NOT pay extra for quality.
And to those that complain about not getting "fresh" fish and seafood. Do you know that every food item sold must be acquired from a certified and inspected wholesaler. You can't go to the bay and catch a few rockfish and sell them at a local restaurant the same day, ITS ILLEGAL. Hate to break it to you, but your fish has been out of the water for days, most often frozen along the way.
Rob S
sobo's is a great restuarant!
If you sat there for 30 freaking minutes, then you're a complete dolt.
A smart person wouldn't wait a half hour, they'd get up after just 10 minutes and find a manager. That smart person would tell the manager that no server had greeted them, and either (a) demand service AND a discount on their meal for the trouble, or (2) leave immediately after berating the manager for the infuriating lack of service.
YOU as a customer are in charge because YOU are paying for the food and service. I certainly hope this family learned their lesson -- not about Brew River, per se, but on how not to be a doormat idiot customer whilst out to eat!
-- a long-time waiter
I have lived here all my life and when the Royal Exchange Pub was open, the food was delicious. When they opened Brew River, it went downhill. We rarely go there anymore mostly because of the fights etc. What do you expect when you nail beer signs all over your building. You are really inviting the scum that causes trouble. I am not against drinking a beer, but too say the least this represents anything but a nice classy restaurant!! Frank you need to clean up your image from the outside before you take all the business from the Cactus Club!!!!
Crisfield is still the best bet for good seafood. Waterman Inn or The Cove Restaurant are still is good as it gets. Hard times have hit here too just like everywhere else, but you cant beat the fresh crabmeat.
A bartender who doesn't know what bourbon is? WTH? Thats more insulting than the bad food.
Franks daughter and son are runnign the place. Thus they are focusing on getting the college kids and young adults in their for the bar atmosphere.
So it will only continue to get trashier.
I came down from Philadelphia where there are many excellent restaurants. The food in Salisbury almost made me move back. I have gone to Brew River on 3 or 4 occasions and never expected much. It also was never my idea to go. The food is pathetic. Sorry Frank, just because you are on the water does not make for a good restaurant. The food is poor at best which is a shame because it could actually be a nice place to go.
If you want good food I suggest the following; Cactus Taverna, Restaurant 213, and Sobo's (most of the time). Also, good restaurants need Patrons to stay in business. The problem with Salisbury is the locales won't support quality restaurants. As I was told when I got here, "if the food is served on a plastic tray it will do well in Salisbury."
Brew River lost their best employees years ago. David Hopper (GM) and many long time employees from the Flying Club. It's just a Saturday Night Fight Club now and beer hole. Put them in a death match cage and let them go at it. Let the betting begin.
The Atlantic Hotel and the Globe in Berlin both have great food.
Just had the best seafood platter at Red Roost, and great service...perfect! The LAST time I was in BR it was just plain dirty.Will not go back.
I've eaten at Fratelli's once and ordered the eggplant parm. Definitely frozen eggplant with some cheese and sauce dumped on and then under the salamander to heat up. I'd love to see chef Gordon Ramsey bring his Kitchen Nightmares show to this area. I can just see him spitting out the food that's prepared for him and telling most of the owners that if they don't have pride in the food they serve then shut the place down. As a society people are too willing to accept crap while paying a hefty price for said crap because it's a lot quicker and convenient than cooking something up at home. Used to be going out to dinner was an occasional treat, now many folks - even in today's economy - dine out several times a week. When people are willing to pay for cheap and quick, that's what they'll get.
Goin Nuts has always been the best in service and food for the money. Had my first date with my wife there and we still go at least once every so often, she getting the crab twins and I the prime rib sandwich. Can't be beat by anyone.
Lived in Salisbury for 10.5 yrs now, would not buy a crab cake anywhere but Fratelli's. You will get your money's worth every time, I don't care the day of the week or month or year.
Try breaktime they are banging.......
I found a little place in Ocean City on 142nd St. a few years back; it's only open in the summer and is on the west side of Coastal Highway and I can never remeber the name of it but it's right on the corner with the gas station and a couple other little places. This seafood joint is run by Vietnamese and I must say the crabcakes are the absolute BEST I've ever had except my own. They're huge and no filler and top notch fresh lump crab! Well worth the drive! I'm off Thursday and now that you all got talkin about crabcakes I'm gonna have to go down there....lolol
Fountains Table is a great option for fresh rockfish and local crabcakes. They consistently serve quality food and have weekly entertainment that is a bonus. Unfortunately, people in Salisbury would rather support the numerous chains and their subpar food!
7:46 PM said he/she was from Philly, and the bad food almost made him/her go back. Maybe that is the answer, have all the restaurants serve real sh!tty food.
No but seriously, the "Fat Tuna" in Millville is excellent, Suicide Bridge has a buffet that is off the hook, Ray's Shanty has the best shrimp around, Captains Galley has unbelievable crab cakes, Old Salty's is good, Bistro 54 is good, (the portions are a little on the small side) Fratellis is good (i like their shrimp diavlo sp?, but Brew River sucks. The portions are smaller, the service sucks, and their is no value for your dollar. The place looked filthy the last time I was in there. Urine all over the floor of the bathroom, the carpet in the dining room needs replacing, and our waitress had her head up her a$$ the whole time. With the ecomomy like it is, if I am going to spend good money to eat out, I think I will drive a little further and spend maybe just a little more to have a great meal, not just par at best.
10:00 I went to Break Time once and ate their appetizers. Nothing great. Give me a neighborhood bar that serves cold beer at a reasonable price and focuses on outstanding, but limited bar food i.e. fresh, hand made burgers, wings, a few piled high deli sandwich selections, a big pile of nachos, steamed shrimp and mussels served in a white wine, garlic, butter sauce with some French bread and I'll show you a winner.
i work at a chain resturant in salisbury. Every day our prep crew shows up at 7 am and makes everything from scratch. dicing vegtables, peeling shrimp, and marinating steaks. Please dont lump all the restuants that arent in LORA all evil and subpar.
Here are a few requests from a server/bartender
1. Dont ask me to make your drink strong, but then get mad when i ask if you want to pay for a double
2. Dont order your steak well done but expect it tender and juicy
3. Dont tell me i did a great job, then leave a bad tip. As much as i wish i could pay my bills with compliments, i cant.
4. Remember the cheapest steak on the menu is not as good as a more expensive cut of meat.
JOE if you could have a post where us servers can let you know the hundreds of other things customers do wrong in the local resturants that would be amazing. People find it amusing to treat waiters like slaves not servers. A little respect would be nice
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Anon 11:57- RE: SYSCO. For the record- if there is one thing a local restaurant COULD do right it is partner with SYSCO. For the millionth time... SYSCO does NOT make anything. They are a DISTRIBUTOR. Any box that has SYSCO written on it is actually manufactured AND packed by an approved supplier who must meet certain specs depending on what label it is. Guess what... Perdue packs for Sysco, Tyson packs for Sysco... and many other national names that you may recognize. In addition to that, Sysco is probably the country's largest purchaser of fresh produce with more Quality Assurance Representatives than all of the other food distributors combined. Sysco can also supply their customers with fresh food products from all categories... including fresh fish. As someone else stated though... believe it or not, Frozen Fish is actually fresher these days with the technology that is out there. Restaurants that buy from Sysco are not just buying "precooked and predone" meals... That is what the chain restaurants serve up every day.
The best thing you could do is support your local restaurant and hope that they DO buy from Sysco. Let's not forget that the local Sysco employs over 600 people
and if they are selling products from companies like Perdue... (one example) well, that is helping another local business.
Next time you go to dinner why don't you think about supporting an independent restaurant here in town... I bet there are lots that you have never even been to. Give them a try.
Anon 7:44 I couldn't agree with you more. I went to BR on Mother's Day and was disgusted. The crab dip we ordered came with Doritos. Apparently no one had the sense to tell one of the 15 servers standing around to go get some bread at a grocery store. Not to mention the 19 billion cigarette butts all over the place outside.
Millie's in Vienna worth the short drive, excellent home cooking, and truly appreciate your business!
Ray's Shanty in Atlantic, VA on the way to Chincoteague. The best crab cakes and steamed shrimp!
12:16 Pet-peeve #1 I have with servers: If you think I'll like you and your service more by being quaint and casual, you best not make the mistake of coming up to my table if there are females sitting there and start the night off with, "How you GUYS doing tonight." If a server must be cutesy, use the generic "folks" instead of "guys."
9:29
I agree with you completly. i hate it when other servers do that. I also hate it when i ask for to go boxes and they are just thrown on the table. That is why as a server i offer to box evrything up at the table for my customers and address people ass they should be. ie sir, mam, folks.
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Boonies Restaurant & Bar in Tyaskin is a great place. Food is great and the staff is very nice and quick
Brew River does suck. And the taxpayers have been subsidizing their parking for what, ten years?
I tried Fountains this past week and it was good. Service was good and the food was just as I had ordered it. The only problem was the manager, the older man kept asking us if things were okay. That was a pain. He was also picking on one waitress bad.
Are you kidding me???? All of you are dead wrong!!! McDonalds has the best fish in town. No waiting, just hot n ready !!! MMMMM- GOOD!!!
How long before they have to meet the same noise ordinaces as other businesses? Out door live music at 1:00am is unacceptable!
remember you get what you pay for. in this area and in this economy people seem to want 213 food and service and sage diner prices. maybe instead of going out all the time and worrying about getting the cheaper things that you probably wont be staisfied with you should eat once once and a while and enjoy yourselves
anon 7:29...thanks for setting the record straight regarding Sysco. I am always amazed..and chagrined...when people shoot off at the mouth about "processed food " etc etc etc as if they have a clue.....then stand in line at a national chain restaurant.
Sysco is a distributor...PERIOD....you can buy the finest ingredients available from them...this notion that a Sysco truck means a restaurant serves "frozen food" is a myth circulated by the ignorant.
Henry Hanna has nothing to do with Brew River and has had no interest in any restaurant since the Flying Club.
You trying to tell me Henry never had anything to do with Harpoon Hanna's?
Henry's son does, he is the manager, and since he was put in charge the place has gone down hill. More fights, crime and drugs then you can shake a stick at. Henry you really messed up putting Jr in charge. You got rid of the people who made it work. The place is dirty, lousy service, food barely eatable, nothing to make you want to come back. The deck bar is the only thing that keeps them alive. I hear a lot of people talking about opening a dock bar to compete, please do. Then you could buy the empty Brew building and do it right.
Try Captain's Galley in West Ocean City for good crab cakes.
Its Frank Jr, idiot. Not Henry
Yes Anon 1:45, that Blue Point place at the Hyatt is great! One of the best seafood dinners I've had in a while. Our waiter was so good too. Well worth the drive to Dorchester
Anon 9:20. CORRECT... Henry has NEVER had anything to do with Harpoon Hanna's. His only connection has and always has been that his brother Frank opened it.
Anon 9:26. Goodness... get your facts straight... Frank Jr. is Frank Hanna's son, NOT Henry's!
Brew River has a new chef and the food and service are better than ever. Don't believe everything you read...Why would he have suggested Brew River is he thought it was a bad option???
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