Weekly reviews of crab cakes around the MD and DC area

Tidewater Grille

The Tidewater Grille is located right on the Susquehanna River, complete with outdoor seating overlooking the water, and free boat docking for their customers. No matter where you sit, you'll always have a view of the river, and everything happening in and around it. In fact, this is Havre de Grace's only waterfront restaurant. So seeing as how you can't get any closer to the water, you would hope that they know how to do seafood right. Fighting the urge to try one of everything on their menu, we ordered what we always order -- crab cakes! Read on and see if you should drop anchor or set sail for somewhere else!

The Tidewater's famous broiled lump crab cake is served as a sandwich on a potato roll, along with fresh cut potato chips, or as a double platter served with fresh sautéed vegetables and rice pilaf, baked potato, or garlic mashed potatoes.

The crab cake uses lump crab, which comes in smaller pieces, and is fairly broken up. All of that sweet crab meat is bound together in a Maryland style binder that isn't too heavy on the bread. Bread is mixed together with a hint of Dijon and spices.

First thing you notice is the sweetness of the crab -- super sweet! The spice and binder blend also has a really good flavor and a decent amount of moisture. Ratio of crab to binder is spot on, with just enough to hold it together without looking like they're skimping on the crab. The supporting flavors work well to let the crab flavor take center stage. The potato roll is lightly toasted, which helps keep the cake inside the bread without squishing out as you take a bite.

As a sandwich, we thought the crab cake worked very well, but with that much flavor packed into the cake, it really seems like a sin to eat it with anything else. Choose the platter and you won't be disappointed! While you may be able to ask, the menu didn't offer a single platter option, which would have been perfect.

Tidewater Grille Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Additional Info

  • Restaurant Name: Tidewater Grille
  • Address: 300 Franklin St Havre de Grace, MD 21078
  • Neighborhood: Havre de Grace
  • Restaurant Type: Local
  • Review Date: 06/07/2013 8:03pm
  • Atmosphere: Busy
  • Item(s) Ordered: Crab Cake Sandwich
  • Cooking Style: Broiled
  • Other Styles Available: Yes
  • Available by mail order?: No
  • Price: 14.50
  • Order Type: Sandwich
  • Crab Content: Lump
  • Filler: Minimal
  • Spice: Average
  • Overall Impression: Outstanding
  • Rating (out of 5 crabs):

    5-crab