Maryland has a lot to offer: it’s rich with history and culture, offers a bustling nightlife, and some of the best seafood on the Eastern shore. Menus in southern Maryland boast their famous crab cakes and clam chowder, which are all wonderful and delicious, but what if you’re in the mood for steamed seafood? When preparing food by steaming, the ingredients must be fresh, as you’re not masking them with a sauce or deep frying them in a batter. Here are some of southern Maryland’s best restaurants for steamed seafood.

Stoney’s Seafood House at Clarke Landing

Dine waterside along the Patuxent River at Stoney’s Seafood House or grab a table inside their newly renovated dining room. The menu is extensive and unique with offerings such as oyster Rockefeller, grilled cheese with a crab cake in the middle, or smoked bluefish. Steak lovers will not be disappointed either once they try the blackened filet mignon tips with a raspberry merlot reduction. However, the steamers here are the restaurant’s real achievement. Choose from peel and eat shrimp, cherrystone clams, crab legs, hard shell crabs, or steamed mussels in garlic and white wine. If you want a sampler, order the Stoney’s Steamer which comes with two lobster tails, a half pound of steamed shrimp, a pound of crab legs, cherrystone clams, mussels, and other seasonal items.

Abner’s Crab House

Located on the Harbor Road in Chesapeake Beach, Abner’s Crab House is a fun and casual establishment that’s perfect for the whole family. The menu offers up some old time seafood favorites such as oyster Rockefeller, crab dip, and clams casino for appetizers. For Abner’s array of steamers, crab is the star of the show, and it’s sold by the pound with a menu of crab extras and crab companions. Extras include drawn butter, sauces, and warm bread. In addition to crab, they offer steamed shrimp, mussels, and oysters. Looking for a sampler? They have that too – order the Abner’s steampot and get a whole crab, crab legs, mussels, clams, shrimp, and corn on the cob.

Captain Billy’s Crab House

Captain Billy’s is located on the water’s edge of the Potomac River in Popes Creek. The owner has been in the crab business since he was nine years old, so seafood and its preparation are second nature to him. The steam room menu has only three items, but each one is a feast. The Ultimate feast has six clusters of snow crab legs, a pound of steamed shrimp and two sides. The Perfect Couple feast has four clusters of snow crab legs, a half pound of steamed shrimp, and one side.  And if you want to go for the gusto, order the Waterman’s seafood feast which consists of half a dozen crabs, four clusters of snow crab legs, half pound of steamed shrimp, and two sides.

Kevin’s Corner Kafe

Deemed Leonardtown’s best kept secret, Kevin’s Corner Kafe won’t be secret for long with the food they serve. The owner, Kevin, has been crabbing and cooking home-style food since he was a boy and the dishes certainly reflect it. The menu multiple steamer choices. Order a la carte choosing from steamed oysters, mussels, blue crab, clams, shrimp, or crab legs, or choose one of the steam pots they offer. All three come with baked potatoes, coleslaw, and cornbread.

Sharkbar and Seafood Restaurant

You will literally dine among the fishes at Sharkbar and Seafood Restaurant with their large and elaborate shark tank as the focal point. Their menu is extensive and offers up some fun and creative dishes such as candied bacon deviled eggs, lobster and waffles, or a Hawaiian steak.  Their steamed bar menu consists of oysters on the half shell, drunken clams, and steamed shrimp. They also offer seafood boils, and the seafood lovers boil comes with crab leg clusters, gulf shrimp, clams, mussels and andouille sausage. Both come with Cajun corn, potatoes, and eggs.

 

If you’re a seafood lover, Maryland is definitely the place for you. What’s your favorite spot for steamed seafood?