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Bethany Boathouse

3.7 (426 reviews)
ModerateBars, Seafood, Sandwiches
Closed Closed
Updated 3 months ago

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BETHANY BOATHOUSE ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Loud
Live music
Happy hour specials

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Recommended Reviews - Bethany Boathouse

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Kate S.

This is another stop on our OCMD vacation every year. We typically sit outside by the "pond". Food is always amazing, drinks or cold and made well. This year our server was super happy and friendly. She provide fast service and gave recommendations when asked. It's a place you should add. This year I did the fried chicken sandwich....it was well portioned without being too much!

Menu
Tiffanie L.

Bethany Boathouse is a bar food ish place with live music. The food is good, the music is good, the service is good. It's a pretty reliable food restaurant. I don't come to the ocean and run to the Boathouse, but if we see it my kids want to stop. They do have a good tuna and seaweed meal and giant pretzel that are delicious. If you want entertainment and food it's a good spot.

Crab cake sandwich
Maria K.

The service was good, but my crab cakes were so small and just didnt taste as good.Their crab cakes use to be huge and tasty. Hate the waffle fries. Think we will skip the place next time.

Everything else but Boathouse Nachos was just ok, redeemed under a broiler to make crispy & added homemade seasoning for flavor.
Bohemian J.

Most of the food ordered thru DD was acceptable, average but edible. Boathouse Nachos w/ Chili Lime Shrimp for $26 was not worth it (maybe in house, however most chips were not crispy.) Flavor & seasoning were lacking, crisped up fried things under house broiler & sprinkled w/ spices at home for better experience.

Chips and Dips
Allie G.

My friend and I visited Bethany Boathouse on a Sunday (late) afternoon and got seated right away on the patio. The ambiance was pleasant and we arrived just in time for live music! Our server was so nervous but so sweet - I think it may have been her first day. For drinks, we both ordered boozy milkshakes. My friend chose the Aye Aye Captain and I got the one with Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey (can't find the name). Both were tasty, but not very boozy - mostly just a vanilla milkshake. However, they do offer floaters for an up-charge. For food, we shared the Chips and Dips and Lump Crabcakes Platter. The food came out quickly and portion sizes were very generous - we had plenty of leftovers to bring home! The food itself was good but nothing mind-blowing. Would return for the drinks and vibes though!

3-5pm Happy Hour offerings at Bethany Boathouse
Gwyneth J.

UPDATE: 8/24 --- We had Happy Hour (3-5pm) at the Bethany Boathouse this past week & was pleasantly surprised. Last time we were here (9 years ago! Eeep!) it was chaotic and only a 3 star experience. But this time it was a super experience! Why did we wait so long? Christie, our fav bartender from OVBFG, took great care of us! Kind, attentive, funny, and caring. She's such a treasure! Mom got a not too stingy pour of Pinto Giorgio in a fun short souvenir cup and I tried their 20oz Orange Crush also in a take home squeezee cup! We sampled the Happy Hour food at the bar. We shared an excellent plate Chicken Nacho's and handful of Steamed Shrimp and waffle fries both reasonably priced at $7.50. It was a clear breezy afternoon and it was lovely - GREAT VIBE!

shrimp
Samantha G.

I enjoyed this place. We just drove in to bethany and wanted a quick bite near our hotel. Seating was extremely fast even though it was packed. We ordered the wings and fries and basically got them in less than 10minutes. Service was super fast and seemed like they sometimes read our minds. I was not expecting this place to be great based off of reviews but I would say go! Never can go wrong with some wings and shrimp :)

Having a drink after dinner.  Fun place.
Mike B.

We had dinner and stick around for the ambiance and the music. There's a great summer vibe to this place. Beautiful spot to chill and have dinner/drinks.

Stephanie H.

Staff was very polite, food was delicious. We were looking for a place to eat and bring our pup. They allowed pups. Would definitely return!

Outside fountain w/ rotating alligator

The Bethany Boathouse food is good. The Pretzel is huge in size and flavor. I love that it has plenty of cheese and mustard sauce. The Fish & Chips are great with a generous portion of fish, a small side of really good Cole slaw, yummy tartar sauce, and very tasty Waffle fries. The Fish tacos are tasty, and have slaw and pico, and are also served with tasty waffle fries. The outside seating is not as cool as the inside hi top tables which have AC, but it was a cool day & was pleasant. There is a fountain out front that entertains the kids with a mechanical alligator head the rotates in the water. The service was great. The bar looks fun with several large T .V.s set up to watch sports. I love the food and service & will be back.

This place is located close to Hotel Bethany Beach, and has a good variety of options that are reasonably priced. They have seafood and American food. I got the Jerk Chicken tacos as shown here. The service was quick, which I appreciated.

Shrimp tacos

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1 year ago

My 1st time here and I was impressed, great atmosphere, delicious food and wonderful staff. We will put this on our to do lists

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Food is average, drinks are great. Live music and good sports on tv. Always a good crowd and solid service.

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2 years ago

Just had a grapefruit crush and nachos. Staff was great and food was meh. The setting was nice and close to where we stayed.

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Ask the Community - Bethany Boathouse

Do you have loud music every night? We have 9 & 12 grandchildren visiting so we don't want loud music to interfere with our experience

Hello Ed, We have live music every night in the summer time. The music starts at 6pm during the week and 5pm on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The Boathouse is an open air building with garage doors that are open to bring the outside in. The live… Read more

Are you open on Thanksgiving ? Any specials? Thanks!

We will not be open on Thanksgiving day.

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DB's Seafood

DB's Seafood

4.2
(117 reviews)
0.6 mi
$$

There's a review here that says that this place in on the corner. The one on the corner is…read moretechnically DB's Fries. You know they are both the same owner or at least the same franchise even though slightly different names and a slight different array of offerings. This location at the inside area of the same plaza has seating and more seafood. They use quality bread for their oyster po-boy and and use slightly different ingredients compared to the po-boy at DB-Fries. I forget what the ingredients were at both places- you can investigate yourself, lol. I just wanted good food and to stay out of the slight rain on this particular day. The fries are fresh and well done. Better than Thrashers imo and not a line. Looking back, I probably should've gotten the lobster roll here and the po-boy at Henlopen instead because at Henlopen, it's a combination of seafood instead. Nonetheless, the seafood here was fresh and if it's not a bad day and love seafood, you probably can't really make a wrong choice Staff here is friendly.

This was a mind blowing experience no extra sauces needed! Butter and lobster simple but extremely…read moreflavorful. I could go back for every meal if the lobster roll tasted like that every time. The coleslaw had what I believe to be horseradish or something in it that set it aside from all the other local ones. It was super tasty. The fries were decent but nothing special just all around good fries (maybe the need a special sauce for those to set them off). Service was short and to the point and not much of a vibe or ambiance for a snack shack style.

Photos
Cold Lobster Roll!
Cold Lobster Roll!
Sautéed Soft Crab Sandwich
Sautéed Soft Crab Sandwich
DB's Seafood

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The Blue Crab

The Blue Crab

3.8
(340 reviews)
0.6 mi
$$

Went last night for dinner…read more They have all you can crab feast deals. Offering include crab legs, blue crabs, fried chicken (it's really good), hush puppies , fries, and corn. The nice thing is the crabs were large and not paper shells. The service is good and the place is clean The only downside is the parking can be tricky. But that usually helps as they have had tables available without a

I discovered this place when driving around Bethany beach area and was craving seafood. Husband and…read moreI tried to come by Tuesday but go figure, it was the ONLY day they close. We came back tonight determined to try their food. We came in with two groups eating and waited to be seated for about 4 minutes before someone came to seat us. Felt odd for the wait but it appeared there were only two people to begin with. Upon being seated, we were served water which is what we wanted and we placed our order. I loved the fish cutouts they had on the wall next to us. Took about 10-15 minutes for our food. We started with the pizza and it was exactly what we wanted. Simple but the flavors were there! Pesto, garlic and the mozzarella cheese that pulled apart string style! Maybe could have been a crispier crust but I was happy to have all those components hit the mark. We dug into the pasta and OH MY GOSH!!! Again, the simplicity of this dish with perfectly balanced flavors. The basil and the garlic on point! Oh and the sauce, light and a refreshing hit with lemon. Shrimp and scallops not over cooked. I kid you not, I would have licked this plate clean if my husband wasn't with me! I cannot fathom why we were the only ones in this restaurant because both dishes were delicious!!! Thank you so much for feeding our seafood cravings. WE WILL BE BACK! Only sad that we found it our last night here. Do yourself a favor, please support this restaurant. This has been added to our MUST GO TO places while visiting.

Photos
Snow Crab Legs with fresh corn on the cob.
Snow Crab Legs with fresh corn on the cob.
Blueberry mojito
Blueberry mojito
The Blue Crab

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FINS Ale House & Raw Bar

FINS Ale House & Raw Bar

3.9
(289 reviews)
0.1 mi
$$

As per my prior reviews this is one of my top five restaurants for happy hour. My last review was…read morein December 2025. I will summarize our two most recent visits in early 2026. We were first here with our friends around 4 PM on Friday for happy hour at the bar. I enjoyed my two pineapple juice with vodka for $5 each. I also enjoyed my whole one pound steamed lobster with drawn butter and a choice of two sides for $30. I enjoyed my two favorite sides namely the asparagus and sweet potato fries. My total bill was $70. I redeemed my $25 Toast birthday credit to my bill so my net cost was reduced from $70 down to $45. I also applied my balance to my gift card from November 2024, excluding gratuity. I returned here again around 4 PM with my friend for happy hour on lobster Tuesday. I enjoyed my two rum and cokes for $5 each. I also enjoyed my two Big Oyster Midnight Kraken draft stout beers in a snifter also for $5 each. I also enjoyed my lobster tail jambalaya for $22, which I was able to finish this time, since the quantity was decreased due to inflation. My total bill was $41.50 excluding gratuity, which again I used my gift card. We agreed we will continue to return here for happy hour.

Two stars for two seats at the bar that you'll never get. Two stars for two stale beers and two…read morestars for the two bartenders that need to be more aware of keeping the flow of patrons going. Many guests waiting for seats while folks are waiting for their checks. So bad, had to leave. Won't be going back. Go to the Selbyville location where they get it right. Fail!!!

Photos
View from my barstool
View from my barstool
FINS Ale House & Raw Bar
Delicious Fried Avocado

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Delicious Fried Avocado
Bluecoast Seafood Grill and Raw Bar

Bluecoast Seafood Grill and Raw Bar

4.1
(474 reviews)
1.6 mi
$$$

Best crab soup in the area. The service is great , you feel…read morewelcomed and the server is on top of things. Great ambiance! I would go again!

As you can see from my past reviews, this is one of my top 5 restaurants for either on or off…read moreseason happy hour or dinner. I will summarize my three most recent visits in March during the off season on Friday's at 4 PM. We arrived at 3:50 PM prior to their open at 4 PM. Already two people were online. We waited in my Audi waiting for other customers to arrive. Other vehicles arrived around 3:55 PM so we exited my Audi to get in line behind the other two customers. When they opened at 4 PM we secured our favorite table for 4 to the left of the entrance. We were happy that Mike from his former Catch 54 served our table. We first met Mike here at Bluecoast back in 2021. Also Kelly from her former Off The Hook also stopped by to say hello. We enjoyed our dozen Chunu Virginia oysters. I also enjoyed my usual tuna poke for $15 with white rice, carrots, pineapple and jalapeno peppers. I ended my meal with a pineapple martini for $8. We returned here for our second visit with our friends. Since there were five of us we sat in their second booth on the right. Again Mike stopped by to say hello. I started with my margarita with salted rim for $9. Kelly delivered our dozen of the Chunu Virginia oysters for $12 to also say hello. I also enjoyed my two pineapple martinis for $8 each. I also enjoyed my tuna and salmon poke for $16. We also shared a bottle of Trefethen chardonnay for $58 with the Friday 1/2 price wine reduced down to $29. My total bill was reduced down from $143 to $114. Lindsay S. served us very well as usual. We returned for our third visit on Friday. We sat at the table to the left of the entrance. Kelly and Mike stopped by to say hello. I started with my margarita for $8 and ended with my pineapple martini also for $8. Again, I enjoyed my dozen Chunu Virginia oysters and my poke. Alexis D. served us very well. Customer service and friendship are most important. We will continue to return here for the off season happy hour.

Photos
Happy Hour
Happy Hour
My Sewansecott, VA oysters
My Sewansecott, VA oysters
Entrance and my table of choice

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Entrance and my table of choice

Bethany Boathouse - bars - Updated June 2026

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