Decent food, giant portions, friendly staff, and beautiful views of the water. We showed up with a large group of 9 and only had to wait for maybe 15 minutes. The food itself was good, and the cocktails got good reviews from the people in our group who were drinking. They had live music, and the performers did a good job of interacting with the crowd every now and then without putting on such a big show that you couldn't hang out with the people at your table. Good vibes, I can see why this place is a go-to in Dewey Beach. read more

All street parking was taken. Had to use the restaurant lot. First 30 minutes free then $4/ hour. Waitress served us 1 round of drinks before our meal was served. Never returned to ask if we needed another drink and 2 of us had empty glasses through the meal. Wings and fried class were good. Fried seafood platter was overcooked. Everything tasted the same. Starter sauce seemed to be a salad dressing with crab seasoning rather than mayo and pickles, but that's their choice to serve it however they want. Nothing special. Won't return. read more

it was a very busy friday night due to the world cup but service was great and food was pretty good too! I ordered the crab cake sandwich with fries and hush puppies (i didn't like them much but im just picky), and a frozen strawberry daiquiri which was tall and good too! There was live music going on so the ambience was fun and lively as well :) would definitely come back read more

Rusty Rudder - view while eating - American Near Me - Dewey Beach, Delaware

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My wife and I ate at the Rusty Rudder last evening. Unfortunately, both of us found long brown hair in our meals. We lost our appetite and left. I had the crab imperial and my wife had the crab cakes. $95 meal. We would not go back to that restaurant. read more

Rusty Rudder - Crab Imperial - American Near Me - Dewey Beach, Delaware

Decent place to have live bands performing at night. But literally too many or what looks like a lot of underage kids getting in and drinking. Even had some people knock their drinks on me and when my friends confronted them they acted like it wasn't them. read more

Rusty Rudder is big enough to get a table and they're pretty good at serving a bigger group. This unfortunately was my 2nd bad experience so I'll have to find somewhere better next summer. Our drinks took forever, our waitress barley checked in, and the food was pretty bad especially for the insane beach prices. A salad I got a year prior was a third of the size this time around (for the same price) and I paid way too much money to have the tiniest piece of fish in my taco (see pic). It was honestly laughable. The crab bisque was also a let down, truly tasted like it came from a can! Will not be returning! read more

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A flop, this place looked good from the road so we decided to stop on our tour of local beaches. As we entered the bar I noticed the place looked a bit raunchy, while I enjoy a raunchy bar when I'm out with the boys, when I'm on vacation I prefer a more relaxed bar. One where I don't have to worry about some drunk starting a problem with someone in my group. We didn't dare try the food based on the menu lacking what I wanted, a raw bar! I had a beer and ran out! read more

Rusty Rudder - A serious dive bar on the bay - American Near Me - Dewey Beach, Delaware

Rusty is situated by a wonderful sea view -every angle you see open ocean just beautiful. Now atmosphere that exactly what I expected-didn't seem clean -bar tables were not cleaned-as soon as you walk in you see drunkenness ( I know it's a bar lol). You think this a restaurant by the ocean you expect a menu to carry a raw selection-raw oysters-clams, nope. So we had a drink and left very disappointed for sure. So what you see is not always what you get. read more

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My experience here was extremely disappointing. My friend began showing signs of what I believed was a diabetic emergency, so I asked staff multiple times if she could have something to eat or even a cup of water. Despite explaining that I was concerned about her condition, I was told the kitchen was closed and that nothing could be provided. This was confusing, as food was still being served, and my friend was eventually able to order. Instead of receiving any understanding or assistance, I was asked to leave while trying to advocate for my friend. As I was being escorted out, a staff member grabbed my arm and forcefully pulled me toward the exit, leaving my arm sore. I recognize that businesses have the right to ask customers to leave when necessary, but I don't believe there was any justification for physical contact in this situation. What was most upsetting was the apparent lack of urgency and compassion shown toward someone who appeared to be experiencing a medical issue. I sincerely hope management reviews both its emergency response procedures and how staff are trained to handle situations involving concerned guests. This experience left me feeling shaken, disappointed, and saddened by how the situation was handled. Thankfully, a kind bartender gave us orange juice right as we asked. We appreciate that bartender service. However, when it comes to the staff it was more than horrendous in a life threatening situation read more

Food vibes are nice but don't get the Bloody Mary it's not good. Be careful of hair in ur drink - (be weary of Diet Coke) there was a chunk of hair in it. Overall good and nice waiter read more

Rusty Rudder - American Near Me - Dewey Beach, Delaware

If there's a place not to miss, it's the Rusty. Amazing bands, staff & ambiance on the water. Loved this place!

Don't waste your time or money eating there. The food is very poor quality and poorly prepared. Even the hush puppies had an old oil taste. The atmosphere is bad. It's run down and totally unappealing. The restroom was dirty and disgusting. I would never go there again. It's no comparison to what it once was over 25 years ago. read more

I would have loved to have experienced this place, but it just was not in the cards. Nothing on my doing. Lets get into it. On the night of my arrival I was looking for a place to get a meal. With it being offseason the options are limited unless you want to drive a distance. And still at that you are limited. I struck out at another nearby place as it was the weekend and the wait time was just too unbearable. I walked over here to the host stand and was told I could just take a seat at the bar if I was dining alone. I did just that. When I approached the bar I took a seat that had no one near it as I liked my solitude. That rapidly changed and will lean heavily into the reasoning for this one-star review (less if I could). When I made it to the bar, the bartender saw me approach and sit down. However, that didn't deter him to ignore me for about ten minutes. Which was a good feat as there were three bartenders. Finally I am approached and given a menu, asked what I wanted to drink, and then disappeared again. To skip to one thing here, I never got my drink. As I am looking over the menu more people started to show up. What I though was going to be a great spot for my solitude quickly got encroached upon by a bachelorette party. No matter how much I kept scooching down the bar, my space kept getting invaded by the bachelorettes. What added to the confusion so much was that a group of locals showed up across the bar and knew the bachelorettes. Lots of shouting, jokes, and raunchy talk back and forth. More space invaded, more being ignored. I sat there for another twenty minutes, finished looking at the menu fifteen minutes before that, and was ignored the entire time. I know I was seen, I saw the bartender look at me multiple times. I was patiently waiting, no phone in hand. However, I just kept getting ignored. It was more important to entertain the locals and bachelorettes. Since I had been here for over a half hour at this point, I decided that it was time for me to ignore them and just leave. Food, I can't tell you a thing about since I was ignored, never had my order taken, etc. Drinks, can't tell you either since I never got mine. Service, absolutely horrible. Noise, extreme. if you are staying nearby, even on offseason, request for a room that does not face this place. I should have just skipped this place as I have done the three years prior I visited. Guess you live and learn and if or when I come back next year, absolutely not for me. read more

This is right next to the beach and water! Scenic and busy. There's live music, which I didn't like because she was singing country and I hate country lol. I blocked it out. It's very busy so I'm usually sat outside. Getting eaten alive by bugs. I got the Mega Cheese & Tots in a giant margarita glass as my meal. It was fried deliciousness, I couldn't finish it though. Then I got the Blue Hawaiin Slush at the servers recommendation, mmm it was SO good! read more

Rusty Rudder - Mega Cheese & Tots - American Near Me - Dewey Beach, Delaware

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Serious service problem. Called to ask a question was given an extremely rude tone over the phone and was completely dismissed without so much as a goodbye. The female manager is also extremely entitled and has an attitude problem when speaking to polite paying customers. The server was incredibly sweet so no issues to them but the restaurant as a whole SERIOUSLY needs to re evaluate how they treat customers. Never will I give them my business again and neither should you. read more

Horrible experience! There were maggots in our soda!!! Yes maggots... how dirty is your establishment to have maggots growing in your soda machine? read more

We are there yesterday afternoon. We ordered chips and salsa to start, they were stale. MyFish and Chips was horrible. The fish was burnt. My wife ordered a flight of soup and it was nothing we would recommend. The worst part was the price. With the 2 canned 9 dollar can beers, our bill was over $70. Beware over priced Quality Low! read more

Service was so rude. They were looking at us and gossiping about us and were so rude. I do not recommend this place. We asked to cancel our order and because the management was so rude and they wouldn't allow us. read more

First they wanted to sit us in full sun even though (we counted them) there was 31 tables available because they didn't want to break up the seats for the servers. Second the food was really bad and the drinks were at best average. We had to pay $8 for parking for 1 hour 15 minutes in THEIR parking lot. Add that. Service poor. Food? Not good. Just don't go there. read more

I can only comment on the night life as I did not come here for food. We came on a Saturday night for drinks and live music and the Rusty Rudder did not disappoint. Beers/seltzers were about $9 a piece. The staff were great. There are multiple bars at this location, live music on the back patio and DJ inside, overall, would come again for the night life and recommend if you're looking for a great time and great music. Also Stealing Savannah was awesome, catch them at other venues in the area (DC, VA, Maryland as well) read more

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Can't speak for the food as we just came for drinks on a Saturday night, but we really enjoyed the vibe here! Great band on the back patio. Loved that they had a DJ inside as well to mix up the vibes. Entrance fee came with a free drink. Bartenders were quick and courteous. Definitely a fun weekend spot! read more

Rusty Rudder - American Near Me - Dewey Beach, Delaware

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They had a good variety of food, and were conveniently located by the place we went kayaking. It was quick and easy to get seated. Our waiter was attentive. We got a great spot where we could look out over the water. read more

Rusty Rudder - Clam strips - American Near Me - Dewey Beach, Delaware

The turkey bacon BLT was good. Fries are good. The smoked salmon sandwich was good. Their other entrees are ok. Service was good. Convenient location. read more

The red headed bartender was so rude! Save your money & don't come here. From the other reviews I've read it seems a lot of customers have ended up "down the stairs"... stairs should be looked into read more

I ordered the Greek salad and was not impressed. There was so much lettuce and hardly anything else. The dressing was not appetizing and the lettuce tasted old. I do not recommend this item. Crab legs were skinny and cold when they came out, barely any meat. Entirely Unappetizing! The children's menu was OVER priced for kid sized meals. $19 for Salmon? The ketchup was super sweet "overbearingly sweet" and in a Heinz bottle. To top it off we had to pay $7 to park in their own parking lot. read more

This is not where you come for amazing eats and service, but the vibe certainly makes up for it. The Rusty Rudder is located directly on the bay and is where you'll want to be to enjoy the sunset with a drink (orange crush, obvi) in hand. The menu is pretty standard- think burgers, fried shrimp, chicken tenders, etc. It's all pretty barebones, but again with a view like this it doesn't need to be anything fancy! There's also a kids menu with a bunch of different options. The main draw of the Rusty Rudder is the live music. They have a large stage area and the band is viewable from nearly every seat outside. There's also a ton of seating. Usually at places on the water it can be hard to snag a table, but here it was no problem getting a table for 8 at dinner on a Friday. This is probably the best family friendly spot in Dewey to see the sunset, live music and have some eats and drinks. The Lighthouse next door has it all, but the layout makes it hard to see the band / water from every spot. And then North Beach does not allow children. This checked off every box, and we really enjoyed it! read more

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This place used to be one of our go-to spots for dinner, but it has declined in quality since we last went. The indoor seating was not air conditioned and it was fully open to the outside deck. They had big fans but they were just blowing around hot air and were so loud that you couldn't hear each other speak. The food was extremely overpriced. I got the pot of clams, which were pretty small. I usually love poke bowls, but theirs was $33! Other places have them for about $18-20. I ended up getting the fried seafood platter, which was mostly loaded with fries. It had one small to medium sized crab cake, 3 fried shrimp, and 2 rockfish tenders. That was a whopping $39. The service was fine, nothing to rave or complain about. I miss the buffet and the air conditioning! You can tell people have stopped going cause it really wasn't that full. I certainly won't be going again. read more

Myself and my friends showed up around 9:30pm and my boyfriend was denied entry by the bouncer. He will be turning 23 this year and was asked for his snapchat as proof of his age. Unprofessional and absurd to ask for a form of social media. Buy an ID scanner if your bouncers can't figure it out. Absolutely ridiculous, will never spend a single cent at this establishment. read more

This was really fun! It's an older but large and well maintained beach party spot. Literally sits at the water so the view is the bay and there is live music everyday! Large portions and a wide range of options to choose from on the menu. The setting on the bay is perfect. Drinks were made with care and a heavy pour. Food was delicious with large portions. Everything we ordered... we loved. Fruit platter was fresh as were the greek and garden salads. Fried Green beans were super yummy with the aioli sauce. YuM! Our server was excellent! The band was fun and this spot will always be part our trips when visiting Dewey Beach. Loved it! Highly recommend! read more

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Sigh. This place will forever just...suck. If it wasn't for the view and people watching, we wouldn't continue to come here. In fact, I won't come back ever again after this past weekend. This past weekend we were behind Rusty's for the Crossfit competition. Our group had a few people who have never been and for some reason wanted to try it out even though the reviews are horrendous and I provided a s-l-o-w dramatic pivot to comply with their request in hopes that we could walk elsewhere. We ordered two drinks per person -- I knew to only drink beer here since the drinks are poorly created and one entree. For some reason the food prices here are JACKED THE F UP. My friend (who was with me last time) and I cracked up and then cried because we were famished. The joke was literally on us. SIGH. We decided to split the shrimp tacos and wait to eat elsewhere. The tacos were gross, soggy, and packed with lettuce and ONE SHRIMP. The food and drinks here are always worth complaining over but the food took 42 minutes to get to us and we already knew what we were getting into... Don't eat here. If you must, grab a drink and wander elsewhere. Staff also seem to hate their jobs. Bartenders were SO unpleasant. SO rude. SO...sucky at their jobs. GET A DIFFERENT JOB IF YOU HATE PEOPLE AND SUCK AT MAKING DRINKS...You are in the service industry, seriously. Hate it here. read more

This place is a place to party, not to eat. The venue is spacious, on the water, and has a stage for live music. It has a gorgeous view during sunset. That ends all the pros. While it was nice for our large group to be accommodated, we were seated so close to the speaker my ears were ringing. The seafood is over priced, underwhelming, and a waste of money. The crab dip was cold and the chips were stale. The coleslaw on the side of our entrees was rancid, and the chips came in a bag. Would avoid coming here again for dinner. read more

While stationed at DAFB my wife and I went there for valentines day some time back and were treated to the worst service and food I have ever had. The waitress was a complete snob and got my order wrong twice and messed up my wifes as well. The steak I ended up with was so fatty and laced with grizzle that I could barely eat it. After that disaster she bitched that we only left her a ten dollar tip as she was a terrible waitress and should find another line of work (one that does not involve dealing with the public). The manager was very insincere and condescending when apologizing that I swore we would never revisit their establishment and tell all our friends. Stay away; find any other eating establishment. "Salud" read more

My brother, mother, and I came to Dewey beach for a couple days to mourn the very recent passing of my grandmother. On Thursday, May 18, 2023, we ate dinner at Rusty Rudder. At approximately 9:10PM, I stepped out onto the balcony and steps outside of the restaurant to make a phone call pertaining to a grandmother's funeral arrangements, which are this coming weekend. Upon doing so, as I began dialing the funeral home, I was screamed at by one of five staff gathered by the entrance and told that I could not leave with a plastic cup. I clearly explained that I was holding Seltzer ice water, as was clearly visible, nevertheless one employee proceeded to foist himself upon me, grab my cup, and violently crush it while it was still in my hand, crushing my hand, and leaving my shoes and feet covered with water. This is assault. And, without question, completely unacceptable. I requested the name of the aggressor involved yet was merely laughed and jeered at. As you will see below, they not only laughed but waived and gave me a thumbs up. I have never encountered such callous, unprofessional, and violent behavior in any dining establishment in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, or Australia. I have reached out to management (Megan Holdscall) regarding this aggression and await their response. I would like to note that the aggressors were all Caucasian, and myself and family, Latino. I urge all to avoid this establishment. read more

Rusty Rudder - Assault - American Near Me - Dewey Beach, Delaware

Such great ambiance. The sunset was incredible. I had the huge fries . Fabulous if you're into greasy food ( I am lol ) . The wait staff was great. The prices not so great for what you're getting. All in all good time. The prices are a bit off. read more

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We stopped in for happy hour on a Saturday. The day was slightly chilly and the crowd was slim. They had live acoustic music but the setup wasn't ideal to enjoy it. You could hear them but only the first few barstools could see them. The drinks are pretty pricey. We ordered the pretzel bites with beer cheese and mustard appetizer and shared an order of fish tacos. There were 2 tacos with a small ramekin of coleslaw. The fish tacos were DELICIOUS. There was a crunch slaw mix on the tacos that really made them different- so good. I've been here in season and I know it gets really crowded. I think we were there on an "off" day. One note that I don't remember from my previous visit - the parking lot is pay to park. read more

Racist. That nothing else to say. I've never felt more disrespected with my friends in my entire life. I was there for a wedding after part and all I was met with was utter disrespect. Disgusting. read more

What a disappointment. Turn around and go somewhere else. -The chips for the nachos were stale and the 'pulled chicken' looked boiled and was cold. -The fries looked like they would be good but they weren't cooked enough and were too mushy. -the crab dip tasted like it was straight up cream cheese and was lukewarm, served with stale chips. -The fried shrimp was all batter, and soggy on the inside. -the server gave us our food and disappeared for 20 minutes. -server didn't even ask why most of our plates had most of the food still on them. - No manager stopped by the table to check in, too bad because we had a few things we would have talked to them about. -They also charge 2.5% more to use a credit card. If you made it to here, thanks for reading, and enjoy eating literally anywhere else. read more

This place has gone down hill, prices are outrageous $10 for a bottle of Stella that's barely cold. $4/ hour to park. Dewey beach has lost their minds. Still a couple off reasonable places to go like Woody's fair prices. Customers need to wise up enough is enough. read more

Went here for my little sister's 21st birthday... security's card reader was down, and they could not verify her age so they kicked us out. They were incredibly rude and literally pushed me down the stairs to leave. Would not ever recommend anyone coming here- security looks for trouble and treat customers terribly. If I could give 0 stars I would. read more

It's a great place food,music was good it's a great place will come back and our server was great and the sing took a special song request for us. read more