3 Best Restaurants in Grasonville, The Eastern Shore

The spacious contemporary dining room, its porchlike extension, and an adjacent bar all face southward to the Eastern Bay and across this restaurant's slim namesake waterway separating Kent Island from the Eastern Shore mainland. One of the region's largest commercial fishing fleets is harbored next door. Specialties include a Caesar salad with fried oysters and grilled peppered tuna, served over sautéed spinach; and Crab Imperial, lump crabmeat, and select oysters baked with imperial sauce, topped with bacon. The Narrows' dinner menus include "Light Suppers," that encourage a second look at the to-die-for—or -from—desserts listing. checked aug 2010

On the mainland side of Kent Narrows, this family-friendly institution serves fresh catch directly from local watermen, some of whom are Harris family members. Nautical decor prevails in the large dining room, including an intriguing collection of oyster cans from an adjacent abandoned oyster house. Views over the shallow, twisting northern end of the Narrows toward the Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge can be stunning. Cream-of-crab soup and back-fin crab cakes are among the best around—the cakes are spicy enough to promote plenty of beer drinking.

This family-style restaurant is reason enough to stop in Grasonville. Watch for its sign off Route 50. Holly's specializes in all the Eastern Shore favorites, including a spectacular crab soup and crab cakes, but the fried chicken is the real attraction. Down-home and unpretentious, this is the real thing.