Bethesda Crab House

We ordered crab cakes that turned out to be smaller than palm sized cold crab on a cold smashed potato bun. No lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle ... nothing. The bland cole slaw and corn on the cob did not help. Not to mention the flies indoors and dirty everything. Yuck. Never again.

Best fresh Maryland crabs in the area and a great place to spend an evening with friends and family!

We stepped out of our cab onto a dark street in the middle of Hurricane Ernesto's driving rains and ran across the street to the Bethesda Crab House. My dining partner had never been to a crab house and when we were greeted with 8 outside picnic tables scattered with tough-looking cigar-smoking beer-swilling men, well, we got a little nervous. Once we stepped inside the restaurant, that changed. The joint was hopping with customers packed into little booths and the spicy sweet smell of Old Bay Seasoning perked up our nostrils. This was getting better. We had called ahead and ordered a dozen large crabs for $52. We were escorted to a back booth, which was covered in newspapers. We ordered some steamed shrimp and corn-on-the-cob to accompany the crabs and help us drain our beers. The shrimp were good and hot with a light coat of Old Bay. Very tasty and not rubbery at all. After we devoured the shrimp, a half-dozen scorching crabs arrived at our table. As we dug into the succulent claw meat and relearned the art of pulling the meat from the bodies, we began to feel more at home. The cold beer, hot crabs and loud chatter from the surrounding tables seemed to blend us in and we felt like locals enjoying a weekly tradition. The staff was very attentive and made sure we had plenty of butter, beer and napkins. As our meal ended, we called a cab and began a long wait. Instead of making us wait, our waiter offered to drive us to the nearby Hiatt to catch a cab directly and we accepted. While we waited for our waiter (!) to bring his car around, the owner's son stood outside and chatted with us. The great food, fun atmosphere and being treated like we were old friends rather than just another pair of customers...well, this added up to a memorable experience. Bring a healthy appetite and plan to get good and messy. Just leave your jewels at home.