Big Oyster Brewery
Brought to you by the ubiquitous Fins Hospitality Group, Big Oyster Brewery is essentially the same restaurant as its Fins, J.R.’s and other Delmarva entrants, save for certain menu items, but is surprisingly light on oyster dishes. Sure, raw and fried oysters are available, but with ‘Big Oyster’ prominent in the restaurant’s name, there is an expectation of several oyster dishes, prepared lots of ways, like raw, cooked, fried, steamed, grilled, even baked. That’s okay, of course, because BOB offers plenty of other coastal seafood favorites that fall into those preparation categories, including steamers, shrimp, clams, and fish dishes, along with the usual smattering of land options to satisfy large group parties when a place like BOB must cater to all tastes. Many visit for the craft beer menu, which is varied in terms of types of beer, and specialized at the same time, especially if IPAs are your suds of choice. BOB sometimes features live music (the subject of a recent high-publicity legal challenge), an even more lively atmosphere on many evenings (no lawsuit developed from having a popular bar and happy hour), and a cool coastal vibe that attracts locals and tourists. In terms of food, BOB blends in with the numerous other local brew pubs, offering a better than usual pub menu leaning towards coastal shell fish, but with enough other options to render it a coastal brew pub. And for good measure, because it offers plenty of parking at a plum location, and a large space to accommodate as many as you want to draft for lunch or dinner to, er, down a draught or two.
