Bluecoast Seafood Grill & Raw Bar
Bluecoast @ Bethany Beach is a Delmarva blue blood and founding member of below-the-Inlet higher-end coastal dining, a must-visit for vacationers, and a local’s staple. It promises simple, honest, and local seafood, and delivers — every time. Bluecoast could just publish its numerous local and national press clippings and awards over the years, including magazine mentions for food and drink, and that would be enough to draw your interest, but its combination of location (overlooking Salt Pond), excellent food and inviting drinks, and general fun atmosphere, keep you returning. The restaurant offers daily fresh cooked and raw fish, along with a continuously changing list of specials, including tuna, rock fish, salmon, halibut, mahi, shrimp, crab, and scallops, all of it simply and tastefully prepared. Steak, spreads, salads, and a creative list of appetizers round out a menu that winds you toward one of the largest wine lists at the beach, and countless cocktail options, all hand-crafted. And all of it expertly served by a best-in-class and professionally trained SoDel Concepts staff. Bluecoast Rehoboth offers the same experience, minus the water view, at a more expansive and less intimate restaurant, but with the same attention to food and drink. Generous happy hour and daily specials invite families, singles, friends, groups, and more to the lively restaurants, reminding you that while Bluecoast is sometimes loud and not inexpensive, reduced-price eating and drinking is possible if you time it right. And timing is important because long waits often accompany your visit to the no-reservation restaurant, but the drinks and appetizers flow on the deck, and by the time your table is ready, you are primed to be treated to the day’s special menu. This review may read like it was prepared by Bluecoast’s P.R. team; it is only influenced by the quality of experience enjoyed at Bluecoast for many years, and could be similarly written by anyone who has logged that many hours enjoying dinner at either location. No extended Delmarva visit is complete without enjoying Bluecoast, almost synonymous with Bethany Beach dining itself.