Shorebreak Lodge
Shorebreak Lodge is under new ownership, offering casual dining with a seafood-infused menu that is a respite from its high-end restaurant neighbors, and much easier to score a reservation on a summer evening. Shorebreak’s menu, both food and drink, is creative in approach and inventive in presentation and delivery, with a rare focus on mixology to go along with a hard-working kitchen; indeed, most visitors are surprised how well the food tastes given Shorebreak’s casual approach to dining. Location is not everything with a beach restaurant, but it’s important, and Shorebreak is strategically located on the popular Wilmington Avenue restaurant strip a block from the beach, with many high-end dining options surrounding Shorebreak on all sides, adding pressure to perform. But perform it does, because Shorebreak is slowly building a Rehoboth Beach culinary reputation to rival its neighbors, helping to maintain Wilmington Ave. as the home of Delmarva’s best restaurant row. At first, Shorebreak enjoyed spill-over visitors, as many of its patrons could not get into Shorebreak’s competitors, but as word spread, and diner-after-diner bragged about Shorebreak’s food and value, the warm reception offered by its owners helped Shorebreak ripen into a first-choice destination for fine dining and drinking. Portions are more than generous and the service, while sometimes labored, is generally efficient and friendly. Shorebreak occupies that neutral sweet spot-on restaurant lists that tilts more towards high-end in terms of food and service, with ambience and presence bringing it more toward the comfortable not-so-stuffy middle. Shorebreak needs more time and seasoning to join the growing list of Delmarva restaurant stars, but is well on its way, especially given the energetic and friendly welcoming delivered by its owners, and attention to detail by a creative kitchen.
