Oceanside Seafood — Restaurant in Avalon

MARYLANDERS BEWARE. I should have known better, I really should have. I ordered a crab cake outside of MD, and it wasn't good. Now, I'm fairly tolerant of subpar crab cakes, having moved out of MD a decade ago, but this wasn't even edible. Canned crab meat I can tolerate, but the filler was weird and had a strange aftertaste. I even asked our server (she was very nice) if Marylanders generally enjoy the crab cakes, to which she replied "oh yeah they comment about how authentic they are all the time!". As soon as it came out I could already see I'd be disappointed. I don't know who lied to her, and I'm really trying not to be a snob about it, but dang it wasn't even remotely close to the sweetness and simplicity of Maryland crab cakes. I also realize it wasn't listed as a Maryland style crab cake, which is why I asked in the first place, trying to avoid this very situation. The flavor and aftertaste was something I couldn't pinpoint, it was just off. Someone needs to tell the chef chives don't belong in crab cakes and crab meat doesn't need a lot to make it tasty (unless you're trying to cover up the fact that you're using old canned meat). The rest of our party seemed to enjoy their meal, so I didn't say anything about it, and the 7 mile shrimp appetizer was decent. I left feeling disappointed and hungry. I should have ordered something else, but hopefully they will make it clear to future customers that these are NOT Maryland style and suggest another...

My husband and I recently dined at Oceanside Seafood, Avalon, and we were incredibly disappointed. To give Oceanside the benefit of the doubt, the muscle appetizer was decent, but not nearly scrumptious enough to compensate the disgrace of an entree to follow it. We got the exceedingly overpriced shrimp scampi. While the price tag alone was painful, we hoped the auspiciously described garlic and butter shrimp pasta would soften the blow. To our disappointment, though, the pasta only blew smoke into the already burning hole in our wallets. The noodles themselves were both al dente and mushy; so unevenly cooked it seemed the pot held too little water. The overcooked shrimp appeared to be sprinkled with pepper and a sad amount of additional seasoning, too ambiguous to name. Not to mention, the random cold chunks of tomato thrown on top of the dish acted as a pointless, flavorless addition. While the three culinary miseries previously mentioned were painful enough, none of them were as miserable as the “garlic butter sauce” hidden underneath. This “sauce” tasted of nothing more than bland pasta water, with a pinch of salt mixed in to hide the lazy display. After complaining, nothing was done in response, only a brief apology from our waitress, and a surprisingly full bill. All in all, Oceanside Seafood should seriously reconsider what they believe is flavor, and should alter their menu to include “pasta water” as an...

Our family was excited for seafood night and we made a reservation at 8:00 PM for 6 people. The service was friendly, but the restaurant was dead empty on a Friday night in the middle of summer in Avalon (which should have been our first clue). Unfortunately, the food was below average - it reminded me of bad diner food. The Old Bay Wings were devoid of chicken, basically fried globs of frozen garbage. The Fried Shrimp were ok, the Clam Pasta had the three smallest, saddest clams in America on top of canned clams - it was flavorless and the pasta was out of a box. One member of our party ordered Steamed Jumbo Crabs, which as everyone knows, takes a long time to pick apart and eat. Apparently the restaurant "closes at 9:00" because the staff yelled it at us as he was finishing his meal, which apparently was very inconvenient to them. It was the oddest thing I'd ever heard in a restaurant and it came from behind a cloth curtain like the Voice of Oz. Very off-putting. Unfortunately, I'd recommend just about every restaurant in Avalon over Oceanside Seafood, and we have dined at every single one. Do yourself a favor, for basically the same money, go across the street to Il Posto, it's...