Kathy's Crab House — Restaurant in Delaware City

We were looking for a crab place open on Sunday that was not too far from Philadelphia, and affordable. Kathy's came up on a Google search and had good reviews so we decided to give them a try. I called ahead and reserved 2 dozen large crabs, and less than an hour later (no wait!) we were sitting on the indoor patio, which was lovely and breezy. The crabs came in waves (which was great to keep them hot) and were doused in Old Bay... they were excellent. They came with butter and a delicious "crab sauce" (a combo of vinegar and old bay) to dip in. We ordered a few other things as well... Group favorites were the little neck clams, clam strips, onion rings and corn fritters. Great for groups, families with kids (they have a varied kids menu) and people with gluten allergies.

The service was excellent - the servers were running around tending to a lot of tables but still had time to answer questions, refill drinks and even gave us directions into town for ice cream afterward. The downtown area is a 2-minute drive or 10-minute walk down the canal, and has a few cute shops and pretty...

Seems like a good option for locals, but a bit of a disappointment for a visitor. Having worked in the restaurant industry for many years, I can empathize with both the server, kitchen staff, and manager immediately following a 3 month closure. They face many uncertainties when reopening the restaurant, but my dad always warned, "better safe than sorry." Kathy's Crab House was terribly understaffed when we went out to eat on a Thursday night for my father's birthday. All he wanted was snow crab claws and all we wanted was to get out of the house! Both desires were fulfilled; however, after we arrived at 5, the restaurant filled up quickly and there was only 1 server working the main dining room. We waited for everything we asked for patiently, but needed to ask for many things several times. The food was good, the people were friendly, the ambiance was casual. If I lived around here, this might be a restaurant I'd go...

Update 09/14/25: Google asked me for an update. Not a ton to update. Same great food and nice people. I did something today I never do. I had some of my wife's crabs. Fortunately, my wife who is talented at tearing them open, did the work for me. No question, they were good, but I'll still stick to the stuffed and individual flounder fillets!

Always enjoy myself here. The family and I have e been coming to Kathy's since we randomly discovered it probably four to five years ago. The food is always great and they're an extremely patriotic group of individuals, always catering to our men and women in uniform, just the way it should be.

UPDATE: Still a decent place to munch after being closed for a year or so. Kathy is back...