Cafe Mirage — Restaurant in Ocean City

My wife, daughter, and I stopped by here for a dinner on our way from Philadelphia to Ocean City, MD, on a Saturday evening in December 2023. Although given the restaurant’s excellent reviews one would expect the place to be crowded on a Saturday evening, we were the only patrons at the restaurant that evening. This may have been because we were there on the 23rd of December, and the restaurant was closing down after that evening’s dinner. The experience of being the only three folks seated at the restaurant was a bit surreal, but it did make sense given the time of the year, and then later on we saw that almost as soon as we left the building, the staff brought the wreaths inside and started shutting the place down.

Coming to the food, which is what one cares about the most at a restaurant, I had been following the restaurant’s Facebook page for a few days prior to our visit and was getting excited at seeing some of the specials that were being listed. During our visit, we ordered an appetizer from those specials – a beet salad with pan fried goat cheese, as well as an entrée – red wine and rosemary braised leg of lamb. The other entrée we got was from their regular menu – shrimp and grits – and finally for our daughter, we got the chicken tenders. The lamb was rich and flavorful and what shocked us was the price tag for that item at $22. I doubt I have ever seen a place, including food trucks not to mention sit-down places, offer that quantity of lamb for $22. For my wife for whom lamb is her favorite meat, this entrée proved to be an excellent choice. The shrimp and grits I had were nice as well, although a tad under salted. It came with a side of fresh veggies that were nicely done and flavorful. My daughter enjoyed her chicken tenders as well. The portion sizes were huge, and the chicken tenders had more fries than I ever recall seeing accompanying a kids’ meal!! Prices were reasonable enough that even with all of this food, plus a drink, and a fairly generous tip, the total came to $98.

While the ambience of the place isn’t much to write home about, situated as it is in a generic nondescript shopping mall, we would happily come back to this place if we were in Ocean City again, attracted especially by their wonderful specials and great...

This place came highly recommended from someone who frequents OC. When we pulled up, I was shocked to see it in a strip mall. But don't let that fool you - when you walk in, it doesn't look like it's in a strip mall. They have plenty of indoor and outdoor seating, an expansive menu, daily specials, tons of drink options. We sat outside. We started with their pan fried mozzarella special over fresh tomatoes with pesto on top, as well as their shrimp and grits. Both were fantastic! I got a burger while my husband got the crabcakes and filet and both were phenomenal.

Our ONLY super minor complaint is that my husband loves a good old fashioned. He ordered one, but the flavor was lacking and it was mixed poorly. It was sweet at the bottom, which was unexpected, and to start with, it just tasted like straight whisky. Not deducting any points for that, though, because the rest our meal, the atmosphere, and the service were fantastic, just adding for thoroughness.

We will definitely be back and highly recommend this lovely place to...

If we could give zero stars we would. Still in shock about what transpired after going here to have a nice dinner. Ordered the honey and soy ribs for appetizers then burger and gumbo for main. Enjoyed the ribs, enjoyed the burger, I didn't really like the gumbo and said so. At that point the owners wife came to the table and loudly told us that the meal was on them and that we were to leave and never come back! The waitress took my gumbo away and I was not offered anything in place of it. Still not believing what just happened we ordered dessert and again the owners wife loudly said "Did I not make myself clear. You are not to get anything else and leave and never come back!" She also said "I'm married to the owner so good luck". Who does this? I assure you I was not looking for a free meal and definitely left hungry. Apparently you can never say that you don't like something without feeling the wrath of this totally out of line and...