Riptide By The Bay

The food is just ok but the price is not worth it since the amount in a dish is really little… And the service is inefficient. We waited for thirty min to have a waiter taking an order for us and then another thirty min to wait for the meal when there was not many customers there…

I arrived at 6:30pm on a Thursday with no reservations and was seated immediately. By the time I left, it was packed house because the regulars came along with graduation celebration parties. I came with my boyfriend and our bill was very reasonable — came to 55 with tax and we ordered two beers and 3 size 62s and 3 size 72 crabs. Our server, Susan was great. She gave us a demonstration on how to open up the crabs so that was very interesting. The crabs were very tasty but after your second one, you will not want to crack open any more. It starts to get messy with all the shells and crab juice flying around the table. We didn’t order dessert and left satisfied, 80% full.
It was a well kept restaurant and the atmosphere was nice. You didn’t have to get dressed up and can still have a great time. I would definitely go back.

Tables are sticky, I repeat, the tables are sticky!!!
Other than situation, my mom and I loved the food!!! We were in for a treat! We ordered the Maryland crab cake entrée, Cobb salad, and seafood chowder bowl. We went halfsies and loved every bit of it!
The pluses:
Food is legit.
Seafood is fresh.
Quick timing
No waiting in line or reservations necessary.
How to deal:
Look for another table that isn’t over polished.
Orrrr go for the napkin trick and use as table mat.
Water is also funky tasting, suck it up.
Come hither!

Delicious! Everything we had was fantastic. Crab legs were huge and you got a ton. Ribs fall of the bone, not drowned in bbq sauce. Fish tacos were great. Crab cakes outstanding. Waiter Mike was very attentive and explained everything. Well be back soon. Great place if you have never been.

Since my favorite crabcake places in Baltimore (that are open after 5:30PM) are all pretty much gone, and I was taking the family downtown for an event, I decided to look up best crabcakes in town as rated by various sites last year. Most were a bit more out of the way, but Riptide was down in Fells Point and I could make the trip work.
We drove down and traffic was crazy thanks to a bar crawl in Fells Point. We got to Riptide and the front bar area was PACKED, but a server directed us to the back to go upstairs for a table and all was good. It was not crowded. We told the waiter that we had about an hour to eat and that we were ready to order. To his credit, he did great getting our food out to us. 2 of the party had the crab burgers that they seemed to like, I had the crabcake and a ½ pound of steamed shrimp, and my wife had fish and chips. Of all the things ordered, the crab was the worst part. it was mush, no backfin or jumbo lump, and it was bland. The shrimp was fine, the burgers (minus the crab part) were cooked and seasoned well, and the nice piece of cod in the fish and chips were cooked well and not greasy. BUT the whole reason to go was the crab, and it was not worthy of this top 10 rating. I had better from a grocery store.
If you go for good service, a few drinks, and other food, you will be just fine. Leave the crabcakes to someone who knows how to make and cook them…

Merp. This was an alright place to eat. I thought the service and food were meh and that the prices were a little too much given the quality. I came here with my friends and we got a smattering of entrees. I got the crab soup and reluctantly added baguettes (ended up to be 4 slices) for $ 2 (that’d be 4 Jimmy John’s day old breads, and not even as tasty!) The soup was pretty good but not enough to justify the price. I also felt like the waitress was kind of rushing us out towards the end, never a good feeling. I probably won’t be back — just an OK place.

The moment I walk in I can see that the interior is similar to that of a crab house or bar. Everything inside is mostly of wood. They have an interesting color scheme of brown, red-​ish orange and sky blue. The colors are nice but I don’t understand their wallpaper. It looks like a man holding a blood red cage of wires. Perhaps it refers to how they get their fresh seafood? Also their stall seats are not as comfortable as their tables with chairs.
Onwards to their food. I ordered their crab cake sandwich and a pasta with clams. Their crab cake sandwich was delicious and I enjoyed every bite. Their pasta on the other hand was a little too salty. The clams were cooked well since there was no gritty textures in each bite, but they gave me too little pasta. I looked over the table at the customers sitting next to me and they had more pasta. We ordered the same dish of pasta with clams. So I found it a little unreasonable that I was given less.
Over all its a nice restaurant with delicious crabcakes.

Yummy cocktails and great shrimp! They were out of the crab we wanted, but the shrimp was so good I’m glad we didn’t miss it!
I think the kitchen staff was confused about what sweet potatoes are. They served us potatoes with honey as sweet potato fries, so you may skip that one. But overall really enjoyed the food, cocktails, and location!

!!! CHECK YOUR CREDIT CARD CHARGES AFTER YOU LEAVE HERE !!!
If I could give this place one star I would… service was terrible yet still left a decent sized tip because I am too a server. Checked my bank statement to find that the server entered ANOTHER $ 20 tip on top of what was already left for him in cash.
Called, asked for a manager and was told that there wasn’t one there and they weren’t sure if there would ever be a manager there in the next week. Refused to take a message, not happy at all.

Made a reservation a few weeks before because we were a large group. We sat upstairs in the dining room which where every table was full and it was loud, but I felt like not too loud or full that it distracted from the experience.
Everything everyone ordered was delicious! A number of people got the crab cakes, and while they weren’t lump, they were backfin, but had a good different kind of spice to them. I got the scallops and lobster risotto and cleaned my plate! It looks so unassuming from the outside but inside it was cute, and full of good food! We’ll definitely be back.

EXPENSIVE but delicious crabs. So expensive. So delicious. So crabby.
This is what I imagined eating crab in Baltimore would be like, but I am certain there are more affordable places elsewhere. Still, a good experience, and very close to where I live.
My only other complaint is that there doesn’t seem to be anyone who knows what the sizes of the crabs mean. Our waiter had trouble explaining the difference between a medium and large sized crab (obviously one is bigger), and whether that would be enough for one person. A little more guidance on our crab feast adventure would have been awesome.
If you are looking for a meal to fill you up, just expect to drop around $ 20 here, or buy a cheap meal after your crab dinner.

Wonderful service! Excellent drink options we came in around 5pm on a Friday, sat anywhere we want and I love this place! We will be back for their White peach Sangria! The food looked amazing, we only ordered a Maryland Crab Dip Appetizer which was too creamy and heavy for my liking, the shallots a bit overbearing but drinks were wonderful and strong! Cute place they have outside and inside seating and four bathrooms! The bar area is where I would sit next time, looked so fun, music was really good and not too loud just great vibes all around.

Was not impressed at all. The Mrs said it was the worst Caesar salad she ever had and she makes it a point to try them everywhere we go. I had the seafood chowder and will say that was good. Had the crab cake sandwich. Market price was $ 18 ok… but way to much filler if charging that. Very little lump crab in the sandwich. The mrs had a seared fish sanwich… she had to look for the fish it was so small. Server was good but will not make a second go of it.

On a street packed with places to eat, I wandered in here, and I’m happy I did.
I chose the crab bisque… different, but still very good. It was a blush cream soup with plenty of crab and tasty other bits as well. I had a salad with the crab cake added to it. The salad was small for a 5.00 salad, but it was tasty. The crab cake was listed MP… it was a 4 oz cake priced at 10.00…not sure if that’s average price or not. It was flavorful and also had lots of crab. Finally, I had an ear of corn. The menu stated that it was served with salted butter. I didn’t recieve the salted butter (unless it was on the corn already, but I don’t think so). At any rate, the full ear of corn I recieved was delicious and sweet. Service was speedy and friendly.

We came here with friends as we were touring Baltimore. We grabbed some appetizers and light lunch. We also enjoyed the brunch special mimosas and blood mary’s.
Our server was great and attentive. We had a toddler in tow and she was very prompt with everything. I really appreciate that when dining out.
Recommend the crab dip and peel & eat shrimp. Also their large brunch drinks until 3pm.

We went just for the medium crabs with old bay seasoning.
Why fill your stomach with anything else when it seems the reviews are all over the place with inconsistent ratings on both quality of food and service? You would be setting yourself for disappointment and a lighter wallet.
Just go there for 2 things and you will not be disappointed: Crabs and the $ 3.50 bloody mary
If you want anything else — go elsewhere.
Service was decent. The hostess cancelled my opentable reservation after 5 minutes of being seated which was really freaking weird but whatever.

So from the start… its just disappointing. With Thames Street Oyster House right next to it… why even go?
We tried a shrimp appetizer that was okay… and then we had some sandwiches that were just blah. We had a nice view from the top of the restaurant but the waitress was really slow to fill our water glasses. Needless to say probably won’t be coming back here.

Let me clear: even if the food here were abysmal, I’d probably go back just for their Bloody Marys. They’re large, potent, spicy, served just above freezing, and, best of all, $ 3.50 on the weekends. The servers are friendly and efficient and keep the alcohol flowing effortlessly. Combine that with a fantastic view of the water from their outdoor tables and Riptide is hard to beat for effective relaxation on an 85+ degree morning.
Luckily, the food is also great. I was in a brunch mood and went for the crab Benedict. Piles of fresh crabmeat, perfectly poached eggs, and spicy Hollandaise all on buttery biscuits. My one complaint is that the side of potatoes was greasy to the point of being almost inedible, but it’s a minor one.
It can be hard to decide among the huge number of similar bar/​restaurants lining Thames St., but Riptide is well worth a visit.

I grabbed some outdoor seats at Riptide on Memorial Day with my puppy and a friend. We got moved around a little as a bigger party rolled through and requested outdoor seats as well, but our server was really kind while we relocated and even got my dog a big bucket of water.
I got the seafood linguini with scallops, my friend got the mahi mahi tacos, and we split an appetizer of wings. The wings were really good. The mahi mahi tacos were a bit bland unless you slather it with the guacamole it comes with. And the linguini had this strange taste to it, most likely from the odd assortment of vegetables thrown into the mix. I’m of the belief that seafood linguini should be simple and highlight the seafood in the dish, so I think the vegetables actually took away from the dish. There are three scallops in the dish, but they’re large, well-​cooked, and a surprisingly good portion size. Overall, an average meal.
Service was spotty. Some times our server was completely on point and flitting between the tables, other times he would disappear for a long time. For a busy Memorial Day lunchtime, though, I think he did okay.

Riptide was my second choice on Thames by the harbor, but such a good alternative. The bartender greeted me right as I sat at the bar not making me feel weird that I was by myself which was nice. I got the crab burger and I’ll just say, sloppy. It really didn’t have much taste which means it was simply crabmeat mashed with mayo or something non-​descript without much spicing. The fries were alright butost were well done, and a bit burnt. What I did think was great was the seafood chowder soup. It was warm and had some heat, chock full of seafood — clams, lobster, muscles, etc.
The look of the place was boring, traditional bar by a body of water motif. The clientele was a mix of tourists and townees, but generally 40+. If you need some food at a reasonable price, Riptide is ok. Location, right by the harbor — about 1 – 2 miles from the inner harbor. Would give it another try if and when I’m in the area again.