Dry Dock Restaurant

By far best place on the water in solomons. Doesn’t have the same typical menu and dishes have always been delicious.

Great seafood, nice portions and a friendly staff. I would definitely stop here again!

I love the review that states, «In my experience, fancier establishments provide» entertainment for kids. Lol. Really?
If you are looking for amazing food, friendly and attentive service mixed in with fabulous views, come here. Have small children? Consider going someplace else.

We went for brunch on Sunday and had Crabs Benedict and lump crab scrambled eggs. The food was average and the plates were served with English muffin and fruit. Coffee tasted burnt which was disappointing for brunch. Wait staff was ok. We rated 3 stars because food was not memorable and we will probably not return.

My husband and I went to The Dry Dock for the first time tonight. I’m not big on seafood, but he certainly enjoyed his lobster and shrimp fettuccine. The service was excellent and our waiter was very patient with us and we took our time figuring out what we (I) wanted. I wish their menu was a big larger and the prices a bit less expensive, but overall it was great. Everything we had was very well prepared and the atmosphere and view of the water was nice and calming.

My husband and I went there for dinner – to celebrate his birthday. We ordered several dishes: Mediterranean salad, steamed mussels, fried oysters, an entry of baked lump crab meat and scallops with asparagus and brown rice on the side. The salad and fried oysters were perfect. The mussels were well steamed, although the broth was very watery and lacking in flavor. (We suspect that the chef used too much white wine and forgot to add any salt.) The crabmeat came in a generous amount and was perfectly baked. But the scallops were small and a bit dry. The brown rice was poorly made, cold and simply didn’t go with the rest of the dish. The asparagus were way over cooked and tough. These defects ruined the main dish for us. Otherwise, the restaurant is solid in terms of ambience and service and some dishes.

Dry Dock is our ‘go to’ spot for date nightquietly hidden in Zanheisers Marina. View overlooking the marina and sailboats, to the yacht club feel interior. My fiancé ALWAYS gets the petite filet served with spinach and mushrooms. The steak sauce being his favorite part. The staff is never short of being delightful and funny.
Only hiccup is when their super busy, drinks can take awhile to arrive, but when you’re busy I guess that’s par for the course.

I admit, I brought a hungry toddler to this restaurant. This was not the best move. However it WAS Mother’s Day brunch and I was far from the only one. I also had a solid 3:1 adult: child ratio. We had a reservation for opening time so there was a queue to get in and be seated. We ordered our drinks, the waitress disappears and eventually lets us know that they are out of the purée needed to make one of the drink specials. Not a great start.
In my experience at fancier establishments, the wise server throws some milk/​straws/​bread in front of the children and makes sure we get the hell out of his/​her section ASAP through super efficient service. Unfortunately the waitress was clueless in both her service for the adults and the child. Everything took FOREVER due solely to delays by our waitress which left the adults hungry and my toddler chomping at the bit.
The good: The kitchen knows what it’s doing. Good brunch food. Standard classic fare at your range of upper mid places in DC. Benedicts were very good, I enjoyed the sauce and overall composition of the plate.
However, again, the waitress brought the (full order straight off the menu, no special requests) plate for my son out LAST. A full few minutes after the 3 adults. Amateur hour.
The food was not special enough to tempt me back for dinner. Go for brunch or dinner if you are a retired couple with no concern for time.

Intimate seafood place upstairs tucked away in a yacht yard on Solomons… fabulous food (tonight i tried one of the specials, chipoltle salmon… never had salmon prepared like this, was really fantastic.

Party of four 65+ adults, weeknight dinner.
Restaurant is off the Main Street on tiny crushed shell drive but located at a marina, right on the water. One room, second floor, attractive bar runs most of the length of room. Large windows allowed view of holiday decorated sailboats.
Smaller menu provided sufficient seafood and meat choices to satisfy most. Two had strip, two had tenderloin. My tenderloin was a little overdone but tasty. I would have liked the option of a Bearnaise or something. We did, however, get monster baked potatoes with melted Cheddar.
Bar drinks made well, wine list fine and running the gammet from a 34.00 Malbec to much higher priced offerings. something for everyone.
All staff very helpful and efficient. We had a lovely dinner and will be sure to return.
I say it’s fine for children because we often took our children to dine with us. It’s a small place with only about eight-​10 tables. If children are not well behaved they could ruin the experience of other guests

For the most part, I thought the food was good. This is a nice little restaurant tucked away off the water. We walked in without a reservation on a Saturday night. The ambiance of the place was nice… although I thought them to be a bit overpriced.
I paid $ 20 for a crabcake on the side, and found that it had too much breading. I ordered a ceasar salad with salmon. My salad was soggy, but the salmon was delicious. If I ever return, it would be for the blackened salmon. My sister had a side of blackened shrimp with her salmon salad. Her shrimp had too much seasoning on them. We also ordered cups of soup since they were out of rock fish fingers and had regular ice water to drink. We both paid $ 60 each with tip included. So for me, it just depends on what you get at Zahniser’s. For the price, we were hoping to love the crabcake and shrimp, but we didn’t.
4 Stars for that Salmon!

Last eve was my second time here… sort of becoming my «go to» restaurant for my birthday. Wonderful views, attentive staff, bought a gob of appetizers instead of an entrée. They have caviar!
5 stars except… last year we called weeks ahead of time to reserve a good table with a view. Our table was the furthest one away from any sort of view, placed in a corner by the entrance. We declined and waited an hour for a table on the balcony. Ok. Maybe it was just this one time. Nope. We called this year, again weeks before, and asked for a table with a view for a special occasion. We were taken to a table smashed against the wall next to the kitchen. Again, we declined and sat at the bar until something on the patio opened up.
Geesh! Don’t bother with reservations.
It is a great place though.

Wanted to have dinner with a view even in the middle of a thunderstorm. The reviews of other spots didn’t hold out much promise for a decent meal but Dry Dock’s reviews at least talked about the food being good. The atmosphere is small and very nice with a great view of the boats and the harbor. Might have tried sitting outside if the weather had been better. Sat at the bar and enjoyed the crab dip, an order of mussels and a lovely spinach salad with strawberries, blueberries, pears, blue cheese and candied walnuts. The food was exactly what I wanted at a waterfront location. Service was attentive but not hovering which I really like. If I’m ever back in the area I will definitely make this a stop.

Great atmosphere, lovely view of the boats and water, wonderful service and delicious food! As we were eating a storm rolled in. We walked here from a local B & B, so when we inquired about a taxi to get ‘home’ a staff member drove us back! Can’t beat that service!

My mom and I needed to get a bite to eat before a concert at the marine museum and Unilocal led us to the Dry Dock. The place is brimming with ambiance, from it’s quaint size to the upscale décor and beautiful views. It screams date night. We sat at the bar and shared crab dip and fried oysters, both top notch apps.

Ideal location right on the river with a great view of the sailboat docks. The patio balcony is perfect with a beer and an appetizer. Our main courses were a little underwhelming; the rockfish especially was bland. Deserts were good. The cocktails were lacking.

4.5 Stars
This is 4.5 Stars for Solomons, but would probably be 3.5 in DC… just a little perspective.
Very good food and service for the most part and top of the line quality for Solomons! We had a bunch of different things. All were tasty, My favorite was the crab cakes. Simple and delicious. Not much else to say. We had an appetizer of Frites with aioli. This was odd, but tasty. I say odd because these were basically deep fried large steak fries. Not something I would generally associate as Frites. Having said that, they were pretty good, if a bit greasy. The aioli was a bit spicy, in a good way, and added a nice kick and flavor to the potatoes.
We sat outside overlooking the water, which was a nice bonus. I would recommend and return.

Absolutely the best seafood we’ve had in the Pax River area. The special: blackened ahi tuna with «Solomon’s Buttered rice (a less-​creamy risotto spinoff) was unbelievable. The «diablo» seafood pasta was good too; lots of huge seafood chunks. Impeccable service.
I’m sick I didn’t discover this place years ago.

Now this place… this place is what I think of when I think of coming to Maryland for some crab cakes! Views are, of course, quite nice. The service was friendly but not fantastic… just a bit short. I’ll round up to 5 stars from 4.5.
But the food… my gosh, the food. I had the crab cakes, which came with a side of rice and shredded veggies. The rice was basically rice and beans, and came in a decent sized portion. The thing is, it was in a lump like in junior high school — scooped with an ice cream scoop. It just looked out of place on the otherwise fancy plate. The shredded veggies were quite tasty. But the main event was, of course, the crab cakes, which were quite big, filling, and above all DELICIOUS! They were cooked well in that they had a slightly crispy exterior without tasting like a hard, fried shell. The interior was just a bunch of delicious, high quality crab meat. All in all, it was well worth the $ 28 price as I left full and with a smile.
Only qualm — happy hour is $ 2 off any drink, but hours appear to be incorrect on their website. It’s actually 5−6pm, while website says 430 – 630. I barely made it in time as a result!

Still good, but used to be better.
Their seafood dishes are cooked nicely and taste fresh when the particular fish is in season. Crab cakes and rockfish are the lock favorites. Lamb shank is good too, but they drown it in sauce. However, I think the quality of the food has gone down over the years, and they’ve changed their menu so much that the past couple times I’ve been there, I’ve struggled to find something I want to eat. The view overlooking the marina, especially if you sit outside, is gorgeous! (But Maryland rarely has good «sit outside weather» — always too hot or too cold for my taste). Nice selection of wines available by the glass (the markups on whole bottles are crazy!) Excellent port for a night cap.
If you’re going to be in Southern Maryland, where your fine dining options are limited, I’d still recommend coming here, though. I agree with the reviews that the atmosphere is «yacht club, but not snobbish.» The restaurant is very small, so large groups would be accommodated better elsewhere.