Bayside Inn Restaurant

A very nice restaurant right on the water with beautiful views. Hostess will seat you quickly, in our case the server was not notified we were sat so we had a short wait before being waited on to review the menu. Outdoor seating is available as well. Crab cake are fresh and delicious although a bit small for the price. Found a few pieces of cartilage in the crab cakes. Gift shop attached to the restaurant provides a nice selection of apparel as well as souvenirs and gifts.

Took a boat over that dropped me right at the dock to restaurant! Inside and outside seating available. Clean restrooms. Gift shop with reasonable priced souvenirs. Shrimp was local and fresh!! Sides were portioned and decent. Service was excellent - friendly- homey! An Experience! Bikes (a bit rickety but part of the charm) and golf cart rentals available. It was a hot day and the island is slow paced and small. See waterfowl and met friendly people!

Soft shell crab sandwich was great. Staff was friendly. Highly recommend going here as it is a niche corner of America with some really great people living in it. Prices also totally average for the area. No bloated tourist rates.

Had the crab cake platter cake with homemade sides; stewed tomatoes and corn pudding. Great flavor and perfect portions left me feeling completely satisfied without being too full. Very friendly staff from hostess to waitress. Not sure when I may revisit the island but I would definitely eat here again and would order the exact same meal.

This place has potential, but I think some competition might make them sharper. Edible food. Slow and disinterested service. Crab cakes are better elsewhere. Smith Island cake is better at the bakery down the street.

This was not my first time to Bayside Inn on Smith Island, but the first time I’ve had food that was absolutely subpar. We were a party of three who ordered crab cake platters. When we received our food, the crab cakes were burned. One of them looked as though it was pieced together. All of them were very small as if they didn’t have enough crabmeat. We were very disappointed in the quality of our food. The only decent item was the macaroni salad. I suggest that if the restaurant is out of an item to let the customer know so they can order something else.

Delicious crab cake sandwich and friendly waiter! What a unique food to this region! The fries were also pretty good and it’s right by the dock so you can grab something to eat after the ferry.

The atmosphere saves this place. Sitting right by the water and watching everything go on is great! However, the food was so-so and not really up to par. I had the crab cake and was happy with it (nice and crispy, not too much breading, good portion). Others at the table were not as lucky though. The "cheesburg" (sic) came out without cheese and with the lettuce/tomato under the patty. The patty was.......more similar to meatloaf than a patty. We liked the hush puppies and the crab fries were ok as well. Another thing that holds this place back is that with everyone coming into sit at one time, they get backed up really fast. It took about 20 minutes to get our drinks, much longer for appetizers and entrees. Even getting the check was a hassle.

Def worth the trip! How can you argue with the birthplace of Maryland's state dessert. Great seafood, great sides, great views, a great experience overall!

Bottom Line: Great food, great service and great views. My husband and I both really enjoyed our Labor Day weekend lunch at Bayside Inn! We both had the crab cake sandwich for lunch and it was great. My husband is a connoisseur of crab cakes and thought it was excellent. I enjoyed mine with a side of creamy macaroni salad and he devoured the cole slaw. We finished our lunch off with a slice of traditional chocolate Smith Island cake and a scoop of ice cream. Even though we came over on the ferry with a gaggle of other people the restaurant staff were ready for us when we arrived. I use to work in tourism and I know some days it can be hard to welcome invaders with open arms but everyone at the restaurant was so friendly, welcoming and warm. One family was creating a little bit of an awkward situation but the staff handled it with so much grace and class. Even though 30+ people all arrived for lunch at the same time our food came out quickly which I thought was a sign of organization and preparedness by the Bayside Inn. My husband and I opted to sit inside. We were only a party of two and we didn't want to take up one of the big tables on the balcony. Plus, we figured we'd get plenty of sun after lunch. I am sure the views are better from outside but we still enjoyed them from inside too. After lunch we enjoyed meandering around the large gift shop and we were sure to stop by the carry-out before departing SI to pick up our cake. Overall, lunch at Bayside Inn was a great experience!

Food was fresh, delivered in time and delicious. The staff, Watson the waiter and the host were amazing and explained the menu and island. Shrimp platter, corn pudding, oyster sandwich, all the sides were deliah. Going back for breakfast. Bring your dog outside! They gave her ice water. Good people.

The restaurant is fantastic. It's definitely a must go location while you're on the island. Super nice staff and great food. We loved the crab cake sandwich. The coleslaw and corn pudding were great. We also loved sampling different flavors of Smith Island Cake. All restaurants on the island close by late afternoon, so you may want to get a meal to go, so you have something to eat for dinner.

Great restaurant, delicious food and great souvenir shop!! Affordable!! Very prompt service. Clean with nice clean bathrooms. I look forward to going back.

I love traveling to Smith Island. It is a trip back in time to see how working watermen and their families have lived for the last two centuries (Read "Island out of Time" by Tom Horton). I've been there multiple times with family or visitors. On this trip (August, 2023), as usual, we rented a golf cart and put-putted around for an hour before heading into the Bayside Inn for softshell crab and Smith Island cake. The food was great, but our waiter got the order wrong three times. My sister told the waiter "We want ONE softshell crab sandwich, that comes with two crabs, but without the bun. We are going to split it and eat one crab each." The waiter said it comes with two sides, so we ordered coleslaw and macaroni salad. My wife ordered only a side dish of coleslaw. Fifteen minutes later he brought us two crab cake sandwiches without the bread. "No," we said, "we ordered ONE fried SOFTSHELL crab sandwich with two crabs". "But I saw you point to the crab cake sandwich" he said. We reiterated our order, so he took the two crab cakes back to the kitchen. Ten minutes later he showed up with TWO fried softshell crab sandwiches without bread. At this point we gave up and just accepted them. When we got the bill, he had charged us for the two sandwiches plus three additional sides. "NO," we said, "we should have received two sides with the sandwiches". His response was to charge us for just two of the sides instead of three. This whole order was a mess from the start. He didn't get anything that we ordered correct. We ended up paying for it, because we ate it, but it was very frustrating. And the food was good. In fact, it is probably the freshest softshell crab you could ever get because it came off the boat that morning. But be forewarned - be very specific about what you order in this place. Write it down and take a picture of it. Record yourself saying your order. Otherwise you will not get what you think you ordered.

On a day trip to Smith Island with a friend, we get off the boat and are deposited in front of the Bayside Restaurant. After our tour of the island on a blistering hot day, we were ready for this place. My soft shell sandwich was excellent, I can't imagine better in freshness or preparation.The service is friendly, attentive and they are more than ready to serve you. Of course, of note is the selection of Smith Island cakes that are available for desert. Aside from the original cake, they had several other flavors that stray from the original. No cause for worry, the cakes are beautiful in presentation and my Devils Food version was excellent.

They are owned by the same folks that own the ferry. The seafood was mostly fried (fried shrimp, fried soft shell crab, fried rockfish) and they didn't have regular steamed crabs. I'd put it in the bottom 20% of seafood restaurants, which is not surprising given that it's a tourist location and the only game in town at least during COVID. That said, the folks were nice. Maybe it's a local thing but skip the stewed tomatoes side dish. None of us could eat it because it was sickly sweet with lots of cinnamon. The corn pudding was good and while I didn't try it personally, the cheeseburger looked good and was a good value compared to the seafood. And if you're renting a golf cart, which the same outfit supplies, you can see the whole city in 30 minutes. I'd then recommend walking 5 minutes to the museum which shouldn't take more than 15 minutes to go through in detail. Interesting fact, there's only a couple hundred people left on the island and a grand total of 7 kids in school. My recommendation: save your appetite and eat in Chrisfield, which has much better seafood.

We took our boat to explore Smith Island. Of Course, the Smith Island Cake was a must and was worth the hype. However the Bayside Inn Restaurant was our favorite part of our visit. (Yes, they serve the Smith Island cake too.) The staff was wonderful and the atmosphere was casual and inviting. The soft shell crabs were great and how they should be served in MD. The Cream of Crab soup was truly the best that we ever had!! You really do not realize just how important FRESH is until you are comparing other experiences. Of course that makes sense as you see the watermen working in the distance. We are looking forward to our next visit.

Overall our food was good, however we were in for a bit of a surprise when we ordered the smith island cake. We ordered half a cake for our family to share, two of the pieces of cake had hair baked in the cake!!!!! The first one was towards the end of the cake and I didn't say anything, my son had hair in his cake as well. We told the waitress who replaced the cake, but from that point forward I had a disgusting feeling in my stomach and it kinda messed up my trip.

Friendly service. Exceptionally fast kitchen. Very very clean establishment. Party of four; all food items fresh and flavorful

Just there last week..... paid 40.00 for a Smith Island cake..... got home and opened the box..... 1/4 of the cake was not there..... what kind of rip off is this.... never .... never ..... return.

Well worth the trip to Smith Island just to eat at this restaurant.! Been coming to Smith Island for the last 3 years, usually around middle of August every year just for a relaxing day trip getaway. love the relaxing lifestyle and friendly people. This is Maryland's only inhabited offshore Island, only reached by boat from Crisfield, MD, Pt. Lookout, MD and Reedville,VA. It offers a glimpse of life that is rare in todays world, where the locals still live and make a living off the water.There are very few cars and the main industry here is crabbing and the local delicacy is soft shell crabs. What better place to get the best seafood than at the Bayside Inn! The have an all you can eat luncheon that is served family style for less than $20.00. That includes Virginia Ham, Clam Fritters, Corn pudding, stew tomatoes and other vegatables. It also is served with crab balls, but the crab balls are not all you can eat, but all the other items are. I had the Fried Soft shell crab platter, I opted for 2 of them and they were a very good size. They were perfectly cooked and very tasty, probably the best soft shell crabs I have had! The sides I chose were macaroni salad, stewed tomatoes and their corn pudding comes with all meals, which is also a local delicacy. The stewed tomatoes were also the best I have had anywhere. I also had the cream of crab soup first and it was very tasty as well. The rest of the menu has a good selection of seafood dishes such as shrimp, crab cakes and other items at reasonable prices. Also don't forget a piece of their famous Smith Island cake, the official state dessert of Maryland and also a local delicacy. Service was excellent and all the employees are very friendly as with the rest of the island. Keep up the great work! Hope to make it back again next year.

There's really no other choice on Smith Island and they close at 4 during week and 6 on weekends. We were staying on the island for a few nights and once you do that, you understand the hours. This is where tour boats drop off for a few hours during the day so lunch is busy til boats leave. Friendly staff that are very attentive. Really, everyone we met on island was awesome! Food was okay but not the absolute best It could have been. Crab cakes were average. Microwaved baked potatoe with dinner was overcooked and small. Green beans are straight out of a can with no seasoning at all. The corn pudding was unique. Coleslaw was tasty. Smith island cake ( original yellow with chocolate) was awesome. Good price on fresh steamed crab. Stuffed flounder was good. Also had birch beer for first time and really enjoyed that. The whole island seems to be sort of going through transition and I hope they continue to develop this as a great tourist destination spot.

I had a crab cake sandwich, which was the cake on a hamburger bun. It seemed to be a bit soggy and have more filler than the one I enjoyed more from Rukes. My wife tried the Smith Island cake, and wasn't very impressed. It was like pancakes with Hershey chocolate on them. Plus it was pricey at $4.50 for a 1/12 piece of cake.