Priya B.
Yelp
It's extremely rare that I eat at the same restaurant twice while traveling, but on a recent trip to Rehobeth Beach, just couldn't stop myself from lunching here twice. A few blocks from the beach, Henlopen City Oyster House seems to avoid the crowd and tourist trap of some of the other eateries in the area and provide elevated seafood and incredible service in an upscale dining room. Focusing on really fresh ingredients and homemade almost everything, I needed the bartender to help guide me in what to pick my first visit: there were just too many incredible options to choose from. Crowd favorites seem to be the salads (particularly the Caesar which comes with a whole anchovy on top!), the clam chowder, the old bay shrimp, and the lobster roll. I was in town for a wedding where I knew we would be having clams, raw oysters, and lobster at the reception, so on both visits, opted for things I wouldn't get at the wedding or in the landlocked state I live. I landed on the fried clam strips, the super fresh and incredible Caesar salad, grilled oysters (topped with Johnsons bays, sumac butter, just insanity), and the crème de la creme: the light fried scallops dish.
I could write sonnets about that fried scallops dish. My neighbor at the bar ordered it on my first visit and found it so amazing, he insisted on letting me try it, and oh jeezus this dish is a love letter to the seafood gods. Ordered a full plate to myself on my second visit and it is genuinely one of the most perfect things I have ever eaten: lightly fried scallops and fried slices of lemon, sea urchin aioli, sea beans. No notes, just perfection. The Caesar salad was so satisfyingly umami, crunchy, perfectly lightly dressed. The grilled oysters had the most heavenly sumac butter, herby taste. A total win of a casual lunch, made even better with an excellent wine menu for pairing with seafood (the skin contact orange and alberino were unreal and very reasonably priced!)
For dessert, I got the key lime pie which was completely homemade, huge (required saving leftovers for a late night snack) and just the *chef's kiss* way to end my meal. Took a nap after each lunch here and had my friends at the wedding asking about this place, I raved about it so much. This restaurant will forever live in my mind as the Meals You Dream About from Vacation.