The Red Roost

We had ayce blue crabs. Lindsey was our server and she was great. We really enjoyed our meal.

That's steak if you can't tell from the first photo. This is what almost $200 will get you 😂 Came in with a reservation, got taken to a booth that was so dirty I had to wipe a place for me to sit down, They were out of the type of margarita I wanted, scallops were rubbery pucks and extremely overpriced, the food just kinda sucked and everything was in desperate need of a cleaning, kept trying different things in hopes something would be good because I heard good things but even the cake was so dry I sent it back 🤢 felt sick to my stomach as I got to walk through two employees and one man talking while vaping and smoking directly in front of the door... I took a shower when I got home I felt so gross. My bill for this disgusting excuse for a restaurant was just under $200. If you're going to be overpriced at least keep a clean place, I shutter at the thought of what the back of the house looks like if that's how you keep the front.

I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this place & it was cool to see the $1 bills everywhere. I gave 5 stars not for the food (it was just alright. Chicken was good!), but Rob’s great service. I’ll give the restaurant another try just because of him. He was perfect. It’s rare to get customer service like that these days. I’ll be requesting him when I do return.

This place is out of the way, but OMG so worth the drive!! Down a few side roads, then a dirt driveway, and bam.. there it is. A big red, one level barn type building in the middle of a field, with some of THE BEST food!! This was a quick weekend trip with some friends (yes, we drove 5 hours just to have dinner here). Everything was amazing! The atmosphere was relaxed and fun. Special shout out to Peyton who took excellent care of our table. So much food, drinks were fantastic, outstanding place! Go as soon as you can, you will not be disappointed.

This place is off the beaten path but definitely worth the drive.. I enjoyed my food and could actually hear my table talking even with the crowd in the building…. Now let’s talk bout the food… DELICIOUS AND HOT… the Tuscan tortellini was amazing will definitely go back

Went tonight for opening night and the crabs weren't too big but they were good. Our son ordered chicken tenders and for $12 he got four about the size of nuggets instead of tenders. The waitress was really slow. We waited about 15 to 20 minutes after we were seated to get waited on and that was just the beginning. After getting our drink and food order it took another 10 minutes to get our drinks and then they weren't even right. She was bringing us 5-6 crabs at a time for two people and we waited and waited for refills of drinks and crabs. There's times we sat there with no food and for $57 per person for all you can eat seems like a rip off when you can't even get served. We understand there's other tables but we weren't the only table she had that was getting irritated, she had two other tables we saw getting mad. And no it wasn't that busy for her to be as slow as she was. We understand it was opening night and could even understand further if it was busy but that wasn't the case. We saw more of the other two waitress for other tables than we saw of ours. We will continue to take out business to Waterman's in West OC.

Came here for our 6th year wedding anniversary & it did not disappoint. Brandon B. Was a wonderful server & our meal was exceptional. We will definitely be back. We'll worth the 1hr drive!

Our family got together for my aunt's 70th birthday. The restaurant allowed my cousin to decorate! Coming from virginia and baltimore maryland this place was worth the drive! We did not wait long, The service was great, food was hot and delicious, and the drinks was on point. Very friendly atmosphere! SHOUTOUT to JAYLA, KENDALL & ASHLEY!!! These ladies have excellent customer service and met our every needs for such a large crowd. They made sure we all had our drinks and the food served on time to enjoy dinner together! You ladies ROCK!!! I will definitely be back to visit Red Roost again!

Outstanding service at this crab shack! We had a reservation for a group of 5 and loved that we could do that ahead of time through Yelp. Crabs were good - but the fried shrimp seemed to be our table's favorite!!! They give a LOT of sides with both the AYCE and "Just Enough".

Pros: Crabs, Crabs, Crabs, Fried Chicken Soups, Shrimp, Value, SERVICE WAS AMAZING! Cons: Fried Clams, Hushpuppies were just dough with Powdered Sugar or Baking Soda, stop can't decide. Take some pride in a Southern Staple like hush puppies - fill with some corn, crab, shrimp, spice, etc. I would not return but the kids and family enjoyed.

This place is a hidden gem that my family and I found during the pandemic. We were so happy with the food and service that we have been coming back annually. Each time we bring new guests. You have to get the bucket of crabs which comes with great sides. Don't forget the corn and fried chicken, and make sure to wear stretchy pants and bring your appetite. It's really a great time and good for groups.

Food was very average to weak. Clam app in "wine" sauce was 16$ and had maybe 12 clams in it. Two of the tiniest pieces of "toast points" were included and we had to ask for more. We ordered fried chicken which was very good. The chicken breast with crab and hollandaise was way over cooked and dry. I saw maybe a few pieces of crab and the hollandaise sauce tasted like nothing. That was 29$. Evo beer was great. We were pretty excited to go to the Roost since we had heard about it before. We took our boat across the Bay from Solomons Island: about 1.3 hour trip. We won't go back anytime soon if ever.

We live close so it's our default crab house. We are big on support local businesses. The staff is always friendly and polite.

We had heard such good things about this place but it fell short. We ordered little necks- portion was sooo small and overpriced- the menu said it came with bread- two tiny slices to slop up the mediocre sauce. My husband's chicken was dry with very little crab that it was supposed to be "smothered" with- the hollandaise sauce was a weak Knor mix at best- my hush puppies were funnel fries- complete with powdered sugar and very chewy. I wish I could recommend this place but they fell short. The atmosphere was great- perfect seaside dive bar. Go for the beer- that was good!

Stopped by kind of late. Had some chicken, stuffed mushrooms and raw oysters. Loved the oysters. Chicken was great. Mushroom potstickers were ok.

Wow!! Been here a couple times now, and it's amazing! The crab legs are perfectly cooked, the corn on the cob is so fresh and some of the best I've had (especially from a restaurant), and the shrimp are really good. The hush puppies are definitely not what southerners know to be hush puppies. These are fluffy and topped with powdered sugar kind of like a funnel cake but not the same flavor. I was taken aback the first time I had them, so I wanted to warn other southerners in advance!

Great service and great food! Friendly waitress and team consistently! Have been going here for at least 20 years and will keep Coming to support this local business!!#easternshoregirl#bestbluecrabs

Everything, staff, food and drinks!' I keep forgetting how much fun this place is! A bit off the beaten path but well worth the trip! If you aren't a seafood lover, their fried chicken is worth the calories!

The. Best. Ever. Staff were as friendly and down to earth as the atmosphere and you can't beat the food. Worth the drive to this little gem.

I'm not sure what happened but we were told that they could only serve us all you can eat crabs and not by-the-dozen crabs tonight. We were trying to celebrate an important event and were left eating a basket or two of dry claws. The rest of the food was overcooked and not real great. Can't believe I'm saying this after 20+ years of coming here, but NEVER again. Hope you all are enjoying an empty restaurant on a Saturday in the summer. Everyone has to try and make a buck nowadays I guess. We should have left and gone to the Old Mill. 282 bucks wasted for my family of 5. Probably won't go to their other venues like Evo or SoBos either now. Seems like (another) money grab to us. Good luck guys

Food was great, crabs were full and the service was excellent couldn't have been better.

All you can eat crabs are brought out after everyone has there entries. Doesn't give you much time to all you can eat.

The bartender at Bull Lips, Casey was fantastic. She was knowledge, made excellent drink recommendations and provided attentive services. Great experience overall!

Always an experience! We love The Red Roost. We go every year. It's an eastern shore experience.

Love the Roost. Always hot crabs and cold beer. What else is there... ...

We first saw this place on a show we were watching on PBS during the pandemic and made a list of places we wanted to visit when it was safe to do so. We had really high expectations and on a beautiful day in early June, we decided to visit. We live in Baltimore County and drove about 2 1/2 hours. We tried the all you can eat crabs. It also comes with corn, chicken, fries, hush puppies, fried shrimp and fried clam strips. We also tried the seafood bucket which came with corn, shrimp, baby clams, mussels, sausage, potatoes and cornbread. There are a few things to note: they don't offer crabs in different sizes. They're either all you can eat which are basically babies or you can get 6 blue crabs which are about equivalent to medium-large size. The seafood bucket was extremely bland. I'm not sure why they call the buckets "Cajun stew" because there is no Cajun seasoning at all. We actually had to ask for Old Bay on the side, which I used to drizzle over the entire "bucket". You only got a few clams and mussels, mostly shrimp and potatoes in the bucket and the shrimp were small-medium sized. I honestly think Joe's Crab Shack is better and I don't even like them much. The cornbread was cold, like it just came out the fridge. I asked our waitress if it was possible to get it warmed up and she said they didn't have a microwave but she could see if the cook could put it on the grill. The new piece was still cold in some places. All the fried foods tasted like it was fried in the same cooking oil. It tasted like it was pre-made and old. It was DEFINITELY NOT worth the 2 1/2 drive. I'm assuming the "locals" are the ones giving this place good reviews because honestly, there's not much else around for miles and miles. The portions for the all you can eat are huge but that's a given because obviously they're trying to get you filled up on all the "fillers", rather than the actual crabs even though I'm not sure why since the crabs were horribly tiny. Oh, and the bill - over $100 for just the all you can eat baby crabs and bland seafood bucket. I wanted to try the Smith Island cake, hoping dessert might redeem them but they were all out - on Saturday at 4:30pm?! This place looks like an old, rundown shack. Definitely needs a renovation or makeover and some proper food seasoning. Someone needs to shut this place down because those crab sizes are NOT legal!

The service was really good. I took my mother and father out and ordered the ayce meal 75 dollars the added steam shrimp and blue crab legs. The crabs the snow crabs and the blue crabs were horrible. The blue crabs were all paper shells and the snow crab legs were rubber and you could tell they were just sitting in a warner. The total bikk was $312 for 3 people. For that price the crabs could have at least been meaty. I will not be going back to this restaurant for that reason.

My first visit here and way more than I expected! For some reason I had thought the menu was much more limited, and maybe it was back in the pandemic. I had the Windy City Pizza (Italian Sausage and jardiniera). Very simple but amazing. Service was good and ambience is warm. A lot of neat local history on the walls.

Best time, very large group, staff was excellent. Food was good, but was starving by the time I got it. Will try to ho back. We had a good time!!

The Roost has had better days. I have gone less and less in recent years. Prices have gone way up and the quality varies from day to day. It's never worth $50+ for the AYCE. It's a 30 minute drive at least, but prices are higher than almost everywhere in the area. I remember many great times at the Roost. It's all about value and those days have past. I now buy crabs in Cambridge and host my own feast. Sorry guys.

Amazing dinner your going for the food not the looks of the place we had crab dip and the stuffed shrimp which was delicious and the red skin potatoes and corn on cob our waiter Nathan was attentive and very friendly going back Friday again to check out the tiki bar

Visited the Red Roost in June, 2022. We'd been frequent visitors when we lived there a decade ago. Thought we'd stop in and check things out again. We ordered the all you can eat crabs. It was 8 p.m., which was probably our first mistake. It seemed that since there were only a few customers and they closed at 10:00, food wasn't really coming out fresh or hot. With exception of the chicken, which was fresh and hot and great, everything seemed like it was being held under heat lamps in the kitchen. Ordered the all you can eat crabs. Server brought out everything but crabs first so we could fill up on the cheap stuff. Crabs finally came out. We got 10 of them, they were small. We had to ask for crabs and got less and smaller crabs every time. Hush puppies were so old and dry I sent them back. New ones came out and were covered with powered sugar, but just as dry and beat as the previous ones. Make a fresh batch? Nope, it was too late in the night. Breaded shrimp looked straight out of a Gordon's Fisherman box. Corn was wonderful. Fries were luke warm. $130 later we left but we WON'T be back again unless it's during a busy time of day when the food HAS to be fresh and hot.

This place, although out of the way, is well worth the trip. A well known spot to locals is usually a good choice when visiting the area. Service and food are great with an unusual atmosphere. Try it and if you love all the Eastern Shore has to offer, you won't be disappointed!

We've literally been coming here for decades. Born and raised on this place. It's been about 3 years since we've been back for a visit. I got the "Just Enough" platter which comes with 6 blue crabs and the normal sides (shrimpies, clam strips, French fries, hush puppies, fried chicken and corn on the cob). I tend to only eat a little so I tasted each, I did not get some chicken but my dining friends say it was tasty. The corn was delicious, so were the clam stripes. They've changed the shrimpies breading and I was NOT a fan. Too much breading. No one at my table liked them. The hush puppies haven't been worth the calories for at least a decade...they used to be delicious. The biggest disappointing factor was the crabs. They were very small, but sweet so the flavor in all but one was good. I only had 1 crab I would have considered medium. The rest were small. But they were cold. Not lukewarm, cold. I was not a fan of that. Even if you're not getting the all you can eat (which I physically cannot do anymore) the food should still be hot. Other than that it hasn't changed nostalgia wise and I appreciate that. But y'all need to fix the shrimpies and hush puppies cause they suck now. Keeping the nostalgia is important but so is the quality and that has been on a steady decline for awhile now. I'd love to see that fixed and Red Roost become a favorite over Old Mill again.

One of the worst. There is "crab house vibe", then there is "this needs to be shut down". This is that! Serve was poor, not crowded at all. Everything we had was bad. Very old food. It must sit in the kitchen already cooked for hours until you order. Food was cold and tough. And here's what really got us....No butter. None. In the entire restaurant. Who serves crabs without butter. ‍ Parkay and some very old margarine. The food actually smelled musty.

Great place to have crabs. Staff is attentive. Laid back and fun. Will be coming again!

Authentic Eastern Shore Maryland! The crabs are amazing and we're swimming that morning. This is decidedly rustic but if you are in it for the food then it's worth the trip. Your GPS is right....you are not lost but you are in the middle of nowhere! The crabs are the absolute best, fresh and fat.

Got they Awesome Pot. Food enough for 2 and delicious. The lemon blueberry smith island cake was great too. Coffee was very bitter though.

Wonderful food and best bus boy I've ever seen, crabs were big and great and starters were amazing

Went to Red Roost for the first time. Tried the Ahi Tuna was not disappointed. It had a great flavor and was prepared perfectly. We had also ordered the mussels. For my first time the were amazing.However the Potato Skins were lacking. For me not worth the price. I do highly recommend the pickle shot.

Excellent crabs & service in an atmosphere which is truly unique! Off the beaten path & well worth the drive! Home of one greatest bar tenders in DelMar Va. Tommy Curtis! God rest is soul!

Awesome atmosphere and the service is great. Drinks are always spot on. Crabs are always full

Took friends here for crabs. They absolutely loved them. Can't say anything about the crabs because I am not a crab person. But I can tell you this as a person who is VERY sensitive to the smell of seafood, the place DID NOT have a bad smell! I had the ribs which were amazing. Good flavor and cooked to a nice bite which is the way the BBQ Masters say that's the way it should be cooked. But this is a seafood place not a BBQ place, so back to the Crabs. I agree that the place is pricy and a drive to get to. But it is worth the drive. My wife got the crab cake and said it was all lump with very little filler. Our friends shared a dozen crabs and went on and on about the size. Much larger than what they get in Virginia. I'm sure if they got the AYCE, the crabs would have been smaller?

Food was very good, service was great for Mother's Day everything was very well organized...

Great all around crab shack! Service food and drink were top notch! We will be back very soon.

We arrived at 5:30, just as they opened. There were 10 of us and we were hungry. Lots of choices and it all looked good. We started with some local craft beers, the Delmarva Pils, then ordered more in pitchers. Three of us shared a "Just Enough" platter with the boiled shrimp, with salads and crab soups on the side. The food just kept coming! Two pieces of chicken, ears of corn, fried clams, french fries. Whew! Then came the shrimp. And hush puppies. Very different, like fair food elephant ears--sprinkled with powdered sugar. It was just too much! And we were splitting a platter. The others at the table had too much, as well, so we tried some of their whole crabs and snow crab legs. So. Much. Food. And all of it really good. We left happy and full with to-go boxes stacked high. Definitely recommended.

Excellent seafood because their in a seafood community so they have all the old time recipes. Great service I would go here to eat every day if I could highly recommended. Chicken Chesapeake is phenomenal

We loved it and didn't even get the crabs!! We sampled quite a bit on the menu and everything was just damn delicious. Fried Chicken is a must!! Our waitress was so stinking sweet and helped us pick out some of her faves. Crab dip with the fries..... my girls are still talking about it. This place is a great out of the way spot for a down to earth non snooty crowd. If your like me and you like things that are real, good and true you'll love the Red Roost. Thus 4 stars. I rarely give a 5 star for anything basically Jesus needs to open the skies and rain down chocolate ice cream and medium rare steaks. Till then keep up the amazing work at the Red Roost!!! Oh yeah remember to ask about the $ on the wall.. we put ours up :)

Fun atmosphere! If you want all you can eat crabs and great service, keeping them on your table - this is the place to go! Been making the scenic drive back since they have been in business with my family!

Went there Saturday night with the wife and child. It cost $180 plus tip for two adults and an 11 year old. The service could have been better. We kept running out of crabs. The crabs were small and got smaller every trip from the kitchen. It was total opposite from previous years. We probably won't be back.

SO I CANNOT REVIEW SEAFOOD BECAUSE I HAVE A MEGA SHELLFISH ALLERGIES ....... so why visit a crab house with a mega shellfish allergy and can't order the main it's ticket item .... they have amazing fried chicken lol I was able to Eat here years ago and it was amazing All You can eat fried chicken , fried clams, fried shrimp , fries , corn , crabs soooooo this is why we came back.. This current visit I made them aware of my of my shellfish allergy !!! Yes I know why go to a crab house !! Where everything is surrounded by crabs and other shellfish it was like asking for a break out!!! My darn family got on my nerves about wanting to go so I went.. anyhow! Man listen! I didn't have no one hive! Itchy mouth anything ! My server made sure of that... here is a little info on this restaurant , family owned, locally famous , they have off site parking but offer a shuttle service to the restaurant it get really busy in summer , this visit was at the end of season , so it was busy but not that busy . I got the Bbq reds , baked beans , fried chicken, and loaded baked potato .. the food of course tasted home made...the ribs were tender , baked potato was tender as well and the baked beans was ok I like mine just a sweeter but that is just a personal preference . I enjoyed my food, my service was amazing they really made sure I didn't have any cross contamination kudos

Been there several times in the past but this was first since beginning of COVID-19. Several wait staff has face shields on instead of masks but had them so high on their head, their mouth was very exposed. Face shields are not appropriate anyway, yet alone if not worn properly. Mask is required, NOT FACE SHIELD!!! You want customers but you won't properly protect us? Won't be going back!

We rarely go out but when we do I try to make sure we go authentic and well reviewed! This place came highly recommended and for our first and last experience it was awful! we were originally seat at a table that had dead bugs on it ( ok you can't control the time of the year) but the hostess had to have seen them and didn't move us or clean them up we moved ourselves! this is strike 1 we actually lost count of how many strikes they had... we ordered and no sooner did we order the first half of our meal was done this tells me it was not prepared fresh and was sitting in a warmer for God knows how long!! the crabs were also done ahead of time it take 6-10 minutes for fresh crabs to steam they were over seasoned as well. our first drinks were too weak and our second drink was too strong! they adjusted the bill however we didn't get a real apology!! Sad it was the type of atmosphere I really like authentic down home but they won't be seeing us again!!

This place is amazing! Great fried chicken, best friend chicken I've ever had! Perfectly fried very flavorful! They also have crabs! But I come for the fried chicken. Place isn't glitzy but it's clean and that's all I need to see it's a good place to eat there. It is in the middle of nowhere and has really poor cellphone service so know your route out before arriving as your GPS probably won't work till about 15 miles out. The prices are incredibly reasonable and service is always friendly! Lighting could be better but that's the only downside! Also get the Crab corn chowder always get some to go to take back to NYC!

Great family get together venue. All tables filled Memorial Day weekend. 17 of us there, not one complaint. Apparently Ribs are hard to get lately. No Ribs the only bummer.

waited a long time to go to this place was very let down by the service to the quality of the food the crabs were the worse crabs I have ever seen any restaurant serve and the waiter we had didn't know where he was even at had to tell him twice what I was supposed to have with my order I gave them a star probably more than the place deserves never again will I go there and I am relatively local

About a 2-2.5: I was really excited to check this place out when we were in the area - Red Roost prides itself as being the first AYCE crab place, so I thought that was pretty cool. After winding roads and such, we arrived at this hole-in-the-wall restaurant that seems to be a best kept secret among the locals and the regulars. The place itself was really cute and rustic. We were seated by the window and we ordered the AYCE 'Everything Special' - this came with crabs, snow crabs, shrimp, fried shrimp, clam strips, fried chicken, french fries, hush puppies, and corn on the cob. The crabs themselves were very liquid-filled, so I wasn't a fan of those; I did eat a lot of the snow crabs, but they were quite salty, so you can eat only so much. The extras that came with, such as the fried shrimp/clams/chicken/fries were all okay, but something you shouldn't fill your stomach with - the hushpuppies came with powdered sugar, so it tasted more like little fried donuts. The steamed shrimp were good that were seasoned with Old Bay, so I think I would have just focused on the getting the steamed shrimp special instead. My husband found a bug in his corn on the cob; thank goodness I wasn't a victim of that as I would have fainted right there on the spot! There were a lot of people here, so I think the waitstaff was getting a little overwhelmed. I am glad I was able to check this place out! +AYCE +liquid-filled crabs +steamed shrimp was good +check for bugs in corn!