Wheelhouse

I don’t normally write reviews, but this restaurant deserves much more love (review wise) than it has received. My wife and I visited Lewis beach today. After we were done, we were hungry and tired and looking for local seafood to satisfy our cravings. We came across WheelHouse. The front of house was kind, and attentive. They quickly got us seated and offered us the option of indoor or outdoor seating. Once seated, our server offered us ice cold water which was perfect under the scorching heat of today. Hunter, our server was kind, knowledgeable and very attentive. As busy as they were, we received our food within 10-20 minutes. Our food was fresh and beautifully crafted. To the owner/head chef: you make absolutely the best seafood pot pie, and crab cake melt. The fries were also the best I ever had in my lifetime. You felt like our own personal chef. To sum this up, this place has great service, amazing heart and should definitely be given a try! 10/10 recommend

I'm not rushing back here. I was disappointed that the Happy Hour specials are only available at certain seating areas but that's not the reason for only 3 stars. We sat outside and the specials were not available for us as we were having dinner. Although seated outside our view was of a fishing boat and couldn't see any water. One highlight, or really the only highlight was watching a dog the entire dinner climb out of the water after chasing a ball again and again and again. Service was okay, not bad but nothing special. Our party of 5 found the food to be nothing special. I had the Seafood Pot Pie. It was large and it was hot, but very one note. All the seafood inside tasted the same. Scallop's, shrimp, crab and clam all tasted the same, even in texture. Fish tacos were fine and the special that night of Butter Shrimp looked great but disappointed with tough tasteless shrimp and the rice was unremarkable. Worst thing were the bugs. Lots of gnats and a ton of flies landing on our food. This made the dinner for me 0 stars. Once the food came so did the flies. There was little to no wind that night and we were next to the water. Others farther back might have had less bugs. We did not ask to move, but should have. Still the food without the flies was average for what we ordered. There are better places.

Our pup had a great time at the restaurant’s patio by the water. We had a nice view of boats and water and our waitress was helpful by bringing water for our pup and very attentive to us. Crab cakes are big portions and delicious. The grilled grouper sandwich was delicious and big portions and highly recommended this

If you're looking for dinner on the water, this is a great place to go. We enjoyed sitting outside looking out at the river. Food, service, and the live band were all great. I ordered their fresh catch of the day - wreckfish, first time trying and it was good! We definitely will be back.

Great spot on the canal. Had a wonderful pasta dish, with others in our party getting the shrimp po’boy, the salmon, and a burger. Service was terrific and the atmosphere lovely, overlooking the docks and canal. Highly recommended.

I absolutely love this place. We went off season, but it was still a beautiful experience. We ate outside even though it was chilly because we had our dog with us. This place is pet friendly and so kind. The view outside is great with the marina vibe outside. The service was amazing, and the food was great. We had the Pork Shanks and Calamari. The Pork Shanks were a winner.

We stopped here for a late lunch while traveling in late May. We were looking for somewhere to grab a late lunch and drove past it. We sat at the outside bar. Most of the inside tables were empty but the outside tables were pretty full as well as the bar but there were two open seats. We ordered drinks and looked over the food menus. The bartender was busy with drinks and she was servicing tables near the bar. Eventually we ordered food. We both had tacos. I ordered the Nashville fish tacos. I was expecting them to be a little spicy. The description said hot honey, cilantro lime slaw, and Tabasco mayo. I don’t know if what I was served was actually what I ordered because it wasn’t spicy at all. I didn’t taste any hot honey. There was cabbage on the top but I don’t think it was cilantro or lime. There was a mayo sauce on the top that might have been chipotle but it wasn’t hot like Tabasco. There were a lot of lot of pickles. The fish was good though. I substituted a side salad for the chips that would have come with it. That was ok. The shrimp tacos were good. The sauce on it looked the same as the Nashville tacos but that also wasn’t spicy which was fine because the person eating them doesn’t like things too spicy. He enjoyed the cole slaw too. I wish I could say the bartender was friendly and attentive but she wasn’t. She wasn’t mean or dismissive but it seemed like she maybe had other things she wanted to be doing on that day and didn’t really want to be there. That’s the impression I got. Maybe it was the crowd at the bar that just wasn’t vibing with her. There was one patron who was pretty loud and verging on obnoxious but several others seemed to know him. The atmosphere was casual and its right in the water so you have that ambience. The prices were comparable to other similar places we have been. Parking was easy.

I went for an organized luncheon of about 15 people. We were in the back of the restaurant by ourselves. I ordered the seafood pot pie, what a mistake! It looked so bad I was hesitant to try it, but I did, and it was terrible. One other person in our group ordered the same thing and she agreed. We both sent our meals back. To make matters worse, The person leading the lunch event was trying to address the attendees and we could barely hear her because the staff was busy selling T-shirts on the opposite side of the (empty room). They were conversing so loud that it drowned out the speaker. It was interesting to me that they were so oblivious about our group. Between that & my terrible meal, it made for a less than satisfying experience. Note, our server was very pleasant & and attentive - none of this was his fault.

Still is the best Happy Hour in Lewes. Now even better with the addition of live music (on Fridays at least.) Didn't have the Buck A Shuck oysters before. They were pretty good. 2 of my 5(?) tasted a little "off" but they had no ill effects on me. Buffalo Shrimp ($12) were great. Almost no breading, not too spicy and much bigger than "popcorn" size. More like bite-size mediums. Grouper Fingers ($11 for 3) seemed bigger and possibly even better than before. Can't beat $6 for Dogfish Head!

Not only was the dock empty for lunch. Waitress took awhile. I ordered the crab soup and grouper fingers! Wish I read the 13 health violations on this place! 2nd day of a week trip to the Delaware coast to hang out with my dogs. Hours later I had the worst food poisoning! This ruined my short vacation due to being alone and no one to rend to my pups! Horrible food poisoning and big inconvenience!!! Had to take the ferry back...wasted so much $$ on hotel and ferry to only have to come back sick...really sick!! stay away!!!

Great Happy specials. The Grouper bites are delicious! Taste like they jumped out of the ocean and on to your plate. Margaritas specials good too. We also tried the buck a shuck oysters which were amazing. You know what they say. Eat fish live longer eat oysters love longer. lol. Wheelhouse was definitely in my Wheelhouse of great value happy hours.

OK so we went back anyway this year and....it was a lot better! Huh. Gotta tell it like it is right? Tuesday evening, sat outside in the sun with enough wind to keep bugs down. Servers were perky and fairly attentive other than forgetting to bring my Stormy Monday cocktail (forgivable). I got the daily catch with grilled sea bass on succotash with potato, really good. Wife and daughter (who's just lately eating fish) both got grouper sandwiches and loved them. Boy got mac n cheese, huge bowl and tasty although they really mean for you to up-buy with crab or something. Oh and the jerk chicken skewers are very good, nice portion and lit sauce. We didn't order anything fried, they still don't make rice for some reason but get on their wavelength and it can work.

Just a short walk over the bridge from historic Lewes, this would be our go-to spot for date night if we lived nearby. With a large deck and indoor/outdoor seating with multiple bars, it's easy to find a seat, and there's not a bad spot in the house. The service was friendly and efficient. I had to enjoy ordering fresh fish from the dock, so I went with the grouper sandwich, which was perfectly tender and paired with crunchy slaw. The entire menu looked fantastic

We have been to the last couple of Fisherman Wharf restaurants and i'd say this is the best one yet. The Wheelhouse is connected to Zogg's on the Rehobeth boardwalk so I immediately knew it was going to be good. The food alone for the price is awesome! I paid more at local eateries for less quality food. I see lots of server complaints on Yelp. Maybe we just got lucky or it was a weekend shift, but our service was excellent. And mind you, this was our second visit this season. The ambience of the Indian River is what makes it so inviting. Seeing the boats and of course the little town of Lewes and it's shopping is right over the river. We plan to make this our go-to staple this summer since we have a camper in the area.

The service was great with Victoria! The food was very good, hot and good amount for the price! Would highly recommend this restaurant!

Friday at lunchtime but ordering a dinner sized entree because we were starving. We got the one server who didn't want to be working. He rushed us to order and then we never saw him again until my dining partner went looking for him 3x. You see runners deliver food here and they just plop it down and run. I personally had corn on the cob, and fingerling potatoes. No butter supplied for either. That was the first run we had to make for server. Second was beverage refills and napkins. 3rd run for the MIA server was for our check after sitting 20 minutes with empty plates that were pushed aside indicating we were done. To be fair we felt the food was decent although my grouper could have been warmer as well as my corn on the cob. Every other server we saw was efficient,friendly and on point for their patrons. We know this because we had to engage them to do things for us and when they saw what outdoor table we were at they acted like they might be used to doing things for this server. But, they were polite and professional. This place has a fabulous canal location which is a 10. It'a pretty outside. I hope to return a few times this summer and perhaps be able to raise the rating.

Corndog was raw, but they did give us a full refund for it. The nachos are fire though. The view is nice as well.

Came here months ago and really enjoyed it. I got the fried chicken platter and thought it was great. The portion size was great and the sides paired well with the chicken, while the price was actually reasonable. The burger, sandwich, and taco options provide opportunity for a fun lunch date/meeting by the water. The servers were nice and attentive, and the views of the water add to the ability to relax and enjoy a meal. If you're lucky enough to come on a Thursday night, they do mingo (music bingo)!

Service and food were amazing! We had a party of six with one toddler. Started with crab dip and calamari with the sweet chili sauce. Both were delicious. For mains we tried the burgers, cesar with shrimp and calamari, mac and cheese with fried chicken and blue cheese, kids cheeseburger meal, a salmon blt and the fried grouper with slaw and waffle fries. The table agreed this will become a regular stop for us. Service was above and beyond. Kicking myself for not remembering our servers name. Very attentive and friendly and offered great suggestions. We can't wait to go back!

Fried shrimp soggy with grease, fish tacos had little fish, too much salt, Mac & cheese no taste low quality cheese, incompetent wait staff, too pricey. Avoid. Drive three mile to Grain On The Rocks.

Food was very good grilled halibut, autumn vegetables, smashed potatoes! Apps we had 6 fresh oysters and mussels! Both were very good! Service was efficient and friendly!! We would recommend!

We had dinner at the Wheel House last night, and there was a girl/lady being extremely loud sitting on the pier of the Wheel House. She was yelling at every boat that came up, yelling it was her property, blah blah blah. It lasted the whole dinner. It was extremely uncomfortable, especially because we went there to sit next to the water for a relaxing dinner, but then had to hear her the whole time. Also, the food isn't very good and the waiter took a long time.

Apparently the chef is very picky about the "creations"... serves the crab cake sandwiches on brioche, but absolutely would not substitute brioche instead of rye bread on the crab melt. Otherwise, great server and vibe.

I love this place. From the outdoor atmosphere and vibe to the food and service. We arrived early because we eat early with our young kids and we generally like to avoid waits and large crowds. Very easy to park in the giant lot. Got a table easily outside by the water. The hostesses were kind to warn us about the sunset, how long we'd be baking for and got us a good spot. It was hot but manageable. Elicia was our server and she was awesome. Made the experience even better. Grouper fries - this is my new favorite dish. Several large pieces of lightly fried fish - just so good. I can't describe it anymore but I can certainly remember how it tasted. Tuna poke - the meal itself was okay. Fish was good but the rice was hard so it was a bit challenging to enjoy the carbs. Jumbo crab cake mac and cheese - this monstrosity was delicious. Who knew crab and mac and cheese go so well together. We ordered this for the kids but I ended up eating most of it. It's a big plate. Insanely cheesy, generous portion of crab mixed throughout, and great seasoning. Kids cheeseburger - basic. Came with waffle fries. Looking back, should have skipped this. We had a great time at this restaurant. Outdoor seating is really nice. We visited indoor for the bathroom and indoor is just okay. Despite the flies and bugs occasionally flying around, it's a good dining experience.

Food is not good.Service is poor. This was one of my favorite places to go to eat..must be under new ownership..it has really gone down the tubes.. We will never return. So disappointed The table was not cleaned well. The chair had pieces of salad on it. The menus were dirty. The server was not paying attention to our table.. kept going inside to chat with people at the bar. He was inexperienced in the menu and the food questions we asked. One of the people who I guess works there left their 2 large dogs in their car. The dogs were distressed barking. No one seemed to care.. A customer went to the car to rescue the dogs, and the servers wanted the person, and he ran out from the bar confronted the woman..it was a mess.

Boated up to Lewes from Indian River and stopped for a bite. We had the seafood nachos. They were pretty good. They were severely understaffed. There was one waitress we saw the entire time. Apparently happy hour specials are only served on certain decks but we were never told that. It's tucked behind 2 giant boats so there is no view of the canal.

Back to Lewes. Out since May. Wheelhouse our favorite stop. And impressed with expanded menu. Great drinks and food. Food better than ever (miss the gumbo but lots of good new items) Oysters ponzu a must!

Great location just over the bridge from the main tourist block in Lewes. It's a big place, with a big indoor and even larger outdoor section. Outdoor is right next to the river and has lots of boats and people fishing to watch while you eat and drink. We ordered stuffies (stuffed slightly spicy clams) for appetizer, then grouper sandwich, fish tacos and 2 different max and cheese for main, plus some cocktails. Mac and cheese menu is great, for kids and for adults, they have a few versions, with crab and old bay seasoning and other variations. Food is good, but it's mainly bar type food, service is attentive. They have a big car park which is useful if you are driving.

Great location and views. The service is typically young but nice and helpful. Food is what you would expect, with stand outs being their selection of seafood based tacos, the usual appetizers, and the local brews available. Indoor and outdoor seating available and the place is well kept.

A little more effort from the kitchen crew. Brie app is new on the menu. Ordered as a snack. Very slow night, only a few tables. Came out far from "warm" as the menu described. I feared if I sent it back, they would microwave it to death. It was cool in the middle. No apple jam, just cool apple jelly. Your only job was to warm the Brie, and you failed.

Lunch party of 3 on Monday on the deck Hunter our server was great highly recommend the food and great draft beer

My wife and I tried to get something to eat today for a quick lunch on her birthday on 5/20 but never had a server come to our table. We saw two other tables served while waiting to see anyone take a simple drink order or simple water drop. I would not ever recommend or tell anyone about this poorly managed restaurant after many good times here, I feel very disappointed after telling many people about our good times here.

Decided to try the restaurant again on St Patty's day. We ordered two orders of the corn beef and cabbage that was on the special menu. The corn beef was very fatty and the whole plate was not hot. My husband decided to eat his since our waitress was no where in sight. I sent mine back and asked for it to be heated up. The new plate came back to the table with barely any corn beef and the cabbage was barely cooked. The cabbage was hard. I will not go back to eat. The owners and manager need to do better. The location is really nice but, the food sucks!

Food was tasty and amazing. Definitely an A. But the bathrooms were awful. No one obviously checks on them and if the staff uses them, they don't care and leave it dirty.

Keep away! The view is wonderful, but that's it. This place is expensive but food is tasteless and menu options are very restricted. Waiter was "high" and dirty. He did smell terrible and attitude was bad. Choose another place.

I'd give negative stars for food but I'm giving two stars because the location is perfect and the atmosphere is great. I've really tried to find something I like here and it is a fail everytime. At one point a couple years ago I enjoyed the crab bisque so I was excited to see it was back on the menu tonight. I ordered it and it was not good at all. I tried two bites and had my husband try and with both thought it lacked flavor, was too thin and was just not enjoyable at all. When the server asked how everything came out I told him the soup did not taste good and I was not going to eat it. He asked if he could get me anything else and I politely declined and he took away the soup. To my surprise he did not bother to take it of the check so we still paid for it even though it was given back to him full. We also got nachos that were not even mediocre, the jalapeño was the best part. My husband got tuna tacos and said they were just okay and I tried my daughter's chicken fingers which were fine for a kids meal. I will say I like their waffle fries but that's it. I've tried this restaurant about 6 times over the years and I feel it's only getting worse. It's really sad because I would really like to love the food because I love the location.

Can't recommend the steak frites enough!!! We have been here more times than I can count over the years, and the food and staff don't disappoint!

Awesome place to sit for a drink along the water. I had my very first Orange Crush! Apparently it's a Delaware drink. At least from what I was told. There's multiple crush's you can order which all seem to be tasty. Definitely hits the spot on a hot day. Please fix that speaker at the outside bar. We want music! I was lucky enough to come back in the evening to see some live music. Wow, that guy killed it. I'd definitely love to come back to see him play again. The waitress we had that night seemed really stressed but she was very helpful and professional.

Arriving at the restaurant, the location seemed idealistic. Waterfront. Perfect view of the sunset. Then came food and service, both of which were hit or miss. Oysters were decent but then, how do you mess that up? We had the scallop appetizer, which was done really well. Sear could have been better developed but it was tasty and presentation was decent. Then everything went down hill. We ordered the smoked fish dip, which was flavorless and done poorly. We also ordered the Buffalo pickles. They had clearly been sitting in the "window" and were dried out. The "jerk" wings were thrown in a "bucket" and the sauce was nothing close to jerk seasoning. It was glorified BBQ sauce! The wings weren't tossed in the sauce, it was squirted haphazardly over the wings. Unappealing at best. The final straw was the state of the bathroom. Toilet paper was all the floor and the toilet bowls, which clearly hadn't been cleaned in a long time, were filled with mold! I'll never return. If that's the front of house, I can only imagine what the back of house looked like! Yikes! And the restaurant appeared to be ran by teenagers. No clear sense of management anywhere to be seen! What a mess!

I recently had a horrible experience here. The service was lackluster, the restrooms were untidy, the food was terrible. The most frustrating part was that there was a patron who left their dogs in their vehicle on a hot day. I went to report the patron to the police and the bar staff tipped the patron off because he was a regular. This was very frustrating and shows allegiance of the restaurant to the patron and no regard for the wellbeing of the animals.

Service is amazing food is amazing. Smash burgers are the best fries are amazing. The macaroni and cheese is really good. Drinks are good people there are really nice. It is a very nice place. You should definitely go there. Very good food very good drinks. It's really nice.

There was quiet live music and a relaxing ambiance. Great poke salad, and was substantial enough for dinner.

Vet friendly atmosphere, efficient and friendly bar service. A very relaxing location overlooking the harbor.

I understand the labor shortage in the industry, but if there's a heat advisory you should rearrange your coverage plan to keep customers in the shade, especially if the kitchen is slow. Server was great, food was good too, but we were so uncomfortable it didn't matter.

Really happy with food service, and our waitress. We will be back bc soon, for sure!

Manager, please replace your teenage hostess working on the night of 10/29/23 (Sunday). She is bored to tears in her current job. Apparently, being a restaurant hostess is beneath her. Her lack of customer service skills will be best suited in an assembly line somewhere. Good thing the big screens were working and the Ravens were winning. Or we would have moved down the road. Food was pretty good. Wings were huge!

Overall, the restaurant had a nice atmosphere. But for a restaurant that is on the water and has the potential to be very nice, it left my family disappointed. First they gave us menus with specials there they don't have anymore so we had to ask for more time to reorder. Then when went to order on the correct menu, they didn't have any of their fish on the menu. Keep in mind, this was a Friday night at 5pm a key busy time for a restaurant. When we finally sorted out our selections, they brought our dinner of a gourmet hamburger dinner which on the menu said burger and chips, well for a dinner, you would have thought a fish restaurant would have brought fries for a dinner entree, but they just threw a bag of chips on the plate. Very disappointing. Menu did not specify it was going to be a bag of chips. Second entree arrived and at least two of the clams on the platter were rotten and yes, I mean rotten. Frustrated at this point, we ask for a new plate of seafood which took a bit of time to arrive. The second plate was good, but smaller in the portion size than other 2 plates we ordered of same seafood plates. The manager came and took care of the issues, but it should not have made it as far as it did. For a restaurant in a prime part of town, I expected far more than what we received. Our family will not recommend them for a nice outing. There are more refined options in the area. Foodie beware.

Food choices not the best. A great view to enjoy a meal out. Need some better choices like regular stuff.

I stopped at this place on a humble And I am really glad I did. I sat outdoors and it was a really chill vibe. My server Leslie was very kind and answered all my questions about popular dishes. I ordered the grouper fingers which were a healthy portion and seasoned very well and the aioli sauce complimented it well. The jerk shrimp salad was fresh and the sauce on the shrimp Was very good. I don't usually do Oysters outside of char grilled in Nola but got a half order and they did not disappoint. I will surely be back to try some other dishes.

Came for a date night. Got a chicken and potato Wedge meal and fish tacos. The fish taco portion was SO small, I had to give have of my meal to my boyfriend. 2 very small tortilla shells and barely enough to put in them. I honestly thought they accidentally gave him a kids meal. We were honestly a bit shocked. Service was ok, but there are so many better places.

Tourist trap. Drinks were watered down. Food came out so fast it tasted like it was cooked in a microwave. Plenty of other amazing places in the area I'd go to instead

Please don't waste your time and money here! From its hostess to its warm humid inside seating that smells rotten ! This place is a trap for any new visitors. Speaking to the locals here asking their opinion, few of them also referred to it as rude, miserable people that run the place. Sorry folks horrible management. Live and learn from the best

Great place to come for drinks and delicious food. One thing I didn't see reading the reviews that I wish I knew, is THE PORTIONS ARE HUGE!!! Pictures might not show the magnitude but trust me when I tell you, everything here is HUGE so order wisely. We did not know so we ordered way too much food and couldn't finish about 30% of it. Everything was eat was DELICIOUS and the waitresses were super nice and attentive. I would highly recommend this place. Was definitely one of the best meals I had in Delaware during my 1 week trip with family. Go, but go hungry...VERY VERY hungry :)

We have been coming to the Wheelhouse for over a year now and the food is very good. It is now tourist season and restaurants are very crowded, especially on weekends. I don't understand why people feel the need to take their dogs into a very crowded restaurant where the tables are very close together. Tonight we were seated one table away from a couple with a dog. Then another couple came in with a dog and they seated them right next to each other beside us. The first half hour of our dining experience was continuous barking. People all over the outdoor area kept looking over at the table next to us. The people with the dog acted like they didn't even hear him barking! No correcting the dog, no acknowledgement the dog's barking was annoying, etc. After quite a few tables got up and left and we couldn't have a conversation between the four of us, I called our server, Dimitri, over and asked if he could talk to the manager about the barking dog. The manager came over immediately and told us he heard the dog barking while he was inside shucking. He then was able to move us to another table at the other end of the restaurant. Dimitri was great as he was running to the other end of the restaurant to take care of us. After another 10 minutes, we see the owner of the dog walking the dog out of the restaurant to put him in the car. We have no idea whether something was said to the dog owner or not. The 4 or 5 tables that left may have stayed longer and spent more money drinking if they did not have to contend with a loud barking dog! I suggest some sort of sign in the outdoor area - WELL BEHAVED DOGS ARE WELCOME. BARKING DOGS WILL BE ASKED TO LEAVE THE PREMISES. Obviously, rules need to be made and adhered to when dog owners are not considerate of others who are spending their hard earned dollars to enjoy an evening out.

Enjoyed sitting on the back deck for happy hour. Wing, grouper and calamari are all winners. On the water with grey views of the boats

This was my first time here. The seafood restaurant is located downtown on the waterfront channel. The parking lot is quite large. We were here for dinner and opted for outside dinning on their deck adjacent to the dock and water way. Reservations are not required here due to their first come, first serve policy. I started with my jalapeno pineapple margarita for $10 followed by their rum punch for $8. I ate the jalapeno, but, it was not so hot. I also enjoyed my spicy ahi tuna soft tacos for $15.99. My total bill was $68 less taxes and gratuities for both of us. Mask wearing David P. accommodated our table needs. Other employees also wore masks. I will definitely return here again.

Background- worked at a seafood restaurant in high school so I love trying new food when traveling. App - Grouper Fingers - EXCELLENT great came out fast and were hot very tasty! Get them they will not disappoint. Lobster Mac - when you see lobster Mac on the menu you just know it can go either two ways... good or bad. Well this came out very bad. Honestly it lacked seasoning and the cheese wasn't melted on top and the noodles were all on the bottom (kind of like a lasagna). Maybe my standards are too high but I thought who could mess this up?? Especially at a seafood restaurant. Don't get this. Tuna Lettuce Wraps - note* you build these at your table which is kinda cool being a tuna lover I thought this sounded so good on the menu. Firstly, the tuna was cut too big to eat and it would have been nice if those pieces were cut into quarters. Secondly, there was no flavor to the tuna and it had a chewy taste. Don't get this. Drinks/Service were good and take note that happy hour is Monday-Friday at the bar and the party so if you want to partake in the special it would have been nice to have known before sitting outside of the happy hour area. I would go back just for apps and drinks. They have an overwhelming selection on the menu, I would just play it safe. Atmosphere is sooo nice too being right next to the water.