Understandably, many coastal diners want seafood when they’re at the beach. However, even specialty restaurants usually have steak on the menu, and some establishments are devoted to it. Partly, that’s because some diners have fish and shellfish allergies. Others prefer meat.
Since beach restaurants serve tourists—including groups of families and friends—they want to cater to all needs. Even The Cultured Pearl Restaurant & Sushi Bar serves a grilled 12-ounce New York strip—with Japanese steak sauce, of course. DiFebo’s Restaurant, an Italian eatery in Rehoboth and Bethany Beach, serves its strip steak with wild mushrooms, roasted garlic, parmesan spinach and mashed potatoes.
Most longtime diners will recommend 1776 in Midway Shopping Center between Lewes and Rehoboth Beach. Fun fact: the Colonial-themed restaurant, founded in 1989, once featured costumed servers and $17.76 prix fixe meals.
Kenny Butler, who bought 1776 in 1992, brought chef Phil Lambert on board to turn the restaurant into a steakhouse while keeping the atmosphere. By 2007, when Tom Holmes and Bob Mitchell purchased it, the business had been floundering. They decided to keep the name and up the quality. Since then, the restaurant has expanded. Holmes is now partners with Chef Tammy Mozingo and John Farquhar.
In Lewes and Bethany Beach, Chef Danio Somoza’s Harvest Tide Steakhouse takes a nontraditional approach to the classic chophouse. Charcuterie boards, Peruvian chicken, seared tuna with Everything Bagel seasoning and bouillabaisse share the menu with filet mignon, dry-aged ribeye and New York strip steak.
Houston-White Co. in Rehoboth Beach, meanwhile, delivers the expected: a wedge salad with blue cheese, oysters Rockefeller, shrimp cocktail and a variety of meats, including 6- and 10-ounce filets. Surprises include duck breast, foie gras and lamb “pops” marinated in mint and mustard.
The newer Theo’s Steaks, Sides & Spirits, also in Rehoboth, is the second Theo’s; the first is in St. Michaels, Maryland. The Baltimore Avenue restaurant stands out from the crowd by offering chateaubriand, steak Diane and steak Oscar, as well as individual cuts.
Theo’s also has seafood dishes and burgers (Hammy’s Burgers and Shakes on Route 1 is Theo’s sibling). However, the Thanksgiving Dinner, available all year, is undoubtedly the most eclectic menu in any steakhouse.
Of course, a restaurant needn’t be a steakhouse to cook a good steak. For instance, Our Harvest in Fenwick Island features a barrel-cut Wagyu steak with black garlic-horseradish aioli. (Wagyu refers to four Japanese beef cattle breeds known for tender meat with massive marbling.)
On Thursday nights, Kindle in Lewes is packed with carnivores for the filet night—an 8-ounce filet with a glass of wine for $35. (Wine selections must be $10 or under.) The Pines in Rehoboth Beach’s entrees include filet mignon and steak frites. (The burger is made with a dry-aged beef blend.)
Chefs at The Café on 26 cut Black Angus tenderloin in-house to produce the 8-ounce filet rubbed with a proprietary seasoning.
Can’t decide between seafood and meat? The restaurant also offers a 12-ounce grilled ribeye and a filet topped with jumbo lump crab and a dill cream reduction sauce.
In coastal Delaware, you can’t go wrong with surf and turf.
