Mark’s Score 9.4
As of the time of this writing, I rate this restaurant the best on the Delmarva. Off the Hook is part of the local restaurant chain, Common Ground Hospitality. They own four restaurants, two in Delaware and two in Maryland. They focus on fresh ingredients sourced from local farms and watermen and creatively present their dishes in upscale venues.
We recently decided to go on a three-day holiday to Bethany Beach. Before I go on holiday, I always check out the local restaurant scene on the net. This restaurant was on the top of my “must try’ list. I have to say that I wasn’t immediately impressed. The restaurant is well inland from the beach (so you have to drive) and it was located amongst a collection of strip malls. I have this thing about restaurants located in strip malls. Fine dining is all about the experience, how can you have a memorable experience in a strip mall? But, oh how wrong I was.
I went to Off the Hook at 6:00 pm on a Tuesday night in the off season. I should have realized that I was in for a memorable experience when I found it difficult to find a parking space. I walked into the restaurant and it was so crowded I decided to sit at the bar. Though the bar too was crowded, there was one seat left, on the corner no less. The best seats at a bar are always on the corner, you can better observe what other people are eating. I have, on more than one occasion, looked down a bar and said to the bartender, “I’ll have what that person is eating.”
Though I grew up in coastal New England I am not really a big fish eater, but I know good fish when I see it. So, it is a tall task for a seafood restaurant to impress me. The kitchen is behind the bar, in fact you can watch the chefs prepare the food from the corner bar seat. In some ways it is almost a shame to eat their dishes, they are works of art. For me, eating out is an occasion so the presentation is important. The people next to me were sharing a plate of the Shrimp and Grits, and it looked absolutely amazing, but I went with the halibut. Halibut is my favorite fish. Off the Hook serves their halibut on a bed of whipped eggplant and mushrooms, it sounded too good to pass up, and when it arrived it was almost too pretty to eat.
So, this restaurant hit all my buttons, high quality food, presented with artistic flair, in interesting food and flavor combinations, in a salubrious atmosphere by a friendly and helpful staff. That is why I currently rate this restaurant as the best on the Delmarva. Even more impressive, they managed to achieve this combination on a busy night in the off season.
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