Kyma, is not a local seafood restaurant. Nor is it in anywyay in Annapolis top 10.

More time is spent on presentation and high prices than decent food. Poor excuse for Greek food, also Spanish. Not authentic or good tasting poor portions even for mezedes, and high prices.

Tsunami is a franchise....whats local about that?

Wheres the heck is Mike's Crabhouse, and your putting KYMA on there...

whoever triple posts is clueless

Such harshness for so early in the morning.

EL, what is going with people?

I like the list, but I haven't been to Annapolis in years, so I really can't comment.

IF and that's a big IF, I were to drive to Annapolis for dinner, I would make my stop at Brio. Yes it is a chain, but when I lived in Florida, I had some of my most memorable meals at their location in Winter Park. (Ah, the memories of life before the big recession) I'd like to place LOL here but it's really no laughing matter!
For seafood, I would stay local, Crab Quarters or By the Docks both in Middle River, hon!

Looks like someone forgot to view the disclaimer....

An eclectic selection! We often end up at Cantler's and have a crab cake. It is a pretty modest place and ok if you can deal with paper and plastic. We like Carrol's Creek for special occasions and a more upscale experience. It is lovely. But your list makes me want to get out and try places we haven't been to. I think we are creatures of habit and don't eat around.

Thank you for the information. I am planning to go to Annapolis and originally thought about the Chart House but when I read you review of Real Seafood I decided to go "local". This list will be put to good use.

I think your list is fine, Elizabeth and very helpful to those of us who don't even know what's in Annapolis. Now we have 10 places to choose from in case we should go there.

GP, without any snark, if you have better suggestions, we'd like to hear them too.

I understand that lobster roll is specialty of Hell's Point. I'm highly conflicted about eating lobster roll in Annapolis. It seems a bit disloyal. Besides, doesn't it taste better if eaten on the coast in New England? Isn't there some rule that requires you to go to Hatteras Island for the clam chowder, the Carolina for shrimp, Maine for lobster, Maryland for crab, and Philly for the cheese steak? Food for thought!

GP:

Tsunami is not a franchise. It's locally owned - and the owners live in Annapolis
That's local, hon.

I agree that if Cantler's is on the list, Mike's should be too.

Mike's technically isn't in Annapolis. All good suggestions though.

I am not familiar with the dining scene in Annapolis either, so this is a helpful list.

Thanks for mentioning the docks at Cantler's. Big boating weekend coming up.

While I agree that Kyma is not a suggestable restaurant, my main question is Hell Point. I don't think I've seen your review but "sainted" Tom in DC was underwhelmed and many people I have spoken with agree. As such a new restaurant that seems to be hoping that a famous chef's name is enough, it seems odd that you would include it.

Note I used the hated emphasis on sainted, but no royal our.

The name is slipping my memory right now, but that Irish pub on Maryland Ave is considered by many of the locals to have the best crab cakes in town.

RoCK, I believe you're referring to Galway Bay.

Annapolis is well worth a day trip down from Baltimore, particularly as the weather cools and the tourists thin out.

One draw is waterside dining. From EL's list, here are the waterside seafood restaurants:

Severn Inn - good view across Spa Creek to the Naval Academy.

Yellowfin -good view across the South River. Great sunsets.

Carroll's Creek - located across the bridge in Eastport - views of Spa Creek and marina

Hell'sPoint - on the water in the downtown dock area

Of the above 4 restaurants, only two are in the general downtown historic district, within waking distance of other Annapolis attractions. Carroll's Creek is a walk across the Eastport Bridge, probably better to drive there.
Yikes, that just leaves Hell's Point.

Within walking distance of downtown, but without a water view are three restaurants on West Street: Tsunami, Jerry's and Kyma

Tsunami has excellent seafood but can get noisy. To avoid the noise, make your reservation for a time before 7p.m. and ask for a booth. You can also ask for one of the outside tables fronting West Street if you feel more casual and want to take your dog (last tme we were there, they even brought out some water to our hound, unasked for but appreciated.).
Jerry's has superb crabcakes and an exceptional roof top dining area with great views.
Kyma - well, hmmm, more tapas than seafood.

Cantler's is a crab house on the Magothy River. Mike's is a crab house on the South River. If you want a crab house that is a cut above the ordinary, go to Skippers Pier in Deale (a nice drive 20 miles south of Annapolis) - feels like you are somewhere in the outer banks.

OLeary's has a well deserved seafood reputation and a lovely location in Eastport close to the water but not on it. A tad crowded at times. Rockfish also is in Eastport.

Worth mentioning for it's waterside setting is Sam's Restaurant in Chesapeake Harbor a drive from downtown but still in Annapolis proper.

OK, as an Eastport resident I have to agree that Kyma doesn't really qualify and Mike's is a conspicuous omission. All the others are pretty close though.

Tsunami really is just another sushi place. If we're including sushi, then I'd go with two or three others before Tsunami. Better to just leave sushi for another conversation.

O'Briens probably deserves a mention, as it's oyster menu is more consistent than McGarvey's. I'd probably throw it into the mix and remove Severn Inn, which has a pretty bad reputation.

Edgewater Inn has the best crab cake, though it isn't technically in Annapolis.

To correct hmpstd, in case you're going by boat, Cantler's is on Mill creek just off the Severn, not the Magothy.

I second the statement about Mike's not being in Annapolis. It's in Riva, and if it was on the list, then Edgewater restaurant should be considered as well, as most local's usually consider Edgewater to have the best crabcakes in the area.

FLIRV, I have some advice for you getting back into Cantler's: 1) the entrance to the creek is filled with crab pots, so keep a good look out, and 2) there's shoal on the starboard side of the entrance to the creek as you head in that extends a bit past the marker. Make sure you honor it.

You won't be dissapointed if you head over there. If there's no space at the dock (they have 6 slips or so), just drop an anchor in the creek and dinghy over.

I went to Mike's recently - first time I had ever been there - and we had very nice crabs. Even better, though, was the server: a waitress who unobtrusively anticipated our every need, kept us informed about the progress of our order, brought the kids' meals out as soon as they were ready without being asked, kept the iced tea and beer pitchers refilled, etc.

I sometimes forget how pleasant it is to have a truly professional server, who treats his/her work as a craft and a career, rather than as a necessary annoyance to get a paycheck. Honestly, I can be very happy eating mediocre food with excellent service, but even excellent food doesn't make me happy if it comes with a side order of mediocre service. Your mileage may vary.

To correct you, annapolis pirate, I made no post on Cantler's. In the D@L blog, the commenter's name follows the comment which s/he has just posted. My post at 12:24 PM referred to Galway Bay. You may be referring to the next post, which was made by caroline at 12:54 PM, and which referred to Cantler's being on the Magothy.

Nobody corrects hmpstd!

The posts above are ample evidence of my surprise that Cantler's doesn't have a map on its website. It's hard enough to get there by car even with a map -- MapQuest is not much help.
It's easier to get there by boat, if you're that fortunate, but beware. It's on Mill Creek (careful, there are several Mill Creeks off the bay), which is reached through Whitehall Bay, marked to port by the radio antennas outside the Naval Academy and just south of the Bay Bridge. Worth the voyage.

To paraphrase Patrick Swayze... "Nobody puts hmpstd in a corner!"

I think hmpstd has been wrong once or twice, and gracious about it.

He isn't infallible. He is the local keeper of facts, though.

Hey everybody, drop what you're doing and go vote in the City Paper's Best of Baltimore readers poll. Today is the deadline, you can vote on-line. And we all want Dining@Large to win for Best Local Blog, right?

Problem is, you have to vote in at least 25 categories for them to count your ballot. I'm having trouble with some of these:

Best Greek: Plato or Socrates?
Best Indian: Gandhi or ?
Best Italian: Fellini or Bertolucci?
Best Sports Bar: like I would know this
Best Lesbian Bar: now this I would like to know
Best Drunken Hook-Up Bar: well, I don't know about best...
Best Strip Joint: best leave that one blank
Best Bartender: gotta be Baltimoron
Best Place to Take Out of Town Visitors: that was covered in yesterday's Live Chat
Best Happy Hour: right here, right now, right? Can I buy you a drink, EL?

I need one for sure. EL

Best Italian: Fellini or Bertolucci?,i>

Camille, I understand your dilemma. Do I nominate Valero, who took me by boat to Positano, seranaded me with Italian love songs and danced with me in the moonlight?

But then there was Niccolo, who looked like an Italian movie star in his white linen jacket and trousers as we ate a late lunch seaside at Forte di Marmi.

And of course I can't forget Lello, who taught me how to drink absinthe when we were in Rome...how to choose, how to choose...

Point to Camille.

Best Latin: Suetonius or Catullus?

An refert, ubi et in qua arrigas?

Mentula conatur Pipleium scandere montem:
Musae Purcillis praecipitem eicunt.

I'm an Anglo-Saxonist, not a Latinist, but Catullus is far more interesting in translation, at least. My HS English teacher held him up as an example of how the classics were *not* boring.

Camille, is there a lesbian bar in town besides Port in a Storm?

Going back to the original topic, a number of commenters have questioned whether one or another place should be considered as being "in Annapolis". This, in turn, begs the question of just what should be considered to be be in Annapolis, anyway. There are unincorporated areas of Anne Arundel County which share "Annapolis" ZIP codes with parts of the City of Annapolis, thanks to the U.S. Postal Service. Cantler's location on the Broadneck Peninsula might be viewed by locals as being part of Cape Saint Claire. Mike's is in the Riva ZIP code area. And do you even belong in Annapolis if you happen to be in the Maritime Republic of Eastport? ;-)

I'd think it only fair to encourage readers to suggest restaurants that are in the Annapolis area, to include places that are reasonably close to the City Dock area. (I don't think Deale fits that bill -- it may be 20 miles away, but so is BWI, and the roads to BWI are a lot faster.)

Where is Eastport in relation to the part of Annapolis where the house and senate and Rams Head Tavern are?

CoTW nomination to GregBWorking

Bacon Girl, Eastport is south of the downtown core of Annapolis, from which it is separated by Spa Creek. Indeed, the Maritime Republic of Eastport came into being on Super Bowl Sunday 1998 owing to the State Highway Administration's decision to close the Spa Creek Bridge for repairs.

Edgewater Inn? As in the Old Stein? Or is there another one I've overlooked? (Google is no help in this case...)

ngrier: Edgewater Inn is on Mayo Road, south of Annapolis. The Old Stein is in the same general area.
Thanks, EL for this topic. I like the focus on locally owned restaurants. As the summer wanes, there still might be time to highlight some of the waterfront/waterside restaurants in that great grey area of AA county that abuts the Western Bay and rivers south of Annapolis but is not Annapolis proper. This might include a wide swath such as Severna Park, Galesville, Deale, North Beach Calvert County) and the like.

Too bad this list didn't appear until now... I really could've used some advice while in Annapolis for the 10-mile race a few weeks ago. After wandering around (and seriously considering Hell Point), we settled on Middleton Tavern. Maybe they were having a bad day. That's all I'll say.

i need the name of a restaurant on the water in maryland, annapolis. the restaurant starts with the letter P

Thank you for your info. You have info top 10 restaurant seafood at other country?

Shill at 2:43 AM! (It's yet another "visit" from the affiliated multi-country, multi-website group hawking European electronics.)

By the way, the post immediately preceding that one (September 22, 8:57 PM) also appears to be a shill (this time for an Indonesian sea cucumber site), but the URL link in the poster's name contained a typo. Kill the link, anyway?

What about the Boatyard Bar & Grill (410-216-6206)? It's definitely an Annapolis seafood restaurant, is not a chain, and has one of the best raw bars in town.