Ocean City Brewing Company

I sat in the bar area & ask about Happy Hour Specials. They have 4 things on their special and they only take $ 1 off. Pretty bad when an appetizer, a burger & an ice tea came to $ 28. + of course I left a 20% tip. So $ 34, what a rip. Ridiculous. I will not go there again.

Meh. If you are into rail drinks and beer you found your place. Wouldnt recommend for dinner or actual cocktails.

Came in, got seated right away, no server or drink for 15 minutes. Left. Sorry won’t be coming back. Can’t wait to see what moves in when this place closes.
Then got a response asking if I had been to the right place. Very insulting. Of course I am talking about the correct place. Across from Wegman’s. I guess because I’m never coming back it’s ok to insinuate I’m stupid? Guess what, that solidifies my choice not to ever patronize this place again. If I could give 0 stars, I would.
This time, with this review, I posted it to Facebook.

Food is below average and the beer just plain isn’t good. Service was also shotty.

Beer was good, Food wasn’t all that great. I went for Happy Hour and grabbed the Cheesesteak egg rolls for $ 5 or something like that. But overall it was a good experience, I’d go back and get something else to eat this time!

We were seated right away. Then we sat with servers staring at us with fear in their eyes. No one spoke to us for over 15 minutes, they walked by us and helped other tables.
We got up and walked to the bar. We were promptly greeted and offered samples of draft beer. The bartender was awesome. The beer was cold and food good.
Finally, there were 5 employees seated at table playing on their phones. If they were on a break there should be a better place for them to sit. If they were not then shame on them for not helping. When you are hungry and being ignored the last think you want is to see employees sitting and not helping.

Happy hour only includes the bar area pretty
strange. Happy hour is a drawing card
Beautiful facility but you need more than that to keep bring people back.
My wife had blacken chicken in a pear salad and it cam with regular grilled chicken. The bowl is cumbersome to use when cutting the chicken.
I had shrimp salad sandwich and it was great. Coleslaw is definitely processed from factory process. Can you have the cook get a little creative. Fries with old bay were fabulous
Server was awesome but the restaurant won’t survive if they don’t see what the competitors are doing such as Bostons and Bushmill.

Ugh. I so badly wanted to love this place. I was impressed when I walked in (I’m not from the area so I didn’t know if was a former Joe’s) and the décor was pretty fun and eye catching. My party got sat right away and drinks were promptly ordered and delivered. I’m not a beer gal so I was really happy to see they offered a ton of other drinks. The crushes were generously portioned. For the appetizers we got the fried pickles and pretzels which were actually really great. The service was prompt and friendly throughout the entire visit, no complaints there. Then came the meals… I ordered blackened Mahi Mahi which came with rice and veggies. The veggies were the best part unfortunately. The Mahi Mahi wasn’t blackened, it was grilled with zero flavor or seasoning. I had to ask for a side of teriyaki sauce just to make it palatable to eat. The rice also wasn’t seasoned and they used brown rice (I’m hoping, because it was literally brown) and that’s so much more bland than using white rice. It was a huge disappointment. My mom ordered a gyro, which btw, it definitely wasn’t a gyro. On a roll? My mom couldn’t even tell what the «meat» was.
Overall, the atmosphere is fun, service was friendly and prompt, the drinks were great and the appetizers are decent pub grub. The main meals need a major overhaul to add flavor. I’ve never been to the original one in OC but I hope it’s better.

First time here since it was Joe’s Crap Shack and must say the food is really good. I got a cheeseburger with pepper jack cheese and fries. The server was really attentive.

This is a pretty good restaurant. Good food and atmosphere. Good drinks as well. Would definitely go back

The beer was very good as was the fried pickles. The only negative was the greenbeans. They were not seasoned at all.

We are there on Feb 20^th 2016. We were there for the first time and will definitely be the last. Not sure if the chef sucks or the restaurant as a whole. We ordered coconut shrimp, they were out of it is they gave us Buffalo shrimp with no Buffalo sauce. It had a oil dripping from it and collected on the bottom of the plate. We also got burger and fish tacos. The burger was not well cooked and tacos were not well made. Everything seemed stale and made from frozen stuff. Only good thing is their beer selection. They have a pretty good collection.
I wonder how long until this place closes like crab shack.

First time and last time.
I am glad inread reviews while deciding if i was going to eat dinner.
Sat at bar and first word of bartender was hey buddy… totally was going to walk out then. How about leaving buddy off and doong an introduction. Ips was good along with maryland crab soup.
Agree with bar. Too small and bartender had no clue how to find a nba game. They need 2 – 3 more tvs for bar patrons.
Lastly, i only give one chance to wow me. too many other options in the area.

We live in walking distance and we tried SO hard to make this our place. We have gone there 5 different times and every single time has been a complete let down.
The food is so inconsistent, the price for domestics is high. And the service is completely unprofessional.
The most recent time we went, all of our food came out cold (this has happened before), there was chicken bones in a boneless chicken breast sandwich and the steak sandwich looked as if the whole sandwich was just stomped on and flat. We never got silverware nor were we checked on after our food came out
After we flagged down someone, they brought out the kitchen manager and the regular manager and prior to them coming to our table our waitress goes «be easy on the kitchen manager, he’s slow»… Who says that or thinks saying that is okay?!
They removed the two sandwiches from our bill and attempted to offer some free appetizers but at this point we didn’t want any food. All of our patrons have worked in the restaurant industry, we know how it is, and the lack of customer service is evident.
This experience mirrors the other 4x we have been there and were charged entirely too much for subpar food and service, Good luck, we won’t be back.

This place is great bar food! I had a chicken sandwich and the crab dip and it was great! If you need a place to get good food on a late night this is your place! Also a great selection of beer!

Edit. Went there recently (June) on a Sunday afternoon. Place was not busy. Was served quickly and got a couple of beers. Wife fancied half pound of steamed shrimp. The attached photo is what we got. Tiny shrimp that is more suited for a cocktail. In Maryland let me remind you. Manager came over and said «well what size should they be?» We left, never to return. Sorry.

Nice, big, clean hang out. Like a clean version of Looneys. Decent selection of beer, n a small menu. Good service. And a nice mussels dish.

We felt fleeced and left hungry.
Neither the quality nor quantity of food lived up to the price tag.
$ 8 for a fried pickle. That’s right. Singular. Pickle. One cucumber fried.
$ 8 for a kid’s hot dog. Normal size with chips and a drink.
The portions were small, and lacked flavor.
Don’t go unless you feel like making a charitable donation to the owner.

Going to drop it down to a three. Been here over a dozen times now (13 — I keep track) and I really want the place to work but it is just not quite there.
It’s pricey. The beer is good — some are really good, a great selection but in Abingdon, $ 6 is on the high side for a 16oz pint and the happy hour deals (which stop at 6PM when most people are just thinking about going out) aren’t the best: $ 4 for maybe three of the beers out of 50 drafts on the menu. Regularly spending $ 70-​$ 80 for a few beers and eats for two after work is not happening. Every other bar within a few miles is doing really good happy hours right now. with craft beers in the $ 3.50 to $ 5.00 range and $ 2 domestic pints. They also will not split checks which is a PITA when there are a bunch of you. It’s not a problem in other places we frequent.
The menu is ok and the food is good but after a few visits, you start to realize that it’s not really a lot of variety. I’m not shilling for other establishments at all but take a look at the menu at the Billiards place near the Festival. The place holds like 10 people and the menu is humongous.
Seating — if you have a group and the two long tables are taken, your out of luck unless you want to sit out in the ‘garage’. Pushing a couple of tables together is verboten, as is adding a chair at the end of a table. We do this in EVERY other bar in Harford Co. and the servers help us but apparently it’s a Fire Code violation at this location. One night, the girls had to sit at one table and the guys at another two tables away. It wasn’t busy. Quite ridiculous. And that dining area just lacks character — it’s like sitting in a brightly-​lit Chipotle.
Service is inconsistent. It depends who you get and how many tables he or she has been allocated. We’ve had servers who have a replacement beer in front of you as soon as you think about getting another, and then there have been long periods of staring into an empty glass wondering where he or she disappeared to.
Other weirdness. They sell growlers but can’t fill the growler. At the risk of sounding like Seinfeld, «you see, that’s really the most important part of the growler experience: the filling of the growler» Anyway, something to do with the liquor license. Harford Co. is particularly strict with liquor laws but WTF?
Lastly, a nitpick and not a complaint. The bar is too small for a brew pub. I understand it was a retrofit but it just doesn’t feel like a bar. Ideally the bar SHOULD be in the big room in the middle like the big room at MaGerks. But I understand that is quite an undertaking and expense. A second bar maybe in that awful garage area would maybe work. Especially in the summer. Maybe in the future. Finger’s crossed.
I’m not going to stop going there occasionally since it is about 500 yards from my home but I can’t give it an honest five star rating at this time. Three is still good. I hope it improves.

Wait was 15 minutes on a Saturday night which is doable. Server Melissa was fantastic! Very attentive and friendly. Good was great. Grilled chicken actually tasted grilled which a lot of restaurants can’t do. Overall a great experience. Glad something good went into the building.
Also, they seem to have a lot of neat we’ll events. Will definitely be back.

The keyword here is inconsistent, but adequate for the price point.
Drinks: 4
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 3
Food: 3
Overall: 3.5
The beer selection is varied and quality, but the bartenders were barely sufficient. I wouldn’t call them even remotely helpful or friendly. The same can be said for the hostesses.
Our server on the other hand could not have been more friendly or helpful. She was around just enough to answer all of our questions thoroughly without hovering. She was helpful without being pushy, which is a nice balance to strike.
The food was just as inconsistent as the service. OC Local Egg Roll? Oh my God, so so good. Crab, shrimp, tater tot, all fried in a crispy (but not overly greasy) egg roll. Not even a little bit healthy, but very tasty. Our other appetizer, the crab dip, was dry and fishy.
The buffalo chicken sandwich was also killer. Great bun, and a great balance of buffalo to ranch. The crab cake had a little too much filler to stand on its own, but was fine on a sandwich and had a great flavor. Worth the price point for sure. The side Caesar salads were not good. Not enough dressing, no parmesan, and mostly the white middle of the lettuce.
Overall we had some good beer, and an OK meal, for a reasonable price. I wouldn’t call it a great night out, but certainly an adequate meal before heading to run the rest of your errands.

Worst burger I have ever had. Medium well = charred AF here.
Only saving grace were the fried pickles.
If I wasn’t here with a large party of coworkers and my boss wasn’t paying for this, I would have actually sent my meal back. That bad. After I got back in the car with my carpool team, we agreed that you don’t come here for entrees. No one enjoyed anything other than the fried pickles, so if you must come here, stick with bar food.

Large selection of beers and plenty of food to choose from. No trouble being seated for a late lunch on a weekday.

My wife and went there for dinner/​happy hour this Tuesday. We walked in and found the place quite empty and were able to grab a seat at the bar. We were promptly greeted by a waiter and asked if we wanted a drink. Being our first time there, I asked what the happy hour specials were and the waiter said they didn’t have any. So we ordered 2 OC beers. Shortly after ordering our drinks, I saw the happy hour specials listed on the napkin bin. I guess the waiter missed that.
We then ordered 2 burgers with fries. When they came out, both were over cooked and I was given a different burger then I ordered. When I pointed that out to the waitress she argued with me saying I ordered what she brought out and was unapologetic. Being nice, i kept what I was given with the assumption I would at least be charged for the burger I ordered. That was incorrect.
When my wife and I were finished eating, our trays were quickly cleared. With both of us still having full beers and no intent to leave, our check was brought over. We both thought that was weird being that it was still empty in the bar, and we still had full beers. We took that as a hint and paid.
The only good part about the visit was that we had a GC that covered the check. I would not recommend this place nor will I return.

Went to dinner with a party of 7 and saw many large open tables but we’re told, on a Friday night, that they were reserved for a party of 30. That was odd, but ok. Once seated at a table for 6 we had to request a move as we were on the enclosed patio and could not add a chair to the end of the table. Once seated waitress was very friendly and prompt. Food was very slow. Took over 45 minutes to get our meal. I was the DD so I had water, ask for a lemon, water has an odd taste. The beer drinkers at our table (5 of them) all ordered something different from their craft beers selection. No one had anything positive to say and if you don’t like the beer you still have to pay for it. The beers were served warm, in warm glasses. Most breweries allow you to send it back as long as you order something else. Stick with bottled beers you know and like. One person had a vodka on the rocks, no complaints. They cannot make separate tickets so if you go as a group be ready to do some math and deal with the awkwardness of someone not throwing in enough cash. Food was good, had a burger and it was solid. It was a little small but mine was cooked right and tasted good. Fries were mediocre at best. One of the other folks in my group had a burger that was overcooked and her fries were soggy. Overall, no one from my group was impressed, we will not be back. There was no military discount. There are too many other choices in the area.
The party of 30 never showed up.

To echo the other reviews, I was very happy to see a new restaurant taking over the old Joe’s Crab and adding something to the area. The location is great considering it is located relatively close to the highway and right across from Wegmans.
I went after work on a Tuesday to check it out and business seemed to be booming. Wanted to catch Happy Hour, which is from 3 — 6 PM, but just missed it. I didn’t want to wait for a table so I sat in the bar area. Even though seating at the actual bar was packed, they had a few open tables beside it. The menu had everything from burgers to seafood to salads. The beer list looked decent even though I wasn’t in the mood to try one. I ordered the crab legs with a side of fries and honestly they were just okay. They took awhile to come out, which built up my anticipation of how good they were going to be. Maybe my expectations were too high?!
I’m not counting them out just yet… this was just my first impression.
C+

Problems:
1. Wife first asked for Dr Pepper. I asked for water. They gave her the water. They gave me Dr Pepper.
2. Dr Pepper was flat. No carbonation. Sent it back.
3. I asked if they had a flight of beers. Yes was the answer. But it included only three beers.
4. Fries: stale and chewy.
5. The Hammer flatbread: menu states that it has ribeye steak on it. It actually looks like ground meat. Tastes like seasoned ground beef.
6. Final check included the Dr Pepper that we sent back.
Neutral:
1. Initial server was a lady. Changed to a guy after we sent back the Dr Pepper.
2. Burger was cooked properly.
Good:
1. The Hammer flatbread has good flavor.
2. Server immediately ordered new fries after I told him they were stale and chewy.
3. Though fries took longer than it should have taken to get to me, the server apologized for the delay.
4. Server took off the charge on the Dr Pepper.
5. Our second server, Jacob the bar tender, was excellent.
Would I come back? Maybe I’ll come back for some beer at the bar, but not for the food.

The only reason I am giving 2 stars, is for the beer selection. Service here was horrible and also some other issues I will describe below.
1) We went on a Monday night and the place was 25% full, but we sat for 20 minutes at a table without anyone taking our order before I got up and asked for a server to take our order. Also, my friend ordered a cheeseburger and it took them 45 minutes to bring the burger out, server admitted later on he forgot to put in the order.
2) The general vibe here is off, its too open and the new owner never really changed any décor from the crab shack. The bar area is really small and the rest of the area is really open with a lot of tables. Expand the bar area, if I am going to a bar I want to sit a bar for the most part, not tables all over the place.
3) Now here is the big one for me, since I am a sports nut. It is 8:45 on a Monday night, and they are showing Big Bang Theory on 25% of the tvs and the Monday night football game is not on even ONE TV! I had to ask them to put the Monday night game on for us.

My wife and I went here a few days ago, and every time I drive past this place I’m saddened because the potential is there for this to be a really awesome spot for locals.
First, the atmosphere: OCBC completely missed the mark with their renovation of the place. If you were here when it was Joe’s Crab Shack, then not much has changed with the exception of the number of TV’s, which are plentiful. That said, they really screwed up the interior design. There is the same small bar area tucked away in the corner when you first come in, and then the main dining area. The main dining area is still obnoxiously large and has a dining hall feel to it. The lighting is way too bright, and it doesn’t feel intimate at all. They should have used the space better and made a huge bar area in what I dub the dining hall, and put some outlying tables and booths surrounding it. Being a brewery it should have more of a bar feel to it. I had higher hopes.
Service and food: Blah and blah. First, we ordered a flight of beers. When you go to a bar, and want a drink, you don’t want to wait 15 minutes for a beer! Sadly, we waited 15 minutes. We got the «bar is backed up» excuse, but I’m not buying it. They had three people behind the bar, the place wasn’t terribly busy, and I’ve poured beer before, it’s not rocket science, and it’s not time consuming. Our food, or I should say the first attempt at delivering our food, came out about two minutes after we got our drinks. To be fair, the waitress was apologetic and nice. Nice doesn’t put the beer in my hands though.
So the food comes out. My wife ordered shrimp tacos. First attempt they brought out fish tacos. Told the waitress, she comes back with pork tacos 5 minutes later… wrong again. Third time, and 5 more minutes later, was a charm. I got a burger and tots. All the food was forgettable. And if they did the bar area right, people would be going more for the drinks and not the food. Bar food is acceptable in a good bar, but a good bar it’s not.
I’ll give them another chance, and hope they get something right, but again it lacks atmosphere. It’s more restaurant than bar, a restaurant that does have a lot of beer choices. It’s not the place I hoped for, and unless they remodel, it won’t be.

Dined 12÷9÷2015, 11:30 Lunch, not busy.
I have been looking forward to Ocean City Brewing Co’s opening since I found out a Brew Pub restaurant was replacing Joe’s Crab Shack. On my day off I stopped by for lunch at 11:30 about a week after their grand opening. I was greeted promptly by the hostess asking if I were alone and if I would be interested in a table or the bar. I indicated the two high-​tops would be good and told they were self-​seating and someone from the bar would be right with me.
Kim from the bar came out with in about 1 minute, introduce herself and showed me the beer menu and talked about the flights of three 5oz beers for $ 6. I selected the OCB Krusher IPA (which by the way was delicious). I also ordered one of the lunch specials on the back of the beer menu (not the regular menu) the pick two for $ 8.99. I ordered a cup of Maryland crab and a half sausage flatbread. The cup of soup was small approximately 4 ounces of lukewarm non-​zesty Maryland crab and the flat bread pizza was a 6 inch by 6 inch piece of cracker with a small amount of tomato sauce and mozzarella with standard sausage crumble you would find on a cheap frozen or public school pizza (see photo) [Compare that to the Green Turtle’s pick two for $ 7.99, you get an 8oz bowel with the flatbread]. To Kim’s credit, she came back when I was about half done with the soup to inquire about my food. When I told her I was disappointed because the soup was both cold and had no zing, like Maryland Crab should, she offered to get me another cup which I accepted. The one she brought me was piping hot, and she also brought a shaker of Old Bay so I could spice it up.
After I finished my first beer it took about 10 minutes for the waitress came back and inquire about a second. At which time I ordered the OCB Route 50 APA a cheeseburger with American and Pepper Jack cheese topped with lettuce, tomato, onion, and mayonnaise on the side. At that time she also gave me information about the legends club with exclusive benefits (more later on this).
My cheeseburger was cooked spot on to a perfect medium rare (see photo), but as you see it also looks small. It was served with a sweet-​ish coleslaw that was not tangy and 2 pickle chips that were delicious but not nearly enough for the burger. You need at least 3 to cover the burger. It was supposed to come with house chips but they weren’t delivered initially, & I had to ask the waitress to have them sent out. The house chips are a thin cross-​cut deep fried potato chip.
The menu and food remind me of Bar /​Pub food, nothing special and little pricey for the quality. The main menu is a laminated placemat style menu (see photo) with more appetizers and flatbreads than anything else. If my half of a sausage flatbread is an example of how they are served with low quality sausage, then I would avoid. It looks to me like Ocean City Brewing Co didn’t research what is available here in the Abingdon /​Bel Air area, we have tons of choices to enjoy good quality food. I’d advise you to check out your competition Du Claws, Green Turtle, Birroteca, Looney’s to name a few, this is not Ocean City filled with Tourists.
What I did like is the large assortment of draft beer available, I counted 50 potential taps available, and the two different OCB drafts I had today were good. I am assuming that the few open taps are for the tap take over nights, which is a good idea. The Legend’s Club looks interesting, auto upgrades from 16 oz to 20 oz beers and a 10% discount on food. You have a distinct opportunity to be a unique quality Brew Pub /​Restaurant, but you have your work cut out for you. If your choice of sausage is an example of quality, then you might want to rethink using local ingredients, like local made sausage and drop the institutional U.S. Foods or Cisco garbage.
They are new and will definitely have some growing pains. I liked the two drafts I had and am highly interested in trying the others, as well as explore more of their food options so I will be back.