Cool coastal towns for seafood fans

There may be no better way to get a true sense of America’s seaside villages and retro beach towns than by diving deep on the area’s local seafood: Maryland crab, Maine lobster, Alabama shrimp, and everything in between.

From no-frills clam shacks to elegant waterfront institutions, these spots can be a window not only into the region’s culinary point of view but also its history and traditions. Here, we’ve pulled together eight towns where you can savor the spoils of the sea on a relaxing summer escape.

With a nickname like the Conch Republic, it should come as no surprise that Key West is a seafood-mad town. At the Art Deco Eaton Street Seafood Market and Restaurant, you can try conch in fritters, chowder, and even ceviche, while B.O.’s Fish Wagon turns out crispy cracked conch “seawiches.” But it’s far from the only signature seafood in these parts: Other standouts include lobster-like royal red shrimp, which are in season from late summer through late fall, and Florida stone crab claws, best enjoyed cold with mustard dipping sauce at the Half Shell Raw Bar or the A&B Lobster House.

For something a touch more sophisticated, Old Town’s Little Pearl is a neighborhood wine bar where the chef’s tasting menu might include pink shrimp and waffles or grouper cheek bao buns.

Where to stay: If you want to channel your inner Hemingway, The Marker Key West is just a stone crab’s throw from the marina, and the concierge can hook you up with a fishing charter that’s right for you.

There’s no greater pilgrimage for oyster slurpers than Marshall, a tiny town on the shores of Tomales Bay, about 1.5 hours north of San Francisco. Here you can learn about “merroir” at the oyster farms lining Highway 1, including Tomales Bay Oyster Company and Hog Island Oyster Company. As the big player in these parts, Hog Island offers farm tours, shucking classes, and tastings, and they run a few different venues: Tony’s Seafood, which was opened in 1948 by a Croatian fisherman and now serves grilled oysters topped with chipotle brown sugar bourbon butter; the always-packed Boat Oyster Bar, where raw oysters are splashed with “hogwash” (lime-jalapeño mignonette); and The Hog Shack, which sells them unshucked.

Nearby, The Marshall Store is an unassuming dive that delivers on flavor. Among its six preparations, try an oyster smoked with Cowgirl Creamery's fromage blanc or served Kilpatrick-style, with garlic butter, Worcestershire sauce, bacon, and parsley.

Where to stay: In this hamlet, you can even sleep at an oyster bar: Nick’s Cove Cottages are a dozen handsome bungalows connected to a restaurant where you can break up the oyster party with Tomales Bay clam chowder, cioppino, or Lagunitas-battered rock cod fish and chips. Pro-tip: Order all three.

The spiced aroma of Old Bay practically hangs like a cloud over Maryland's Eastern Shore, a rural stretch of corn fields and colonial-era towns on the coast of the Chesapeake Bay. Here, you’re never more than a few minutes from a steaming mound of blue crabs, waiting to be hammered, cracked, or pried open. Among the most winsome towns in the area is the former shipbuilding hub of St. Michaels, a Victorian seaport brimming with boutiques and the excellent Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.

When it comes to meal time, start at Chesapeake Landing, an old standby for steamed crabs or fried soft-shells, plus crab-stuffed pretzels and potato skins. The Carpenter Street Saloon offers crustacean-filled pub grub with crunchy crab balls and cheesy dip. Bonus: the city has a long connection to oyster harvesting—you can try them at the French-accented Bistro St. Michaels in bacon-spiked oyster pot pies and fried oyster po’ boys.

Where to stay: Make your home base the Inn at Perry Cabin, which was featured in the movie Wedding Crashers and offers the chance to explore the bay by sailboat, stand-up paddleboard, or kayak.

Excellent lobster rolls can be had all up and down the Maine coast, but for perhaps the densest concentration of innovative seafood anywhere in the U.S., you can’t beat Portland. Lobster shows up everywhere, in dishes like a spicy sushi roll at Pai Men Miyake, pan-roasted at Scales Restaurant, or diavolo-style at Street and Co. Of course, you can still get killer lobster rolls at The Highroller Lobster Co., which also serves cornbread-battered lobster tails on a stick, or Bite Into Maine, where lobster roll varieties include chipotle, wasabi, and curry.

Prefer your seafood on the half shell? The perpetually popular Eventide Oyster Company offers a dozen varieties of Maine oysters, served with flavored shaved ices (Tabasco, kimchi, pickled red onion, or horseradish) and the dirty martini is spiked with oyster brine. (Be sure to head over early to shop at the lovely Heritage Seaweed for seaweed-based products.)

Where to stay: Spend the night at The Mercury, a modern inn that blows the dust off any B&B clichés.

With sugar-white sand, dazzling sunset views, and dolphin-filled waters, the neighboring towns of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach make a strong case that Alabama might be America’s most underrated beach state. If you’ve seen Forrest Gump, you know that this is shrimp country. There are tons of varieties: pink, white, brown, and especially royal red, which gained popularity in the mid-1990s and has earned a zealous following for its large size and meaty texture. You can get them raw or steamed at Blalock Seafood and Specialty Market—which also churns out a mean smoked tuna dip—or at any of the divey seafood spots lining the beaches.

At The Hangout, your kids can play in a sand pile or foam pit as you enjoy a seafood boil; it also hosts the annual Hangout Fest, a summer concert fest that's seen the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Paramore, and SZA. Nearby, at Fisher’s at Orange Beach Marina, you can snack on New Orleans–influenced dishes like Gulf shrimp and grits with a creole tomato sauce and tasso ham.

Where to stay: To truly immerse yourself in nature here, stay at the Eagle Cottages at Gulf State Park and fish from the pier in the backyard.

From Bourne to Provincetown, Cape Cod is packed with dozens of seafood shacks, but we prefer to head to Chatham. Start your trip at Chatham Pier Fish Market to watch the fishing boats come in as you try sherry-spiked lobster bisque and fried whole belly clam rolls. Slightly further inland, Mac’s Chatham Fish & Lobster is great for raw littlenecks and Wellfleet oysters. Elsewhere, you’ll find local seafood done up with international flavors at Impudent Oyster (Basque-style gambas al ajillo, Portuguese mussels) and Del Mar Bar & Bistro (lobster tostadas, yellowfin ceviche).

Save time for a visit to the Shark Center, a visitor center run by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, where you can learn about the revered apex predator.

Where to stay: You're getting more than just a comfy bed the historic Chatham Inn. It's home to the area’s only Relais & Châteaux restaurant, Cuvee, where the seven-course tasting menu might include hamachi with yuzu and trout roe or steelhead trout with fruits de mer and coconut lime nage.

This stretch of the Outer Banks will always be associated with the history of aviation, but the fresh seafood here is just as worthy of a monument as the Wright Brothers. Try your hand at reeling in a big one at the Avalon Fishing Pier, though if you’d rather let the experts take care of it, try the PBR-steamed beer can shrimp at Kill Devil Grill or the blackened local yellowfin tuna at Noosa Beach Grille. A dish that’s unique to the Outer Banks is Hatteras-style clam chowder, which swaps out the cream in favor of a broth base and can be found on the menu at Goombays Grille and Raw Bar or Outer Banks Brewing Station, where it’s often a special.

Where to stay: There are plenty of chain motels in this area facing the Atlantic, but if you want something a bit different, the Colington Creek Inn offers an intimate retreat for no more than 12 guests, and it faces OBX’s quieter back side, overlooking the property’s namesake creek. It’s also just a few minutes’ drive from two charming neighborhood spots: The Saltbox Café, where the biscuits with ham and crab gravy is a must-order, and The Colington Café, which occupies a Victorian house surrounded by 400-year-old oak trees.

This Pacific coast town is home to Oregon’s tallest lighthouse and beaches where you can spot bald eagles overhead and humpbacks offshore. It’s also a favorite among anglers and crabbers, who compete with sea lions for the freshest catch at the public pier. Mo’s Seafood & Chowder opened in 1946 and is the perfect place to warm up with its piping hot slumgullion (clam chowder with Oregon pink shrimp) in a bread bowl or Yaquina Bay oyster stew, while the South Beach Fish Market has perfected the art of fish and chips: You can get everything from albacore tuna and halibut to local popcorn shrimp and “calamari tubes and tentacles” battered and deep-fried. Local Ocean Dockside Grill & Fish Market sources directly from local fishers, with a menu that includes Dungeness crab po’boys and moqueca de peixe, a Brazilian fish stew.

Where to stay: Book into the Agate Beach Motel, which is walking distance from tidepools teeming with starfish, urchins, and sea anemones. Bonus: the the Oregon Coast Aquarium is just 10 minutes away.