Cantler’s Riverside Inn

Came here on a random trip with Varun, and Jimmy and parties in Dupont Circle. Ended up staying with a friend named Dan. He showed us this spot on Father’s Day. There was a long line but it was well worth the wait. Great service and even better food!

This place is amazing. I had the crab shrimp feast. Best stuff ever. I’ll definitely be back.

Ready?! Set! Shuck away! Its the place to be if you’re in the area and in the mood for some great steamed crab, beer, and hush puppies. They serve a good amount of crabs and the fries and hush puppies are great sides. But the perfect side in the late spring or summer sun is a pitcher of cold beer.
One of the great local crab establishments along the Chesapeake Bay.

How fun being back at Cantlers for my annual trip to the East coast. I love that the restaurant is set back on the beaten path near water so you get that «I’m about to have some great food» feeling and that we did. Of course we always get the crabs and they are steamed and seasoned to perfection. I can’t say enough about how good they are. The service is amazing which keeps me coming back for more. Thanks Cantlers for being my spot for the best crabs, I think on the eastern shore.

Very good experience here! It is quite a wait to get a seat; about 40 mins when we arrived around 12:15pm. It was worth the wait though. Service was fast even with a crowded place. Special shout-​out and thanks to our server, Karen. You can’t go wrong with steamed large blue crabs and it was just the right size & price for us. Meaty and sweet. And the drunken mussels is superb. I could slurp that white wine sauce. Keep up the good job, Cantler’s crew! I can’t wait to come back.

This is our ho to place for steamed crabs in spring and fall.
We avoid the place in summer because it’s simply too crowded on weekends. There is often a line just to get into the parking lot on weekends then you have to wait a long time for a table.
In the fall the steamed crabs are usually Huuuuge. They are often the only place that has jumbo crabs.
The rest of the menu is OK but crabs are their specialty.

Steamed blue crab is amazing, but might be steep for some people. Crab cake was equally delicious. The cream of crab soup was spectacular, but the Maryland crab soup was incredibly salty.
Service was a bit lacking, but they’re also busy and it’s a family dining style so we wouldn’t expect much better.

This place is a hidden gem! If you’re not local but are looking for fresh seafood this is the place. When you’re following gps you might feel like it’s leading you astray, but trust it! It’s leading you to an excellent spot!

Less than stellar experience. I think what really caused the rift in this visit was the attitude of our server. To put it blatantly — she was a bitch.
My buddy Mike, who was visiting me from Nashville for the weekend, and I came up for the day. We came here based on recommendation of a local. I wanted to take mallet and beat up some crabs! Unfortunately, to do that, we were going to have to drop $ 105 for a pound of it. It wasn’t in our budget so we opted to get entrées instead.
The food we had wasn’t the amazing, but it was decent. Mike got snow crab legs slaw, and hush puppies and unsweetened tea (to his dismay… he wanted sweet) and I got a crab cake sandwich with hush puppies. I couldn’t finish my meal since it was pretty bread heavy. Being the southerners that we are — I’d say these hush puppies were pretty lackluster and you’re better off getting a different side.
What did I Iike about my visit??? Patio seating. That really had me. They offer both covered seating outside, open patio and indoor seating.
The bathroom is not handicap accessible. Hell, it’s not even fat person accessible. My hips struggled trying to get in the small stall. They need to reconfigure that bathroom for sure. My suggestion is use the bathroom before arrival or go pop a squat outside somewhere. I did really just suggest that.
Last thing — they’re still serving Louisiana blue crab since crab season up here just started.

I’m not exactly sure of the appeal of the place but maybe I need to try the crabs. However the place is overpriced. Everything is disposable (no glasses but plastic cups, no table cloths, etc) which I get. This place is a dive.

I’m giving this place a one star because zero stars is not an option.
The food was GREATLY over– priced for what you receive. I went there with my family for a birthday dinner (so it was not my choice) and will NEVER go there again! For $ 29 (one of cheapest dinners offered) I received a 4 inch piece of Rock fish, it was EXTREMELY dried out and tough. Additionally on my plate were 4 medium shrimp (also dried out & chewy), 4 small boiled potatoes, and 4 small (chewy) scallops. Waitress forgot my coleslaw, and all this was served on a cheap, flimsy paper plate. I love causal seafood places, but this place was over priced and not worth the price! Even MORE shocking was the popular menu item in Maryland– Crabs. Their price for 1 dozen A+ crabs was $ 125!
Sub-​par food served on cheap paper plates, definitely NOT WORTH A VISIT!

Seafood is good. We got the crab dip. Prices are a little steep. We ordered half dozen large crabs and they were delicious. Drunken mussels weren’t that good, service was good and they have a nice enclosed patio that overlooks the water.

If you have never tried the Soft Shell Crab. Please give it a try! It’s sooo worth it!

This is definitely a summer must-​do! Or even year round. This is one of my favorite spots to bring guests from out-​of-​town for crab. I also stop by here when I’m in the Annapolis area or driving toward the beach. It’s a bit off-​path in a small neighborhood covered by trees. So, you’ll have to look carefully for the restaurant when driving.
One friend that I took here never had fresh crab in her life (!!) our waitress guided her through the entire shucking process and was patient in picking out large crabs for us to try. It was great. Delicious sweet crab of substantial size. Washed it down with a Leinenkugel summer shandy.
There’s a beauty of a dock that you can walk out on and experience the peacefulness of the bay. Very pretty at night, too.
Cantler’s also serves hush puppies, shrimp, dip and other hot food. Come ready to shuck and eat! Cheers!

I go here once in every few years. Every time I go, it is always packed packed and packed. I mean that. Once on a Saturday afternoon, we had to wait about hour and a half to get a seat. Wish they took reservation! I love eating outside looking at the river… well, except during the hot summer season, especially with all the flies flying hunting for every bit of leftover crab meat! Overall, a staple Annapolis crab/​seafood restaurant.

I love the crabs! I’ve ordered other things on the menu and those things have been great to. My reason for giving this place a 5 is… My boyfriend and I went here for Valentine’s Day and the food was amazing. I had 3 crabs for a appetizer. I didn’t want to get more because I was skeptical if the crabs would taste as good as they do in the summer well let me tell u, I didn’t even get a chance to finish my food. The crabs in February were meaty, sweet and tasted like summertime. The stuff shrimp was so good and the hush puppies are delicious.
The only draw back for me is the location. If it was not so remotely located I would go more often.

Cantler’s might be the best seafood shack in America. And yes, you must get the blue crabs. If you think that blue crabs are «too much work», or if you believe that King crabs or snow crabs are better tasting, then I have nothing to say to you. Begone!
I used to come to Cantler’s for a treat when I was a Mid, and now I make sure to stop by every time I’m back in Annapolis. The place ain’t fancy, (it’s a seafood shack, and a very secluded one at that) and the service could be better, but the flavor of blue crabs steamed in old bay keeps me coming back after all these years.
I’ve ordered quite a few items from the menu over the years, but the real winning formula for me is oyster on the half shell, a dozen (or more) of large or XL blue crabs, hush puppies, and Key Lime pie to finish.
Every time I come back to Cantler’s, a few years have passed, and the succulently sweet flavor of Maryland blue crabs is a faint but intensely pleasant memory. When I finally do taste them, it is like the first time I have ever tasted crab. The clouds part and the angels sing. Pure delicious freshly steamed blue crab meat. Not the crap they put into the so-​called «crab cakes» that you find in the rest of the country. Not that Dungeness nonsense that Californians think is the best. Just pure Chesapeake Bay blue crab heaven.

You meander down a few residential roads and end your trip at Cantlers. It’s a Great crab house with a view of the river. The interior has a full service bar and long rectangular tables and dimly lit. If the weather is nice, grab a table outdoors. You’ll be seated at one of many wooden picnic benches. Here you can crab crabs to your heart’s content.
I was here for an all you can eat crab and steamed shrimp event. We enjoyed massive onion rings, French fries, steamed ears of corn, cole slaw, steamed shrimp and crabs. There was so much food!!! The crabs were heavy and laden with crab seasoning. The food kept coming and everyone was happy. The service was efficient for a large group spread over 3 different tables. We’ll be back!

After a fun afternoon in Annapolis, my boyfriend and I drove over to Cantler’s around 4pm to catch an early dinner. It is true, you need to come a little earlier in order to secure a parking spot and have a wait time of less than 2 hours. Luckily, the restaurant is located right on the water so you have a nice view of sweet million dollar homes, boats, jet skis, and the like. We were quoted an hour to an hour and half wait, so we opted to head downstairs to the dock and wait on a surprisingly empty bench. Not even 30 minutes later, our pager was buzzing.
We ordered a dozen medium Maryland blue crabs for $ 55 and a pound of stone crab legs. The crabs are heavily seasoned with Old Bay. For medium crabs, they all had a surprisingly large amount of meat. We grabbed our mallets, forks, knives, and claw crackers, and slowly ate our way through our dozen crabs. Fresh crabs, lots of meat, tons of Old Bay — the classic Annapolis/​Maryland experience.
Service was prompt and polite. The atmosphere is really casual and low-​key. Great place to drop by, especially in the summer.

Cantler’s is an Annapolis seafood mainstay — it’s been around for decades and is just across the bridge from downtown Annapolis. It’s got a very casual, dive-​bar feel to it, with benches for communal seating. There is a great deck with outdoor seating by the water, but expect a long wait to be seated out there during a sunny weekend day or evening!
The seafood here is always tasty and the service is usually very fast. For those who don’t want the quintessential Maryland seafood meal of blue crabs, there are other options (As a Californian, I never learned to eat blue crabs properly as a kid and therefore now refuse to bother with all the work that is required to crack them!). I got a ½ lb of snow crab legs w/​two sides ($ 12.50), which was good but it only came with a single cluster of crab legs — I guess i was hoping for a little more. Jimmy’s Steamed Feast ($ 26) was a good, large platter including mussels, clams, shrimp, and snow crab legs — great option for anyone wanting to try a bit of everything!
Although I wasn’t interested in the blue crabs, I did notice some of the prices on the chalkboard that day and was struck by the high price for the «supers» (the extra large blue crabs) that day — I believe it was around $ 130/​dozen. Steeeep!
Great place to try — be prepared to wait though.