The Crab Claw in St. Michaels Specializes in Chesapeake Bay Seafood

Lump crabmeat, seared tuna, jumbo crabs and fresh oysters are just a few dishes available at The Crab Claw Restaurant in St. Michaels, Md.

The Crab Claw Restaurant located at 304 Burns Street in St. Michaels, also known as Navy Point, is one of the Talbot County town’s original seafood dining destinations.

The area where the restaurant stands was once marsh filled in with discarded oyster shells until The Eastern Shore Clam Company opened its doors in the 1950s. The Eastern Shore Clam Company was a clam and oyster shucking house where local watermen provided fresh oysters, clams and crabs daily.

In 1965, owners Bill and Sylvia Jones turned The Eastern Shore Clam Company into The Crab Claw Restaurant which instantly became a St. Michaels Landmark.

According to Justin Gordy, manager at The Crab Claw Restaurant, the establishment is still owned and operated by the same family to this day. Gordy, who has worked at the restaurant on and off since the early 1990s, says the eatery is currently in their 51st season.

“We’re a very traditional seafood restaurant—we specialize in Chesapeake Bay seafood and seafood from all around the world,” Gordy says.

Just recently The Crab Claw Restaurant acquired a license for live music on the docks, and on top of the normal lunch and dinner rushes, the restaurant’s ‘rehearsal dinner season’ is in full swing.

“We have a lot of rehearsal dinners all throughout the season, pretty much every weekend of the season, from open to close,” Gordy says.

The seasonal restaurant opens for buisiness the first weekend in March and closes the second weekend in November each year.