Berlin · spotlight
Forty-one years on the road to Assateague
The VanFossen family has steamed crabs on Route 611 since 1985, a mile short of the ponies. The all-you-can-eat crabs run small before July and earn five stars in August.
Every car headed to Assateague passes this crab house. That has been true since 1985. Assateague Crab House sits at 7635 Stephen Decatur Highway on Route 611, about a mile north of the state park entrance. The VanFossen family has owned and run it all four decades. The crab cakes on the menu are simply called Mom's. The house dates the family recipe back sixty years.
Steamed crabs come by the dozen in medium, large, extra large and jumbo. They sell at market price. The day's quote comes by phone at 410-641-4330, not on paper. The all-you-can-eat special bundles Maryland blue crabs with fried chicken, corn and coleslaw. The house permits no sharing and prices the special to the market too. Printed prices apply only to the kitchen's fixed dishes. A single crab cake is 26 dollars. Two run 39. Doors open daily at 11 and the room runs to 9. There is outdoor seating. Reviewers regularly note that dogs are welcome on it.
What the reviews actually say
Google has it at 4.4 across roughly 1,300 reviews, the best rating of any full crab house in this coverage area. One travel aggregator ranks it number six of 37 Berlin restaurants. Reviewers describe the service as family rather than staff. The crab cakes draw steady praise. The all-you-can-eat table is a value when the crabs run full.
"The all you can eat crabs were so small not even worth picking," one reviewer wrote in May 2026. A platter was "very bland, no taste and the only thing that was hot were the potatoes," a September 2025 reviewer wrote. Crabs steamed before July run light everywhere on this coast. An all-you-can-eat tray shows it faster than a graded dozen, and the house controls which crabs hit the tray. The same special that disappoints in May earns five stars in August.
Order the crab feast here from August through October, when the number ones run heavy. In early season order off the fixed menu instead. Mom's crab cake has produced no recurring complaint in the review record. For carryout, call for the dozen quote and ask what size they are running that day.
