The West Ocean City crab crawl, drawbridge to harbor
Four heavyweights share three miles of mainland: a market that posts its crab price in public, a crab house on the working harbor and two feast rooms on Route 50. How to run them in one afternoon.
Hooper's Crab House
Family-owned since 1981, Hooper's holds the mainland foot of the Route 50 drawbridge. The bay deck is big enough that the house claims to steam more than 13,000 crabs a week in season. The signature order is the all-you-can-eat crab feast. It pairs steamed crabs and shrimp with fried chicken, corn on the cob and hush puppies. The feast is dine-in only with no sharing. Straight steamed crabs sell in large, extra large and jumbo. Every size runs market price and gets quoted by phone the day you call. Sneaky Pete's is the attached dock bar. It catches the boat traffic under the bridge. This is the first crab house most visitors see. At roughly 5,300 Google reviews it is also the most-reviewed on this side of the bridge.
Our reporting
Thirteen thousand crabs a week at the foot of the drawbridge
Hooper's has held the mainland end of the Route 50 bridge since 1981 with a bayside all-you-can-eat crab feast. Reviewers hold it at 4.3. The recurring complaint is the check.