Island View Waterfront Cafe

Tucked away in the very back of a residential area, Island View Waterfront Café looks more like a quaint little old waterfront home than a restaurant. Once inside it still has a very homey feel like you’d expect someone’s grandmother to come walking out of the kitchen at any minute to greet you.
They have a small full-​bar area and tables inside. But if the weather permits, I’d highly suggest taking advantage of one of the tables on the small outdoor deck. The expansive view across Brown’s Creek and out into the Chesapeake Bay is pretty spectacular, especially at sunset.
They have two piers for arrival by water. But according to the bartender, the low tide water depth is only around 3′ deep and you have to stay in the relatively narrow marked channel to get in. So if you’re planning on arriving in anything over 30′, make sure you check the tide tables and arrive on the high tide unless you want to be guests of Island View Waterfront Café until the next high tide comes back.
They’ve got a good selection of apps, sandwiches, and even taco’s on the menu. We opted for the soft shell crab entrée, which was very good. For an appetizer we did the traditional Baltimore style «Coddies» on saltines with a dab of yellow mustard. They hit the spot when combined with an ice cold beer.
It’s a little out of the way, but if you’re looking for someplace casual, with reasonably priced, good food, and a spectacular view, the Island View Waterfront Café is definitely worth seeking out.

Another 5 star service! Love this little waterside small town feel restaurant. Makes you feel good waking in knowing that this place is apart of the community you live in. Food is always fresh and amazingly delicious. Service is always fast and servers are knowledgable of the menu. Sit on the deck and enjoy your lunch or dinner under an umbrella as you stare off into the water. Or go inside and enjoy the nautical décor. Check in on Unilocal and you’ll even get a free dessert. My favorite menu item is the onion rings and the half and half crab/​cream of crab soup. Prices are a tad high, but well worth it for the community feel.

Great view and awesome employees! Food great. Local owners, homemade food owners making the food

A friend got me a kayaking groupon, or else I probably wouldn’t have tried this place. I did enjoy it overall. The guy who helped with the kayaks was very nice, although some instruction and information could have been helpful for a first-​timer! I was glad we were able to have our pick of a single or dual kayak! We stayed for lunch, the service was a little slow, but I have to say that the thing that bothered me the most was that they had ZERO vegetarian options (besides sides). If they expanded their menu, this place would be great.

Went Kayaking here, it was a great time. After we stopped in for lunch. Amazing food, the cheesesteak was incredible. Good portion size. Only issue LONG wait for food to come.

Not a fan… Seated outside… Took forever to get our food… Everyone else outside had come after us, ordered after us, gotten their food before us… It took over an hour and a half to get our good… There was only five of us… Not impressed at all…

The combination of Kayak rental and eating good food on the deck with the Sun setting was a great experience. The staff was very friendly, the drinks were good, food was fresh and quite good. I had the crab cake sandwich, fries and cole slaw; all were good, especially the freshly made cole slaw. My wife had the tuna and pasta, which she liked; it had a little red pepper flake kick. We will be coming back!

I really wanted to like this place, and I did, to a point. .. the view is beautiful, but that is where it ends.
The food is second-​rate, at best. We had old-​bay chicken wings, which were so over-​seasoned to be nearly inedible — and I like old-​bay. The salad was wilted and the salmon was tasteless (perhaps because my taste-​buds were fried by the old-​bay).
The service was prompt, but the server seemed in a hurry, never staying around long enough to completely take our order — and the restaurant was mostly empty.
This place has so much potential and really only needs stronger management and a better kitchen to be excellent.

I’ve eaten here on two separate occasions; once seated outside and more recently seated inside. I’ve had great meals and service both times. It is a nice, relaxing place with a great view.
I recommend the shrimp salad!

I love this place! Pricey, so I don’t go often, but their crab pretzels have been the best I have had so far. The salmon was delicious! Very friendly staff.

There is a new-​old place out there, as Columbus did explore the world because he thought about it. We are not alone; we are not the only creatures living and breathing near the Metro DC. This part of Maryland is at the tip of Essex and quiet but something to discover. The restaurant serves delicious food. Perfect time to get those big food after kayak around the Chesapeake Bay. A little cold and windy, we still enjoyed our little water adventure. I’m glad I did not pass this by. I learned more about the side of the county.

Such a gem! I got the Groupon for 2 hours of kayaking and dinner at the café. Kayaking was wonderful. Beautiful area, water was fairly calm (even though we went on a windy day). The staff setting up the kayak gave recommendations on the easiest route to paddle to avoid fighting the wind and currant, which was very much appreciated. Even though it was a bit chilly and windy, we had a great time. I was glad I brought a change of warm, dry clothes to change into after.
The restaurant was lovely. Friendly and attentive staff. (I wish I could remember our waitress’ name because she was fantastic.) Very warm and relaxing ambiance with great views of the water just outside the window. The Groupon allowed an appetizer, two entrees from a prix fixed menu (with plenty of choices) and two beverages of choice. Our waitress gave great recommendations, although I have a feeling everything on the menu would have been delicious! We decided on the crab pretzel appetizer, which came out piping hot with big chunks of crab meat and melted cheese. For entrees we did the crab cake (broiled — an excellent recommendation) and swordfish. Nothing fancy, but both were very tasty.
I would recommend this to others looking to spend a nice, relaxing day on the water and then enjoy a delicious meal. I will definitely come here again!

Went to the café last night to use my groupon for the kayak rental and dinner for two. No complaints about kayaking. Just bring a change of clothes! I saw other couples eating dinner afterwards with wet butts ;)
The views at this place are pretty awesome. Restaurant is situation on the tip of a peninsula, so views are all around! Service was very friendly but the kitchen was a tad slow… which we did not mind, just sat and enjoyed some beers.
Crab pretzel app was very good. Lots of lump crab meat. For entrees, the crabcake and the fish tacos were good, but not great. I would go back here to try out some other options and enjoy the view!

Beautiful location– definitely worth taking the kayaks out. It’s so peaceful and serene. We did the groupon option and were pleased with our food. Fantastic appetizers and crab cakes. I’d go again for the kayaking and a beer. Definitely avoid if you’re in a rush as the service was a little slow.

Yikes — total disaster. Mussels sauce tasted like they dumped a bottle of white wine in to make the sauce. There was a whole black potato in my mashed potatoes. Green beans were flavorless. Crab cake & chocolate cake were redeeming factors. Maybe it would have been more enjoyable if it wasn’t raining, but even a nice view can’t make the food better.

Great night & groupon. Had two hour kayak and dinner for two with an appetizer and wine. The kayaking was perfect. The meal was very good, only selected from a prefix menu but lots of options and very good. Staff was VERY friendly and had homey feel to it. I would go back with friends or for date night.

We used a deal found on groupon for 2 hour kayaking and dinner for 2. We did this as a fun date for our anniversary. I never went kayaking before, and it was so much fun! we were set up with just what we needed, and they pointed out some places to go see. the weather was lovely and it was a perfect thing to do. dinner was fabulous, and the service was very attentive. The seafood was excellent. Crab cakes were a little heavy handed with mustard but all in all a great experience. Highly recommended! We plan to go back.

Found this place through Unilocal so I wanted to be sure to leave a review. Great location, staff was friendly and fun. Food was very good. Our table had a variety of items including the steamed shrimp, crab pretzel, island bowl, pot roast, scallops, chicken and fried shrimp. Everyone was happy. Looking forward to coming back.

Wonderful view of the water, good food too. First trip I sat at the bar & had a burger, chatted w/​some nice folks while watching the O’s game. Returned a couple months later for a full dinner, everything was very good. Try the half & half crab soup — great combo!

A diamond in the rough. Very impressed with the prompt service, delicious crab cake, crab soup and ambiance. Outdoor seating on the water. What a view! How relaxing!