This traditional Italian deli and market originated in Lewes with a mix of homemade products and imported ingredients. Now there are locations in Rehoboth and Ocean City, Maryland. Stop in for a full meal or grab a hero to go from the counter.

Downtown Lewes’ historic Trader Mansion transformed into a fine-dining restaurant during the pandemic. Bramble & Brine’s French-leaning menu features duck confit, meatloaf Wellington, fluffy dumplings, fresh fish amandine, and an abundant selection of wines poured from its ribbon-wrapped Pink Pony Bar. Restaurateur Megan Kee also runs Rehoboth Beach mainstays La Fable and Houston White Co., and Italian eatery Dalmata is set to reopen soon.

The chic Indian restaurant in downtown Lewes serves an assortment of Indo-Chinese dishes, seafood curries, and pan-Asian plates. Standout menu items include chile olive naan, smoked eggplant, and cauliflower Manchurian.

Chewy on the inside and served piping hot in the morning, these are some of the best New York-style bagels available outside of the Big Apple. The owners have other locations in Rehoboth, Midway, and Milford.

This beachside Mediterranean cafe has been serving standout tapas for dinner for more than a decade. Some dishes, like patatas bravas, stick to the typical tapas canon, while others, like birria tacos, tiptoe away from it. Its Lewes sibling, Olive and Oats by Azafran, opens for breakfast and lunch.

Todd Gray and Ellen Kassoff Gray, the couple who run fine D.C. dining staple Equinox, expanded into Rehoboth with a takeout-friendly operation built around arancini and other fried finger foods. In addition to risotto balls, the Federal sells Roman artichokes, tempura cauliflower, corn fritters, homemade pastas, and other soups, salads, and sandwiches that weave in peak produce.

This strip mall sushi spot with a huge rooftop deck full of gazebos is a Japanese-themed oasis overlooking Rehoboth Avenue. There are over-the-top maki, a variety of sashimi options, and edamame topped six different ways. Book via Resy.

Local favorite Henlopen City Oyster House boasts a raw bar selling assorted oysters on the half shell and shooters, as well as steamed, fried, and baked options. There’s plenty of other surf-and-turf fare available for lunch and dinner, too. Reservations aren’t accepted, so be prepared to wait, or arrive promptly when lunch starts at noon or dinner starts at 5 p.m. And check out sibling American restaurant the Blue Hen, which has a fire pit on the patio. 

It’s worth traveling to Milton, Delaware, to get a look at Dogfish Head’s main tasting room and production brewery. But in Rehoboth, the company’s seafood restaurant and cocktail bar offers some exclusive brews alongside dishes like Maryland crab dip and lobster-topped burgers.

Considered one of the best brunch spots in the area, Egg delivers generous portions of decadent dishes like lobster Benedict, croque monsieur, and biscuits and gravy every day from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. (with bar service starting at 9 a.m.). A kids’ menu includes pancakes and the usual, plus a grilled hot dog — because children know it’s always a good time for a hot dog.

For one of the best (and lengthiest) build-your-own bloody mary bars on the East Coast, consider a stop at Starboard. The beloved Dewey dive, tagged with stickers and party pics, also sends out an array of Orange Crushes and solid bar fare. Be sure to pick up a bottle of its house bloody mary mix on the way out. Bethany Beach sibling Mango’s is a go-to oceanfront spot for local surfers and tourists alike. Starboard’s partners also have ties to D.C. bars 801, Shaw’s Tavern, and Madhatter.

The late Matt Haley, who received the James Beard Humanitarian Award, built a culinary legacy that continues long past his death in a 2014 motorcycle accident. All of the restaurants in the SoDel Concepts hospitality group are a safe bet. But seafood lovers should head to Bluecoast in Rehoboth or Bethany; the latter offers a deck with great views of the water.

Serving scallops, crab cakes, and other seafood specialties, Off the Hook is another Bethany Beach favorite for straightforward seafood dishes. The pristine, light-flooded interior features a large, boldly colored murals of cephalopods along the white walls. The seafood standby recently added weekend brunch, too. Happy hour deals run from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Make reservations for the dining room or the patio at this unassuming American restaurant and farm that grows its own berries and herbs for dishes and cocktails. One Coastal name-checks other nearby farms on a menu that includes options like carrot soup with pea tendrils, country-fried quail, and chicken and dumplings.