The Shark on the Harbor

The Shark on the Harbor is located in West Ocean City, MD and uses organic produce from local farmers and seafood from the commercial fishing harbor right outside the restaurant. They feature all natural products to offer local, organic meals based on what's fresh and available in the season.  This was one of the few restaurants that accepted reservations online, so we booked this for dinner after a full day at the beach.

The interior was like a huge boat house, renovated into a bistro style restaurant overlooking the water. It was very crowded, especially around the central bar area, but we snagged a decent table by the window.  After placing our order, we were presented with with a nice fresh bread basket and an amuse bouche of cucumber topped with goat cheese and pickled beets and candied pecan.

We ordered a bottle of 2018 Glazebrook Sauvignon Blanc, from Marlborough, NZ.  It was a light, dry and very acidic white wine that was easy to drink and paired well with our seafood dinner.

For starters, we shared the Crispy Oysters - cornflake encrusted oysters with jalapeno tartar, bourbon pickled blueberries, and red wine pickled onions.  The oysters were very creamy but lacked any seasoning or flavor.  The blueberries also did not seem to have any bourbon treatment as described, rather plucked straight from the box.

The Fried Green Tomatoes were also cornflake encrusted and served with pimento cheese and bacon jam topped with fresh lump crab meat.  The tomatoes were summer-fresh yet too juicy to hold the cornflake crust, leaving the bottom quite soggy.

For his main meal, Keith ordered the Pan Seared Rockfish with smoked vidalia jam, benne seed, charred tomato basil jus, sautéed smoky bacon, sweet corn, heirloom tomato, shishito pepper and potato hash.  The fish was meaty and perfectly cooked.  The other accoutrements had an interesting combination that was salty and sweet.

I ordered the Grilled Ahi topped with a wasabi sauce and served with a vegetable medley of squash, asparagus, watermelon relish over coconut black rice.  I think the chef was attempting an Asian-inspired dish, but the flavor was lacking.  The vegetables were bland, as was the rice.  The saving grace was the fresh ahi - though cold, it tasted great on its own.

Lastly, for dessert we shared the Peach Crisp topped with vanilla ice cream.  I was pretty full, but we noticed almost every table near us order dessert - so we figured we couldn't pass it up.  The crisp was not that sweet and a lovely finish to our meal.

Overall, I appreciated the attention to local and seasonal ingredients, and the healthier options.  But some of the dishes lacked seasoning, and the prices were a bit higher than other places.  But you are paying for the quality ingredients.

Total Rating: 3.5
Food: 3.5, Price: 3, Service: 3, Ambience: 4.5, Accessibility: 4.5