Kirby's Pub - Ocean City

What a weekend in Ocean City! For the first time since I came to Delmarva, I finally made it to Ocean City with the family this month. Given that the season is still in full swing, almost every restaurant was so full we could have waited two hours to get a table for six at any given spot. Crazy! With a party of six that included two young kids, we couldn’t afford that wait. So, we stalked up and down the street near our hotel for a quicker bite.

We landed at Kirby’s Pub, a hole in the wall on a shopping strip of tourist traps. It was dark, loud, and a little dirty. To get to our table, we had to walk through the narrow trappings between bodies at the bar and the bodies at tables. We were right next to the juke box and games, much to the delight of my very young brother-in-law.

It definitely was more of a bar than a restaurant, but still there was food. We ate well from a plate of fresh fried chips and steamed shrimp as an appetizer. The chips retained their shape and crisp after frying, and they paired nicely with just ketchup or even their chili nachos that top the same kind of chips

For dinner itself, I had a simple fried fish sandwich topped with lettuce and tartar sauce. The same chips from our appetizer joined the sandwich. It was a typical meal of the bars in the area. I did not find it to be particularly special, but it was a proper meal to end a long drive.

Kirby’s Pub filled the role that I expected. We ate well, and we ate fast, but the food was not particularly special. I would, however, go back in this exact situation. It’s a reliable little spot among a lot of tourist restaurants that fill up quick during season.

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