Seafood! Get Your Seafood! If you are in Ocean City, Maryland on the Boardwalk at 26th Street, you need to visit this amazing all-you-can-eat buffet called Jonah & The Whale.
But before you go any further, make sure you are extremely hungry because your going to be paying $24 per person. (HINT: Grab the visitor’s guides in Ocean City, there you will find a $2 off coupon for the buffet.)
Now there is free parking, which is across the street from the restaurant and there is normally a ten to twenty minute wait, especially if you arrive after 4pm. The only downfall is that you have to wait those ten to twenty minutes outside.
The restaurant itself is a beautifully designed 18th century whaling tavern, when you enter the restaurant a hostess or host will greet you and explain the layout of the large buffet. They have an all-you-can-eat soup and salad bar that is 30 feet long and contains many hot soups, fresh salads, tacos, and backed potato bar. They also have an all-you-can-eat pasta bar. The pasta bar has fresh seafood pasta and made to order sauces of three different types.
I didn’t get to try the above all-you-can-eat bars; however the all-you-can-eat seafood bar was plunged into. The seafood bar had snow crab legs, crab imperial, steamed shrimp, baked fish, golden fried shrimp, steamed ship round of beef, scallops, fried clam strips, steamed clams, oysters, country ham, BBQ ribs, baked chicken, roast turkey, rolls, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, macaroni and cheese, fresh vegetable, and much, much more.
I indulged on the fried shrimp and clams. They were so perfect, it was almost scary. They were extremely fresh and crispy. They also had a seafood style stuffing that didn’t have the stuffing type consistency it was flakier, but all and all I definitely advise you to try it. The macaroni and cheese tasted like Velveeta shells and cheese however the cheese was thicker and cheesier. We also dove into the mountains of crab legs; they were amazing and fresh however they didn’t have the crab cracking utensils.
They also had salmon, this was my first time eating salmon and it was very good. My boyfriend ate a lot of the salmon and commented that it tasted so fresh that it was like they came right out of the Atlantic Ocean and onto our plates! I’m not a big mussels fan, however my boyfriend stated that they were very savory and well cooked.
Now it’s time for dessert, and you have to leave room for dessert! They had a fabulous decadent chocolate cake with mousse like cream inside of it. They also had a variety of pies as well as a cheese cake that was so yummy! The cheese cake was original, no strawberries or cherries, just plain and delicious. If you’re more into fruit, don’t worry, they have juicy watermelon, honeydew, and cantaloupe readily available.
There is a small sundae bar to the right of the dessert bar that offers soft serve vanilla and chocolate ice cream. I tried the chocolate soft serve; however it wasn’t very creamy and seemed to be more ice than ice cream.
If all of this food isn’t something you want to eat, then there is an a la care menu that includes seafood, steaks, and chicken. There is also a children’s menu available for the little ones.
When the bill comes you will notice that the gratuity is already included. Above all, this is one of the best restaurants in the Ocean City, Maryland area and I highly recommend visiting it on an extremely empty tummy!
