New brewery, steakhouse, waterfront dining in Lewes

EDITOR'S NOTE: The new sushi restaurant opening this summer will be called Bushi Sushi. An earlier version of this article said the name was not yet decided. 

Dining at Delaware beaches can be a culinary adventure.

After sun, surf and sand, everyone usually wants supper. Luckily, there's always a new crop of restaurants whether you want value or want to splurge.

Looking for a good view and some tasty thrills? You'll find those, too.

Let's start with the big things happening in little Lewes. While Rehoboth Beach tends to get a lot of the attention during the summer, Lewes has been stepping up its food game. 

The city on the Delaware Bay in eastern Sussex County has gotten a boost of new restaurants in recent years — Heirloom, The Pig & Publican, Crooked Hammock Brewery and the reimagined Gilligan's Waterfront Restaurant and Bar all come to mind. And more places have opened or are coming soon. 

The Wheelhouse

7 Anglers Road at Fisherman's Wharf next to the Lewes drawbridge; 302-291-2163; wheelhousede.com Hours: Open daily from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. 

Chris and Anthony Jacona, the brothers who run Rehoboth's Zogg's Raw Bar & Grill, The Sea Hogg food truck and Dave & Skippy's Gourmet Beach Cafe, have teamed with Al Tortella, the man behind the tropical Paradise Grill in Long Neck, to renovate the former Wharf restaurant.

The iconic, waterfront building that sits on the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal, next to the Savannah Road drawbridge, has been a part of the town for more than 35 years.

Once called The Lighthouse, the restaurant was founded in 1982 by Capt. Harry M. "Pappy" Parsons, who operated party and charter boats out of Fisherman's Wharf for nearly 50 years, and his son H. Dale Parsons. The wharf goes back to at least 1940, if not earlier.

The new partners purchased the sprawling building in January and renovations took about four months, Chris Jacona says.

"We did a full remodel of the entire place, inside and outside," he says. New, potted palm trees were added last week to the expansive outdoor porches and decks, adding a summery, Caribbean energy. It's easy to see this becoming a popular place for people and boat watching this summer.

The name Wheelhouse was "something that we just kind of came up with after research and some ideas," Jacona says.

The plan was to breathe new life into the property that has changed ownership and names several times over the years. The casual, family-friendly restaurant, with a nautical theme, focuses on dock-to-table seafood and can seat about 400 people. Acoustic entertainers perform daily from 4 to 7 p.m. A steel drum band plays on Saturdays.

"It's a mix of what we do at all of our restaurants," Jacona says. The partners began welcoming customers in mid-April. "We've had some very positive feedback. We've been busy since we opened." 

One funny feature of the remodel, and a nod to the past, was the partners' decision to keep an old pay phone hanging on a wall near the front entrance. While it no longer operates, it has become a conversation starter among customers.

"We were thinking about tearing it out, but it's still there," Jacona says. "Everyone always asks, 'Does it still work?' It doesn't. It's not connected to anything." 

The Wheelhouse has two raw bars — one inside and one outside — along with a main dining room, chairs, tables and booths facing the canal and several other seating areas, including a fire pit. You can sit in the sun or in covered, shaded areas. Dogs are allowed, on a leash, on the deck in designated areas and the restaurant has some posted "dog rules." 

There are slips available for boaters as well as a free parking lot out front, a rarity in downtown Lewes.

Also rare (in Lewes) is The Wheelhouse's second-floor seating. The Harbor View dining  area also can be reserved for private parties. The only other eateries in town with seating permitted on the second floor include Agave on Second Street and the nearby Irish Eyes Pub & Restaurant also on Anglers Road. 

The menu includes a daily fish board with selections that can be broiled or blackened. There are at least six to seven shucked raw oysters offered daily, along with "Slurp 'N' Burps" or $7 oyster shooters that can be served with beer, champagne or cocktails such as Bloody Marys. 

The Wheelhouse burger bar ($12) includes a half-pound burger made with a short rib, beef brisket and ground chuck patty nestled on a roll from Liscio's Bakery in New Jersey. The menu also includes steamed clams ($12), lobster Caprese salad ($15), shrimp and chorizo po'boy sandwiches ($12), a roasted lamb sandwich with tzatziki sauce ($15) and Chesapeake Bay Cajun catfish tacos ($10).

Crabs available include stone crab claws, snow crab legs and King crab legs, but there are no local blue crabs for picking.

The partners didn't want to offer all-you-can-eat hardshell crabs because it's too messy, Jacona says. "It's a route we didn't want to go down," he says. However, there are crab cakes and an asiago crab dip ($12).

Jacona says the owners are getting accustomed to the rhythms of slower-paced Lewes after operating eateries in bustling Rehoboth Beach and the Paradise Grill bayfront complex and tiki-hut entertainment center at the Pot-Nets vacation community near Millsboro. 

"The town of Lewes is a different vibe. The clientele is different," Jacona says. It's a mix of tourists, locals and fishermen." 

Big Oyster Brewery

1007 Kings Highway; 302-644-2621; bigoysterbrewery.com, Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday 

The new Kings Highway brewpub in a 6,000-square-foot red barn-like facility, open daily for lunch and dinner, comes from Jeff Hamer, owner of Fins Hospitality Group.

Hamer has had a presence at the beach since 2005 when he bought and renovated the old Sir Guy's on Rehoboth Avenue in Rehoboth into FINS Seafood House & Raw Bar. He added Claws Seafood House, also in Rehoboth, a year later. 

Hamer recently remodeled his flagship Rehoboth seafood house. The new Big Oyster Brewery in Lewes plays off his second FINS location on Del. 1 in Rehoboth, which introduced brewing in 2015. 

He also owns FINS in Bethany Beach and is opening the El Jefe Gordo taqueria later in June at the old Beachside Restaurant on Rehoboth Avenue in Rehoboth Beach. A Lewes seafood market across from Big Oyster could come later this summer.

Big Oyster Brewery, which opened last September, has a 15-barrel system with 30-barrel fermenters. There are 16 beers on tap, along with a full bar, a large wine list, as well as four-packs, crowlers and growlers available to go. 

Tap handles are decorated with oyster shells. A pint of Spring Wit, with 4 percent ABV, is a nice, light, creamy and refreshing daytime beer that's dry hopped with lemongrass.

A fun stop at the bar in early May for a drink and nosh left me looking forward to a return visit soon to this 100-seat restaurant. The menu includes steamed clams, shrimp and mussels along with raw and steamed oysters.

A buddy and I split an order of very good short rib sliders ($11.99) topped with pickled red onion and arugula. An excellent Big Oyster Stout BBQ dipping sauce is served on the side. All meats, including steaks and ribs, are smoked in house.

Another winner was the grilled asparagus and artichoke hearts salad ($9.99) with spring mix, shaved fennel, blue cheese crumbles and roasted lemon aioli dressing.

The brewpub features an open kitchen with bar-style seating, and the main dining area has mostly high top tables, but also a few low ones. Old outdoor boat motors decorate walls, along with fishing rods and historic photos of Lewes. Hamer has long been a collector of antique fishing gear.

Customers are encouraged to snap selfies with Lil' Noah, a carved wooden horse head, and post the photos on the brewpub's Facebook page. 

A tent-enclosed outdoor seating area, with a TV, has tables and wicker seats and sofas that overlook a picket fence enclosed open field.

Go to the restroom, even if it's only to wash your hands. The sign "When Nature Calls," is a signal of what's to come. Close the door and you'll be serenade by sounds of chirping birds and a barking dog.

The Station on Kings 

720 Kings Highway, 302-645-0300; thestationlewes.com/ Hours: Open daily 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

This snazzy new cafe and market that opened this past winter comes from Leisa Berlin, who runs the town's super cute and classic candy store, Edie Bees Confection Shop on Second Street.

In fact, Berlin's family members now operate some of Lewes' most smart and stylish businesses. Her son Chris McKeown owns the 10-year-old Agave Mexican Restaurant and Tequila Bar on Second Street,  one of the most popular eateries in the state. Daughter Sarah McKeown, a former civil rights lawyer, has operated the excellent Nectar Cafe and Juice Bar on Neils Alley since 2013.

Berlin has said she was inspired to style The Station on Kings after Terrain Garden Cafe in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania.

It's easy to see the similarities in the appealing ambiance with its soaring ceiling and light airiness.

The Station also is a homewares store and garden center. Check out the shelves which include a variety of gourmet foods like jars of bone broth, French mustard with cognac and confit of violet flowers. A cheese case has selections from California's divine Cowgirl Creamery.  

The coffee counter offers artisanal coffee from Philadelphia's Counter Culture. There's also Flying Bird Botanicals Tea and David Rio Chai. A separate marble baked goods area offers everything from doughnuts to croissants, and brioche to banana bread.

Don't skip the delectable pastries. I like the croissants, especially the chocolate-banana and the savory ham and cheese. Or maybe you'd prefer a cupcake ($3) such as the smoked caramel cupcake or strawberry-lemon curd.

You can order lunch at the counter and eat it in a separate greenhouse-like dining area. The menu goes well beyond run-of-the-mill sandwiches and salads.

Offerings have included a German “fried” half chicken ($16) with caramelized spring vegetables, sprouted quinoa and lemon aioli; duck pastrami sandwich ($14) with 
grilled onions, Gruyere cheese and spicy brown mustard; and whipped feta panini ($10) with roasted tomato, Tuscan kale, pine nuts, olives and red onion jam.

What else:

The Gate House of Lewes at 109 W. Market St., has closed and the building had been listed for sale on a commercial real estate web site. Owner Wilson Gates says the building is no longer on the market and he is planning a sushi restaurant in the site. The new name is Bushi Sushi. Gates is hiring an out-of-state veteran sushi chef and may change the existing bar to a sushi bar. The restaurant with the new concept will open this summer. The Gates family also is concentrating on their other restaurant, The Buttery, which they purchased in 2016. It's located in a gorgeous, historic Victorian house at the corner of Savannah Road and Second Street. 

Harvest Tide Steakhouse Restaurant is taking over the former Da Vinci's Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant at 410 E. Savannah Road. The pizzeria was known more for its close proximity to Lewes Beach rather than for its food. Construction on the building is currently underway. Owners have posted on Facebook they're hoping for a possible June opening. Harvest Tide will offer wine, cocktails, bourbons, local craft beers and aged, USDA prime steaks. The restaurant has a parking lot that will be free for guests.

Hotdog Johnnie's, the red-and-yellow eatery off New Orleans Street in Dewey Beach that sells foot-long dogs and stays open until 2 a.m. on weekends, has opened a second location in Lewes at 1141 Savannah Road. It occupies the spot that was once home to Savannah's Deli & Grille. 

Right now, the Lewes site, in the same building as the Liberty gas station, is only open weekdays with a focus on breakfast and lunch. Hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, but will likely expand in the summer. Call (302) 645-9041. The Dewey site is open beginning at noon on Fridays and Saturdays until Memorial Day weekend.

The newly formed Masala Hospitality Group is in the initial stages of planning an Indian restaurant in the purple, three-floor Queen Anne Victorian house at 210 Savannah Road that was most recently Ocean Retreat Day Spa & Hair Studio. The house, built in 1899, had once been a residence, but in recent years it has housed businesses. Indigo, which opened last summer on Rehoboth Avenue in Rehoboth Beach, is the only Indian restaurant in Sussex County. 

DELAWARE FOOD

Old Hunter's Den in Marshallton has closed

Where to find Royal Wedding themed drinks and eats

Contact Patricia Talorico at (302) 324-2861 or ptalorico@delawareonline.com and on Twitter @pattytalorico