As many of you know I now have a job that actually pays me to travel. This past week was my first week and I was pretty darn excited about...well...everything! However, being able to eat in random places is one of the biggest highlights for me. The first thing I did when I landed in Chesapeake, Virginia was to eat crab and although it was heaven with melted butter it was at a cheesy chain type restaurant. So I started to ask the locals (thank you Don) for good restaurant recommendations and although I got several I decided to try a seafood restaurant that has been open for a little over a year.



Off the Hook definitely lives up to its name as it is...well...Off the Hook! I love when I walk into seafood restaurants and they are also seafood markets. In my mind, that is an indication that the fish is especially fresh and I don't know if it is psychological or the actual truth, but this restaurant did have really good fresh fish. So it seemed to validate my belief system.


From the outside, this restaurant does not look like anything special as it is in a strip mall location. However, the inside is modern, welcoming and inviting. It is truly the type of place that you could sit at for hours and drink wine and eat oysters. The first thing you see when you walk in is the fish market, however the dining room and bar are out of sight of the market. The bar has colored blown glass lights, TVs to watch sporting events and a well rounded cocktail/wine list.

I was enamored by the cork menus in this restaurant and I couldn't stop touching them. They had a well rounded menu that obviously specialized in seafood and they also had several specials that capitalized on their catch of the day.


I was bound and determined to try the blue crab, which is the local specialty, and so I was pretty excited that I had several options in my exploration. They had fried crabs and 2 different kinds of crab soup. I opted for the She Crab Soup, however I was a little disappointed when I learned that the "She" was referring to the sherry in the soup and not the gender of the crabs. Ok sure I had no idea how to tell the gender of a crab, but I thought maybe the female crabs were sweeter or something and hence made better soup. Don't even ask just shake your head. Anyway the She Crab Soup was incredibly rich, decadent and delicious. It reminded me of lobster bisque, however with crab meat, and it was incredible!

Earlier in the day, I was talking to some locals about their childhood memories of catching crabs on the beach. I learned that you can take chicken necks, yes I said chicken necks, and lure the crabs into nets with them. I briefly considered trying out this practice, however I was at a loss for where to find chicken necks, so I opted to just eat the crabs at a restaurant instead.

I was overwhelmed with options at this restaurant and since my soup was so rich I decided to try their salad with grilled shrimp and it was perfect. It had blue cheese crumbles and the shrimp were grilled perfectly!

My partner in crime was a little more adventurous and tried the whole red snapper, which was beautiful and huge and I absolutely loved the presentation...my photo truly did not do it justice. She said it was cooked perfectly and she was thrilled with her choice!

This pic does not do it justice!

During dinner we were talking about how to memorialize our travels in the form of souvenirs. I am not one to collect thimbles or silver spoons or post cards, however when I saw a crab wine glass and some hot sauce from the restaurant I decided to capture my trip to Chesapeake with these mementos. The hot sauce is awesome and I put it on eggs so far and it made me happy. And well you can never have too many wine glasses, right?


Off the Hook does not have a web page and their menu is not posted on-line. They do have a Facebook page if you want to follow them, however they are located at: 500 S Battlefield Blvd S in Chesapeake and their phone number is 757-421-3313. It is definitely worth the visit and if you are looking for something that is not touristy and just good food I completely recommend this place. Cheers!