If you’re planning to pop into 1776 without reservations, prepare to leave hungry. “We probably turn away 500 to 1,000 customers a week,” says Tom Holmes, owner of the Rehoboth Beach restaurant. “Sometimes, we don’t even answer the telephone on Saturday night.” A “Reservations Only” sign appears on the door throughout the summer.
The restaurant, which opened in 1987 in the Midway Shopping Center, is now in good company. There are at least four other steakhouses at the beach. Early this summer, Nossa Casa, a Brazilian steakhouse, will open in the old Georgia House in Millsboro, offering a distinctive atmosphere and menu.
A tasty legacy
The modern steakhouse is a spin on 17th-century London chophouses. (A chop was a meat portion.) The customers were all male, which may explain the clubby wood accents and leather upholstery in urban steakhouses.
In the mid-1800s, steakhouses became an elevated take on the chophouse. Perhaps the most famous steakhouse—Delmonico’s in New York City—is still open and also renowned for its wedge salad, lobster Newburg, and baked Alaska. In 1887, Peter Luger Steak House opened in Brooklyn. Happily, ladies were welcome.
As more cattle breeds and cuts entered the mainstream, restaurants offered prices to reflect grade and quality. Consider the family-oriented steakhouses that made an appearance in the 1990s. Many remember the Roadhouse Steak Joint on Route 1 in Rehoboth, which later became the Old Bay Steakhouse. (It’s now the Hideout Arcade Bar.)
Although 1776 is the oldest area steakhouse, it started with a colonial concept. Under a second owner, it began specializing in steak in 1994.
The gold standard
When Holmes and his partner purchased 1776 in 2007, there were no steakhouses in the area. But vacationers still weren’t clamoring for beef. “We struggled a bit,” Holmes acknowledges. It didn’t help that the diets du jour vilified red meat. The 160-seat restaurant found its footing as diners decided to treat themselves, and new communities sprang up west of Route 1.
Credit the restaurant’s staying power to Holmes, who is also the manager, as well as staff members who’ve worked at 1776 for nearly 20 years. It is one of the only steakhouses in the area that purchases products from George L. Wells Meat Co. in Philadelphia, which delivers three times a week. Moreover, 1776 gives guests two sides with their steak—hardly the typical steakhouse approach.
Filet mignon is a big seller, and 1776 offers a trio with different sauces. At around $90, the tomahawk steak with a pair of sides is a great deal for two, Holmes says. When it was on the regular menu, the sales were sluggish. Once it became a special, it began selling out.
18585 Coastal Highway No. 6, Rehoboth Beach; 645-9355; 1776 Steak House
Tried and true
In 2018, Megan Kee opened Houston White Co. to fill a void in downtown Rehoboth Beach. “I wanted to do a true prime steakhouse,” says Kee, who also owns Dalmata and La Fable in Rehoboth as well as Bramble & Brine at the Buttery in Lewes.
Prime—the USDA’s highest-quality grade—is the operative word. Kee went to Chicago to inspect her vendor’s facilities before purchasing. “The beef I get now is in the top 2% in the country,” she says.
Like a New York steakhouse, the sides are a la carte for any entree, whether meat or seafood. The good news is that the sides are large enough to share.
The elegant restaurant’s name comes from the family lumber business, which began as a construction company in the late 1880s in Millsboro, before closing in the 1980s. Kee was also inspired by her grandfather, who ate a steak nearly every day at the Sea Horse Restaurant or his country club.
315 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth Beach; 227-8511; Houston White Co.
Breaking the rules
Chris Agharabi isn’t afraid to buck the norm. “We offer a different type of steakhouse,” says the owner of Theo’s Steaks, Sides & Spirits in downtown Rehoboth Beach. “There are things on the menu you wouldn’t see in a standard steakhouse.”
Consider meatloaf and a Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings—offered year-round. Although preparing the turkey meal is labor-intensive, customers would protest if he took it off the menu. “When it’s 100 degrees out, people are ordering it,” says Agharabi, who also owns Ava’s Pizzeria & Wine Bar in downtown Rehoboth Beach and Hammy’s Burgers & Shakes on Route 1, outside Rehoboth.
Turkey and stuffing aside, chateaubriand for two is a top seller. “People love it because they get a nice tenderloin with chateau [barrel-shaped] potatoes and fresh vegetables,” he says. “We also do steak Diane.”
There’s a New Orleans vibe at the original Theo’s in St. Michaels, Maryland. In Rehoboth, the décor takes a more contemporary turn. However, baked oysters, barbecued shrimp, and shrimp and grits put the bite in the Big Easy theme.
44 Baltimore Ave., Rehoboth Beach; 227-7107; Theo’s Steaks, Sides & Spirits
The tide turns
Lewes lacked a steakhouse until Harvest Tide came along. Not only did it fill an untapped niche, but it’s also on the city’s Lewes Beach side, which didn’t have an upscale dining scene for decades.
Like Theo’s, Harvest Tide departs from the traditional steakhouse format. For instance, guests can start with blue crab Thai bisque, prosciutto burrata, a seafood tower, or a charcuterie board.
Chef Danio Somoza’s “Butcher Block” selection of dry-aged steaks includes a filet, New York strip, and ribeye. Sauces and toppings are extra. However, the menu also includes Peruvian chicken, cod, a wagyu burger, and bouillabaisse.
Somoza also opened a Bethany Beach location, and the menu is different. For instance, it highlights filet, New York strip, and a bone-in pork chop. Other main dishes focus on seafood—salmon, cod, gumbo, and seafood with spaghetti. There is also a raw bar.
410 E. Savanah Road, Lewes; 644-2600; harvesttide.co; 98 Garfield Parkway, Bethany Beach; 581-0448; Harvest Tide Steakhouse
New kid in town
Meanwhile, Samoza’s significant other, Thaina Bittencourt, and her sister, Maria, will open Nossa Casa this summer, a Brazilian steakhouse in Millsboro. Guests can taste 20 different types of meat sliced from skewers at the table.
The sisters aren’t worried about the appeal of meat in inland towns. Says Thaina, “People around here really love meat.”
109 Main St., Millsboro; Nossa Casa
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