Photography by Bill Whaley
Photography by Bill Whaley
With everything the Jetty Restaurant & Dock Bar offers, it’s a popular year-round destination, but especially active during the summer season. Customers can dock a boat, then eat a delicious breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Motorists can make a quick turn off Route 50 and into Kent Narrows.
And you can do a lot more than eat there. The restaurant offers live music with well-known area bands like the Reagan Years, Weird Science, and the Amish Outlaws. There are usually two bands performing on Saturdays and Sundays, along with trivia and karaoke during the weeknights.
“We are really laid back,” Jetty General Manager Justin Kiernan says. “We want to have that resort feel, like going to Florida. We have a beach area, where you can put your toes in the sand. Customers say it’s like a weekend getaway at the beach with a resort vibe.”
The menu, which is highlighted by Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes, Hawaiian Grouper Tacos, California Dip, Shrimp and Avocado Ceviche, Crab Cake Benedict, and Crab Imperial Stuffed Flounder, is also a main draw.
Photography by Bill Whaley
“We have the same person (Carolina Fuentes) who has made the crab cakes every day for us for over 20 years,” Kiernan explains. “We think our crab cakes are the best on the Eastern Shore.”
The media has also taken notice of the Jetty—and in a big way. The website, Thrillest, named it “the best small-town bar in Maryland” while Tripadvisor gave it a “Travler’s Choice” award.
The Jetty also won 2025 Best of Eastern Shore by What’s Up? Media readers for “Best Happy Hour” and “Best Local Music Venue.” To learn more, we recently talked to Kiernan and owner Ron Kirstien.
Why has the Jetty become one of the must-visit Eastern Shore restaurants or bars? We built it into a 12-month destination. We are busy all year. We get people from Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The weekend warriors come down. It’s great for the area, especially since we have got all these hotels around us. We have been here since 2002 and every year it just seems to get better and better. It has really taken off in the last 10 years. You can just kick back, relax, and get away from all the problems in the world. You chill out and let us do all the work for you. We have great food, great service, and great results. We have a healthy staff and great leadership. We have built great relationships as a place to just have fun. The customers really enjoy crabs, orange crushes, and great bands. Yet the biggest draw is being surrounded by the water and the sunshine. The location is such a big key.
Do other restaurants and bars offer as much entertainment and activities as your establishment? I don’t think so. It allows customers to forget about the stress of the world. You come here for a couple of hours and forget about everything. You come in for food and drinks and enjoy free entertainment. We have a cover on the weekends, but not Monday through Thursday. Having bands on the weekend has always been our niche. We started a long time ago and we have been consistent.
Is one of the restaurant’s most-valued features being able to dock boats? It’s free to dock your boat while you dine. We are not going to charge you for docking your boat. People spend their hard-earned money on food and drinks. We have a dock hand to help you tie your boat up. We have a lot of free slips. It’s packed on the weekends with like 20 boats tied up out there. It’s a good problem to have. It’s first-come, first-serve. There is no time frame. You can stay as long as you want. But you can’t party on the boats.
Photography by Bill Whaley
Tell me about the bus that offers people free rides? It’s all about a safe ride home? We have had the Jetty bus for 15 years. It’s a free service. It is for the local area, including all the hotels. It’s like a free shuttle. It’s less people on the roads after partying a little bit. We get them to the Jetty and get them home safely. We do a lot of pickups for weddings. We have a ton of weddings here—after parties. It’s people coming from the [Chesapeake Bay] Beach Club. The Beach Club is on Kent Island and they have a huge wedding facility. They may have three or four weddings a night. We will pick people up with the Jetty bus after weddings, we also pick up people at their residence along its 10-mile radius.
How would you describe your menu? Fun, exciting, and tropical. I think we have something on there for everybody. Burgers, streaks, and seafood. We have a lot of gluten-free items. Our weekend healthy breakfasts are huge. People think our breakfast is awesome. It’s great value. You can sit outside on the water and eat.
What would you say is your top selling item? Crab cakes. We use a special blend, a special homemade sauce, and jumbo lump crab meat with very little filler. It reflects the local area, and we sell a ton of them. We get rave reviews on them. They taste awesome.
What else do customers crave? The Hawaiian grouper tacos. We make a fresh, homemade mango sauce to go along with a chipotle cream sauce to finish it. It’s a light dish and very delicious. It has a nice Caribbean feel to it. It makes you feel like you’re on a beach at a resort somewhere.
The Jetty Restaurant & Dock Bar | 201 Wells Cove Road, Grasonville • 410-827-4959 • jettydockbar.com
