Gluten Free Restaurant near Bethany Beach, Delaware: The Cafe on 26
August 12, 2010
Our family vacationed in Ocean City, Maryland last week and had the opportunity to try a relatively new restaurant (open just 3 months) called The Cafe on 26 in Ocean View, Delaware, just west of Bethany Beach. It's co-owned by chef Cathy Berzins who has Celiac Disease, and most everything they serve for breakfast, lunch, and dinner is gluten-free. I posted a review of our breakfast experience at The Cafe on 26 on our sister site for gluten-free restaurant reviews: GlutenFreeTravelSite. Well, needless to say, we liked The Cafe on 26 so much we went back a few days later, this time for dinner...
Be sure to go early enough if you choose to dine there for dinner. There's some question as to what time the kitchen "closes" (I saw both 7 and 8 pm posted...call to be sure). And it probably doesn't hurt to make a reservation, since the restaurant is rather small (in the main floor of an old but beautifully restored and maintained beach cottage). There already seems to be quite a loyal gluten-free clientele as well, since word travels fast in our community...there was a customer who came in while we were dining and bought the "last six" loaves of their homemade gluten-free bread to take home!
The dinner menu is pretty limited, with only about 6 choices, but I have to say, I still had a hard time deciding...they were all so tempting! Choices included crab cakes, filet mignon, seared jumbo scallops, beef bourguignon, duck, and prime rib (the special of the day). I think there may have been a fish special that night as well. My husband and I both ordered the duck, which we so rarely get to eat. It was probably the most delicious duck I've ever had...very tender and flavorful with a cherry port reduction. My mom ordered the prime rib, which I thought was done perfectly (not too rare but still pink), and our boys split one of the most tender and perfectly cooked filet mignons. We all had a choice of two sides with our entrees, and we chose to sample most of them: the mashed potatoes, green beans with slivered carrots and almonds, homemade applesauce, sauteed summer squash, and quinoa tabouli (excellent...and I love to eat things like this that are tasty AND healthy and that I don't typically make myself!). The salads and cream of crab soup we ordered to start were equally good, and the dessert finale was wonderful: a gluten-free Key Lime pie with a gluten-free chocolate cookie crust, gluten-free cheesecake, and a piece of "Smith Island" red velvet cake (the only dessert on the menu that wasn't gluten-free).
This was our last night of our one-week vacation to Ocean City, and we found ourselves wishing we could stay another week to enjoy more of the near-perfect weather we'd had, the gorgeous surf, and more meals at The Cafe on 26 just down the road in Ocean View, Delaware! Have any restaurant reviews of your own to share? Submit a review to GlutenFreeTravelSite. It takes just a few minutes and helps so many other Celiacs find safe places to eat!