"Wilmington's Riverfront crab-cake anchor and a Best of Delaware 2024 readers' pick. Take the team and order the broiled cakes."
About Big Fish Grill on the Riverfront
The jumbo lump crab cakes leave this kitchen broiled, never fried, and they are the reason the biggest dining room on the Christina River still revolves around one dish. Big Fish Grill on the Riverfront anchors Justison Street's restaurant row at number 720, the urban flagship of the seafood group Eric Sugrue co-founded at the Delaware beaches. Delaware Today readers voted it Best Restaurant in Wilmington and Best Seafood Upstate in the 2024 Best of Delaware awards, and in June 2024 Baltimore's Atlas Restaurant Group bought a majority stake in the whole operation.
The Kitchen
There is no celebrity chef and the house does not pretend otherwise; this is a volume seafood kitchen run to group standards, with Sugrue still managing partner after the Atlas deal and the fish program built on a daily fresh-catch board. The signature plays are settled: broiled Chesapeake crab cakes at $35.95 with Old Bay remoulade, the Big Fish Mixed Grill at $49.95 stacking beef tenderloin medallions, scallops, shrimp and a crab cake on one plate, oysters Rockefeller finished with a shot of Sambuca, and a crab mac and cheese at $26.95 that outsells most entrées. A sushi bar runs its own card of rolls.
Cooking ambition is not the point; consistency at scale is, and the kitchen hits it well enough that the 2024 Best of Delaware readers' awards handed it three categories. For the genre done with tasting-menu ambition, Bardea Food & Drink is a short drive up Market Street; for the genre done bigger, nothing in Delaware competes.
The Room
A riverfront hall scaled for crowds: high ceilings, a long bar, water-view windows down one flank and a patio that fills first on summer evenings. Sound runs loud, the floor moves fast, and children are everywhere early; the energy is the product. Tables are generously spaced because strollers and birthday balloons need lanes. Dress code is whatever you wore today. Friday and Saturday push to 10pm closes, the rest of the week wraps at 9. Happy hour, Monday to Friday 4 to 6 in the bar, is the cheapest tour of the kitchen's greatest hits.
Best for a Team Dinner
Book Big Fish for a team dinner because it removes every friction point: OpenTable handles big parties, the menu spans $9.95 salads to the $49.95 mixed grill so every salary band orders comfortably, the room is too loud for anyone to monologue, and the Riverwalk supplies the after-dinner stroll. Family-style mac and cheese and platters of fried seafood do the bonding work. It is also the easy birthday room for mixed-age groups. For client dinners with stakes, walk up to Le Cavalier at the Hotel du Pont instead.
Not for
Not for romance or negotiation: the room is loud, family-packed and brisk. Book Le Cavalier or Bardea Steak when the dinner has stakes.
Frequently Asked
Is Big Fish Grill on the Riverfront worth it?
Yes, for what it is: Wilmington's most reliable high-volume seafood room, a 2024 Best of Delaware readers' pick for Best Restaurant in the city, with crab cakes that justify the vote. It is not a special-occasion kitchen and does not price like one; most mains sit between $20 and $36. Calibrate to seafood-hall, not tasting-room, and it delivers; the Wilmington dining guide sets the fuller field.
Does Big Fish Grill take reservations?
Yes, through OpenTable, and large parties should use it; the dining room absorbs walk-ins most nights but weekend prime time books out. The patio and bar seat first-come. Happy hour, Monday through Friday 4 to 6pm, is bar-area only with no reservations taken and no takeout, and the line forms accordingly in summer.
What should I order at Big Fish Grill?
The broiled Chesapeake crab cakes, $35.95 with two sides, are the franchise. The Mixed Grill at $49.95 answers the indecisive with tenderloin medallions, scallops, shrimp and a crab cake on one plate, and the crab mac and cheese at $26.95 feeds a table. The fresh-catch board changes daily and is where the kitchen shows off.
Is Big Fish Grill good for kids and groups?
It is built for them: a kids' menu at $9.95 with fries and ice cream included, balloon-tolerant acoustics, stroller room between tables and a Riverwalk outside for burning off dessert. Team dinners and family birthdays are the house specialty in practice, which is exactly why a quiet date here fights the architecture. See the team dinner guide for the playbook.
Who owns Big Fish Grill?
Big Fish Restaurant Group, the Delaware operator Eric Sugrue co-founded, with Baltimore's Atlas Restaurant Group holding a majority stake since June 17, 2024. Sugrue stayed on as managing partner, the group's sixteen Delaware-area restaurants joined Atlas's portfolio, and day-to-day operations at the Riverfront flagship carried on unchanged, crab cakes included.
