Ropewalk in Fenwick never really caught on. It just wasn't the right location for that concept. They moved to the more upbeat Ocean City and are doing well. SoDel Concepts was smart to grab that location. Fenwick is the perfect venue for their third incarnation of the Matt's Fish Camp concept. Simple, straight ahead food, reasonably priced, not a lot of noise – just good food and typically attentive service.
If you've ever been to Matt's Fish Camp in Bethany or in Lewes, then you know the menu. The list of 11 starters includes the ubiquitous Parker House rolls, Maurice Catlett's Sticky-Icky (boneless!) wings, and of course the crabby fries. You can add five toppings to your selection of four salads. On our first visit I had the Matt's Meatloaf in honor of one of Matt Haley's very few missteps, Betty's American Diner in Rehoboth's Midway. It was delicious. One of the unusual dishes on the menu (I had it at Bluecoast Rehoboth) is the Sussex County Fried Rice. It's a flavorful combination of chopped veggies, mushrooms and a particularly good jalapeno/ginger mayo. It's Sussex County all the way, with generous chunks of scrapple and fried chicken. The whole thing wears a jaunty little sunny egg hat.
One of our appetizers was the Tuna Sashimi Roll, a loose play on sushi where the crispy pickled veggies are wrapped in the thinly sliced ahi. I love the fried cod (or haddock, depending…) sandwich at MFC Lewes, and they have a nice version of that using crisply fried flounder. Flounder fries up so nice, being so thin, and the sandwich was perfect. Slaw and their nice ‘n' salty fries accompanied. See them in the gallery.
There is some parking around the building, and there's an overflow lot about a half-block to the north on the opposite side of the road. Will be convenient when it's not very cold outside. Be careful crossing!
Matt's Fish Camp Fenwick is open 4-9 Monday thru Thursday, and 11:30 – 9 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (for lunch AND dinner, of course).
700 Coastal Hwy, Fenwick Island. Call (302) 375-2267.
Hmm…not the SoDel I used to know. Prices have gone up, and portions are half what they were. I recently got fish n’ chips both at Matts Fish Camp in Fenwick and Fish On in Lewes. The portions were half what I remember. It’s not their fault prices have gone up, but why can’t you raise prices and keep the portions about the same? Or keep prices the same and lower the portion? It’s kind of an insult to the customer. The quality of the food is as good as it always was, but it rankles this particular fan of SoDel restaurants who used to go all the time. I’ll probably still go a time or two a year, but I think I’ll check out other beach area restaurants in the future. Seems like the end of an era.