The Award-Winning Crabcakes You Can't Skip At One Of Maryland's Oldest Seafood Spots

Chicago has its deep dish pizza, Philadelphia has its cheesesteaks, Texas has its barbecue, and Baltimore is all about the fresh crab. Baltimore is located right smack dab in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay region — an area famous for fresh seafood like bay scallops, bluegill fish, oysters, rockfish, and those delicious blue crabs.

With this excess of fresh crab, it's no surprise that Baltimore is home to some of the best crabcakes in America. One of the oldest and most regarded restaurants in this region is Faidley Seafood, a historic establishment that was founded in 1886 by John W. Faidley. Adding to the historic nature of Faidley Seafood is its location inside Lexington Market, a Baltimore landmark that opened its first official iteration 1806 and now operates inside a 60,000-square-foot building with space for more than 45 vendors.

Faidley is now owned by Bill and Nancy Devine, descendants of John Faidley, and is best-known for award-winning crabcakes that have been featured in Smithsonian Magazine, "The Today Show," and Bon Appetit, among others. These jumbo lump crabcakes — which Faidley offers on its brick-and-mortar menu and also ships nationwide — are handmade and sell at $25.95 for a 6.5-ounce portion.

Faidley Seafood is a legendary Baltimore restaurant for a reason. Across the board, most diners have nothing but good things to say about Faidley's delicious jumbo lump crabcakes. "The only crabcake I'll go out of my way for," wrote one Redditor in r/Baltimore. A reviewer on Facebook wrote, "I've eaten over a hundred different crab cakes and Faidley's are certainly the BEST!" No doubt, these crabcakes are some of the best you'll find in the country.

But it's not just the crabcakes that makes Faidley such a great seafood spot. You can also order a smaller sized backfin crabcake — made with Eastern Short backfin and lump meat — for the more affordable price of $15.95 (though the price sometimes changes with market value). Both the backfin and jumbo lump crab cakes can also be served as part of a platter with two sides. Of course, Faidley also offers soups with plenty of crab, the options being a housemade cream of crab white soup or a house-made Maryland crab red soup with Chesapeake Bay seasonings. You'll also find a crab sandwich, fried butterfly shrimp, crab-stuffed shrimp, several varieties of fish, oysters, and clams, and two different platters for mixing and matching to round out the menu.

If you love crab — and especially crabcakes — Faidley Seafood is an absolute bucket list restaurant if you're ever near Baltimore. The restaurant's history speaks for itself, the location is in one of the hottest food spots in the city, and the meals are iconic. There's a reason Baltimore is known for delicious crab, and Faidley no doubt plays a huge part in the city's reputation for high quality and fresh seafood.