Food

An Outdoor Chesapeake Crab and Seafood Shack Opens Today on H Street

Pier 1354, from the team behind Stable, debuts with hot crabs and frozen Schnapsicles.

Crack crabs on H Street at Pier 1354. Photography by Amanda Hoey

Fall and winter call for cheesy fondue, but when it’s 94 degrees outside, even the owners of Swiss restaurant Stable are craving something lighter. After three years of serving specialties from the Alps and beyond, Silvan Kraemer and chef David Fritsche will open Pier 1354, a Chesapeake-style summer seafood garden, on H Street, Northeast.

The courtyard patio seats up to 50. Photograph by Amanda Hoey

The atmospheric patio with seating for up to 50 diners is attached to Gallery O on H, whose owners are regulars at Stable. Customers can reserve tables for up to six, Thursday through Saturday from 5 to 10 PM. A beachy menu hits all the classics: fresh-shucked oysters, peel-and-eat shrimp, steamed mussels, and sides like summer corn or garlic bread. Steamed and spiced Chesapeake crabs are available by the dozen, or for big eaters, the bushel (reservations for the latter are required). You won’t find a huge range of sizes at the pop-up, which plans on serving popular #1 large male crabs ranging in market price between $85 to $110 per dozen (opening weekend is a bit less expensive, with a dozen priced at $75 and a half-dozen at $40). For a boozy finale, try the rum-spiked “watermelon pizza” layered with fresh fruit and whipped cream.

Rum soaked “watermelon pizza.” Photograph by Amanda Hoey

Drinks are equally summery—think dark n’ stormy cocktails, bourbon-spiked sweet tea, and local wines and beers. Or for a nod to la Suisse, try one of the frozen Schnapsicles. 

Pier 1354. 1354 H St., NE. Open Thursday through Saturday, 5 to 10 PM. Reservations available via Resy.

Parties of up to six guests can reserve tables. Photograph by Amanda Hoey

Food Editor

Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.