welcome to sassafras

Sassafras is a cottage restaurant in Betterton, Maryland, overlooking the Chesapeake Bay and Sassafras River.

We are currently accepting reservations for our Chef’s Counter—an intimate front-row seat for just eight guests, with one dinner service each evening. There, guests are served directly by Chef Paul Edward and his team, enjoying a twelve-course tasting menu that reflects the tides, forests, and farms of the Chesapeake region.

June reservations are now available. Future reservations are released on the 15th of each month for the following month.

Our menu celebrates hyper-seasonal, modern Chesapeake cookery. All seafood is wild-caught from Mid-Atlantic and Chesapeake waters, with the exception of a stunning caviar sourced from wild Mississippi River sturgeon.

Now in the heart of spring, we’re savoring spawning Rockfish, the first soft crabs of the season, foraged ramps and morels, rhubarb and strawberries from our local farmers, and much more.

Dinner begins at 6:45pm; doors open at 6:30pm. The experience lasts approximately 2.5 hours. Tickets are $158 per person, plus tax and service charge.

We are happy to accommodate tree nut allergies and pescatarian diets with at least 7 days’ notice—please email us at eat@restaurantsassafras.com to confirm. Kindly note that we are unable to accommodate other dietary restrictions or allergies.

Reservations are required.

For frequently asked questions visit our FAQ page.

About Chef Paul Edward
My food is largely influenced by the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the people who’ve lived along its shores for centuries. When I was a boy I visited Historic Mount Vernon, where a farmer prepared Johnny Cakes over embers right there in the field along the bank of the Potomac. After having journeyed far and wide I think back to the time when fish was roasted over fire and corn was made into batter and baked over coals and the smoke of oak perpetually perfumed. I created Sassafras so I could penetrate time and stay there. Join me, won’t you?