M.R. Ducks

Ocean City’s premier live-rock venue on the Boardwalk, the Purple Moose cranks local and regional bands every summer night and turns into Bike Week’s legendary headquarters.

Birthplace of the Orange Crush, Maryland’s favorite summer cocktail, Harborside sits right on the inlet with the original recipe, boat traffic, and old-school bayside character intact.

On the bayside at 22nd Street, Fish Tales pairs hammocks and a pirate-themed playground with an Orange Crush and a bay view, the Ocean City bar people fall for because it never pretends to be more than it is.

Ocean Citys home away from home for Pittsburgh sports fans, Buxys pours cold beer and pierogis on Philadelphia Avenue with the kind of unpretentious local-bar energy the tourist strip sometimes forgets to have.

Right on the sand, Coconuts keeps it uncomplicated: frozen cocktails, cold beer, and the kind of honest beach bar afternoon that slides into evening before you notice.