Why Tide Room Is Ocean City’s Most Coveted Oceanfront Reservation

We sat down with Executive Chef Nathaniel Leonard of Tide Room at Ashore Oceanfront Hotel in Ocean City, Maryland. Tide Room, the centerpiece of Ashore Oceanfront Hotel, is an award-winning oceanfront restaurant and cocktail bar. With breathtaking water views, it features both indoor and outdoor dining, an upscale coastal atmosphere, and a menu focused on fresh seafood.

Tell us about what your morning routine looks like, and how you like to end your day?

I start most mornings at 5am with a routine of rotations and a kettlebell workout. I do my daily reading in the scripture (Every year I read through the bible in chronological order). My wife and I have been holding a latte art competition every morning before we leave for work (she definitely wins). Our hotel serves breakfast, so I arrive around 6am and start by going through our product and setting the line cooks up for breakfast (bake the biscuits, make the hollandaise, and the other small prep). From breakfast I start planning and prepping for dinner service. I rotate daily fish specials, we are blessed to live at the beach so we receive an abundance of seafood from our local fisherman. At 12pm my PM sous chef arrives and we go through expectations of this evening's service and discuss the highs and lows of the past evening's service. Our evening line cooks arrive at 3pm to start setting up for service. I prepare the evening specials and walk the BOH staff through how to prepare and present the dishes. They have the opportunity to taste, and give any feedback that they might have. We then make any adjustments and present the dishes to the FOH at our evening pre-shift meeting. I walk them through new dishes and quiz them on returning dishes (allergies, components, and any small knowledge so they can help the guest receive the perfect evening. At 5pm our heat lamps turn on, and we start the evening service. I will stay through most of the rush. I believe in teaching and allowing my sous chefs to lead the line cooks.

I will typically get home around 8pm and make dinner for my wife and son. After dinner it is a quick conversation with our son about his day before I read to him (we are currently working our way through C.S Lewis The Chronicles of Narnia). The best part of my day is after my son falls asleep and my wife and I get a chance to talk and recap highs and lows of our day.

Do you have a favorite chef that you look up to and what advice would you give to aspiring chefs?

I have so many chefs that I admire and respect. My mentor Christopher Lee would be the most influential in my career along with Alfred Portale. They both believed in me when I was just starting my career. They showed patience (sometimes more than I deserved) and worked with me through the growing pains of a young cook that just wanted to learn.

I would tell any young cook to be patient, your time will come, be a sponge and leave your pride/ego at home. Learn to lead through learning to follow first. And when it comes time to make a decision “Make It” be proud of the and don’t waiver in the decision-making process. That’s what it takes to lead.

Do you have any awards or achievements you’d like to mention?

I have been blessed to work in and alongside some really great chefs through my years. I have been a sous chef or chef de cuisine at restaurants that have won countless awards for “3 Bells from the Philadelphia Inquirer,” “17th best restaurant in the Country” by Gourmet Magazine, James Beard semifinalist for “Best Restaurant Mid-Atlantic,” awarded 2-Michelin Stars from the guide, and the “Best New Restaurant Delaware” in 2015.

I also published a book with a local homebuilder (Schell Brothers), and last year I was a semifinalist for “Best Chef Ocean City.”

What do you typically cook at home?

I will cook anything either in a wok, on the charcoal grill, or in my rice cooker. I can cook most anything with those three items.

What’s a food trend that you’re loving right now and why?

Filipino food movement! I love the flavors! The heat, funky, and sour flavors. Charcoal grilled coconut butter! Come on, that is ridiculous good.

What drink do you enjoy most?

Pennsylvania Root Beer (I don’t drink alcohol).

Have you ever cooked for a celebrity? Do you have a story to tell?

I have cooked for so many celebrities through the years. Jimmy Buffet, Bill Maher, Mark Walberger, The Black Crow’s (I may have let my friends know that they were in the restaurant. Sorry, I was young), but my favorite was probably the late Bob Saget. He insisted to be sat in the middle of the dining room right next to the kitchen, an area we commonly referred to as the “pit.” We had an open kitchen, and the floor plan had elevated rows. This is where we sat most celebrities so they could have a little more privacy. Bob Saget put on a show for anyone who would listen. He was loud, funny, and yes raunchy as well (he was secretly/not so secretly known to be lewd) after he finished his dessert he stood in front of the entire restaurant and proclaimed that this was the best dinner (with a lot of choice words that I won’t repeat) and if your where looking to maybe grow your family tonight (my words not his again very risqué persona) this was the place to eat before that happens. It would guarantee that act to follow. Wow this was a fun trip down memory lane. Thanks for letting me relive my career thus far.

What’s Your Instagram So Readers Can Follow You?

I am not on any socials, but follow the restaurant at @tideroomashore and hotel at @ashoreoceanfrontocmd.

What’s the strangest food combination you’ve ever tried? AND did you like it?

Coconut sorbet with caviar. Yes, I loved it; shout out to Rose’s Luxury in Washington, D.C.

Why should readers visit Tide Room?

Ashore Oceanfront Hotel is a reimagined, elevated beachfront resort in Ocean City, Maryland, now part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio. A property-wide renovation will be completed for the Summer 2026 season, and you can get 3,000 bonus points when you book now. I may be biased but Ashore is the chicest place to stay in Ocean City, with the best dining experiences and the only hotel that offers beachside service in Ocean City, Maryland.

BOOK A TABLE AT TIDE ROOM

Tide Room at Ashore Oceanfront Hotel in Ocean City, Maryland: Meet the Chef