The Family Behind Maryland's Best Crab Cakes

Located in Baltimore, Maryland, Costas Inn has been owned and operated by the Triantafilos family since 1971. Originally founded by father Costas, who still owns and works at the restaurant seven days a week, and now run by his son Pete. The institution serves up the best crab cakes and steamed crabs in all of Baltimore. Which is a tightly contested title to hold.
Costas Inn is a lot more than just a beloved seafood restaurant. It’s a local sports bar, a check-cashing business, and a family gathering place. Everyone in the Triantafilos family has worked there at some point or still works there. A lot of love and pride goes into the best crab cakes in Baltimore, rest assured.
00:00 Intro
00:30 Meet the Men Behind Costas Inn
01:53 Baltimore's Best Crab Cakes and Steamed Crabs
03:39 Cashing Checks
05:08 An Institution
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#food #baltimore

[@jaimeshepard5753]

My family went here back in 2013 when we were in the area. We got the recommendation from a local. Man, it was good. I still think about it a decade later!

[@user-lk4cv3cv7t]

Great bar great food great owners. I have been going there since 1971 . I live in Florida I get back to Baltimore about every 3 months that's the first restaurant I go to

[@muskafella]

The food, atmosphere, family, customers Everything is a vibe A+++ and hats off to the owner for being so heart warming I love how he manages the check cash out desk😆

[@Kryteg719]

I've know this Family going on 40 years. They are The Real Deal! Every meal I've had has been Superior! This is a nice piece from Vice, but COSTAS has always given and gorren the love from their patrons. Σ 'αγαπώ οικογένεια

[@helenkarn9121]

THIS is the American dream for sure! We need more of this!! Work hard, dream big, and have some luck with the right time & right place ... Kudos to Costas!! I will need to check out and rate your crab cakes on the "Aunt Evey scale". As a true Baltimoron [whose family member X makes THE best crab cakes], I can't help but compare every restaurant's crab cakes to my Aunt Evey's, which was a 10/10 (of course), may she rest in peace...

[@KENZOSTAX]

RIP to your Aunt ❤ I hope you go here and enjoy yourself

[@Mutiny960]

So the American Dream is dependent on "Getting Lucky". HAHAHA you' re such a rxtard its hilarious.

[@toiletchili5786]

This is my absolute favorite place to get Crabs. My dad took me here when I was a kid and I always go at least once a year. I’m glad this place is getting the recognition it deserves. People always hear about Jimmys famous but Costas is far superior in my opinion as a Marylander.

[@christopherwatson4814]

It's an ad.... not recognition

[@toiletchili5786]

@@christopherwatson4814 how so? It’s recognizing a local family business that has been apart of the community for 51 years. Seems like you are upset. That’s alright though, you’ll get through it.

[@jorb1903]

Mine is from my ex-boyfriend

[@Anidoesstuff]

Best place to get crabs I found is in Amsterdam

[@toiletchili5786]

@@Anidoesstuff durrr hurhhhh dat wuz funny

[@mandydorfler6625]

Been eating there since the 80s...best crabs, crab cakes and seafood in town!

[@joshtheman82]

Boy you really wanna stir the pot tackling the best crab cakes in MD... Let the fighting begin!!!

[@danielwoods6504]

Faidleys

[@kattitaniummelonparker3408]

Koco's pub

[@fantasiafox22]

Subjective. I’d say these look like one of the best

[@jd-hj5ed]

This might be the best to you, but in order to truly crown the best, you would have to try them all. I know you haven't done that. I haven't tried a lot if places, but I personally love Captain Billy's. Place is always crowded to the max.

[@pinkmonkeybird2644]

I’m not a native to the area, so my opinion isn’t worth much, but I think the places that serve the best crab cakes and crabs are, of course, the ones that serves the freshest crabs and don’t use a lot of filler or anything other than Old Bay type spices. But among those, I think the best are the ones that are consistent and make you feel welcome and special. Bo Brooks was the first place I had crabs, but Gunnings was closer and Obrycki’s was date night food. Sunset in Glen Burnie had atmosphere and great crab cakes and sour beef and dumplings. I think all are closed now. G&M’s and Timbuku are still around and have great crab cakes, but I’m curious what other people think is best.

[@SideHustleInspiration]

Absolutely loved this video! It's so heartwarming to see the passion and tradition behind Maryland's best crab cakes. The dedication of the family really shines through, and it's clear why their crab cakes are so renowned. Can't wait to try them out myself one day. Keep up the amazing work, and thanks for sharing your story with us! 🦀💖

[@farahmaghsadi7104]

The food is fabulous and the family is the best. They are hard working, caring people and to be in business for over 50 years is a huge accomplishment.

[@Mutiny960]

Idiot. The employees work hard. The owners do nothing, and pay the employees peanuts. That's how a business works for 50 years.

[@brianmoody2549]

This places have’s a open heart to make people feel good about their meal.everyone works as a team, and have a great understanding about food and cooking with love heart understanding on how to keep the food delicious and they to keep the family history,right where it is.,and where it all started.

[@vivocloudy4992]

The most caring giving loving family I have ever met in my life! Makes me wish I was Greek

[@ArielK1987]

Just shows that it's not only about the amount of money you have made. But legacy you left behind.

[@88deer72]

This place is one of the best! Glad they’re getting the love

[@Mutiny960]

Getting the love? Don't you realize by now that 99% of these places PAY to be on this channeL? LMFAO

[@benf8706]

Great food, great owners. When I used to drive truck down to the port, they always let us park in the back of their lot for the night to sleep. Parking is always hard to come by- but here we would always come in for world class seafood as well!

[@ELEKTRARE]

Beautiful family bonds ❤

[@lorrainelancaster3868]

I love your restaurant food has always been delicious the best crabs and I love the karaoke my uncle before passing away would bring a group of us every year for mother’s day and some of us would come for our birthday it’s a classy place where you could have a good meal as well as a good time ❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@RolandBullock-ej8wl]

I miss those college days them bussing us into the inner harbor for bar baltimore.....baja beach club.....and then that club under the bridge Hammerjacks lol.....many a memory =)

[@problemochild]

awesome food and service !!!! ❤

[@ShahzadIdleconsturctionbilding]

Very informative video for us thanks for sharing this video 📷

[@user-tm5em4vu7u]

Damn! That looks good! 👍 I love sea food! 🥘

[@TheGlamorousLifeofNae]

I’m going to have to check their crab cakes out!

[@Foo007]

As a native Marylander…no you don’t.

[@TheGlamorousLifeofNae]

@@Foo007 I’m a native Marylander myself, where do you think has the best crabcakes? I’ll check out what you recommend if I haven’t been yet.

[@Foo007]

IMO - Jimmy’s - But the BEST of the BEST is Woody’s in Dewey Beach

[@TwentyOneThirty]

@@Foo007Jimmy’s Famous Seafood? I would have thought you’d pick Mama’s or Nicks fish house. Jimmy’s is not all that and frankly, all the top-tier crab cake places are within whiskers of each other in terms of quality and flavor. I certainly wouldn’t put Jimmy’s way above Costa’s. Somebody needs to arrange a contest for the best crab cakes in Maryland and crown the “best crab cakes of Maryland”

[@TwentyOneThirty]

Go ahead and check it out. It’s a great crab cake the folks are really nice there

[@Louis-pb3nq]

Pete is the best! Entire family is the best happy for them!

[@paulthomas1052]

These guys are just the best - great looking food and a fantastic approach to life and business. I'd love to visit them someday.

[@The2ndFirst]

I wish I had the occasion to get by there when I worked for a company HQd out of Balto. I really was left with a sour taste for Baltimore in general.

[@arobinson68]

This place is delicious! I love it! 🦀🦀🦀

[@thediner8929]

Football and crab cakes. That is what Maryland does.

[@viciousvictortee1298]

What Got Into you...? I know 5 Generations of large American Breeding!!!!😂

[@dougIas]

baltimore episodes always hit different

[@filippejic8864]

Nice to see Steve Chu again

[@healthandnature3129]

Good quality videos i like it :)

[@andersongutierrezcarmona3970]

Conosco esta familia desde hace arto❤

[@sethsoderman2731]

damn love family business food

[@carlosbonilla5506]

😮 very awesome

[@vilmotovlogvilmotovlog8451]

The food atmosphere family customers everything its nice

[@richardyoung871]

In this part of the video I have been in MARYLAND and I am also a Chef and it's very interesting that this place is in ZAGAT and it's also very interesting that they talk about Crabcakes because crabcakes are on almost every menu and they are not cheap usually 1 or 2 very small even if you buy them at the supermarket and only lump and not jumbo lump crabmeat and as a Hot App or cold App usually 20 and up as they are in a can frozen and you can't find them anywhere but in gourmet stores

[@08_abbasadnan8]

The best 👌

[@lawncaretoamillion]

Looks good

[@beauty-bizness2845]

I’m definitely checking this place out while in the DMV area! ❤

[@mehere337]

How did I grow up in Baltimore and not know about this place? I knew about Squire's, which is an institution in Dundalk.

[@jairodiazcarmona858]

Very nice

[@josedavidtapiaacosta9808]

Que delicia ,lo habia provado en otras presentación en la costa (colombia) como lo preparan se ve una felicia

[@Blitzkrieg1976]

That's my kind of place! I miss the East Coast 😢

[@YouTubeExpertZesan]

waiting for this video

[@quinnernst2414]

This place must be going crazy with the Ravens in the playoffs!

[@markchristopher4165]

Steve Chu making an appearance!

[@sakuraiblossom128]

what a great family- really positive vibes

[@MiningchannelMiningchann-ke2qp]

Nice

[@monicad351]

Lived in Baltimore 46 years never been to this place. Everyone makes crab cakes in Maryland. enough lump Chesapeake blue crab, and old bay you can't go wrong.

[@richardyoung871]

In this part of the video I remember years ago when we would go crabing on the beach and they are very fast at digging a hole and you have to know how to catch them because they will use their claws and it's not really nice but you have to know how to cook them but they don't have a lot 🎉meat anyway just steam them and sometimes if you are lucky you can get soft shell crabs but it's very rare and in HAWAII the HOTELS buy up the market clean them and freeze them and run them as a special as my brother told me because he worked in 2 Hotels in WAIKIKI as I did as well but in Manhattan

[@onemightymill]

Nothing like a Maryland crab boil!! So cool to learn about the Costas Inn. Baltimore isn't too far from us in Lynn, MA - if you ever want to try the best stone-milled bread and bagels. We created One Mighty Mill when we realized there was a systemic issue with how we farm and process wheat in the U.S.. For too long, industrial flour (and many other industrial foods) have been damaging our health and the planet. Industrial flour is made from wheat that's been grown with pesticides & harmful farming chemicals & then roller milled. This process produces flour from the shelf-stable center endosperm, but discards the nutrient-rich (but highly perishable) bran & germ. We are on a mission to fix flour by following a time-worn tradition of milling. We stone-mill 100% USDA certified wheat from our partner farmers so that our flour gets all of its natural nutrients and flavor.

[@richardyoung871]

In this part of the video I remember years ago when I decided what I wanted to pursue in life it was about that time he pursued cooking and when we were working sometimes we would make dinner for the family plus making food for grandma and grandpa which was not a problem in fact we enjoyed it to give ma a break as she was the one who taught us not just my sisters but the boys had to learn as I was a cook in the ARMY both company and battalion messhalls but I had been cooking professionally before I entered the ARMY so it was not a problem for me and I took a class at the University of Hawaii intro to Culinary arts

[@copetinjonatan957]

Woooowwwww

[@rinarojas9928]

Muy bien

[@whatwhy106]

Go Ravens!!!!

[@derekmikola7806]

Most sober I've seen Steve Chu in a few videos :)

[@raysville7256]

This is what makes America Great!

[@RolandBullock-ej8wl]

Old Bay is to Maryland what gumbo is to New Orleans or clam chowder is to Boston or bbq to KC =) .......crabcakes and football is what Maryland does!!! Love my Terps too

[@karenmonsalve5296]

❤❤❤

[@Georgeyboy1987]

This place does have amazing food. Sad they don’t use MD crab ( obviously would be hard to do all the time ) but still amazing food

[@brettlott570]

I know a lot of places don’t always use Md carb but hopefully they do mostly use MD crab while in crab season. Most people don’t know the difference but I most of the time do

[@richardyoung871]

In this part of the video when she says that she has been there for 23 years that's a long time and I remember years ago when I worked at the St Regis Hotel in Manhattan Tony who was the EXECUTIVE SOUS CHEF worked there for 35 years was set to retire and the EXECUTIVE CHEF opened his own restaurant in New Jersey the GM hired a FRENCH CHEF from France but I knew how to make French food already under 2 French chefs already and as a graduate of The Culinary Institute Of America in up state New York State in 1984.but now I am semi-retired at 68 those days are over and I am not willing to work those 10-12 hours anymore just like my twin brother who is in HONOLULU HAWAII and I am still here as my kid's are all grown living there own lives with there own families

[@lerrz8969]

Crabcakes and Football. Thats what Maryland DOES!

[@GHETOyeti]

Ok. I was fully expecting to be mad when they revealed what place they were saying had the best crabs and crab cakes. Costa’s is the best.

[@ericfan1223]

Lets gooo

[@orlandoarango2425]

Sebe amañador

[@richardyoung871]

In this part of the video watching him eat that crabcake man it's huge wow that's a monster and it's got to be at least 8 ozs or more and no fillers but one recipe 🎉have is bound with salted butter when I worked at a restaurant called ONE IF BY LAND TWO IF BY SEA on barrow Street lower MANHATTAN and very expensive but I started as a Line cook and worked my way up and the Chef got into an accident so I took over as the EXECUTIVE CHEF but I knew the full menu and doing the specials every day and we only served dinner no breakfast or lunch and very strict dress code and you had to make reservations and not a large seating capacity but this place is known for there services and food and I worked there for several years and it's a 1 page menu so it was very easy and they had a VIP list

[@donmatiaz1213]

Someone was PM me to do subscribe this channel, He promise to pay me after to subscribed this channel but nothing ITS SCAMMER, SCAMMER, SCAMMER, SCAMMER, SCAMMER, SCAMMER

[@marcomuiretta362]

Dad lived in Baltimore for 30 years 1938 till 1968 give or take people had neiborhood crab wars bats and all like gangs of New York just about😅

[@phug0id]

Amazing! Is this "the Greek" from the Wire?! jk jk 😂😂

[@richardyoung871]

In this part of the video I was born in 1955 July 17,1955 in HONOLULU HAWAII and my parents were PETER L,YOUNG AND my mothers name is EVELYN CHAR YOUNG and we lived in NUUANU VALLEY and I am 4th generation CHINESE HAWAIIAN and it's very expensive area and my grandfather is 2nd oldest of 13 very big family and I don't even know anyone except my father knew everyone but he is gone now some 30 years now and my mother just passed away at 98 in 2023 but I plan on going home to see where she is buried and see where my aunt and uncle are buried but my uncle is a ARMY veteran in the Korean War so is my father during WW2 as a medic

[@mohamedfawzialim]

المكان دا فين

[@tonaives1463]

Pricey. Don’t mind paying for good seafood. However, it is The only seafood restaurant in Maryland that charges for vinegar!

[@RoyaalHIGHness]

How can I get on the show? I have been trying to promote my food business and my cannabis infused tacos

[@YeaYEA783]

All killer no filler

[@sunrain4820]

Hey🥰✌🏽💐😍🤓🥳🙃

[@marcrosario7045]

CRABCAKES AND FOOTBALL!!

[@silverpathy]

Steve Chu!

[@alstonl333]

That look like the bar in the wire season 2

[@user-tm5em4vu7u]

You cash the workers checks and they spend their money in your own restaurant. Good business model. Lol

[@brettlott570]

Happy to see no living zombies hanging around in the streets 😂

[@richardyoung871]

In this part of the video in HAWAII what really is huge is that you have fleets of ship's going out for YELLOW FIN TUNA and they are hugh as the JAPANESE PEOPLE buy up the market and have them shipped back to Japan as Japan as a whole is very expensive as but beef pork chicken you name it as come with a lot of money or the JAPANESE YEN and not the KOREAN PEOPLE or the Philippine people and they do live in the islands of HAWAII spread out

[@richardyoung871]

In this part of the video when I was working at the deli Charlie hired me full time to make specials for delivery and he hired a total of 6 driver's and a lot of companies ordered from us and at lunch it was like very and people who lived 🎉the area would come in as well and Charlie hired kid's to do the stocking and I did the ordering from KRISDALE sometimes 200 case's and we stored everything in the basement with the drinks and beer as they delivered on a straight COD and no checks the store made a lot of money and JIMMY GEORGE and Albert worked in the kitchen as I taught them how to cook making different things and today they are all CHEFS which I am very proud of them and Albert work's in Washington DC for the Senate but I let him borrow my notes and he graduated 1st in his class and he lived 2 minutes from the store and he had worked for his uncle up the road TEXACO gas station with his cousins

[@camstag457]

i dont get why the Ravens logo is blurred out but the Under Armour logo on homeboys shirt is left unblocked...

[@tberman2386]

I am sure Roger Goodell and the NFL Licensing have something to do with it! Under Armour is based in Baltimore about 10 miles from Costa's. Lots of the Bar/Restaurants in the Baltimore Metro use Under Armour polos/shirts for their employee uniforms.

[@tintinbenjy]

👍🏿

[@mkhbh3132]

I was offered money to like and subscribe to this video

[@petergeorge24]

Moes!!

[@manladuuu]

Omar and mcnulty say faidleys is best

[@BackSeatDAWG]

Faidleys is the best crab cake but Jerry’s crab bomb is a better overall product

[@roachbag6969]

Yo I live right across the street

[@justing6594]

The village! 😉

[@poptarttoasta]

The Greeks

[@scialbttrfly3478]

Yes HELLAS was the best until they decided to close their doors.

[@kumbackquatsta]

did steve and farideh ever end up hooking up

[@colinv4099]

Right next to my old shop....excellent food, but Timbuktu crabcakes are better

[@solanyipizarrobatista3794]

Ok

[@JV-jd4qt]

But is the seafood locally sourced?

[@Sacred_Fire]

Their website states where they get their crabs, at least.

[@aj_aka_alan]

I'd have to say G&M's is the best crab cake in Baltimore

[@astralcreek]

where are the hush puppies?

[@gordonchandler1397]

No hushpuppies here, only only down south where no real crabcake exists.

[@richardyoung871]

In this part of the video my favorite subject is history and I read that when the 1st settlers came to the NEW LAND dead lobsters were piled on the beach and no one wanted to eat them but just look now at the prices are and they are called LIVE MAINE but in HAWAII we have SPINY LOBSTERS and they hide next to mori EELS as the JAPANESE PEOPLE eat eels and they are very dangerous bu😢you have to be very careful in the ocean just like sharks like the GREAT WHITES like watching JAWS which like watching the 1st scene and it really scared me like everyone when I was stationed in Korea in 1975 and I was stationed in 8th ARMY in SEOUL the capital of South Korea RICHARD STILLWELL commanding GENERAL as I didn't know anything about Korean people nor the country

[@susanleitch6890]

Every native of Maryland has a different opinion of who makes the best Maryland crab cake. The one thing we all agree on? We don’t order them when traveling to any other state. They are never true Maryland crab cakes and just never as good!🦀❤️

[@roachbag6969]

Salty dogs yo

[@cesarvazquez7531]

They may be a great company, and their food must be very good, but they buy followers and that's okay, no problem. The real issue is that the person selling them is scamming by offering money they don't pay in exchange for following this channel and liking the video!

[@crunchmonkey1]

Ummm..goto g&m, Jimmy's, lappas , box hill

[@gordonchandler1397]

g&m ships to FLA and most places down south.

[@jamesbell5793]

@@gordonchandler1397so does jimmy’s they ship pretty much every where in the USA

[@tommylookup]

so does Costas@@jamesbell5793

[@hawk1481]

Only G&M