Qinhuangdao is a coastal town, so seafood is naturally the specialty. Restaurants serving delicious fresh seafood can be found all over Qinhuangdao and the surrounding towns. Large plastic tubs filled with at the entrances of restaurants basically serve as menus, where you can choose the fish, crab or lobster for your dinner. Classier places have real fish tanks indoors, but the same method of ordering applies.

Beidaihe is known for its good shellfish, especially crab, lobster, cuttlefish, pike and scallops. Both Bao'er Lu and Haining Lu have numerous seafood restaurants. Near the Guesthouse for Diplomatic Missions, Kiessling's (Qishilin Canting), is an Austrian chain restaurant that serves Chinese food and a selection of Western dishes.

In Shanhaiguan the best restaurants are to be found on the town's main street, Dajie, that is divided into north (Bei), south (Nan), east (Dong) and west (Xi) branches from a central intersection. The most well-known restaurant, Wangyan Lou (Wangyan Lou Fandian), is in the southwest of the town, at the intersection of Guancheng Xilu and Guancheng Nanlu. This place has a good selection of seafood at fairly reasonable prices.