There are restaurants you go to. And then there are restaurants you arrive at.
Spain Wine Bar in Ocean City, Maryland is firmly in the second category — and from the moment you figure out how to get there, you already know this isn’t going to be an ordinary meal.
The Setting
The rooftop setting is something else. Open to the inner waterways, the space breathes in a way that most restaurants simply can’t.
And for those moments when the sunset gets a little too assertive or the breeze picks up off the water, there’s a roof and clear vinyl wall curtains that give you just the right amount of cover without stealing the experience.
It’s the best of both — al fresco dining with a quiet safety net. You get the sky, the light, the open air, and the feeling that you’re somehow above it all. Because you are.
The Food — Spain in Every Bite
What makes Spain Wine Bar genuinely remarkable — beyond the skill in the kitchen, beyond the beautiful presentation — is where the ingredients come from. They are ordered directly from Spain. Not sourced domestically with a Spanish label. From Spain.
You taste the difference immediately, and it’s not subtle.
Now the caveat here is that anything that should be organcially sourced locally, is. That means that some seafood or vegetablews may not come from Spain, but from Worcester County, MD, just a few miles or so away.
One thing that particularly stood out: the bread. If you’ve ever traveled to Spain and noticed that the bread hits differently — lighter, easier to digest, less of that heavy gluten weight — you already know what we’re talking about. The wheat grown and milled in Spain simply doesn’t carry the same gluten composition as what you find in American bread.
At Spain Wine Bar, that authenticity carries through to the table. It’s the kind of detail that tells you everything about what Peter and Golie Miamee Elias are trying to do with this place. They’re not approximating Spain or fresh local ingredients. They’re bringing it to you.
The People Behind the Magic
Peter and Golie Miamee Elias are the duo behind Spain Wine Bar, and if the name sounds familiar, it’s because they also own Oyster & Scales just down the waterfront — another extraordinary dining experience in its own right. Together, the two restaurants paint a picture of a couple deeply committed to doing things the right way, with no shortcuts and no compromises.
And Golie’s fingerprints are all over Spain Wine Bar, just as they are at Oysters & Scales. Her artistic sensibility shapes the spaces she and Peter create — there’s a warmth and intention to the environment that goes beyond interior design. It feels curated, personal, alive.
Finding It Is Part of the Experience
Here’s the thing about Spain Wine Bar: you may have to earn it a little. You enter as if you’re there to stay for the night. Except, you walk through the lobby of the hotel straight to the elevators — and from there, you ride up to the restaurant.
It reminded us immediately of the time we visited Ex Officio in Mendoza, Argentina, where you had to navigate through a hotel lobby directly to the lift before finding yourself transported into something extraordinary. That same feeling hit us here.
There’s something about that intentional journey — the lobby, the elevator, the anticipation building floor by floor — that sets the stage before you’ve even sat down.
When those doors open and you step into Spain Wine Bar, you understand immediately why the trip up was worth it.
A Few Things to Know Before You Go
Spain Wine Bar is busy. but worth planning for. Reservations are recommended — this isn’t a walk-in-and-hope-for-the-best kind of place, especially now that the word is out.
On parking: a heads-up that will save you a headache. The hotel parking spots are not yours to use — park there and you risk being towed. However, there are designated spots identifiable by red-painted curb stops, so keep an eye out for those. Below is the Apple Maps aerial photo depicting the approximate location of those coveted spots.
Beyond that, street parking is your friend. A short walk is a small price to pay for what’s awaiting you upstairs.
Worth Every Bit of the Effort
Spain Wine Bar is the kind of place that makes you pause mid-meal and look around — at the open sky above, the rooftop view, the glass in your hand — and just quietly appreciate that you found it. That you made the reservation. That you took the elevator.
Do yourself a favor and go. Then go again.
Journey Moore Often, because rooftop restaurants are always worth the extra effort to find.