Rod ‘N’ Reel Restaurant

We had a reservation but the staff couldn’t manage seating us in a reasonable amount of time. The restaurant was nearly empty and staff were milling about. We left.

I went for father’s day, had buffet, and loved it. I was a professional chef (now a lawyer) and they really did a great job. The only part I didn’t like was being hustled off the pier because a «concert» was about to start and hadn’t paid the $ 8 cover. A crap band and we had reservations for 7… you would think theyd cut us a break just to look at the water before dinner!

If you want ROTTEN MEAT, this is your restaurant! Skip to the end of paragraph one for the rotten meat, or keep reading for the whole story
Went to the Rod N Reel last night (Friday) after hanging out at the North Beach Farmer’s Market. The four of us show up around 8:04 pm. The hostess tells us «let me go see what we have» and finds us a table. It wasn’t very crowded though our arrival brought the age demographic down significantly (41, 37, 17, and 16). We sat and perused the menus for a good 8 minutes before I realize that we’re apparently invisible. So I sit and watch for a few more minutes, then I tell my wife at 9:14 «they’ve got three minutes before we walk.» Finally one of the waiters asks if we’ve been helped yet, we say no so so he says, ok, let me go find XXX. He goes to the hostess and has a conversation, while another waitress explains to us that there was a large party at this table prior to our arrival and XXX didn’t realize we were new customers. Fine, XXX gets our drinks, and we ask her to take our orders while we have her. We see her when she brings our drinks out and then no one else again for a good 8 minutes, because I’m watching the clock now that I know how awesome our service is going to be. A manager asks us how we are doing, she is super friendly and social, so I ask if we can have some bread or something, she asks who our server was, I reply XXX, she says ok, I’ll get you some. Finally XXX comes out with bread, cheese and crackers. Our food comes out in a reasonable amount of time, no complaints there. I get the french dip which was actually VERY GOOD. MY wife orders the ribeye, rare. She says her steak smells funny, I say no it doesn’t, just taste it. She eats two bites and tells me, NO, SERIOUSLY, there’s something wrong with this steak. So I tell her to pass it to me and I take a bite, something is definitely off with this steak. I smell it, HOLY… WTF??? It. Smells. Terrible. Literally smells rotten. I’m beside myself, I ask some random waiter for the Manager because, of course, we haven’t seen XXX in the past ten minutes.
I pass the plate to the manager, and I say, do me a favor. SMELL this steak, she looks at me shocked and ways, «what? are you serious right now?» (not in a bad way, just in shock) she smells it and says «OH MY GOD!» Let me get this fixed for you. A couple minutes go by and she comes back out and apologizes profusely, and does her manager thing very well, no complaints with her at all, she was pretty good at her job.
But now, 15 minutes go by, no XXX, no manager, by now it’s approaching 10:00 and we need to go, so my wife loudly asks XXX, who is walking by, studiously ignoring us, for the check. XXX asks if we want the steak to go? I say no, take it off the check and give us the bill. Manager comes out and explains that the Chef threw out that entire batch of steaks and the others were frozen which is why it took so long. She gives us the bill and sure enough they take the rotten steak off the check, but nothing else, so it’s a wash, we didn’t pay for a steak we didn’t get.
To recap, waitress sucked, meat was rotten, but the manager tried her cute little heart out.

Shrimp cocktail — shrimp was sweet and Big — delicious and only 4.99. That’s all I ate from the regular menu. The Sunday buffet was good — pancakes excellent, breads, bacon and Miss Margaret making those omelets per your request — very good — would like fresh mushrooms instead of canned. We went in off-​season, so I am sure in the summer, the place is rocking — casino nearby and hotel with spa. We will go back in June.

Don’t come here. Too loud, too expensive, too noisy. Small portions. I won’t be back.

The crab dip and Norfolk seafood were pretty good, and the chicken skewers and mac and cheese are excellent. Unfortunately, the grilled halibut was overcooked, and the grilled rock fish wasn’t the greatest cut of fish. The waiter was extremely nice and personable, but we experienced some pretty long waits with little attenton between courses. We had a great chardonnay here, although the staff need to bone up on the ceremony of the wine service. Still, the venue and view are wonderful, which make up for some of the shortcomings. Overall, a pleasant dining experience.

Quite unimpressed for the mother’s day dinner, unfortunately. We chose not to go for the buffet, since it was later and we didn’t want to risk getting the remnants of old food. The crab cakes were bland, sweet potato fries weren’t fully cooked… And we were seated right next to the «server’s station». Where we got to enjoy listening to many servers bicker about when they got to leave. Ever our own… Complaining about getting more tables and having to stay later since other servers were leaving. Whelp, sorry bud. You blew a decent tip from a former upscale server, who’s been in your shoes before yet has manners and work ethic.

We came for a one night stay last week. The restaurant was ok, doesn’t look fancy but we thought the food was a little on the pricy side. We were actually planning to head down to the seafood restaurant down the road but it was raining so we decided to dine in at the resort. My husband had the fillet mignon and it was alright, nothing superb and i had the seafood pasta (couldn’t remember the exact name) which we both thought was just fine. Overall, the experience was alright and nothing to rave about. I won’t be coming back but would definitely try the other restaurants down the road.

I had dinner after a fun filled day of charter rockfish fishing. A group of six of us did not have a reservation but it wasn’t needed on a Monday evening.
Our server Angela J did a great job. Most in our group enjoyed the Seafood Norfolk: crabmeat, shrimp, and scallops sautéed in a garlic wine butter sauce, I got the filet mignon, and my husband got the mozzarella, provolone, cheddar, and parmesan flatbread. The filet was cooked perfectly, the flatbread looked a little greasy.
We had a few cocktails but no dessert and our bill came to $ 112.00 before tip a duo (split three ways evenly).
I hope to come back for another fun fishing day trip and will certainly enjoy drinks and food here. We also hit up the slot machines in the bar area. The bar staff was attentive and the slot machines fun to play. It looks like a nice area for private parties and weddings. We sat along the dock as the sun set and just took in the fresh air and tranquility.

I’m going to have to disagree with the other Unilocalers. I had a fantastic lunch with my realtor earlier today.
I had the Maryland Crab soup which had INSANELY large chunks of crab meat, as well as a side of mac and cheese. We had a lovely booth by the water, as well.
Our waitress was pretty attentive. Check out their new menu!
I’d be back for sure.

Nancy the bartender is the best on the beach ! Food is pricy for being just ok. Good happy hour crowd.

Pretty spot, if you sit by the windows overlooking the bay. My server was very nice.
If you consider your bill rent for a seat with a view, it’s fine. I had the chocolate hazelnut pâté and a cup of Bigelow Mint Medley tea. The tea carafe was too hot to hold without wrapping my napkin around it. The dessert was a great concept, plated in watery cream with a squirt of whipped cream. The chocolate was unimpressive.
I was not inspired to stay for the unusually high priced lunch, based on my mid-​morning tea experience.

Food is… Ok. They offer the type of food you’d expect at a beach «resort,» however the food is not executed very well. The biggest criticism however, the restaurant is ridiculously over-​priced!

Went with my family for Sunday dinner. It was one of the best meals I have ever experienced. The service was also spot on! Waitress took great care of all 11 of us. We can be a tad overwhelming but she handled us with ease. Will definitely be back. I really loved being able to look out at the water while I dine. Beautiful!

I ate at the bar area and will admit that I usually do not eat at the bar, but the bartender, Dan, was so personable that I just had to sit and eat, it also helped that he had soccer playing on the TVs.
The food here is really good. I had a chicken sandwich. The chicken had plenty of flavor and the Chipotle aoli had the right amount of kick. Definitely worth coming back again.

The weekend breakfast buffet is great!
My friend suggested we come here for brunch and I was a little apprehensive after seeing some of the reviews. I’m thinking that maybe their other meals aren’t that great because of that, but the brunch was great. I will return.
There was a pretty long wait as it was crowded, but the managers and staff came out with trays of Christmas cookies and OJ as they apologised. Very nice.
Nancy, our waitress on the bar side came out and said she had a table right away if you didn’t mind sitting in her section and we didn’t. I was surprised those seats and tables were way more spacious than some of the other areas in there dining room. It was still a good place to sit and she was really sweet and attentive.
The food was really good for a breakfast buffet. They had made to order waffles, pancakes and fresh French toast as well as an omelette station. The selection of other breakfast foods was too much for me to list. I know the tab for both of us was under $ 40 bucks which is good for what we received in my book. I think kids are only 11.99.
Also — The restroom was still really clean considering how busy they were and I never saw an item run out on the buffet. Nice spot.

This was the first Thanksgiving that I had with my new wife. That alone, and the gorgeous day make this a good experience. I realized after I booked this that I had been here back in 2013 the Sunday morning brunch with relatives following my daughter’s funeral the day before (R.I.P. Cheyeane Mariah 1995 – 2013). So my overall impression and emotional connection to this place probably doesn’t allow for a truly impartial review.
I am giving 3 stars for the overall joyful day I spent with the woman I love, and the bittersweet memory of my first visit here. If I were just rating the Thanksgiving Buffet (what we went for and a 1330 seating). I would have to honestly limit it to 2 stars. Buffet food is hard, making something spiced «safely» in bulk and served in warming trays is a challenge. Some places do it better than others. Nothing was «bad» per se, and our server Marie was fun, pleasant, attentive and accurate. The staff, overall, seemed to be on the «hustle» and most had a smile.
I will use this story as an overall sense that this place gives me.
*****I have a beloved Aunt, she is in her late 70’s now, has had a hip replacement and really slowed down. When she was younger and my children were small we would visit her every few months. She was one heck of a baker. There were always these tasty creations. The house was clean, really pristine, healthy plants and fresh flowers everywhere. By the time the kids were busy teens we visited less. When we last went (about 1 year before Cheyeane passed away)– the house was dusty, the plants had withered and the cake was a bit dry and lopsided. We still love her. I go back when I can, but I am ashamed to say I make no special effort to do so.******
It really mirrors what many of the other more negative reviews are saying. The place looks/​feels/​tastes «dated». I could imagine a visit from that show Restaurant Impossible would make a difference, it would refresh, narrow, tighten the focus, redecorate. With the location and the profit potential (without greed) this location could really be a destination.

Food was excellent! Had the oysters Rockefeller and neptune’s platter. Enough food for two. Our waiter, Jack, knowing we were from colorado, told us of the local breweries and the GM, Carl, checked in with us to see how things were going!

Best french toast in town during their breakfast buffet. Beautiful view of the Chesapeake Bay from the restaurant. The staff at the omelette station were very hosposbitable. $ 17.99 is a steal for all the food they serve. Definitely will come back!

I ordered a Caesar salad with salmon, what I got was a disgusting plate of wilted greens with a bland white dressing. I complained to the server, but he didn’t do anything. At the end of the meal when he saw how much was left, he took it back to the kitchen and they offered to take a whopping $ 5.99 off the bill. No apologies. I would definitely warn people to stay away from this place!