CJ Finz Raw Bar & Grille

CJ Finz is alive and well after one full year of business in Historic Manassas.
Chris and his crew have done a remarkable job of creating a menu with quality and selection in mind.
They have developed some creative choices like the crab stuffed rock fish and blackened mahi mahi that you’ll find delicious.
They also have a a daily specials menu where you’ll find things like fresh scallops and lobster risotto.
All this with great quality and service at a reasonable price.
They do a great job with their local and regional draught beer selection. You’ll find Jessie’s Girl from Bad Wolf Brewing as well as selections from Heritage and Old Bust Head.
If you’ve not checked this place out, it’s time to give it a try!

It feels like finding a hidden secret in my backyard that I never knew existed! I came this past Sunday with my parents for the first time and LOVED IT! I had the fried oyster platter with sweet potatoes fries and loved it!!!
Coming back tonight to bring my best friend who in town for the weekend and I’m dreaming about my dinner even now while at work!

Great times with great people. Also, love the beer choices! Wish I had time to try the food. Get the Monkey beer… can’t remember the full name.
There was also randomly a lesbian party there? Which for me was a great surprise.
The top deck provides a good time for smoking and drinking. In the later hours, the younger crowd usually plays good music.
In conclusion, young people, good beer and supposedly great food I never got to try.

Very nice place AMAZING FOOD!
Will definitely be back here again. I enjoyed the atmosphere and our waitress was very nice (and patient. Took us forever to decide) Although I started with the oyster Po boy and switched it out for the steak and cheese it wasn’t because the Po’ Boy wasn’t good. It was just my own personal taste. I did not like the slaw. Is it a bad thing to say it tasted too fresh!!! It was just too vegetable-​like it hit my palate wrong. But my goodness this steak and cheese… this REAL steak and cheese… like how do you want your steak cooked inside your steak and cheese. It was Heaven. Had mine cooked medium rare comes with peppers and onions.
We also had the lobster Risotto, Parmesan risotto and the spinach artichoke and crab dip (the tortillas chips deserves a review of their own. I think its actually fried tortillas) and a delicious Peach Sangria. Everything was great and I can’t wait to come back.
Side note: if any owners read this comment. Last night an Ozzy Osbourne song played and I WANT IT. I have no idea what song. (Might not have even been Ozzy but sure sounded like him) If you have a playlist or something and can help me out Id appreciate it!!! :)

Loved the atmosphere and beer selection. Unfortunately the appetizer smelled like grease… The friendly staff made up for it but we skipped dinner because of the greasy smell. We will be back to try out another dish because we know this place is great!

I have been to CJ’s three times. Once for lunch, when it was not crowded, once for a Friday night dinner when it was very busy, and once for a late Saturday night drink. The food was just okay, nothing extremely good, but nothing terrible either. It is definitely more of bar than a restaurant. A busy Friday night, meant the food and the service were slower than usual. Mixed drinks were a little weak in my opinion considering the price. Food was okay.
The portion sizes were small considering the price, food passed on presentation, the lobster mac & cheese was too soupy for my liking, ahi-​tuna tacos were plain, fried oyster po’ boy was good, but it was more bread than oysters, lobster roll was smaller than expected, and I really liked the spinach and artichoke crab dip. The outdoor seating upstairs is a nice feature when its warm.
If you are going to CJ’s, it is probably because of the bar atmosphere.

I recently took my family there for dinner after a family friend recommended the place. The service and staff were great and I would definitely go back again.

More like 3.5 stars but I rounded up instead of down. My wife and I dined here for an early dinner last Sunday. Service was polite and prompt at the beginning but tailed off towards the end, I think they had a shift change while we were there so that might explain why the manager took over for the server. Love that they have local beers on tap and I had my first exposure to Bad Wolf Brewing with the Jesses Girl, a great red ale. We started out with the spinach, artichoke, and crab dip. Just the right amount of crab to give it crab flavor but not overpower the spinach and artichoke. Served with house fried flour tortilla chips, something a little different. My wife had a pound of snow crab legs and we were both surprised at how many crab legs they brought out for just one pound, seemed more like two. I wish they would offer a meal option with items on their raw bar menu, something like the seafood item and two sides for xxx amount of $. As it is, you must order sides a la carte if you get something from the raw bar menu which is of course more costly. I had the lobster roll. It is a little small for the price point but it is good. The bread was grilled and buttery and the lobster meat was fresh and flavorful. There is a fine line between over-​seasoning and covering up the lobster meat flavor and under-​seasoning and leaving the sandwich a little bland. I believe it leans a little more toward the bland side. I did not get the tarragon flavor that was supposed to be in the mayo. I should have asked for a little Old Bay to spice it up a bit. We were full from our meals and did not get to have dessert. Over all, I think the price is a little high (just like every restaurant in downtown Manassas, for some reason) but the food and service is good. I would return if we wanted seafood and could not find another place.

Always love coming here with my boyfriend! The Oysters, spiced shrimp, and crab legs?! Delicious!!!

The service here was really great. She was very attentive and we always had refills coming our way. For apps we had the hush puppies and crab spinach dip. Both apps were great I wish the fresh pita chips were a bit more crispy to go with the dip, but still great and fresh! I had the fish and chips which were pretty decent, but they got a little soggy on the bottom. All in all not bad.

It was a last minute decision to meet with my mom for lunch when she told me she was going to Manassas. I had this place booked marked in Unilocal to try, so we came here. It was an awesome experience, the food was fantastic the people were upbeat and awesome. They really know how to turn something from ordinary to amazing! I cannot wait to try other things on the menu! I can’t express enough how awesome my experience was and now this will be my new go to place !

The food is 5 stars! no doubt about it, everyone in our group was 100% happy with their meals.
The dish to have is the «Stuffed» Rockfish. It’s a broiled rockfish fillet, topped with a crab cake and the clam chowder. Spectacular. I had the cedar plank salmon, and it as fantastic, prob farm-​raised, but the quality and cooking was wonderful.
All of the seafood dishes were top-​notch, the sides were great too (roasted veggies and potatoes)
Desserts looked fantastic, I didn’t have dessert, but several in our group did and the bread pudding, the salted caramel cake were all popular.
I’m deducting a «half-​star» for the somewhat loud music. It’s an interesting mix of tunes (which I’m good with), just a little bit on the loud side
Great service. Great place. I will be back!

We had beverages and appetizers — wow!!! The blackened beef tips and crab fries are a MUST have!!! The beef was SO tender and flavorful… there are no words to describe the crab fries!!!
On top of the delicious food — we had excellent service! Our server, Skyler — was kind and attentive. Then — the manager — Gavin — came over to check with us and talked for a few minutes… He answered all of our questions and was a great representative for the company!
We will be back!!!

This place is a great addition to Old Town Manassas. I have been here twice now, and both times have had similar experiences.
First of all, the service has been exceptional. The servers hustle like New Jack City. My drink never ran dry.
As for the food, I have had a few dishes, both at lunch.
She crab soup over French fries– this appetizer is as awesome as it is messy. Each bite was better than the last.
She crab soup– very good, not quite what you might find in Charleston, SC, but very good none the less. There was some nice chunks of crab mixed in.
Lobster roll– This was the best thing I tried. The roll was buttered perfectly, and had the perfect light toast. Each bite had this beautiful CRUNCH sound to it. The lobster was prepared perfectly. I love it when restaurants have a dish that forces you to come back.
The restaurant was clean, open, and inviting! Plenty of TVs with lots of sports rolling. Good seafood and the NFL Network, this is my kinda place!

Very good place. Great service and great food. I had the crab fries and crab stuffed rockfish and both were wonderful. All of the servers were very nice and attentive and offered great suggestions. Would definitely go again. Don’t go for lunch because it’s EXTREMELY filling and you will definitely be full lol. Have to go when you have nothing else to do afterwards lol.

This place was delicious and our server Carly was super nice too!
Looking forward to coming back!
We went there for lunch on Saturday 8÷22÷15 and got the fried pickles for our app and prime rib sandwich.
The app was okay. The pickles were really thick cut but the sauce on the side was delicious and kind of spicy.
The prime rib sandwich was AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS!!! So so so so good!!! I would recommend to everyone!!! My fiancé and I split the sandwich and app and it was perfect for the two of us.
Their ranch isn’t my cup of tea though. Too creamy/​milky. (I prefer hidden valley)

This place is awesome! Food is great! Service is great! Atmosphere is great! Casual, but sophisticated at the same time. Seems like there are only professionals in here this evening… no matter — not stuffy at all. I will be back :)
Ok, so I came back about 15 minutes later and had a lobster roll. Boom!!! Outstanding! Really like this place… looking forward to having more of the menu next time.

Like this place because the owner comes around and checks in you and often seats you. Lots of beers on tap and speciality cocktails. He let me try the peach sangria which is good and a tad Seet if you are into that. I tried the spinach crab dip with homemade chips. No artificial fillers or fake cheese here. A tad bland but I didn’t want super spicy. I order spiced shrimp and asked extra spice but needed more so had to dunk in side in old bay. One order was incorrect. Oyster platter came as oyster po boy so waitress took back and we had another within five minutes. Service was good except that mistake. Try it out!

A very unpretentious seafood house.
A Great appetizer are the muscles.
The sandwich I would recommend is the oyster Po boy. The crab legs are always perfect.
And never forget to order the bread pudding!
Chris the owner, is always personable & greets you many times during the meal.
If you’re lucky enough to get Callie as your waitress, you’ll be made in the shade.
This place focuses on the food & it shows.
Don’t be discouraged by their lack of Hostess, just grab the first table that becomes available. (Enjoy a Dogfish Head 60min IPA, if you need to kill time waiting)
Enjoy!
This place reminds me of a joint you would find at the end of a dock, where all the fishermen go after a long day on the water, to enjoy a cold beer & their fresh catch.

I arrived for lunch around noon on a weekend. The bar was *packed* with people who must’ve been doing a bar crawl. I stood up front like an a-​hole by myself for 8 minutes before I was even acknowledged. (Pro-​tip: if it’s seat yourself there should be a visible sign). When I was finally greeted I was told, by who I believe was an owner or manager, the 6 empty tables were reserved for a party starting at 2p. Like I said… I got there at noon… I was offered a seat at the bar or at the window — but because I was waiting for friends I opted to stand and continue waiting. When they finally got there I was acknowledged by a server who said «sit wherever you’d like.» Of course we questioned the reserved tables, to which they said «oh, well, as long as you’re out by two it should be fine.»
Anyway, we sat at a hightop — the chairs were a little uncomfortable — short on the actual length of the seat and quite hard.
My friends ordered half a dozen oysters (chincoteague) and a pound of spiced steamed shrimp. I sampled neither but they liked it. Said it was an interesting take on the shrimp (look at my pic and you’ll see why), and that the oysters were good — not too salty at all. One friend remarked the only raw item they offered in the «raw bar» were the oysters lol
For entrees, one ordered the po boy, one the fish tacos, and two the lobster roll. Everyone seemed satisfied with their order. The tacos said you could definitely taste the wasabi; also, his came with no side. For $ 15 or so they should throw in rice.
The lobster roll, what I ordered, was stuffed to the brim with lobster. From what I’ve heard, lobster rolls are usually drenched in mayonnaise, but this one was not (which I was happy about). I think I just don’t have a taste for lobster so I didn’t finish the whole thing. I’ve only ever had it twice before (at other locations) and didn’t like it either time. I don’t know why I ordered it.
I will probably come back and try the fried cod (saw a plate pass by and it looked amazing). I guess next time I’ll just go ahead and seat myself though.