Bennett’s Creek Restaurant & Marina

We went here for dinner a few weeks ago when my parents were in town. The crab legs were lacking. Hardly any meat in them. The broccoli was brown and cooked poorly. The scallops were underdone. And there was way too much old bay on everything. The drinks were very weak probably watered down. However The broiled shrimp was very good and fresh along with the fried oysters. The asparagus was good. The wait staff was wonderful. Very nice and accommodating. Even though some things were good this restaurant is way overpriced for the quality of the food. Four star service two star food.

This is probably the worst dining experience I have ever encountered. My Wife and I went to dinner on Saturday-​7/​25/​15 at 6:00pm and we ordered a Coors Light Beer and was told we are out of this beer.
Then we ordered dinner, Flounder and CrabCakes and I ask for Cocktail Sauce and I was told we are out of Cocktail Sauce. I ask for the Manager and was told he is out. I then ask for the person in charge and was told «we have no one in charge». I then said go to Farm Fresh — 2 miles away– and purchase Coors Light and Cocktail Sauce and was told «we have no cash in the restaurant «. At this point I gave up, we ate our dinner and left and We Will Never Go Back. We live in Great Bridge and will go to Pirates Cove from this point on.

I was really in the mood for oysters on the half shell so we decided to try this place. We were the first people there and they let us pick a place to sit so we sat in the corner table so that our daughter could have room to play. The décor is very outdated and the carpet needs to be replaced bad but the hostess and server were quick and very sweet.
We ordered the oysters lightly steamed. They came out fresh and gigantic. The only thing I thought was strange was that they didn’t have saltine crackers at all. I like to put the oyster on a cracker with lemon squeezed and cocktail sauce. But overall they tasted great.
We ordered the broiled seafood combo with a salad to share. The seafood itself was great. Only vice was that the asparagus was definitely not edible and the ranch in my salad was cheap and from a bottle. The tough bottoms on the asparagus were not trimmed and it was overdone. We got my daughter a steamed shrimp meal with fries. The shrimp were huge but the fries (although homemade) were floppy and soaked with grease. Not crispy at all. Yuck. And the kids meal was $ 8. Way too pricey for a kids meal IMO. The price wasn’t listed or else I would have had her share especially since the fries were not edible. The rest of our platter was tasty though.
Overall customer service 5 star, food 3 star and quality of restaurant look overall 2 star. I would try it again but make sure next time not to order asparagus or French fries

Came just after opening on Mother’s Day. Immediately greeted by hostess & seated at table at the window (awesome view as always). Our server read us the specials and we ordered. Our order started with Potato Skins as the appetizer. They arrived in about 5 mins– they were delicious! Edges of skins were browned & crusty, served with a side of sour cream & their own special (orange colored) sauce with a nice kick to it– they were devoured quickly. About 10 mins later our dinner arrived. I had the flounder stuffed w/​crabmeat, baked potato & their coleslaw. The founder was ordered broiled– and although it was a rather large serving– it was a bit overcooked and dry– potato was with the works and tasty– slaw was very good. My hubby & son ordered the Creek Angus Hamburger– which was actually Angus steak with crabmeat & cheese served with delicious fries (boardwalk style-​with skin on) and slaw– also devoured with a smile. Then a surprise showed up– a bowl (about ¼ lb of crabmeat with a delicious buttery sauce!) which was a wonderful addition to my «dry flounder”-there was so much– my son & hubby devoured that too! Since I did not mention my flounder was dry– my guess the chef (or server) may have noticed and added the additional crabmeat to compensate) Very nice touch!
Anyway– we three left full & happy! I really enjoyed our lunch and we will be back again soon! Oh– forgot to mention– I told our server that I was «Gluten Free» and she actually listened– because no hush puppies arrive on my plate by accident-​which I appreciate because when you are gluten free those unwanted puppies on your plate make you 1) sad that you cannot eat them 2) for others– can actually contaminate their food and cause gastro/​intestinal discomfort. So –WELL DONE Bennett’s Creek!
The only reason I did not give a 5 star rating – is well– I am very picky– 5 stars to me deserves a very special experience… but I will have to say they get a 4.75 rating from me:-)

Have eaten at Bennett’s Creek several times in the past with mixed results. While still disappointed with alcohol variety from bar, food and service was very good in the dining room last night (⁴⁄₄). Our son, whom we were visiting and lives closevu, felt it might have been his best meal ever there. Would recommend.

I was in town and this restaurant was recommended by a friend. I wasn’t real impressed. My dining companions had seafood and theirs was okay, not anything to write home about. I had the blackened chicken alfredo. Not the best choice at a seafood restaurant, but I thought it would be tolerable. Unfortunately, it came out lukewarm and basically tasteless. The waitress was overwhelmed and doing the best she could but it took a long time to get water and never received a refill over the hour and half it took to receive dinner and pay our bill.

I’m gonna UPGRAYEDD (Idoicracy anyone?) my rating based on tonight’s dinner. Didn’t quite make a 5 star based on my BFs meal but my dish was amazing.
I ordered the «pick two» combo… its a choice of shrimp, scallops, oyster, crab cakes or flounder (any of the listed fried or broiled) with a choice of vegetable and a salad.
I chose scallops and a crab cake, both broiled with fries and a salad.
The scallops were (as I mentioned above) AMAZING!!! They were cooked perfectly. Like, cut through them with a fork like they were room temperature butter, perfectly. Super tasty. So the crab cake… I’ve never had a broiled crab cake (that I know of) was also very good. All crabby patty, not much filler IMO. I’m not a crab cake expert though, so I could be mistaken, but it was pretty good according to my standards.
So now the not so good. The BF ordered the same meal only sub shrimp for the scallops. His shrimp was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay over cooked. Terrible. We hate complaining, so we didn’t say anything. Everything else was great though aside from the super extra rubbery shrimp.
Great service, great view, not so awesome shrimp. Whatevs. I can forgive, the scallops were bangin and I shared.

I’m in town on business… by myself. So I get to eat whatever I want without any other inputs. Seafood… and a big platter because I don’t get seafood very often. (I’m from Omaha).
Walk in at the same time my grandparents eat… i.e. 5pm. It is dead except for a couple of locals drinking and chatting at the bar. The restaurant feels like it is in a neighborhood as you drive up, because it is literally sitting on the Bennett Creek. If you had a boat — you could tie it up at the restaurants marina/​pier.
I walk in and the server is excited to see me. Again — its the octogenarian dinner hour at 5pm, so she’s also surprised to see me. She was attentive, cheery, articulate about the food. She offered me the special on blackened tuna, but I said, «Nope, I want the Seafood Platter.» She offers me the platter boiled or fried, and I choose fried. Although instead of french fries, she lets me exchange them for more hush puppies. Little did I know what a good choice this would be!
The salad — with thousand island dressing — was below average. Fresh, but lettuce, a baby tomato split in two, a couple slices of cucumber — and ample thousand island dressing.
The bread came out next… very average. Skip it. Go for the hush puppies.
The meal came out next, and it was indeed a platter of food. They heaped onto one plate, a generous helping of 6 – 8 hush puppies, a piece of flounder, a crab cake, 4 – 5 large shrimp, 6 fried oysters, and 4 lightly fried scallops.
The flounder was a crispy fried shell. Apparently — they forgot to leave in the fish because there was very little there. It was without a doubt the WORST part of this meal.
The shrimp were large… at least for this mid western boy. They were fried perfectly. And with just a little bit of cocktail sauce — they were fantastic.
The hush puppies had me a little worried based on their presentation. I.e. they were darker than the rest of the fried food on this platter. I thought, «Oh great, they are burnt.» Much to my surprise — they were PERFECT! They were the mostly flavorful fried item on my platter (until I got to the scallops). Ordering hush puppies instead of fries turned out to be an excellent decision. The hush puppies were amazeballs!
The oysters were fried. They were unremarkable.
The single crab cake was fried. It was about the size of a half pound hamburger patty prior to cooking it — which means it was pretty huge! It was a nice mixture of crab and breading… neither overpowering the other. However, the flavor was kinda average. Maybe I am spoiled having had my very first ever crab cake in Maryland… because this was no Maryland crab cake. However, it didn’t make me angry the way the flounder did.
I’d go back because the locals were raving about the tuna… but probably wouldn’t order the platter again.

This place is just great! Everything I’ve had has been delicious! Shrimp, salmon, and of course, the crab cakes were all awesome! My top shelf long islands were also plenty strong! Highly recommended!

What a great afternoon lunch. My husband had the clam strips and shrimp. The clam strips were meaty and tender, not like other places where they are more breading than clam. I had the shrimp and crab salad wrap, yummy. Perfect blend of seafood and not a lot of mayo. We enjoy this place and plan to visit again

Food was good, people seemed nice. I grabbed a quick lunch in the bar and had a crab & shrimp quesadilla which was very good, and a caeser with calamari which could have had a bit more calamari but tasted great. I’d go back definitely, but not sure i’d seek it out for a fine dining option.

Overpriced, inconsistent food, out of half the menu, dirty, building has maintenance issues… disappointing all around.

We wanted to eat fresh fish but didn’t want to go all the way to Virginia Beach, so we went here. The views are stunning! The inside décor is outdated but the view is nice so I didn’t mind that much. Our server was new but she was very nice and when wasn’t sure about something she’ll ask and come back which I really appreciated. The first thing I always ask for in a restaurant is the wine list. She said that they don’t sell bottles of wine so I was like: what??? Then we ordered. We had raw oysters and they were okay but I’ve had better. We had fried flounder as our entrée. It was flaky, fresh and the breading was crunchy and not greasy. Chicken tenders for the kids were homemade, really good. We also ordered a chocolate torte for the kids and it was scrumptious and not too sweet. The food was good but definitely overpriced.

We’ve come back a few times since the change in management and I’m sorry to say we won’t be returning (unless it’s for drinks out on the deck). They have a very limited menu that is primarily fried and incredibly overpriced. Both times we have been, service has been unapologetically slow. And unfortunately, the food never really blows our socks off so we’re going to make the new seafood restaurant in Carrollton our place for fresh catch. Goodbye forever Bennett’s Creek Marina.

People have said they’re open. Based on earlier experiences we didn’t really feel the need to go, but after a while the same old gets old and you become willing to try something again, especially if it’s re-​opened, re-​modeled, has new management, etc. My wife said «what about…» And I told her to call first and make darn sure they’re open before we drive out there. It was Sunday night. We called, they closed at 7:30. WTF. OK I can see a business being closed on Sunday, but to be open and only be open to 7:30 (especially now it’s daylight saving time and the sun is staying up — and they do have suset views which should be one of the major marketing points) is ridiculous. No wonder they’ve not been able to stay open in the past!
Yet another turn off for this business. Based on other reviews, it doesn’t look like they’ve done anything to make it a better dining experience. It’s a real shame because this place screams potential.

We were all in the mood for seafood but didn’t want to drive at dinner hour on this cold night. So we opted for the local option. We knew going in the prices are high. It was dead and we had the place almost to ourselves. It was COLD inside. No propane for the fireplace and waitress was wearing a furry coat! It’s all glass on several walls so we ate in our coats.
Heather was friendly and brought hot chocolate and coffee. Bread was just lukewarm. My oysters were just ok. They are the small eastern shore kind, so with the bacon/​cheese heated up on top the tiny oysters were overcooked. I think Rockefeller needs larger juicier oysters but the flavors were good. Side salad was cold but fresh.
Hubby got fried flounder. It was a huge piece and tasted very good. Hush puppies were cooked fresh, and tasty. Fries were seasoned just right.
Son had chicken fettuccine and it looked/​smelled good.
I got broiled scallops with a baked potato. Excellent tasting scallops cooked perfectly. Potato was cooked just right.
Daughter got kids popcorn shrimp and we shared with each other. Popcorn shrimp were good, not overcooked. She got fries but wished she had a potato like me.
We opted for no dessert since we were freezing. The food was good. Expensive for this area but the views at sunset were awesome! Service was great.
We will return but we usually do lunch for cost reasons. If you want to stay in the area they have good seafood!

Food and drinks are overpriced for what they have but the views are great. We sat outside right on the water and watched the sunset, very pretty & tucked away.

I have heard about this place a few times but had never been. It is truly a local hidden gem. The restaurant has large glass windows to overlook the creek. There is also a deck if the weather is nice. The view was absolutely amazing!
The food was delicious! Hot bread came out first. We then ordered Tuna Bites (fingers I think they called them) that came with a delicious sauce. I was not as hungry and they allowed me to order off the lunch menu which I appreciated. I had fried oysters and fries. The person with me had the tenderloin topped with crab meat and béarnaise sauce. It was also quite delicious! The food was a little expensive so beware if your on a budget.
Our server was wonderful and attentive. This place also has a bar on the other side. I’ve heard people talk about how local bands play here as well.

I’m from Suffolk and had never heard of Bennett’s Creek Restaurant until my brother and his girlfriend suggested we take my mom for her birthday this past weekend. A non-​chain seafood restaurant sounded right up my family’s alley despite the mediocre Unilocal rating they have. My brother’s gf called to make a reservation for Saturday at 6:30 and they promptly told her they «do not make reservations.» They then proceeded to take her name (incorrectly) and party size, and honored our «non-​reservation» when we came in. I’m still not actually sure if they take reservations or not. Regardless, the restaurant looked like it could have easily accommodated a party of our size without a reservation at that time.
We sat in the dining area overlooking the water right at sunset and it was beautiful. The restaurant was cozy and comfortable, although on the cool side. We warmed up quickly with some reasonably priced booze and warm, complimentary bread.
As usual, all the women in our party made good decisions by ordering the special of broiled rock fish stuffed with a crab cake. It was OMG amazing (I reserve acronyms for special occasions). The rock fish was slightly overcooked, but the crab cake more than made up for it. If they don’t have something similar when you visit, I would highly recommend the crab cake dinner by itself. The gentlemen were all less pleased with their choice of the mixed grill– 4 ounces each of tuna steak, filet, and shrimp. Their food was all slightly under seasoned and cold. Our assumption was that it was sitting while the ladies’ dishes cooked. At $ 30/​plate, it was a little disappointing. I’m sure if I had been the one enjoying that meal, this would have been a 2 or 3 star review.
The waiter tried to make up for the so-​so entrees by bringing us 2 pieces of chocolate cake on the house/​for my mom’s birthday. That really won over the men in our family who claimed it was one of the best chocolate cakes they had ever tasted.
I would definitely come back here for a special occasion, but it wouldn’t be for dinner on the regular. It’s just too expensive. Our bill for 6 people hovered close to $ 300 and while the food was tasty (for half of us), I’m not sure it was worth the price. FYI, they tacked on 20% gratuity for our party of 6 automatically.

Getting here is pretty simple although you wonder for a minute if there is anything down the narrow road, but no worries, the little road opens up to reveal the most beautiful scenery replete with the water the adorable restaurant with a nice deck, ample parking and boats motoring on the water. Current country music was softly playing in the background.
We just came from the dog park (not in our Sunday best, or even Monday work wear.)As soon as we walked in we were greeted warmly at the door and seated next to a window shaded with film blinds, cloth napkins and a tidy dining area, lots of blue walls and a pretty mural. It was upscale casual. Our waiter wore khaki shorts and blue polo, the other waitresses wore sandals.
We were informed straight away they had not got their ABC license yet-​stupid ABC people-​lol. No prob we came for the food.
We started with Oysters on the ½ and Blackened tuna bites cooked rare. Oysters were very fresh not watery and quite large served with a cocktail sauce. Very good.
Tuna bites cooked perfect to order, they fell short with the seasoning, not really a blacken but more a salty spice amalgamation. Still good and served with a chipotle looking sauce but it fell short also on the bland side.
We had the special surf and turf. 8oz prime rib and 6 skewered broiled shrimp.
Both of us agreed the shrimp was the highlight. OMG, it was large, fresh, firm and flavorful-​and then the spices just enhanced it even more.
Now the bad news the prime rib was simply awful. It was cooked to order but the beef was as bland as it gets. It was absolutely void of flavor. I was so disappointed.
There is a happy ending though. Our waiter who was absolutely outstanding-​wish I knew his name-​Asian kid with tasteful tats on his calf (sorry best ID I have.) Came to check on us a few bites into the steak and when we let him know, he IMMEDIATELY offered to sub some more shrimp in lieu of the steak.
He didn’t bawk, argue, question nada, just did it. This says to me the owners have given them the discretion or direction to make the diner happy. I’m impressed. Within minutes we had some more of those delicious little sea critters on our plates.
We had subbed our choices of fries or coleslaw for Caesar salads and they weren’t good all yellow romain with a sprinkle of parmesan and croutons with a cup of pretty good Caesar dressing.
We left with a tab of $ 76 plus a $ 15 tip. All in all, we will be back, but not for the steak.