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Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Lynnhaven Fish House

The Lynnhaven Fish House on Starfish Road in Virginia Beach has been a Hampton Roads staple for twenty-seven years. It is consistently voted Best of the Beach and it has beautiful views of the Chesapeake Bay. It’s reputation precedes itself which makes it perfect during the tourist season. I’ve been invited there a few a times and it is a nice restaurant. However, with all the hype surrounding the Lynnhaven Fish House, I guess I just expected more.

I recently visited Lynnhaven Fish House with several co-workers, some came from out of town and this was their first visit. Reservations were made and once we arrived we were seated immediately. The restaurant is set up so that almost everyone can take advantage of the view. However, since they seat so many people the restaurant is usually crowded and loud so it’s difficult to actually relax and enjoy the view. This restaurant is perfect for large groups of friends or families but if you’re looking for an intimate dining experience you may want to make another choice.

We started the evening with drinks and appetizers as we waited for the rest of the group to join us. The wine list provided many varietals and blends to choose from. We ordered fried calamari, shrimp skewers and oysters rockefeller for appetizers as well as the award-winning she-crab soup. The oysters rockefeller tasted a little like the bay and they were topped with a large piece of undercooked bacon which overpowered any of the other flavors. Regarding the she-crab soup, it was good but in the past two weeks I visited two other restaurants that did it better.

Our entrees were a variety of different seafood dishes. Our server was extremely helpful with his suggestions. I ordered the seafood kabob which is a combination of lobster, shrimp, scallops, fresh tomatoes, onions, marinated green peppers and mushrooms, flame-broiled on a skewer and served over rice pilaf and it was both beautiful and tasty.




One co-worker ordered the colossal sea scallops which were topped with lump crabmeat. She absolutely loved it. The portion size was more than generous and she ended up taking half of it with her.



Another co-worker ordered the king-sized soft shell crabs which looked good but they were too mushy for her tastes.

The rest of our party seemed to be satisfied with their meals. Although for some reason six entrees came out at the same time but it was about five minutes before the remaining two meals hit the table.

We decided to pass on dessert.

As I said, the Lynnhaven Fish House is a nice restaurant. The food is good and the service we received that evening was top-notch and you may not be able to find better views of the Chesapeake Bay. I just feel that they are relying too heavily on their reputation and not working to exceed our expectations.


Lynnhaven Fish House on Urbanspoon




1 comment:

TJ said...

Great review! I think that it was really fair and balanced, highlighting the positives (service) while being honest about the negatives (food quality).