A lot has changed since the renovations at Rod & Reel Resort. The food is better, although it is a limited menu. It's a beautiful stone square bar overlooking the pier and the bay. There is a big sandy area to sit and watch bands, and a game area with corn hole and beach vibes. I hope the community comes out and supports the Beach Bar Version 2.0. It's a total upgrade read more

Boardwalk Cafe - Outdoor bar facing the beautiful Chesapeake Bay! - Cafes Near Me - Chesapeake Beach, Maryland

Good food in an odd setting. Four of us popped by for Friday lunch while wandering and sightseeing a couple weeks ago. The construction is off-putting, but if you find your way through the resort lobby and out to the patio, you can wander a few docks and look at the Bay. We didn't have high hopes, because there was only one occupied table, and they were just having beers -- the place looked kind of closed. But we asked the young lady at the patio entrance if we could get food, and she seated us at an outdoor table with a view. We ordered a round of sandwiches, and they were surprisingly good! Two of us had the smash burger, a double stack of brisket-and-short-rib-blend burgers, juicy and generous, with cheese and "smash sauce" on a brioche bun. The other two had versions of the BLT, one with avocado added, on ciabatta bread with garlic-and-herb mayo. These were all well prepared and delicious. And the French fries that several of us ordered were waaay better than we would have expected -- fresh and hot, among the best thick fries I've had. Food came out pretty quickly, and the service was adequate. Disappointingly, I couldn't get unsweet iced tea for some reason. We had no idea when we wandered in while driving by, but this was the venue for a fancy wedding we attended a few years back. The construction has been ongoing, and the look of the place from out front is different. The tab came to about $100, not cheap, but we really enjoyed it. read more

First time here and I just read the others reviews and I must say the cream of crab got had hardly no crab meat in it. So disappointed that I most definitely won't be back. read more

Boardwalk Cafe - Cream of crab soup with no crab just broth. - Cafes Near Me - Chesapeake Beach, Maryland

The location is great and the view is super nice, which is why we came here. But as said in other reviews, the service was very slow and only one waitress was taking care of the entire patio (6 tables). It took about 50 minutes for us to get our food and there were only about 3-4 tables ahead of us. The food was not great either and definitely overpriced. The kids grilled cheese was not really restaurant grade and tasted plain. The hot chicken sandwich was not hot at all and the cole slaws didn't have enough dressing. I am giving this place 2 stars only because of the view and probably will not come back again. read more

Nice "beach" patio with live music. Nice to be sitting outside on a beautiful day with a cocktail. My bougie arse wished for a more creative cocktail list. Maryland crab soup: wouldn't order again, not much crab. Crab Ball appetizer: I'd order this again but wished it came with coleslaw instead of iceberg lettuce. read more

Boardwalk Cafe - Maryland crab soup - Cafes Near Me - Chesapeake Beach, Maryland

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I've never seen so many employees look so "busy" but nothing gets done. Open tables everywhere and we waited 10 minutes to get sat. No biggie, right? Solid indication of what was to come. Waitress was very nice, but either over saturated or just a mess. Not sure which. Kids drinks came within a few minutes, 2 adult beverages we got after we asked for them 20-25 minutes later. Keep in mind, the bar was almost empty with 3 employees "working" it. As we waited the better part of an hour for a few appetizers and kids meals we ordered more drinks. Which never came. Food runners brought food and literally tossed silverware at us. Wtf?! We asked for our server to order more drinks and it was like talking to my 11 year old. I finally said to the kid, please send over our server. Not to mention, anything specifically asked for did not happen in the kitchen (such as no lettuce or tomato on a bun, sides of sauce, etc). The waitress was baffled when we asked for to go containers and to remove the drink order. To go containers never came. I retrieved them. Eventually I got a bill. I sit here at the 1.5 hour mark wondering where my card and receipt are. This review gets 2 stars because when it did finally show, the food was descent. The management of this establishment is one of the worst I've seen in a long time. read more

Quite expensive for the type and the quality of the food and drinks. One star for the location and one for the service!

Waiting for lunch to be served but in the interim, it would be helpful to have servers that are familiar with the menu and can speak to what's good. I recognize that there will be new folks working for the summer but encouraging familiarity with the menu is critical, in my opinion. In other words let servers sample foods and develop a working knowledge of the offerings here. It's really helpful for new customers. Not the servers fault but something management could address. I'd also recommend fresh squeezed oranges in the crushes. That's a key beach drink and needless to say we were disappointed. The view is nice though and I like outdoor dining so for that - even before eating - I will rank 3 stars... Finished eating and the food was pretty tasty. I was impressed by the amount of crab on the grilled crab sandwich. read more

Boardwalk Cafe - Nice view - Cafes Near Me - Chesapeake Beach, Maryland

First time going to Chesapeake Beach! I was trying to be spontaneous since the weather was nice and took my husband here. We went past Traders and came further down. I asked for a menu before deciding to eat here! Everything sounded good so we waited 20 minutes for a table. Tables were available, but we had to wait I assumed they didn't have enough staff. I think our servers name was Stella??? Anyway, we were sat but no one came to greet us for 15 minutes. Then the hostess brought us water and said our server would be with us shortly..... So 10 more minutes passed ... our server shows up.... This is too much to write ! Long story short, we ordered steamed shrimp as an appetizer... it was reheated old shrimp that when you peeled it the shell wouldn't come off. No lemon which should have come with! Mind you ... 20 min had passed after placing the order.JUST for the appetizer!!! The pina colada had sat so long the liquor separated from the ice and the whipped cream was flat. We waited to place the entree order but our server never came back to take it??!! Like we're sitting there for about 45-50 min and I see others getting drinks1st and second rounds, entrees etc. the kicker??? Their server was the hostess! I asked for the check and we left! One positive, the Remy & Pepsi we ordered were good. Side note... other peoples food looked good. Don't know if if return though. I pride myself in good customer service bc I have my own business but this experience sucked! read more

Servers had no knowledge of menu. Requested a high chair for my grand daughter.......the waitress returned with a dirty chair! Customer services just sucks. read more

Boardwalk Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Chesapeake Beach, Maryland

Wow. Al I can say is I hope it was her first day. Never have had such terrible service. Natasha was her name and we know it because we had to flag her down every time. We ordered pizza, fries (at her recommendation) and a bowl of crab soup. We never got straws for our drinks or napkins or plates to share until we flagged her down and asked. We asked for fries as an appetizer which came with our meal, not too big of a deal. My cousin ordered a drink that came 10 minutes later full of melted ice (clearly had been sitting in he blaring sun waiting to be picked up). When we asked for the vinegar and dipping sauce that came with the fries she looked like we were crazy. She said let me get you the menu to read. Umm, no I don't need to read the menu. I know what I ordered. I just wanted the items that came with it. She brought it over with a huff. My cousin at that point tried to tell her that her soup was cold but she just walked away. The margarita pizza was good! The soup never did get sent back because she never returned to our table and we sat with 3 empty drinks the entire time. We finally piled up the empty plates, napkins, silverware and got our our money to pay. She stood up by the bar and again we flagged her down. She did take the soup off our bill. Nice atmosphere. Terrible service. Ok food. read more

The food was decent, my cousin and I got sick the same night tho. Not sure if it was from the food but we think it was, nice setting tho

Well, the patio was absolutely lovely. There was a great breeze and it was fun to sit out and gaze at the water. Unfortunately the service was slow!! My crab cake was good but very small and it needed a salad or coleslaw with it My friends fish and chips were good but again too small and too little on the plate. I want to recommend it because the setting was so nice, but we really didn't have a good lunch read more

I have to say we have been here numerous times mainly for the view. But, I am giving this review on our last visit. We went for lunch and only three tables were full. We enjoyed staring at the water and palm trees, relaxing. I got the cheeseburger and fries. They took their flatbreads off the menu. I have had the cheeseburger a few times, just ok. This time, it was made perfect and tasted delicious along with the fries. My husband however ordered the well vodka and when we got the check it wasn't well, it was titos (sp), and not cheap. That's my only complaint. I wish the burgers were the same way each time though. read more

It takes a lot for me to write a bad review. We sat for over 20 minutes waiting for our server. She greeted us at first left water and never came back. I read the other reviews about slow service but this was more than that. She waited on other tables walked by us and even made eye contact. Worst part as we left and told the hostess all we got was sorry. Clearly not a well run place. I will not come back and do not recommend to anyone read more

My husband and I ate here 8/25 for dinner and at first thought it was slightly overpriced. After taking a bite of my broiled crab cake the overpriced thought went away. Three stars for quick and very friendly service but two are held back for the small tables, very dark atmosphere (husband and I are tall and see pretty well), absent hostess and lemonade and pepsi that weren't too tasty. read more

Boardwalk Cafe - Balcony view from 3rd floor - Cafes Near Me - Chesapeake Beach, Maryland

5 of us decided to go here for Brunch on Sunday. Well the outdoor seating is only for Lunch. Wasn't really a big deal since no one wanted the Buffet (which you had to walk into another building if you did choose the buffet) We ordered the specialty fries as an appetizer. They just brought out fries without the specialty sauce and when we asked for it, the waiter looked at us like we had 3 heads. We told him just to bring normals condiments then. Two people got the chicken salad wraps which they said were good, two people got the crab white pizza which they loved, and I got the pulled pork sandwich which was a different story. The pork was luke warm and the sauce was horrible. I didn't even eat it. The food was okay but the view is spectacular. read more

Just a quick list of our experience: Moldy lemons, inaccurate orders, short staffed, inability to resolve food issues properly. Also waited nearly 45 minutes for our food. Don't eat here. The resort prices aren't worth it. read more

Before we could check into our hotel room yesterday, my lady & I decided to stop here for lunch; at first, we decided to sit outside on the patio, but a heavy amount of rainfall changed our destination to the inside bar. The food was delicious, plentiful and well-priced; as for our server, Natasha, did a good job and kept us entertained. read more

Eight people... ordered appetizers for the adults, at the same time as the kid's food... twenty minutes later ordered adult's meal... 45 minutes later, still no food. Finally got some of the adult meals a few minutes later... when I finally finished my meal, I got my appetizer, and mussels should be hot... they were cold!! The only thing that kept me from exploding was the waiter and manager were courteous... only paid a tip, they comped the whole meal. Needless to say though, they blew it... I will NOT be back here... read more

The location is amazing and the service was good. However the frozen drink I ordered had no....I repeat...no alcohol! The flatbread and wings ordered at our table taste like it was previous frozen and popped in the microwave and the blue cheese dressing for the wings was spoiled. I really wish they had better food and drinks because the spot would be a hit. I would NEVER return unless I heard they were under new management. read more

This place is okay. We waited a little too long for the food. My date said his fish and chips tasted like Gordon's frozen fish. I tasted the fries- they weren't hot but they tasted pretty good. The outdoor seating provided an amazing view but you can't see anything after dinner because there isn't any lighting on the tables, just two lamp posts above the umbrellas that cover the tables. The waited brought a candle out for the ladies sitting next to us so that they could enjoy their meal. We got candles too a we were leaving. The manager, Agnes, came to the table and comped our check a little for the inconvenience. Or waitress was very nice but a bit inattentive. Overall, the good outweighed the bad, we love coming to Chesapeake beach but maybe next time we'll dine inside. read more

Because of this restaurants location, sometimes an outdoor concerts at held and you Mist pay $5 to get in and be 21. Stupid way to loose business. read more

The atmosphere and our waitress was nice but that's about it. $10 for a margarita that was nothing but sweet n sour in a plastic cup, $14 for 3 miniscule crab balls. Looking at the fried food, it looks like it has been a while since their fryer has been cleaned. The chicken salad wrap at Wawa is much better. If the food improved and the menu was at a better price point, this place could be a gold mine. read more

We decided to give this place a try as we had just been at Calvert Cliffs and we were looking for lunch. We sat down and there was a beautiful view and atmosphere. We sat on the patio and there were fountains nearby. It was really nice (except for the band that was playing really loudly on the stage, they weren't very good and we couldn't speak over them). We ordered shrimp for the appetizer and they were ok, not the best, but ok. Then we got the food. The fries weren't very good either. I got the flatbread and I could only eat half of it, it tasted like it had been in the freezer for a week before being cooked unevenly (one side was nearly raw and the other was fully melted). Nobody was really happy with their meal out of six people who had all gotten different things. The food was bland and not very professional at all. Even though the atmosphere was amazing, the food was so bad the most I can give is two stars. read more

My friend and I ate here this past Sunday, 14 Aug 2016 as we wanted a nice place to get away to that was outside of the city. Having been to Chesapeake Beach several times we decided to try the Boardwalk Cafe despite the less than stellar reviews. We were met promptly by the hostess and sat in a great table. As others have commented, the views were amazing. I posted pics to Facebook that jokingly said we were in the Caribbean. This is where it starts to go downhill, our server wasn't terrible, but they seemed to be overstaffed because within 10 mins of our seating, there was an influx of about another 10-15 people. We were not in any great hurry so the "delayed" service wasn't too much of an issue. The first round of drinks were just ok. We ordered off their drink menu and not seeing a true bartender we felt this would be safe. We were less than impressed. After receiving our drinks and having time to look over the menu, we ordered our food. My friend ordered, the steamed, peel and eat shrimp and a side house salad. I ordered the fish tacos and an order of buffalo wings. The food came out in a relatively decent amount of time, but it came out sporadically. First came the wings and the peel and eat shrimp. The Wings tasted like they were frozen, pre-breaded wings that were then dipped or tossed in a buffalo style sauce. The shrimp looked ok, but she said that they weren't really hot (temperature) and they were not de-veined. I feel its not that hard to buy easy peels, I digress...the flavor on the wings was not good either and two of the six were under cooked. Next came out the fish tacos. First they were not tacos, they were done in wraps. Second the flavor was awful and the fish was very under cooked. I did bring this to the waiters attention so he got the manager who immediately came over and inquired about the issue. She agreed to remove this from the bill. I then told the waiter that we were missing the salad, but since it had been so long that we didn't want it and to just remove it from the bill. About 5 mins later he shows up to the table with this huge mixed green salad. So we decided to keep it and share it. Mistake. the lettuce was very warm as if it had been sitting out. As i started to eat it, i quickly realized the lettuce was quite old and had started to wilt/rot. Trying to give this restaurant another chance as we were still really enjoying the atmosphere, I ordered us two more drinks. This is when I realized that I was wishing for something that just wasn't there. The waiter told me that they could make any drink frozen (i.e. like a daiquiri ) so i ordered off the drink menu again, but for my girlfriend I ordered hers frozen. The drinks were worse this time around. The taste was horrible. I wanted so bad for this place to be our "hidden" secret and somewhere we would go just to get away, but it's doubtful that we'll go back. If I could rate it in parts I would give the atmosphere/environment a 5 Start rating, customer service 3.5 stars, food, 1 Star and adult beverages, 2 stars. But since I can only give one rating, unfortunately it would have to be 2 stars tops. read more

Perfect day to be on the water for lunch if it had been somewhere other than this place. I could get past the horrible service, but when you charge $15 for crab dip that comes with 4 packs of saltines crackers instead of the bread that was advertised, because the waiter said there was bread in the restaurant. . Really! To make things worse a manager, I guess that's who she was- gray hair very nicely dressed woman, asked how things were and when I told her she disappeared for 35 minutes and returned with nothing but an explanation that she told the wait staff not to bring out an order looking like that. She did not bring us a new order or offer to rectify the situation.If that wan't bad enough we then waited an additional 35 minutes for the check. We left! I have never walked out on a check in my life, but there are limitations to what anyone can put up with. The entire staff, including management, needs serious customer service training. Such a shame, because this is a lovely setting! read more

My review has more to do with service than food. The food is what you would expect for an outside dock bar type venue. However, the service, especially on their Thursday night live music venues is terrible! We have been to this venue several times in the past three years and have just dealt with it because the music is so good. However last night was the last straw. Got there at 6:45 and seated. Didn't see a waitress until 7ish. Ordered two drinks. Got the drinks about 7:10 and ordered dinner. I am gluten intolerant, so I always order the chicken salad without the wrap. At 7:30, we asked our waitress when our food would be out, and she said sorry she is trying to get it out to us. So we ordered two more drinks. Soon after, the table next to use was served (and they ordered after us), and one of the women was told that she got the last of the chicken salad. I hunted down our waitress to ask if this was true. She said yes and sorry. I asked her when was she planning on telling us? She did not have an answer but asked if I would like anything else. By this time it was around 7:45, nothing else on the menu I can eat (except salad) and we both said, just bring the check. In the meantime, our steamed shrimp came (appetizer) which were very undercooked with no seasoning. We took a bite and left them there. Close to 8, still no check, and no second order of drinks, so we went up to the hostess desk to get our bill. They said they took of 10%, however the bill came to $24 for one alcoholic beverage, one iced tea, and steamed shrimp, of which we ate one! Left at 8PM and went elsewhere to eat. Such a shame, because the venue is fun, and the music talent is great!. We will not be going back. We already have tickets for other summer events there, and will be giving them away. Such a shame. read more