We love Dockside. The food is good, but the setting is great. Live bands, kids playing in the sand and pretty views of the sun going down over the water. This is a tiki bar with a local vibe and it's a lot of fun. I like shrimp tacos, fried shrimp, fish and chips, wings and burgers. This place delivers on just what I am looking for in a local tiki bar, including buckets of rum drinks. read more

Dockside Restaurant - a drink in a plastic cup with lime wedges - Seafood Near Me - Colonial Beach, Virginia

Great atmosphere right on the water. We got fish and chips and it was great. Great service with lots of beachy decor.

I have been going to Dockside since 2006. It is a very friendly place to have drinks that are always good and they have a great selection of food items. They run specials during the week and alot of times on the weekends they will have a special also. They offer a wide variety of music and also special events all throughout the year. They are also pet friendly and kid friendly making it easier on alot of people to enjoy. I would also say I don't think you would ever leave Dockside feeling dissatisfied. read more

My first time there! The prime rib special was really good and was a great deal! My wife enjoyed her crab cake too! Entertain yourself playing Wii Sports on a VERY large screen! Enjoy!! read more

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Was definitely looking for a summer tiki beach vibe and I found it! Cute place full of by the water ambiance. I had the crab legs and shrimp. Shrimp maybe a tad over done but the hush puppies made up for it. Still very delicious. Dockside punch cocktail was delish. Best part was my server Gill. So friendly and even brought a bucket warm lemon water to clean my hands. The scenery is right by the water and they did the tiki beach theme right! I'll definitely be back! read more

We set out in search of some good non-fried seafood and decided to try the Dockside based upon Yelp reviews and local recommendations. We're glad we did because we thoroughly enjoyed our meal and will probably be back. We beat the dinner rush by just a few minutes and were the first ones to be seated in the back inside area. Our concerns about being forgotten were quickly dispelled when our friendly waitress arrived asking for our drink orders. She said that the sangria was popular so we ordered one of each, a red and a white. She brought them out quickly and they were excellent! With great flavor and lots of fruit. We decided to try the Conch Fritters for an appetizer. A basket of around 8 tasty fritters came with a small cup of dipping sauce. Initially we thought the dipping sauce was merely Thousand Island dressing but were pleasantly surprised to find out that it was something much better. The fritters themselves had good flavor and were cooked well without being overdone. For dinner we decided on two of the Norfolk dishes, with shrimp, scallops, and crab meat. The dinners came with a nice dinner salad. We were impressed with the salads in that they were a spring mix along with a couple of small tomatoes, and not just plain iceberg lettuce. The seafood was cooked in a butter/sherry sauce that was delicious, so good in fact that we both wound up sopping the remaining sauce up with our dinner rolls! The seafood was fresh and firm without overcooking. The squash side was of good quality and tasty. We would have preferred to have new potatoes but the large potato that came with the dish was fresh and nicely baked. For dessert we decided to share a berry Crème brûlée, which even though the kitchen didn't have a torch to caramelize the top, was delicious. The bill for two of us came to approximately $80, just what I expect to pay for a nice dinner with drinks and dessert. More about the Dockside: As the name states it's located at the dock, with an attached pub and two outdoor dining areas, one screened and one on the beach. The band setup is in the screened area just outside the pub. The building struck me as one of those places that's been added on to over the years and has lots of personality. The service started out very attentive but grew a bit harried as the evening grew busier. I suspect that once the band starts things get real hectic but we left before then. The interior is comfortable and clean with lots of interesting things to look at. read more

Dockside Restaurant - View from the Dockside showing the parking area and the dock. - Seafood Near Me - Colonial Beach, Virginia

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I didn't have high hopes for this place, but I was incredibly wrong. Wow! First of all, very kind and accommodating staff. On time as well. A little slow on the drinks, but then again, there were a lot of them. Incredible evening outdoor atmosphere, with bright colored benches and patio area. You can also play cornhole, or enjoy the outdoors. So wonderful! When it gets later at night, the outdoor lighting is a bit dim. I suggest candles, tikis, or Christmas lights to brighten up the vibe. If they did this, they could maybe move their live music outside and take advantage I that vibe. Lackluster indoor area, sadly, and the air conditioning was blasting a cold and putrid aroma. Eat out on the patio if possible. Note: I don't usually do seafood, but this was spot on! I ordered the flounder stuffed with crab cake. The crab cake is claimed to be famous for a reason: appropriately spiced crab cake with an old bay style mixed with a creamy flavor. The broiled flounder was very fresh, but there was a but too much butter for my taste. My brother lives close by, so I hope I can come back some day. So worth it! read more

Dockside Restaurant - Outdoor seating!!! - Seafood Near Me - Colonial Beach, Virginia

My friend and I did not like this place. My husband thought the food was good but overpriced. We had two appetizers that were good, fried calamari and crab stuffed mushrooms. My husband had a combination of fried seafood, and I had a fried oyster po boy, which I just didn't like much. My husband had to ask for a drink refill and they brought it but didn't refill our friend's completely empty drink. The food really wasn't that bad, other than my meal, just over priced. I asked to substitute a vegetable for the side with my sandwich and they said there'd be an upcharge, no big deal, but they charged me full price for a side. I would not go back, but if I did the tiki bar seems like a good place to drink. read more

Dockside Restaurant - Crab-stuffed mushrooms & fried calamari with Pico. - Seafood Near Me - Colonial Beach, Virginia

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Great service and fun atmosphere, the food used to be some of the best in Colonial Beach, but now it's average at best. If the owners read this, please stop using frozen burgers ASAP read more

This is maybe more like a 3.5. We went on a Sunday during Covid times. Didn't have any issues getting to a table and we sat near the beach with no one else around us, so no issues with crowds or anything. Most people seemed to have masks when walking up to the bar, which is where you order your food and drinks, and then you get a take-out container of food when your order is ready. We shared a shrimp and crab leg special. It was good. The shrimp were a little tough to get out of the shells which was weird, but flavor was good. The hush puppies were great. Also the fish tacos were really tasty. Drinks were meh. I was excited about the tiki bar concept, but the concoctions they advertised weren't that appealing. I ended up with a Green Lizard that was drinkable but very sweet. Agree with others about the orange crush, definitely not fresh-squeezed or even something like Simply Orange, tasted like Sunny D. There are limited options in Colonial Beach and this is definitely worth a stop. read more

Best bar in Colonial Beach. You ask locals where they go for good service, good food, and a friendly environment and they will tell you Dockside. The management does a great job making sure that amazing talent comes in to play killer music on Sat night and they do their best to make sure customers are always looked after and happy. Definitely try the hand cut mozzarella and then go big or go home and try the Hangover. A beastly burger that sports bacon, egg, and a blue crab cake. Today its Sunday. I'm watching football enjoying their killer wings, cold beer, and watching the game on one of their 5 large flat screens in a screened in tiki bar ON THE BEACH!!! read more

Dockside Restaurant - Hot hot wings! Spicy and meaty. - Seafood Near Me - Colonial Beach, Virginia

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Great atmosphere-awesome music and drinks, subpar food. Would recommend coming for the vibe not the food. Crab cake sandwich was okay, fish and chips wasn't great and the kitchen was out of a lot, but we did come late. They stop serving food at 10. Location isn't really near anything else, but they had a spectacular view of the fireworks and lots of little tiki areas throughout the bar that were fun. The blueberry bucket was yummy. Cover was 10 bucks because of the band, would recommend coming early to avoid cover charge. read more

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Very casual restaurant with "tiki" vibes and great water views. The service was very good and our orders came quickly. Extremely reasonably priced and fresh tasting seafood. read more

Absolutely awful. Awful food and awful service. Cool place but it's a typical beach restaurant/bar that cares very little about the quality of their food because they know people will come because of location. I will say others did enjoy the fish tacos read more

Dockside Restaurant - "SHRIMP PO BOI" LOTS of bread and very little shrimp (size and quantity) - Seafood Near Me - Colonial Beach, Virginia

I'm biased here; I know the staff, and they're amazing people, with personality that this business encourages instead of just being a smiling face. Otherwise, their food is decent, their drinks are delicious, and the bartenders are imaginative with creations that aren't listed. The bands that play every week are hit-or-miss, but even with the misses, I still end up having a good time with friends here, whether I'm drinking or not. read more

Loved the waterside location and the island theme. The food was good (burger and fries) and the Margaritas were very tasty. I hate that they use so much plastic - containers, cutlery, cups - with no means of recycling any of it. read more

Love the tiki bar area and the fact that we can walk here from our place. If you don't like seafood, this isn't your place though. Wish they had more un-fried options but the food is decent. Good live music and little beach area/sand pit for the kiddos. read more

If you eat outside, you could get lucky! However If you get seated inside in their back room you will loose your appetite... from the nasty sewer gas. The foods not amazing, and not horrible, but we were a party of 7 and none of us could hardly stand the smell, to order. We did, the owner was wiping down a table next to us while he head me say "It smells really bad like sewer" and gave no response. That didn't sit well with me. The fried food looked like its been fried in 10 year old read more

This "locals" establishment was fun and had a beachy atmosphere like you are on vacation in the Keys. My brother who is a "new local" hangs here and recommend the $2 hamburger night. AWESOME! We had excellent service and excellent food and drink. We hung out back after the meal on the beach bar area and finished our drinks while the kids played in the sand and on the fun items out back. read more

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So very inconsistent. One visit you will get great service, delicious meals, and a rewarding experience with good drinks and atmosphere. Other times, we will leave totally pissed, vowing to never return. Time will pass, we'd exhaust all other limited possibilities, and return to a great restaurant. This place is frustrating like that. read more

The hangover burger was delicious. Even on a crowded Saturday night service was great. Only knock is that cocktails are a little steep. Love live music outdoors. read more

We had crabcake sandwiches and sweet potato french fries. Not bad, actually pretty good. But really, the view is so beautiful that it would have been hard to go wrong. We were there on a recent Saturday at about 1 pm. I was glad to see that Colonial Beach wasn't inundated with traffic like you might expect a beach community to be. The restaurant was busy but it didn't feel crowded. We sat outside under an umbrella looking out over the Potomac. Our food was ready within about fifteen minutes. I could taste the crab and the sandwich tasted similar to ones that I'd had before. A little bit of shell and not overly bready. The sandwiches cost about what I expected to pay in a beach town. The fries were just okay, not really crispy. There was some upbeat music playing outside and this was fine. There's another restaurant that we want to try next time, but we had to try this one first. read more

Dockside Restaurant - View from outdoor seating looking northwest, I assume. - Seafood Near Me - Colonial Beach, Virginia

Unfortunately a bad experience all around. The hostess was rude and tried to discourage us from waiting for a table. As soon as she told us that - one opened up. We both ordered fried shrimp dinner- $17.99. It came with 4 shrimp. I mean really?? We sat across from the hostess's station outside and saw her rudeness extend to every group that came in. Probably our last visit here. read more

So we came here with the expectations of dining in unfortunately we were not able to and told us that we had to order for carry out we had the most wonderful best waitress ever Maddie who took care of me and my family of 6 best customer service ever her and Nicki dida great job!!! they had such a patience they were not upset they were not frustrated with the overflowed of customers and took care of us in the excellent way will be coming back those girls rock read more

Great atmosphere with fun boats, cars, and other "beached" items that serve as tables. Definitely can't beat the view either. Po Boy was with a bit too much bread and lacking of enough shrimp, shrimp platter was great, but seriously, go for the grilled chicken sammich (The Godfather). It's a solid marinade on the meat and it's cooked perfectly. Go with the chicken, at least someone in your party. read more

This is by far the very best place to eat in Colonial Beach. All the food is great. The oysters Rockefeller was the very best I ever had. The wings are a little pricey but they are excellent. The view is amazing. read more

Came here around 4:45 with my wife and dog and was nice and shady for us. Orange crushes were good and food was really good. Wife got the chicken sandwich and I got the fried shrimp platter. Only reason I say its 4 stars is because I wish there was less fries (filled the entire bottom portion and then some of the container) and more shrimp and hushpuppies. Other than that, great atmosphere and would definitely come back. read more

Love it here! Good food, a bit pricey but excellent. Service was phenomenal & the music great.

Good food great atmosphere. Service is top notch. Nice view of the water. Love the crab cakes!

Service was ok. The food was overpriced for what it was. Had a fish and chips. The portion was generous but very greasy.

I called for a take out - two Hangovers, calamari, and fish and chips. The person who took the call said that they did not have the Hangover but they could do the burger, put a fried egg on top, and give me a side of crab cake along with a side of the cherry wine sauce. Well, those are the ingredients of the Hangover, right? Anyway, when I went to pick up my order I my tab was for $80 and change when I should have paid no more than $60 and change - $28 for two Hangovers, $10 for the calamari, $19 for the Fish and Chips. So I had to pay $20 more because they decided to not sell me the burger as a Hangover, but they gave me all the ingredients and charged for them separately? Not honest. And I'm sorry to say, the food was average. I'm certainly not going back. read more

Place is cool, fun atmosphere, good service but not much of a selection on food. Very limited and kinda pricey for what it is. But for hanging and drinking it's awesome read more

First time in this place. Kind of busy for Monday. This place is pet friendly. Two observations 1. Menu doesn't offer a lot of option and this time they run out of three items. 2. Short staff making the order process consuming a lot of time so be ready to wait. The waiter was super nice one of the best! Also; it is a bit of pricy for the amount of food and the quality of it. I will come back but just if I really need it to. Just this time did not work for me. read more

I visited Dockside Restaurant with two guests on the evening of September 1, 2022. I ordered the fried shrimp plate and my guests ordered the fried flounder plate. The cold slaw literally had no taste--it obviously was not fresh. The hushpuppies came with a sweet molassis tasting butter spread that did not go well with the bacon flavored hushpuppies. My guests' flounder was thin and had a fishy taste. My shrimp was hot and tasty on arrival but it would have been nice to have the external shell removed before frying. Our server was friendly and helpful and our meals were served hot. On average, I would give our dining experience a D+. read more

You have to be kidding. The kitchen is closed to ordering food. Period. There are 300 people here and they are overloaded. Band and hula show. How can you not order food. Management should have their head handed to them. Bring in some food trucks or be creative on the food when you have a large crowd. How can you sell beer and alcohol but not food. What would Virginia ABC say? read more

Dockside is my favorite place to eat in Colonial Beach. The staff is very friendly, atmosphere perfect and food delicious. The buffalo oysters are wonderful and the bread pudding is a must. read more

Me and my friend sat down around 8:00 pm waiting for someone to take our order, however we were ignored for over an hour even after we tried to get an employees attention. We had to walk up to an employee just to get asked if we needed anything. After that this kind lady went to get a waitress and she asked what we would like to order. After we told her our orders she proceeded to say that at the time they are only serving pizzas so that was the only thing that we could order. We thanked her and told her that we had been waiting for so long that we were wondering if there was anything else but pizza. She said "I don't control the kitchen so I don't know what to tell you" in a very annoyed voice. You don't understand how frustrating it was to see her talking to every other table and hovering over another just to talk to the people and look at us and ignore us. LIKE HOW ARE YOU GOING TO GIVE US ATTITUDE AFTER YOU IGNORED US FOR OVER AN HOUR??? MAKE THAT MAKE SENSE. LITERALLY WHY ARE YOU WORKING HERE IF YOURE JUST GOING TO IGNORE YOUR CUSTOMERS??? read more

Ehh. Nice location on the water. Sort of a beachy waterfront waterman' dive bar kind of atmosphere. Decent country cover band. Waitress was great. Sorry I can't remember her name. Food was average for this style place with prices as expected. Yes, I'd go back for cocktails and music. Flip flops and shorts is proper attire. Seems the "man bun" is in here. Why? Real dudes shouldn't wear a girls hair style. Not a masculine look. Sorry, I digressed for a moment. Now u know what to expect , so go have a good time. read more

Went to Colonial Beach for a Family Reunion. There wasn't many seafood restaurants real close to where we were staying. Tried Dockside on Friday night before the reunion, just my wife and I. The staff was friendly. Service was quick. But the food was average at best. I had the stuffed flounder. Slightly undercooked and bland. The flies inside the restaurants were a real nuisance! I would not recommend unless you are going to sit outside, drink and listen to the band. read more

This rating is for quality of food. They have a great selection of bands for their Saturday night shows. However, be prepared to eat seafood and only seafood (except for the one burger on the menu). They are unwilling to make changes to the preset way food is made. For example - the one burger they have, I ordered, and they made an 'exception' to put the crab cake on the side. On the side! And when I got the burger it wasn't well done like I had asked. And the hush puppies are bland. Overall - not good enough quality for price. Will not be returning for food again. May come for late drinks & dancing - but not for a sit down meal. Also - after 9:30 on the weekends kids should be gone. Its all drunks and rowdy dancers. read more