After more than a year of driving past the marina entrance road, we finally decided on a whim to give Grain H2O a try. Bottom line up front, we expected a bit more from the reputation the place has with many Newark locals, but we felt it fell a bit short; we found it "OK," but just "OK." One a very hot afternoon we ordered two Tanquery and Tonics. We got Gin and Tonics that were "OK," but which lacked that tanqueray "tang." Whatever gin was used was alright, but not what we ordered. We shared the Fried Brussells Sprouts app (everyone has brussels sprouts with their G&Ts, right?), and again they were "OK," but we felt they were not strong or distinictive enough to stand on their own as an app--as a side dish, sure, but as an appetizer we would like to have a bit more spice/heat/flavor. They were..."OK." I had their regular burger, which was pretty good but which was let down by the bun. Something a bit more substantial and not "poppy seed" would be a better choice--and toasted to better stand up to the great juiciness of the burger. My SO ordered the Kale Salad with Salmon. It was all good, but instead of a baby Kale the salad came with Curly Kale which is better relegated to chopped sauteed greens dishes and not a raw salad. With a different Kale the dish would have been superb, with curley kale it becomes a gut buster leading to postential gastric distress. Service was a high point--no room at all to critique the hostess, the waitresses or bus-staff. Service was great--food was "OK." Based on recommendaitons, we expected better, and maybe we will get it on the next visit. We did love the live music. A talented and energetic local acoustic folk singer, UD Class of 2017. We tipped generously--she deserved it. Grain H2O deserves a second look--we hope it steps up at that time. read more

Don't bother! If I could give this place no stars I would! DO NOT waste your time or money here. After a long day you want to go somewhere you can sit out by the water and enjoy yourself but this is NOT that place. It took our food over an hour to come out, COLD and looking/tasting terrible. We got the scallop risotto (rice was crunchy and the scallops were like rubber) and the grilled chicken with burned Brussels sprouts and soupy brown potatoes that my fiancé stopped eating for fear of food poisoning. This place is full of people that have no idea what's going on and you can tell they just don't care. Go some place else, I mean go ANYWHERE, or just throw your money in the trash can cause it would be better spent that way. Negative stars! Last note, they were out of barbecue sauce, seriously?! read more

Grain H20 is an awesome place to go for Brunch with your family and friends. They have an awesome outside deck which is 1/2 covered and 1/2 uncovered overlooking the marina. We have eaten brunch there a few times on Sundays and have never had a bad meal! They have a great mix of live music throughout the summer, amazing food and awesome service! This place will continue to get our business!! read more

I have never posted a review on yelp before. First time here, the wait was an hour-understandable. Ordered lobster Mac and cheese and it was a very small Cup, looks more like an appetizer and I could not even finish it because it was incredibly salty. My daughters Mac and cheese was cold and had them re heat it. The crab cake sandwich had a lot of filler. Overall, was not satisfied at all with the quality of the food and won't be back. read more

Great service and great food, really nice place came by boat!! Will definitely return to Grain H2O!!!!

Brunch here is fantastic! The food is great and the service is excellent. Tori did a great job serving us!

My family and I have dined at this restaurant several times. The service is consistently good; however, the menu needs freshening up. My last visit was Sunday, August 25th. We order the wings w/ Sriracha Barbecue sauce, the Crab Pretzel, and the Crab Nachos. I'm sad to report that every item was mediocre at best. The wings tasted as though they had been re-warmed and the few pieces crab meat on the nachos was bland. I will not be dining there again until I hear of significant improvements. read more

Friday afternoon with most of the tables empty yet hostess says there's an hour wait. Talk about poor management. I'll take my business elsewhere. Ridiculous. read more

Getting worse each time I go. First the positives. The warmer months have a nice view and atmosphere. The outside patio is open and scenic. The inside could probably use a update in the areas away from the windows. So why only two stars...first the Service has been getting slower and slower each time I go. The last time I went for a Saturday brunch there was literally only one other table that was occupied and my partner and I still waited several minutes to be greeted for drinks and then over 30 minutes for our breakfast order. It shouldn't take that long for eggs and pancakes. The food quality has been slipping as of late and not worth the prices that you pay. With places like first watch and eggspectations not that far away the Grain H2O will probably see the last of me especially for brunches. read more

Excellent place we will revisit when we are on the east coast. Great food! Crab Mac n Cheese is superb! Great service. Great location! So glad it was recommended to us. Oh, and live music adds and extra excellence! read more

Grain H20 - Crab Mac n Cheese - American Near Me - Bear, Delaware

Food was very horrible will never visit again and will never recommend to family or either friends. Management was totally unprofessional especially " Lexy" very poor response and did not care or listen to the customer feedback. Should have gone to Borders cafe their food is excellent. read more

To start the waitress was to busy chitchating if to wait on us. Ordered a burger and fries were extra. The fries were old and cold. I complained so she got me fresh ones. Great but then charged me another extra cost. Never going back there. Too many good places with good service and food. read more

Let me preface this by saying this if the first review I've ever written. Only an experience so abysmal could prompt someone as lazy as me to action. After having a pleasant experience at the Grain location in Newark, my girlfriend and I decided to check out Grain H2O over the weekend. Having no reason to believe otherwise, were excited for the same dining/drink experience coupled with the outdoor atmosphere and marina "view." Being the first nice Saturday of the year, we expected a rather extensive wait for a table. After checking in with the hostess, she told us it would be a 45 minute wait for a 2 top. Having no problem with that, we sat down at the bar for some drinks, despite walking past more than a few open tables around the outdoor area. (Their seating system was completely disorganized but that's a whole different issue I won't delve into). We had no qualms with the service at the bar, drinks were fine and refilled in an adequately timely manner. After about a 40 minute wait, we received a notification that our table was ready. I followed the hostess to our table while my gf closed out at the bar. It only took about 15 minutes for her to close out; that should have been our first indication what we were in for. After she closed out at the bar, we got settled in at the table and waited for our server. And waited. And waited. For over half an hour we waited, and not a single member of the wait staff acknowledged us. We finished our drinks and contemplated walking out but were incredibly hungry at this point. So I politely flagged down one of the servers to try to order. Apparently that was a big mistake as she couldn't be bothered to help us. No name, no pleasantries, no offering to refill our waters; just a what can I get you? I completely grasp the concept that it was rather busy but there was no reason to be curt and act like us ordering 2 drinks and an app was the biggest hassle ever. Following that cheerful interaction, we enjoyed the only delightful aspect of our time at Grain: the weather. When our app finally came out a good long while later, the food runner set it down and disappeared quite quickly. All good, except we had no plates, utensils, or napkins. Kinda hard to eat a (now cold) crab pretzel without those things so I had to flag down yet another person (who was actually pleasant and useful) to get them for us. Going against our better judgments and still being hungry, we decided to order some burgers. But yet again, we had another lengthy wait until our server finally came to take our order. Then after another half an hour wait our entrees finally came out. Except it wasn't what we ordered. Despite ordering my burger medium, it arrived undercooked yet somehow burnt. And with a side of fruit. Fruit with a burger, despite the menu stating it comes with a side of chips. And the juice from the fruit had leaked through the paper in its serving basket and completely soaked the underside of both my burger and my gf's turkey burger. Beyond gross. No explanation as to why it came with fruit, the food runner just set it down as left. After waiting a few minutes for our server to check on us, we knew she wasn't coming back and decided to eat our burgers. A plateful of disappointment; the perfect metaphor for our experience here. At that point we decided to cut our losses and get the check. Yet again I had to flag down our server to do so. I guess I crossed a line when I asked why my burger came with fruit because our server went from curt responses to being downright rude. Apparently we were supposed to know that the kitchen had run out of chips and shouldn't have been disappointed when our burger came with fruit. If only there was a person whose job it is to ensure their customers get the proper service and told us so? Imagine my surprise when the only prompt service we received all day was when she brought the check back. If I could give this place zero stars, that would still be too many. read more

We have been to this location a few times prior to today and were pleased. Today was horrible. We arrived around 2:45 PM . There were a few other tables occupied and we were told to sit wherever like. We were served water and I ordered a beer. After a half hour we left. Nobody came to take our order, nor was the beer served. Not a single employee was visible when we walked out. I will not return to this restaurant read more

Horrible experience.... we were told 45 minute wait for a table and waited an hour and a half. Out of 7 meal orders 3 came out and we're finished before we had to ask for the manager about the 4 other meals that hadn't come. The food isn't good enough for that kind of waiting. read more

I was just at Grain H20 Friday night August 2. Today, August 3, I checked my account through my online banking app to see they charged me $33.50, when in actuality my bill should have only been 12 dollars, I had 2 mixed drinks and 1 draft. They all cost $4 dollars. My advice would to be if you go to ANY bar do NOT open a tab, especially at this place. I have no idea if they charged me because they sincerely thought I got more than what I did OR if they have hired dishonest people. I really don't even know if its worth it to dispute it with them. read more

Was told 45 minutes for a table. Got drinks from the bar, and stood and watched as 5 to 6 tables sat empty. Inquired as to why we could not be seated. 1 hostess said it was because the kitchen was backed up. I said, we would certainly wait, and have drinks. The next hostess said they had a lot of parties waiting to be seated, and the tables would fill up. Finally got 2 seats at the bar. The tables remained empty. Bar menu is EXTREMELY limited. Ordered the OMG nachos, and asked if I could get brisket on the side. The bartender said it was unlikely. I said, if it's not possible, then don't order the meat at all. The nachos showed up with brisket on them. Bartender stated, it's really busy so.... No apology, no offer to take it back and get the right order. All of that on top of $4 coors lite..... Stay away, there are too many other choices in the area to go to amateur hour. read more

Liked the atmosphere. I had the nachos and fried pickles. The fried pickles were good...not great. A little doughy in the center. The nachos LOOKED delicious but were very dry. The beer cheese was cold by the time I got them. read more

Grain H20 - OMG Nachos - American Near Me - Bear, Delaware

Our server came after 10 minutes of sitting waiting, and said just "hi"... to which we replied "can we order a drink?". He said "yeah, food too?" and we said "no, not yet..." and he walked away. Did not have all the ingredients to make a "featured mojito"? Drinks are single shot and $8..waited 30 minutes for hummus appetizer... food came out another 40 minutes later. Salad was $11 and called "avocado citrus", there was 2 pieces of avocado and no citrus. Added shrimp to the salad for $5 extra, only 4 pieces came on it. "Black bean chipotle burger" was literally a pile of luke warm beans on a bun with lettuce and tomato- absolutely ridiculous. Also, extra $3 to sub out a side? Super cheap. Sent back the "burger" for a Caesar salad- the dressing was unbearably garlicky, had to box it up. Whole meal was over $50 for no quality. Really need to step it up. read more

Grain H20 - American Near Me - Bear, Delaware

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This is a perfect example of a great concept with poor execution. (Interestingly so are the other grain locations) if the management spent the time getting the concept and the training right at one location before rushing to open the next, these places might have a chance. Unfortunately they do not and we all suffer in the process. Tonight our server informed us after terrible service that he only had one day of training and it was his first serving job. The food is only ok and the food runners who also double as bus boys walk around from table to table asking who ordered what food. The sign at the entrance pleads for patients as they get there act together, but seriously get your act together before opening. This place is pathetic. Especially when the Chesapeake inn and others are near by. Glad we tried this one alone before inviting guest! read more

Food is amazing! Love all the crab options-crabby tots are the best! Frustrating that they didn't have a sling for our sons car seat and that there wasn't a lot of room in the restaurant to put him in a safe location. If they had more room and options for people with infants I would give it 5 stars read more

Our waiter was polite. Other than that I was entirely unimpressed. When we gave our name we were told a 45 minute wait. For a summer Saturday that did not seem unreasonable. The waiting area consists of 2 small benches that can accommodate 3 people (max) at the most. The 45 minutes we were told turned into a 2 hour wait. The whole experience totaled 4 hours (2 hours of waiting). The entire time we were there, there were 4 open tables in the outside bar area and numerous tables open inside. I am not sure if they did not have enough staff, but the tables remained empty the entire time. At one point while we waited to be seated, we got some drinks from the outside bar. There were empty tables in the bar area so we sat our drinks down and conversed as a group around the table. After about 30 minutes, one of the hostesses came over and asked us to move because the table "wasn't ours." We moved, with no objection, because she was right. We assumed they needed to seat it. It then remained empty for another 25 minutes. We got notification that our table was ready after about 1 hour and 40 minutes of waiting only to arrive at the hostess stand to be told that it was a mistake and no table was ready for us. So we waited another 20ish minutes. We did have a large party for a birthday, and I expect longer waits for large groups, but we spent the time waiting with a nice family of 3 who waited 1.5 hours. The bar outside allows you to walk up and get drinks for yourself and others (my husband would get me a drink and himself as well), but if the line is long and you go to the inside bar, you cannot order more than one drink unless the person the drink is for is with you. It is strange that bars literally back to back of each other have different policies. My crab mac and cheese was $17. It was good, not great. Just pasta, with no sides. Husband had fish tacos for $16. Two tacos that were crumbling apart with dry fish. The crab pretzel was good! I would like to give it another try, but the husband does not. I have never waited that long for a table in my life (and we only did so because it was a group for a birthday). read more

Great beer selection, but at $7.50 a draft in plastic cups that appear to be no where near a pint, not worth the drive. Food okay, not great. read more

I want to start by saying our server was really cool and attentive. He had a good sense of humor and I would go back for his service and the atmosphere but the food was mediocre at best, presentation lacking in functionality and wine pour was pathetic. We ordered the beer cheese fondue as an appetizer. It was delicious but we couldn't eat 1/3 of it b/c it came in a beer glass and unless we where willing to lick our knuckles or eat with filthy hands it was impossible to enjoy and finish. I pointed this out to our server. He laughed and said he'd mentioned it to the chef on several occasions and it fell on deaf ears. Now MOST importantly, my wine. It was a delicious Pinot Noir but I finished it in 4 sips-literally. I'm not one to really complain (we left a big tip for our server) but I asked the server if they measure the pours (b/c my wine came in a plastic cup at a dining table and I thought the bartender miscalculated ) and he laughed. I asked b/c I've never finished a glass of wine in 4 sips. This place is mediocre. I've been the Newark location and have had an awesome experience. We won't be back to his location. I would rather spend $106 (w/tip) somewhere closer to home. read more

Grain H20 - American Near Me - Bear, Delaware

Went on a beautiful Sunday and as expected they were swamped. We had a small wait but once seated we had great service. Got our drinks quick although they were out of the beer I wanted. The cheesesteak I ordered was really good. Better then I expected. Everyone at our table really enjoyed their food as well. The only complaint I heard was about the sweet potatoes fries. They were all well cooked. (Small complaint) drinks, food, and service was all great! read more

the atmosphere with live music is great! But the food is only okay- not something I'd go there for personally.

First visit...I am a fan of the Citrus Avocado salad, and the fried goat cheese. Hooray! I also tried the seared tuna and fried pickles....yum! Live music just a tad loud. But very good. read more

Have always enjoyed coming here for dinner and atmosphere but...this time we were told if we wanted any kind of extras on sandwiches there would be an up charge I.e. you only get what is listed on the item. So if you want tomato, onion etc.. you have to pay for each additional item. This is crazy, I would rather see them charge a little extra for sandwich and be able to have it how I want it. On top of that, the Corona was warm. Asked for another and waitress brought another warm beer and said there were no cold beers but she could give some ice in a cup to chill it. Really??? Will have to think about coming back. Not a good experience. read more

Atmosphere on the waterfront is always lovely service very good and trivia was fun. Food, eh, not so great. Have been here several times to keep an open mind but constantly disappointed with the cuisine. A friend had the boneless wings and couldn't even get a fork through them; the breading was abnormally thick and quite hard. Soup or salad so so. Such a shame, as a wonderful place with so much potential if more attention was given to the menu items preparation. read more

This is our second time here. We ate here last year when camping at a local state park and it was excellent. This year, we came with a party of twelve. Problems with our seating. We asked for regular tables not high tops. Manager had a problem putting the lower tables together. She said they needed to save them for smaller parties! We couldn't stay in the main restaurant as there was a party coming in. We never saw a party. That did not make sense as we were paying customers too. Our waitress took our drink order right way and our food order right after drinks were delivered. This is one of the noisiest restaurants I've ever been in. The acoustics are terrible. Our appetizers came out in about 15 minutes but our meal was slow! It took 50 minutes for our food to arrive. Although not too hot. My sandwich was cold before I could finish it. Clearly, they had issues managing bigger orders in the kitchen. It was tasted ok although nothing to write home about. Our waitress was very good and was attentive. I had the Portobella Panini. My husband had the Chicken Cheesesteak and our friend had the Grilled Chicken panini. Nothing including their chips were as good as last year. This was a consensus from our whole group. Not sure we will be back. It took at least 10 minutes to get our checks. But, our waitress was great. This review is not a reflection on her service. It's just his the restaurant is managed and organized. It's pretty disappointing when you tell your friends how good it is then doesn't live up to those expectations. read more

The two and a half star rating on this restaurant is about right. We've had really nice dinners here and we've had not to great meals. It's a cool place with a great patio by the water. This afternoon we got a babysitter and came to Grain for beers and an early dinner. First the plastic cup was worn and used. The paint was coming off around the mouth. Just sort of concerning during COVID. The crab pretzel was good but the plates that were brought with it were dirty and had to go back. I ordered the Sante Fe chicken tacos. The chicken was cold. Not warm, but cold and very dry. There was loads of sour cream and some corn and black thrown on. I couldn't eat it and sent it back. My husband ordered the French dip. The sandwich was good but the kettle chips were stale, brake your tooth hard with a pile of seasoning in the middle. The server was very nice and we were seated right away but the nasty food and dirty cups and plates will stop me from coming here again. read more

Every time we have come here within the past year or so, we have had a problem. Before COVID, it would take way too much time to get a table, food, and drinks. Regardless, we still loved the food and atmosphere. Last night, we had our worst experience yet. We had ordered food over the phone and planned on taking it back to the dock to eat. In the meantime, we went to the bar to order drinks. My boyfriend had gotten up to go to the bathroom, wearing a mask to and from the bathroom. As he was reapproaching the bar, he removed his mask (within 5 feet of the bar). The manager stopped him and said something along the lines of "you need to be wearing your mask" and not understanding what she (the band was playing right next to us and he definitely was not trying to disobey the mask rule) he shook his head "no". I tried to help clear up the miscommunication but the manager got an attitude with me and said that if we cannot comply to the rules, we are not welcome. She also addressed that my boyfriend was not sitting on a barstool but the bartender had told us that the 3 of us from our group could be in the area of the bar where we were. I see her immediately approach the other bartenders to tell them what I assume was about our issue. The bartenders stopped serving us drinks (despite only being there for 1 and some shots). As we were still waiting for our food at the bar, I watched the manager go to the inside bar, remove her mask as she talked on a cellphone surrounded by other people at the bar, which did not seem very professional to me. We finally got our food and were leaving so I decided to tell her about my concerns. She did not seem to take any of my concerns seriously and gave me attitude as I told her that her mask was falling down. We are truthfully a group of people who always treats their servers well, especially ones working in the middle of a pandemic (and even previously when service was slow, we understood that somethings were out of the servers control), but we won't be returning anytime soon. read more

First time coming here and they do not seem to know how to run a restaurant. Very inaccurate with wait times. Tell you a 45 minute wait as you can blatantly see numerous open tables. Lots of hosts and hostesses standing around not doing anything. If you're looking to eat somewhere quick this is not the place to go... read more

Have been here two times since it opened and everything was pretty good! The drinks are always amazing and the food is good too! I had the grouper sandwich last time and the seasoning/salsa was hit for me! We had the same server (Matt) both times and he was very good! Check it out! read more

The bartender outside was great while waiting for our friends to show. Once seated, the first app to arrive after about 40 minutes was chicken nachos - that came without chicken. After about 20 more minutes, 2 entrees came out before the other appetizers. When I finally got mine, the fried pickles were good but very dry- could have been served with dipping sauce. Mussels were cold and shrunken as if they were over cooked and left to sit for a while. We also had to ask the waitress a total of 3 times if we could get utensils to eat our food with. At one point, our waitress walked over with a bottle of Corona and stated that it had been sitting at the bar and no one was taking it to be served, and asked us if we wanted it, and ended up billing us for it. At the end of the night our bill was to be split between 2 couples and to make it easy we told her exactly what should be on which bill and of course it came back completely wrong and we had to wait another 20 minutes before she even came back to the table. My friends and I like to enjoy nights out, if the service & food were better, we would have gladly stayed and spent more money on drinks and finger foods, however, each one of us could not wait to get out of there ASAP and bring our business elsewhere. read more

My husband and I stopped in on a whim. Having had our first (wonderful) date at Grain in Newark, we were looking forward to a similar experience at Grain H20. It's not clear what exactly is going wrong here- is it staffing, the set up, training, back of the house? We sat at the bar. The bartender was very overwhelmed, but it was not busy. We empathized with her, but couldn't get past the fact that we cleared our own spots at the bar, she never wiped down the counter, and when our order wasn't correct she told us to "give her a minute" to fix it. It was never fully corrected. Food was unappetizing and obviously had sat under a heat lamp for too long. I felt uncomfortable here as I sat and witnessed a pitcher of Bloody Mary mix from brunch turn solid and a server literally sniffing a glass to make sure it was clean before adding ice and soda to it. The staff was trying their hardest, but I think they were set up to fail. I'm giving this restaurant 2 stars because I realize nobody as deliberately trying to ruin our experience. I wanted to love this restaurant based on our previous positive experiences in Newark, but we won't be returning to the h20 location. read more

My first here for lunch with friends. Sarah was our server she was excellent. Service was good, food was excellent, great selection of beers, and my cocktails were good too. Highly recommended. A little out-of-the-way, though. read more

I went to Grain H2O for the first time on 8/25 with a group of friend. We sat out on the deck, listening to a live reggae band. The band was good and the place has a great vibe. Then everything went south. Our waiter Hunter was clueless! Our drinks order wrong twice. There was 6 of us. We order 3 appetizers and 5 entries. With the band playing it was hard to hear and ask questions. When Hunter did hear our questions, he would say he wasn't sure and have to go ask. Our food was okay, nothing that you couldn't find at any chain restaurant. Craft beer and bar selection is great, but having to set fire to you table to get your waiters attention on a not super busy Sunday night to order another was ridiculous. Our friends told us that Grain H20 brunch serves is better, and I'll take them at their word. Now from the dinner serves I received and the food I was served, it's not worth a trip back. To far out of the way for a dinner I could get at my local T.G.I. Friday's. Maybe I'll go and try brunch someday. But wouldn't be going back for dinner. read more

Went here to celebrate an anniversary with a party of 8! The service was horrible and the food was barely edible. The wait for our appetizers was at least 45 mins and for the main courses it was again another 45 to 60 mins and it wasn't even that busy of a night. After waiting for the food it was like warm my party tried the OMG BURGER (not good), Slammin salmon(not good), ahi tuna (tasted old) a chicken dish I can't recall the name but it was bad too and the crab Mac and cheese(tasteless). The outside atmosphere would be great on a nice night but other than that, I would not recommend this place to anyone! read more

Boy did I want the food here to be great. Our party of four was underwhelmed. The fried pickles, a breaded glob that I can't believe they put down in front of us. Quality control? The breading was way under fried. How do you mess up a wedge salad? Warm pint glass on a nine dollar pint. Unapologetic waitress. Clasp on bathroom door by door broken. Nothing beats a lousy dinner more than getting walked in on in the foyer bathroom. Liked the vibe. Looks cool. read more