Service was fine. Food was not good. Everything felt touristy. Cleanliness not great. Just don't do it

I ordered the fish tacos and they were so small (and dry and overcooked) that I had to order a second entree. The fish and chips were at least crispy and flavorful (though the fish fillet was very thin-much better at dock side). French fries were great, though. They also had a terrible wine selection - my first choice was sold out and I got a half glass left of my second choice. The waitress said she'd only charge me half price but then charged me the full price. The views are fantastic and the only reason this place stays in business... read more

Service is great. Food fresh and tasteful. Brick oven pizza is divine! Love the atmosphere and live bands. Recommend wholeheartedly!! read more

Made the most of it, and it was ultimately worth it for the convenience and price, but I wouldn't go back there...I'd drive somewhere else. The drinks were so so so bad. The food was mid. I got crab legs and they weren't the best quality - think inland casino crab legs. The fries were their redeeming quality- so good I couldn't give the place 2 stars. The service was also so disorganized and slow - even with very few people seated and lots of folks working. Which is all a bummer because this place has SO much potential... it's beautiful, on the water, and a cute outdoor area with live (albeit very bad) music. Again, so much potential, and why I'm giving 3 stars instead of 2, but I wouldn't go back unless they get better service, good, and drinks, but you could totally go enjoy a couple beers and look at the water and have a good time. read more

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Labor Day Weekend 2025! Was sat immediately. Shoutout to Mercedes the waitress for her perfect service, what a sweetie. The cheese fries and steak quesadilla were yummy. read more

Had a coconut smoothy(delicious), banana sweet tea( very nice) with Prime rib king sizzler while sitting outside ... very nice sea view, friendly & helpful staff... resteraunt is clean , welcoming and setup with a nice bar area... will definitely return for a good meal & a stout drink . read more

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You would be better of grabbing a kids meal at McDonalds. Based on the wait staff I can't imagine what takes place in the kitchen. From the lack of customer service of wait-staff on a NOT BUSY day or time, to the bartender eating with his hands while working at bar, it's clear this is no longer a sought after place to dine. We have eaten here before so my expectations were high, unfortunately we should have left moments after being ignored at the front door. After wait staff walked past us numerous time without even a simple acknowledging we should have know what was to come! We were taken to a table never to be addressed again -not even as we left! Othe tables were visible upset after they two had been waiting for a very long period of time for drink orders and food alike. After no one addressed us at our table we left after 28 minutes. No "I'll be right with you" not a "sorry for your wait" - NOTHING....we chose to walk out. And as a clear sign of "we don't care", both waitresses were at the hostess area and didn't even acknowledge as we left. -apparently wages are superior in Colonial Beach, Virginia at The BlackPearl/High Tidez and tips and gratuity are insignificant . read more

Just don't go. Great location, but that's it. Horrible ownership who empower their employees to be inept and rude. Mediocre food, crappy drink menu. Alternative: Dockside Restaurant & Tiki Bar. (Signed up for Yelp just to post this review!) read more

Not sure why the ratings are low or maybe I came on a good day. The food was good, I did end up doing the ayce crab legs and our waiter was quick to put the orders in to ensure I didn't wake long between orders. The ambiance was nice since it was right on the water. read more

High Tides on the Potomac - Ayce crab legs - Seafood Near Me - Colonial Beach, Virginia

I ordered the Rockfish Dinner with Cole slaw and potato cakes. Everything was delicious. The fish was cooked perfectly. My friend ordered the hamburger and he enjoyed it as well. The bartender, Kyle, was exceptional. My Captain was perfect! I highly recommend this establishment. The music is also just right. read more

0/10 I don't recommend this place. We made a reservation and we still had to wait 20 minutes for a table. Our waitress was kind but she seemed to be really struggling. The food was bland. We had a party of 9, 4 of the orders were messed up or a side was forgotten. One person ordered a pizza, it arrived 15 minutes after we all finished eating and it was the wrong type of pizza!! We were never offered a highchair for the baby we had in the group. The steak and chicken were over cooked. They forgot to put the cheese on my kids cheeseburger. Drinks were forgotten. We WILL NOT be coming back here. We were also told the manager was gonna come out and speak to us. We waited over 20 mins and they never came. Horribly ran business. read more

Great food BUT the bartender at the Tiki Bar is so rude and needs an attitude adjustment. She didnt acknowledge me and I was the only person ordering drinks. Wasn't helpful with ordering food, I had to run back and forth to the main restaurant so I left her no tip! Be kind next time Or find a job that doesn't require customer service. read more

Food was good and service was also great. I stopped in from a motorcycle ride and sat right down. For food I got the seafood combo platter and broiled fish and scallops and crab cake. potato cakes. Also with crab cakes I like light batter and this one was very light on fillers and favorable. Solid dish and plenty filling read more

High Tides on the Potomac - Seafood Near Me - Colonial Beach, Virginia

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I just had the worst service at high tide. From the second we walked in we were greeted by a rude hostess. At the end of the meal, after they added 18% gratuity I may add, the waitress insulted our parenting. The food was gross. The service was terrible... take your money else where. Only plus was the beautiful view! Update: the waitress followed us next door to the tiki bar to point us out to the bartenders and give me the finger! Keeping it classy! She also claimed we didn't tip after adding 18% to the bill... which I would have given her at least 20% even though she sucked! Thanks for saving me 2% and good riddance! read more

I work in the kitchen here, I went in the other day for a steak. I didnt tell the cooks it was me so they had no idea and they still hooked me up. The steak was cooked perfectly along with all my sides and it was done pretty quick too. Along with that this has always been one of my favorite jobs. Everyone seems to actually care about this place and put in some genuine work. And it's one of the cleanest kitchens I've been in. I love this place and I would always recommend eating here. Only con I can think of is the constant changing servers, they come and go alot. Otherwise perfect example of how a family ran restaurant should be operated. They do a great job here and I will always recommend high tides. read more

Had a great time here! Provided indoor and outdoor seating. A live band that played an excellent variety of music. Had people out dancing in the sand. Service was absolutely great! The only issue I had was some drunk local (thinks he's a real ladies man). Was bothersome and intrusive while we were there. No biggy, it's a bar. At the end of our evening there. The drunk local proceeded to follow us out of the establishment into the dark night of a strange/new town to instigate an altercation. Aside from this joker. It was a wonderful experience and I do highly recommend! read more

Shiver my Timbers!! Arrrgh ! That pirate welcomes you as you enter the gang plank of this heavy wooden eatery. Been coming here 4 Eva!!! This spot on the beach is a chill hang, nice view of the beach, always a crowd at the bar... pretty good service... average food and prices... live music some nights... cool tiki bar outside... inside it was hot... a/c was struggling! For a low key beach meal, pop in and and grab a burger, seafood, or steak! I chose the Tropical Island Salad with mandarin oranges and pineapple for a refreshing lunch!! P.S. the restrooms are gross... 2 1/2 read more

High Tides on the Potomac - Taking a break from the heat!! - Seafood Near Me - Colonial Beach, Virginia

When on the coast of the Potomac, you gotta try the crabs! We were looking for some to take home and the place failed us miserably so we stopped by here and the certainly delivered. We had the steamed crabs and the cream of crab soup. Both were delicious. The crabs juicy and delicious. The crab soup full of crab and savory. Highly recommend! read more

Nice spot on the beach with live music usually on most weekends. The server we had was super nice, we liked what we ordered but I did hear person next to us complain about their food being stale. I personally had no issues and the views were nice. read more

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The food my friend and I had both looked and tasted good, but the service was painfully slow. I can't tell if they're understaffed, or if their staff don't know how to handle the volume they're bound to get at a location like this. But between the two of us we were there almost 2 hours, as every step of the process was slow. Getting seated was slow, getting drinks was slow, getting food was slow, getting the checks was slow, having the checks returned was slow... read more

came in after rush hour . Hubs and I rode to Colonial beach on our motorcycle and was looking for a for a quick lunch . High tide was our choice . we were greeted and seated upon arrival. Hubs got Long Island and I got water . Started off with bacon wrapped scallop. Size was decent . Medium sized cooked to perfection. comes 5 per order , wish it could be 6 so it can be split evenly for two. He got fish taco-amazing ! fish were grilled and topped with mango salsa. I got fried oysters . Sides were steak fries and sweet potato . decently sized and lightly breaded oysters . overall a great experience and phenomenal view looking out to the Potomac . not sure the 2 stars rating but we have no complains . read more

Absolutely horrendous service. Called to ask if they were serving pizza today and the clueless girl who answered the phone told me at 4:00. We got there at 5:00 and they were indeed not serving pizza. The girl at the front could Barely get out a sentence so we went to talk to the bartender. About three minutes later, after he put down his phone, he finally came over. It's a shame Because there isn't a better location in town. Someone new needs to buy this place, completely restaff, and overhaul the menus. So much potential but nobody there cares even a little. read more

Absolutely horrible food. First, we waited 5 minutes to be sat, and they weren't busy at all. Ordered the calamari, which didn't come out til after our entrée's, and it didn't come out with the lemon vinaigrette nor the marinara, it came out with cocktail sauce. My wife ordered the steam spiced shrimp, which had hardly any seasoning on it and was extremely overcooked. I ordered the mushroom swiss burger, (medium) which was not "smothered with mushrooms", it had 3 slices of mushrooms on it. It came out well done, drier than a saltine cracker. The bun wasn't even toasted, and the fries we got were cold and soggy. THE BUN WASN'T EVEN TOASTED. I was going to order the Crab Norfolk, but I'm glad I didn't, considering how shitty the rest of the meal was. We've eaten there before and it was outstanding, and I'm usually about giving a place another try if the food is sub-par, but I would rather eat McDonald's than go back there. At least my sweet tea and her diet coke were refreshing, and the waitress was very nice. read more

First, the location is nice being right on the water/beach. Parking wasn't an issue on a thursday at 12. The waitress was polite and accommodating. The food was horrid and way overpriced. Specifically, the oyster platter was awful. The oysters and potato cake were way overfried in old dirty oil and the corn on the cob was no joke...field corn. Not sweet corn. Thats was only my dish. My wifes oyster sandwich was inedible due to the same over frying in dirty oil. The sweet potato side was also nasty and unedible unless you don't have tastbudes and plan a cleansing. The only decent looking thing was the coconut shrimp, salad, and snow crab legs. But the all you can eat crab is a bit of false advertisement as it took almot 20 minutes waiting on the 2nd cluster. It's only worth it if you can spend a few hours there. My bill was $287 (for 6 people, 1 person had a salad) and there was a $40 tax on it (I believe this is the tourism tax). I can understand that...but the food....should not be fed to people. read more

Very disappointing. Slow Monday, slower service. Waitress blamed the fact we had been sitting for over 30 minutes after ordering appetizer and 3 orders of tacos on "system issues" luckily, everyone arriving after us seemed to be getting their orders just fine. Waitresses was very polite and friendly. Unfortunately, that doesn't make up for delayed food delivered cold. Tortillas were dried out and cracking, one was actually burned. Appetizer of loaded fries had sit so long the cheese was hard. Too much time taken from beach relaxation. Wouldn't recommend arriving very hungry. The wait will leave you Hangry. read more

High Tides on the Potomac - Cold, burned fish taco. - Seafood Near Me - Colonial Beach, Virginia

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We were here on Thursday . Five girl friends . I ordered the fried flounder , my friend ordered the fried Rockfish , Also another ordered steamed fish and crab . All our food was super tasty . Fresh seafood . For appetizers we had dish and chips . Good tasting fish . We always visit this place when ever we are in Colonial beach . read more

Colonial Beach, Virginia --- "High Tides" super server "Melissa" is an impressive server with an endless supply of smiles ... the view of the Potomac River makes outdoor seating a "WOW-riffic" an ideal spot to enjoy a pARTy Beverage ... a bit on the expensive on food & pARTy Beverages, but location, location, location is hard to beat ... "Run-A-Way Bill" was here! 10.23.20 read more

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My wife and I used to come here when they first opened years ago and it was pretty good. Not sure what has happened, but I took my family for Mother's Day. We ordered the sampler that consist of ice cold jalapeño poppers fresh out the freezer mozzarella sticks also cold Crab dip and chips. I ordered a steak medium rare with potato cakes .For my second side I asked if I could get a salad and was told yes for $6.99 more . I said I'll take the salad and was then told that also eliminated my second side dish ? once I received my meal, the potato cakes were literally cooked in a deep fryer and were like concrete. The steak was past well done to the point I didn't even eat it. my wife and Daughter both ordered crabcakes and neither one finished eating them and when we left, my daughter asked to stop at the fast food joint.. the waitress was very good and she was working very hard, but I noticed in one of the other reviews that someone referred to the person in the kitchen as a chef. This person is definitely not a chef not even a sous chef I wouldn't save this person. Has any clue what they're doing.. it's really sad because it's a nice place on the water with so much potential but it seems as though the owner has checked out and the staff is just there waiting for closing time.. you would think on Mother's Day that place would be jampacked. We were pleasantly surprised that there was no way and nearly 60% of the tables were open that should've been the first sign.. $230.00 now I never mind paying a lot of money for food as long as it's good. But when you leave the restaurant feeling disappointed and angry that the food was so horrible only to stop at a fast food restaurant is absolutely unacceptable. read more

Nice dining room and cool tiki bar area with sand floor. Unless you are drinking, the food is overpriced and mediocre. Good French fries but the popcorn shrimp was a cheap frozen version we couldn't eat. The fish sandwich had fresh tomatoes and lettuce, but the mediocre fish was a +$2 to get it blackened (not fried). read more

We celebrated two birthdays here on Friday evening. Our waitress, Sophia, was awesome! We all three had the all you can eat crab legs and shrimp. Best crab legs we have had in a while! Just writing this review makes me want to go for lunch today! Service was great! Food was delish! The music from the next door Tiki Bar was great and not too loud to bother our birthday celebrations. We cannot wait to return! read more

High Tides on the Potomac - Birthday girls and the best crab legs!! - Seafood Near Me - Colonial Beach, Virginia

I would give no stars if I could. We were given a table outside. Multiple servers walked by us and none said anything to us. Took no drink orders. We were ready to order drinks and food! We waited about 15 minutes and left!! read more

I have given this restaurant many chances over the past couple of years with only one the experiences being ok...The service is extremely slow even on a day when it was just me and 2 other customers sat at tables. I have been sat a table before and literally forgotten about for over an hour then once they took my order the waitress forgot to give it to the chief so I just left. The food itself if you ever get it with the exception of my recent experience with their new pizza is fairly good but expensive. Overall I would recommend going somewhere else. read more

Come for the atmopshere, it is a great location and decent food!atmosphere Has a great beachfront atmosphere, with pirate theming inside and lots of palm trees. We sat on the patio, which had beautiful views. The only downside was that as soon as our food arrived lots of flies showed up with it. The food was overall good, but nothing truly noteworthy. Expect a what you see is what you get menu, everything well made but you won't be wowed. The cocktails were well made with lots of different beach-themed options. A live band started playing at 7pm on the Friday we were there, but the restaurant patio wasn't overwhelmed with the sound. read more

Took a gamble since reviews here were pretty old! Tuesday evening and this was one of the only restaurants open... turned out fine! Sat inside and no wait. Nice looking menu options. I got the soo and salad ($16) and got cream of crab and the half tropical salad. The cream of crab was super thick.. I prefer mine much thinner.. however the flavor was good and pieces of crab were tasty! The half salad was huge!!! The chicken was delicious.. really enjoyed it!! Fiancé had one of the fish sandwiches ($11) came with steak fries. Said it was good nothing exciting. Overall we were very happy with the meal! read more

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Food was cold and the service was terrible would not recommend went there the Monday after Memorial Day weekend. Apparently the owner and the staff had had a big pool party the night before .... The servers absolutely did not care about any of the five parties on the deck one party walked out the rest of us had to have our checks adjusted which they didn't even take off everything they should have will never go back read more

I had refrained from posting my review, giving the restaurant every opportunity to reach out to me, and given we ate there shortly after restaurants began to open for dining in....but, there is no excuse for having unknowledgeable servers, especially when it comes to Food Allergies! So, here I go! Back in August we were entertaining friends from Texas. After a day of playing on the beach and sightseeing, we decided to try High Tides on the Potomac for Dinner. Our party was large, 8 people be exact. We started off with drinks and a few appetizers. My wife and 2 children have Gluten Allergies and figured a Seafood Restaurant should be safe. We also assumed the staff would be knowledgeable. Well, that was not the case. When my family ordered their meals, we consistently reminded our server that the meals must be Gluten Free! She even had commented that she will check on a few of the items, as she was not sure. Mind you, a gluten allergic reaction comes from within, and you can't see it happening. No Benadryl or Epi pen is going to combat or reverse this type of Allergy. As we began to eat our meals, the Shrimp tasted very "fishy" as to say it was not fresh and honestly was not consumable. As we neared the end of our meals, the Bar Tender noticed we were a bit frustrated. She came over and asked what the issues were. We explained and she then told us the Stuffed Shrimp was NOT Gluten Free..after our waitress has assured us it was. My wife had already consumed it, and she has a severe Gluten Allergy. In addition, the service was horrible. We had to ask several times for drink refills, appetizers came out with the main meals, and our waitress (which we were her only table) was less than attentive at any time. The Bartender continued to tell us that the waitress was the Granddaughter of the owner, and she really doesn't want to be here, but "grandma makes her work here". As if that was making the situation better? The Bartender even adjusted the bill for the items my wife ate. We paid the bill and left. Later that night, 3 people from our party were very sick with what I thought might be food poisoning. My wife was violently ill (for anyone who has ever experienced and exposure to Gluten for someone who is allergic) and this continues for several hours. I attempted to contact the restaurant (Phone and email), including disputing the charges. To date, no one has bothered to reach out..even after they disputed my dispute, still no phone call. Please heed the reviews for this place..and add disregard for the well being of their patrons as one of their attributes. I am hoping after reading the review, I might actually get someone to call me back. read more

Oh boy, so much wasted potential. -awful food. $29 for a stuffed flounder that tasted like a bland pile of soggy nothing. -menu looked like something from 80s. Too many choices, tacky presentation, "market price" on half a menu (including beef) -3% extra when paying with card. What kind of nonsense is that? -filthy bathrooms, filthy deck, filthy tables...I can go on and on -smoking allowed anywhere on the deck. I do not enjoy smelling cigarette smoke while I eat. This place could have been incredible if only the management cared about this business. read more

The location is excellent. The food is way over priced. All you can eat crab legs and shrimp was 80.00 even though the shrimp were huge, they had no seasoning. The King size rib eye steak which was 28.99 and no more than 8 oz in size after it was cooked. I will say a family of 5, 3 got all you can eat, 1 got the king size steak, and I got a house salad and our bill was 375.00 before tip. Grant it that also included one beer and one glass of wine. Not worth the price. read more

The restaurant was very nice. The waitresses were quick polite and made sure we had everything we wanted. The problem was the food was horrible. I ordered stuffed shrimp. It was frozen just heated up. No taste spinach and sweet potato were amazing. My daughter ordered maple chicken again it was a frozen piece of chicken. You can still taste the water in it no flavor Potato cake and coleslaw. She said the only thing that will get was good was the coleslaw. The appetizer that we ordered was the crab dip again no flavor. My daughter ordered the bacon scallops and they were just frozen appetizers that were heated up. I will never eat there again, worst food ever and it cost me $68 for the shrimp, sweet potato, spinach, crab dip read more

Brick oven pizza is awesome! Love the live music at the tiki area on the weekends during the summer!