Used to be the best seafood in Hampton and Poquoson. We go here a few times a year for special occasions or just to splurge on what used to be a fantastic restaurant. The place is usually packed with people, but the restaurant was almost empty at dinner time. I could not figure it out until my meal was brought out to the table. It explained why the restaurant is no longer busy. Went tonight for my birthday and it was a big disappointment. I ordered the special Grilled Rockfish and Shrimp for $30.99. My friend ordered the crab cakes for $39.99. The rockfish and shrimp had so much salty and foul tasting red seasoning that the only taste was the seasoning. Rockfish is delicious and the only seasoning needed for cooking is some butter, lemon, salt and pepper. Why would any cook (I say cook because they do not have a chef) ruin delicious piece of fish like rockfish by completely covering the fish in some seasoning that is meant for crab boil. The only reason restaurants use heavy seasoning are when they want to cover the taste of seafood that is not fresh or they have cooks that do not know how to properly cook rockfish. I could not tell if the rockfish was fresh because the only thing I could taste was the seasoning that was caked on the fish in a thick coating like a dry rub on ribs. I took two bites of the very small 4 oz filet of rockfish and had heartburn and indigestion. The 6 shrimp were small 50/60 count and were rubbery with no flavoring except the seasoning. The rockfish meal was $30.99 and the only thing I can say is the broiled fish dinner at Captain Ds for $10 beats the meal at Surfrider hands down. My friend had the crab cakes which she said were very good. She could not eat the collard greens because she said they were so salty that they were not edible. The cucumbers in vinegar side was also unlike any cucumber salad I have ever tried and I don't mean that in a good way. Good service and ambience but that still does not raise the bar above 1 star. Probably not the worse seafood dinner I have ever had but it definitely is the worse dinner that I had spent $100 on. read more

Great atmosphere and good outdoor seating! Food and drinks were decent! Our server was nice and attentive read more

I want this place to be good so badly, but it's just average. Located by the water it has great views and lots of potential. We went during a slower time in the day. Our service was great - friendly and attentive. The crab dip was a good size and comes with pita which we prefer. It's okay, but not really something I'm going to go out of my way to get. The soup of the day was she crab soup. It was yummy and had some nice pieces of crabs in it. I got a side of the hush puppies to go with my soup. They were stale as if they had been sitting for a while. I asked the server to bring me melted butter which they did and that helped some. My boyfriend got the steamed shrimp. They were huge and he seemed to enjoy them. Overall, this place is just okay. There are definitely better places to go and the price isn't on par with the quality. read more

Good food and drinks by the water with friendly service in an air conditioned clean window-filled restaurant -- wonderful! Surf Rider is known for its crab cakes and huge portion of broccoli, which three of our group ordered. The cakes were filled with crab and no unnecessary filler. All three of my friends savored their meals. I ordered one of the day's specials -- a strawberry, blueberry, raspberry romaine lettuce salad topped with tasty little shrimp and an absolutely delicious raspberry dressing. So yummy! The drinks are large at low prices. I enjoyed the classic mojito for $7 or $8, another loved the Rum Runner punch for $10, which was like a smoothie, and the others had glasses of wine for $7 and $8. The decor is water-themed with booths along the large windows and tables in the middle. It's open and spacious. Surf Rider was very busy at lunch, and we arrived early, around 11:15 am and left around 1 pm. We relaxed and enjoyed our meal. The drive to Surf Rider takes you through some pretty neighborhoods. They have a lot of parking. read more

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Had a rare Friday (7/11) date night with the wife so we decided to go to Surf Rider. Usually we go to the Hampton location but our sitter was nearer to Poquoson, so we went there. Arrived about 7:15 and were seated immediately. It was busy but there were open tables and several waiters and waitresses. Waited about 10 minutes to be greeted by our server, Melanie B. She took our drink order and wasn't overly friendly to say the least nor was she in a hurry. We got our orders in eventually and both had Caesar salads with our meals. Again, Melanie was very short and just not friendly whatsoever. 15 minutes later my wife's Caesar salad comes out and mine doesn't. I'm thinking, it's fine it must be on the way. Another 10 minutes at least goes by, and because Melanie isn't checking on our table, my salad never comes out. I mention it after she walked by and Melanie apologizes and the salad comes out after ANOTHER 10-15 minutes. Wouldn't you go back immediately and get the customers salad that has been forgotten? Where's the service? The salads were good and the hush puppies were absolutely delicious. We also tried the she crab soup. It was a bit thick but the flavor was nice. My wife had the crab cake dinner and I had the Alfredo with blackened shrimp. Crab cake was very good and my Alfredo was creamy and the shrimp were cooked well. Was served room temperature. I wasn't about to send it back, didn't have another hour to wait. I got frustrated because you could see the enthusiasm the other waitresses and one waiter were displaying for their tables and our waitress just seemed to be completely uninterested. Asked for the bill and a box and had to have another waitress get the box for us and get our waitresses attention to bring us our bill. ‍ Our waitress was too busy chatting some dude up in the bar. Overall the food was very good, the service was inattentive and apathetic. Save the flattery at the end if you've done a half-baked job the whole time beforehand. Won't help. read more

My wife and I have enjoyed this particular location due to the view and of course the seafood. It is a bit $$ but good seafood is. Just a wonderful seafood restaurant! read more

A family favorite, we love that they can fit a party of 4 just as easily as a party of 15. Great food, great service & you can't beat the views. read more

Even on a rainy day everyone loves being by the water. Surf rider has a great ambiance with wonderful views. I can see this place getting busy during a nice day. Emily took care of us and she was warm and welcoming. We ordered the shrimp tacos and the Baja fish tacos. Both were under whelming to say the least. Although cooked perfectly there just wasn't much taste to either one of them. We had a nice margarita and mojito with it that. We did try dessert and we were disappointed. They were clearly from a box and frozen. Although it may not be the first place I go next time I'm not going to write it off as they still have aspects that are very nice. read more

My family and I love this restaurant so much! The seafood here is perfect, the fish and chips would be my biggest recommendation! Ambiance here is beautiful with views over the water. The service here is always kind, friendly, and quick! Overall, I'd recommend this place for anyone exploring the area! read more

I drive all the way from Chesapeake to eat at this location. This is sure riders best location. Although this whole year has made it complicated to go out to eat.. We are finally at phase two and can have 50 percent capacity. As of right now surf rider is doing half capacity indoor seating and have a very large tent set up outdoors with lots of tables for outdoor seating...Making it feel like you can accommodate the same amount of people as if it were open for full capacity. Their menu right now doesn't have everything on it like it usually does, but that was fine with me. I still ended up get everything I wanted, but the dessert. I ordered the crab cake, with the broccoli, and the fried shrimp. Everything was delicious. My son got the kids fried shrimp and fries. They loaded up his plate! I had the tuna bites for an appetizer with the Cajun... Always delicious. It was a beautiful day, and it was perfect day for eating seafood. read more

Surf Rider - Seafood Near Me - Poquoson, Virginia

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This place caught on fire a while back and was rebuild. It is definitely a VERY popular seafood restaurant around here. Our waitress was really nice and on point with service. She was great about refilling drinks and making sure to let us know the sides, when our food was coming, and what else we need. The salad with basamic was SO good, I am ALL about a house vinegarette. The seafood platter comes with 2 sides OR broccoli. I opted for 2 sides, a salad and corn. The corn was fine, just corn... The seafood was good, the small crab cake was delicious. The flounder was a bit dry, as were the shrimp. The scallops were super delicious, as were the hush puppies. If you go with someone who doesn't like seafood, they have burgers starting at $9.99 which is not bad at all. The fried seafood platter was awesome, my mom got that so I tasted some of hers. read more

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Such a great place! Great atmosphere right when you walk in. Mackenzie was an excellent server. She was very attentive and was working really hard! Food came in a very reasonable amount of time. Salads were great. Husband said shrimp chowder was delicious. We had both fried and peeled shrimp. Presentation was great and the food was very fresh. Really good coleslaw. Fries were over cooked and a bit too crunchy but we were so full it didn't matter. Will definitely go back to try different things. Prices are great and the portion size is just right. read more

Surf Rider - Yummy shrimp, Mac and cheese, coleslaw and fries. - Seafood Near Me - Poquoson, Virginia

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The food is amazing and the view is great. The service is always great. I love the Poquoson location! The seating leaves a little to be desired read more

Great family seafood place with reliable quality and comfortable casual decor. Clean and bright.

Mama always said, you don't judge a crab house by the crabs. Anybody can coat a crab in old bay and steam it. No you judge a crab place by the crab cakes and the she crab soup. In this case all three are good! And the hush puppies - love those. Service was exceptional by the way. When our companions ordered something special and kinda a la carte, the waiter obligingly got the kitchen to oblige. Food was hot and delicious especially if it happened to be fried. The fish tacos in any style ( we tried a couple) were a standout. My wife particularly liked here fried oyster po' boy. The ambiance is comfortably coastal. Not too fancy that you'll need to trouble with dressing up but still nice enough for a date. read more

I'm not quite sure what has changed since this location was rebuilt but I had always liked the food prior to the devastating fire at this location. In fact I go to the Hampton location now since it's closer to the Hampton Yacht Club where I am a member. The food is always delicious at that location too. Went for dinner to the Poqouson location yesterday and was not impressed. Our waitress seemed very distracted perhaps juggling too many tables. At no point during the meal did she ask us for drink refills when we needed them. And a Caesar salad that was ordered never came out. My daughter got the mahi tacos and they were overcooked, my shrimp tacos were good but not great. We also ordered a crab cake meal and when all the food came out she said there'd be a wait as the cake was done but sat too long and they made a new one... this one was very wet and seemed undercooked. I am particular about crab cakes as a Maryland native and I know that so I give grace when critiquing them. However this cake wasn't even close to anything we'd ever order again. I tried their blood orange crush bucket... lots of ice- for 32 oz or any size drink. It didn't taste like blood orange it tasted like a watered down orange. Don't recommend that either. Fries were good- so that was redeeming but for the price we paid we definitely would've preferred to go to Harpoon Larry's or the Hampton Surf Rider location. One thing I do like and expected was great views of the water from all the seats in the establishment- that was nice. read more

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Don't think that all the hype about their crab cakes is fake; they are the real deal! They strive to provide great service and the other items, such the seafood combo, were great! We are coming back! read more

we normally come earlier. this time we were there about 6:30, seated right away. i don't know if the server had too many tables, but service was horrible. took forever to receive food and it was cold. only checked on drinks once and didn't have most of the sides and not one condiment to be seen. disappointing for the cost and compared to our prior experiences. read more

We were seated at this restaurant at around 1 pm and sat for almost 10 minutes before we were ever acknowledged. There were 4-6 waitresses who passed our table with pitchers of tea and water at least 5 times and never acknowledged us. However, when another party came in, who sat behind us, within one minute, one of the waitresses passed by their table and said, "I'll be with you in a minute." We were the only people in entire restaurant of color and found it an insult that it took almost 10 minutes, in a well-staffed establishment, to receive any acknowledgment and others were acknowledged in a minute. How blatant can you be! read more

We arrived with no intention of eating until we saw the outdoor seating area basically empty. At this time we prefer outdoor eating. We were sat very quickly. Our waitress Mackenzie was great. Hard worker! Walks fast, hustles and gets the job done. She knew the menu, and could answer our questions about the menu. It was our first time here. The food was fantastic. Our son gobbled down all things crab and our daughter gobbled down all things shrimp. My husband had the tuna and I had the crab cake. I did not hear one complaint about the food from my family. I loved that one of the side was applesauce. I dunno, I just like it. The salad was refreshing. I kinda which there was a baked potato, but there was potato salad. I asked about the desert and was informed about some chocolate pie. I got it to go. I'm not sure if the pie was pudding filling or an Icecream filling, but it melted on the way home. I wish I was informed that it would have been better eaten there. We will certainly be returning, and when I come back I will for sure leave room to eat the dessert there Covid Review: 4/5 - A few times servers did not have their mask on, or down below their chin. One server had her mask covering her face but, her nose out in the open while serving a table nearby. Even the patrons were not happy. Other than that, they had the tables outside spaces out very well. Inside, I was not in there but I know they are only serving a percentage inside. A customer mentioned that they had to wait 20 minutes for a table, but there were so many inside. Welp, it's covid our people. They are still offering outdoor seating under a large tent, and take out. read more

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Newly built since their fire last year. (Thankfully no one was hurt) . They now have a fresh start and have redesigned the entire insides making everything function better. The bar area is large, there are large windows over looking the Creek and the atmosphere is amazing! Not only am I happy they reopened; they also have newer items on the menu. We sat at the bar and got appetizers and drinks. The bartender was efficient and nice. We went at 2pm and when we left at the place was packed! I highly recommend this restaurant! read more

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I grew up in the area a long long time ago, and I wish we had this restaurant when I lived here. My parents in their 70s love this place, so they were so happy when my 10 yr old nephew from out of state declared this was his favorite restaurant on his first visit and wanted to come back again. Environment: spacious restaurant, perfect for post-Covid seating that isn't on top of each other. TVs at the bar for those just having a beer. Large windows overlooking docked boats and the river. Food: my brother and his son "fought" over the she-crab soup - I guess it was delicious! Calamari appetizer was perfect amount of breading and flavor (and not too salty for those careful about their blood pressure). Fish tacos were enormous and good balance of crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Healing amount of fries - same balance of crispy and tender. They don't heat up well as leftovers in the microwave - next time will do air fryer or try to finish them at the restaurant while fresh and hot. Onion rings were crazy good - slight sweetness with crispy savory breading. I normally don't like onion rings but I ate my fair share of those! Parents got the PO Boy Oysters which they love. Service: unfortunately I don't remember her name, but she was super attentive and helpful and friendly. It was a great way to spend Sunday brunch as a mini family reunion with 3 generations of family members who enjoy each other's company and enjoy good casual food. read more

Food was ok. The crab cake was kind of mushy and they didn't have she crab soup. But the view is nice and my calamari was delicious.

Nice atmosphere and view of the White House Cove. Excellent service. The food is always fresh and delicious. No complaints from three of us. Prices are very reasonable for every type of meal, from chicken strips to shrimp and crab dinner. Many options to choose from and the staff is very attentive. Will definitely return and recommend to our friends. The restaurant is located in a very cozy and quiet area. read more

Surf Rider - Seafood Near Me - Poquoson, Virginia

Out for a drive on Mother's Day expected all restaurants to be full with lines but this was open very busy but quickly seated! She crab soup one of the best. Fried shrimp perfectly cooked. Hubby had fried soft shell crab had a bite and it was perfect . Will order that next time. Lovely view delicious food great service! We had forgotten about this location but what a perfect place for a spring treat! read more

The food was great, the views are nice, the rum runner sucked. Sounds great on the menu but what you get is a bucket of puke pink frozen sadness. The service was great, nothing against our server, but probably won't be going back. To many better options like YROC. read more

TERRIBLE SERVICE On a Sunday afternoon me and my family arrived at around 4:00 o clock. From the time we started coming in to the foyer the woman who ended up being our server (Nicole) was very rude as she rushed us into the building when a few of us were standing waiting for some of our family that was still coming in. Because we had a somewhat large party we asked were we able to have tables moved together and she told us she was not able to do that ( this was a lie because around 20 minutes into us being there another group of people had there tables pushed together to seat there party) so we were spread out more than what was preferred. When we were seated we noticed the 2 ketchup bottles at the table were almost empty (we ended asking for some more), she asked us what we wanted to drink. When she came back with drinks she slammed one of my family members drinks on the table, my father did not get his drink. It took around an hour for my father to get his water. When his water finally arrived (by another waiter) one of my aunts had already decided to get up and get his water herself from the bar before it came. Our food did not get to the table until around 5:36( the bench at the booth had no cushion, very uncomfortable). Overall it was not a good experience Nicole was very rude, we also overheard another party of people complaining about the service when were walking out to our cars after our meal. We will not be returning to the Poquoson Surf Riders again and we will be sure to let anyone we know who thinks of going here how bad our experience was. Wish we could give a half of star review instead of a 1. read more

Last night's meal was horrible and the service wasn't much better. Ordered fish and chips and the fried fish filet still had a giant piece of skin on it. Cooks can't even clean and cut fish back there. SAD. Ordered a side of scallops and was served about 10 m&m sized scallops for $13!!! Our drinks came to us before our server even came to the table. For a "fancy" seafood restaurant it was extremely disappointing. Do not recommend at all! 0/5 stars read more

It's good seafood/fried. It sits just along back river canal and has really nice views. Get there early because it fills up quick.

For the most part we enjoy Surf Rider and go there frequently. It is nestled within a marina/residential trailer park on the water in Poquoson. It is always amusing to roll up and say hello to your favorite employees as they finish up that one last toke before starting their shift. They are a friendly group and are always in such high spirits. The food is always hot and crispy. The mahi mahi fish in the beer batter fish and chips absolutely cannot be beat. The crispy outside gives way to a flaky white fish that (forgive the over used expression) truly feels as if it is just melting in your mouth. Really, it is that good. It comes with your choice of sides. One of our party always gets the seafood dinner that comes with oysters, scallops, fish and sides. His plate of food is so large that he ends up sharing and taking some home. Other meals that have been ordered run the gamit of clams, huge HUGE fish dinners and the like. The mixed drinks are good, the food is always hot and good and the staff has a great attitude. Now nowhere on here am I going to say that it is cheap to eat at Surf Rider. The way I look at it if you want cheap seafood learn to fish. All of us? We will continue to patronize Surf Rider and their wonderfully upbeat happy staff and fantastic food. Thank you guys. You rock!!! read more

Service - top notch Food - great prices Menu - something for everyone The view was so nice. Parking is easy. Location is wonderful. read more

If you are craving seafood and want to enjoy the view of the water, this is a good spot. The service is friendly as you enter and the environment is well lit with lots of windows for natural light. I got the shrimp basket and the calamari, which was a good portion for the price. The environment is spacious with lots of distance between other tables. Good place to bring your family and friends to enjoy seafood with a great scenic view of the water. read more

Surf Rider - onion rings and ketchup on a plate - Seafood Near Me - Poquoson, Virginia

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Crab cakes are wwonderful. . Went there there 3x in one week. Always good. Service was great.

Loved everything about this place! So good! Great environment, clean, sights, amazing staff! From out of town and loved this hidden gem! read more

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food was good but the crab cake was seriously under cooked. looked that they didn't cook it at all. read more

Surf Rider - a plate of food on a table - Seafood Near Me - Poquoson, Virginia

Since we live in the neighborhood, we have been coming more regularly and have not had a bad meal or experience. Definitly recommend

Excellent food and service; however, a little disappointed in the "portion sizes," at least compared to what I am used to. But, I was "filled up" after eating "the leftovers" of the meals from the others in my party. read more

The wait was long and didn't really have a good way to seat people. It was entertaining though watching the hostess run around the restaurant. The food was just okay and way over priced. They where out of a lot of things. The waitress was nice. The only thing was upsetting was the manager fussing at the waitress in the middle of the restaurant. Beautiful place to have a drink the view is amazing. read more

The seafood was very tasty. We have been for lunch and dinner and have not been disappointed. Best clams i have ever had. Other meals were very good also. Large portions and excellent service. They understand when you go out to eat it should be a great experience with awesome, can't hardly cook at home food. That's really good management! read more

My husband and I decided to have dinner on the porch of the Surf Rider restaurant. The weather was beautiful and the view of the marina was tranquil. Julie was our server and she could not have done a better job. She had the perfect balance of being professionalism and personable. We started with the she crab soup ($5.95) and the hot crab dip ($10.25). The soup was delicious and served at the perfect temperature. The hot crab dip was over salted and I would not order it again. We shared a fried oyster and shrimp entree ($25.00) and added broiled scallops ($10.99) and a crab cake ($10.99). All of the seafood was fresh and cooked perfectly. The broiled scallops were outstanding and the crab cake was loaded with crab meat. The entree came with homemade coleslaw and corn pudding. Both of these items were very good. read more

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