The Parkway Restaurant — Restaurant in Bethany Beach

After many years of living in the Bethany Beach area, we kept asking ourselves, " Why have we never tried The Parkway Restaurant?"

Last night, July 5, 2023, we made a reservation through Open Table. Our reservation was 7p.m. My wife and I arrived a couple of minutes before 7p.m. There was little to no room to stand at the entrance near the hostess' stand. After a ten minute wait to be recognized, the hostess sat us right away.

Our table was up against the front window. The setting sun provided some really nice ambiance to an environment severely lacking it. The sunset would have been even better had the widow been clean. Talking about clean, the salt & pepper shakers were grotesquely sticky. Just our luck, we got a table that wobbled. I had to bend down to adjust the wedges under the table leg three times during our visit.

Another ten minutes went by before menus were provided. Twenty minutes past before we actually met our server, J.H.

While there were plenty of runners and bus people, there were only two servers in a packed restaurant.

We finally placed our order. The appetizer and salad arrived at the same time. The bread... 2 tiny rolls, the caesar salad was fresh but sparse, the crab dip was awesome but came with 8 wheat crackers instead of some really awesome bread.

The entrés finally arrived. My wife ordered two crab cakes. Her plate had the 2 crab cakes and what looked like two teaspoonful of a corn mix. My plate had the 8 oz. filet, 8 green beans & two tablespoonful of mashed potatoes. The crab cakes and filet were fantastic but the quantity and presentation were lacking for the price.

The wine glasses were short poured while the mai tai was very potent.

We decided to skip the dessert because they probably would have added another 45 minutes to an hour to our already 2 hour experience.

The check finally arrived and did not belong to our order. It was $76 short. Being honest and afraid of bad carma we brought the check to the hostess and asked for the correct one.

The food that arrived at our table was absolutely delicious but not satisfying. There was no presentation and was overpriced.

The service was lacking, not the fault of the server but lack of servers.

To wrap things up, our curiosity about The Parkway Restaurant has been quenched.

Do I see us returning? No.

Would I recommend this restaurant? No.

Were our entertainment dollars well spent for a...

My husband and I went in here tonight and it was one of, if not the best dining experiences we've had not just together, but for both of us in general. From the moment we entered, we were greeted by a hospitable and gracious host who turned out to be the owner! It was amazing getting to meet him in his own restaurant. After we were seated, our server Kate came to check on us and brought us drinks. Kate was extremely charismatic, sweet, funny, and professional. From our first interaction, we instantly connected with her and were joking around which only added to our amazing experience. He ordered the rack of lamb which not only was plated and presented beautifully, but tasted amazing. It was savory, herbaceous, and packed with an entire pallet of complex flavors with which he paired a long island iced tea that tasted perfect. It had the perfect amount of alcohol and not too much sour. I however went a different direction and ordered the shrimp and scallop scampi which was plated and presented just as beautifully. The combination of tastes and textures was something I can only describe as beautiful. The shrimp were large and fresh as well as the scallops. The garlic herb sauce paired with the pasta with the flavor of the scallops was truly unimaginable and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves seafood or wants to try something new. All of this I paired with a Pear and ginger martini which tasted amazing. I had never had one before so the flavors were a splash of freshness! At the end of our amazing dinner we were offered dessert which we politely declined due to our being stuffed! My husband had a conversation with the host/owner of the establishment about Delaware and the weather and whilst getting change and after coming back to the table, we were presented 2 slices of chocolate cheesecake compliments of the owner as well as congratulations from him and Kate on our just getting married (we came down for our honeymoon.) Our drinks, meal, service, and entire experience overall was perfect. We highly recommend The Parkway Restaurant to anyone who loves great food with an...

I wanted to love this restaurant, but our recent experience here was like one giant comedy of errors.

We got seated quickly on a Saturday night, which was great. Our server approached our table about 15 minutes later, and was apologetic that the restaurant "just got crazy." (It didn't look all that crazy to me, but....)

My husband ordered a salad and asked to add chicken to it, and then I ordered a bowl of soup and a salad as my entree. We also ordered kids' meals for our two children.

First, my husband's salad came with NO chicken. We asked where the chicken was, and they said it was coming. Fifteen minutes later, the chicken showed up -- literally a sliced chicken breast on a plate -- long after my husband had finished the salad that was supposed to have the chicken on it in the first place (we were also charged $15 for it). My clam chowder arrived to the table lukewarm (it was tasty, though, so I'll give some credit there) and then my wedge salad arrived 15 minutes after that. The wedge was fine but definitely nothing special.

The kids' meals were lackluster as well. My son's sandwich had a light coating of peanut butter inside it, and the equivalent of one sliced strawberry as the "side." Likewise, my daughter ordered the shrimp and received three shrimp on the plate, along with small sides. They both liked their meals, but the portions were quite small for anyone above the age of 5, and the side dishes were pretty much nonexistent.

$100 later, we left hungry and unimpressed. Based on the other reviews I read before choosing to dine here, I'm guessing we just caught The Parkway on an off night, but we won't be back. This restaurant is probably fine for those without kids, but don't come here expecting quick/attentive service, normal sized portions, or a...