Salt and Sand Family Restaurant — Restaurant in Cape Charles

An Experiment in Dining, Briefly Conducted

At 3:30 in the afternoon on Tuesday, March 25, my wife and I entered Salt and Sand, an establishment whose name conjures something elemental, perhaps even grounding. The dining room was empty. One might have expected this to make us conspicuous—in the best sense. It did not.

The young woman who eventually approached our table managed neither greeting nor glance. Her demeanor did not suggest distraction so much as aversion. She took our drink order with the air of someone accepting a burden under protest, and then vanished. When she returned with four sodas, she delivered them without a word and withdrew again, as though hoping we might disappear in her absence.

We waited, prepared to order. We waited longer. After ten minutes of stillness and silence, I reached a familiar threshold—the one where the hypothesis that things will improve collapses under the weight of accumulating evidence.

My wife, by nature, prefers to endure such situations. I do not. I believe a system should reward good behavior and, by the same token, withhold unearned indulgence. We left twenty dollars on the table to cover the drinks and made our way next door.

There, at AJ’s, we found ourselves in a different world: one with food, service, and the quiet civility that makes dining out something more than eating in public. We plan to return there this evening—March 26—with the confidence that comes not from loyalty, but from having once been treated like a person.

Some of the reviews here suggest Salt and Sand can offer a worthwhile experience. That may well be. But when hospitality vanishes even in an empty room, it becomes clear: one isn’t waiting for better service—only for the...

To start off I stood in line behind 6 people to place an order only to be told, I am trying to ring people out you can go over there and she can take your order… mind you this is the same person that gave me the menu. Sat there for 46 waiting for a to go order that I was told would take 20 minutes while the whole time several parties came in sat down was service and got their meals. The two wait staff keep walking by us bringing out food for others and cleaning tables… I finally got up again and asked how much longer only to be told the recipe didn’t print in the back and the kitchen is busy but they can start the order now… but you both walked us several times and did not acknowledge that we were still sitting there…I am an out of town visitor and this place was referred…. First impression horrible!!!!….. wait staff...

Our first time visiting here since it opened. Make sure you have at least an hour to wait for your food before you go. I also do not recommend the cheese steak. The taste was ok, but see the portions in my photos. About 50% of my untoasted sub was empty. Everything else our group got seemed to be pretty good. The burger patties are pretty big. Now for the service, I don't like to be negative, but something needs to change there. The server was just standing around talking, and more than once, we had to go ask for refills at the counter. There aren't many options for family restaurants in Cape Charles, so we may possibly give this another try next year when we return. We visited June...