Pirate's Cove Restaurant — Restaurant in Chesapeake

Walking in, it was much brighter than we expected --the signage etc had me picturing some dark wood pirate-heavy decor, but it was clean and lightly nautical. So far, so good.

The menu was exciting, and my friend and I were starving, so we figured out how to order as much as possible to share. Our server was lovely (though clearly busy) and was a doll about answering our many questions.

The first thing to hit the table was the steamed shrimp, and they were good. Well cooked, flavorful, no complaints. The horseradish is spicy and great, which was a nice surprise.

She-crab came next, and was the beginning of the trouble. It came dusted in Old Bay, which I personally don't like, but it certainly wasn't going to stop me from diving in... however, the soup had a strange, almost metallic flavor that I couldn't quite identify. At first, I thought it might have been my stuffy nose throwing off the flavor, and I kept picking at it (slowly, because I wound up with shell in every other bite)...but when my friend tried a spoonful she immediately grimaced and said it was bad. (Apparently my bad nose made it MORE palatable, not less). Apologizing profusely, we sent it back, still trying to figure out what the off flavor was.

The main dishes came, and things did not improve. I had the fish and chips lunch special, and the first thing we discovered was that the fries weren't hot. They were still crisp, but definitely not hot. While there were some good bites of fish (namely the few thicker ends) that were good, the vast majority was overcooked, dry, and tough. Edible, but disappointing. Coleslaw was a standard mayo-based number that tasted like every other mayo slaw on the grocery shelves; the hush puppies were by far the best things we ate.

My friend ordered the crab cake entree with spinach casserole, and....other sides that I've already forgotten. We were both impressed by the size of the crab cakes, and when she cut one open, were excited by how meaty they looked (didn't seem like a ton of bread or filler). However, the odd taste from the she-crab was WAY more prominent, to the point of being startling. It overpowered everything else in the cake, and we were left wondering if maybe there had been a bad batch of crab that slipped into circulation (??) since both crab dishes were bad. We explained it to the server, again apologizing (since both of us have service industry backgrounds and didn't want her stressing because of an issue she had no control over), and sent the crab cakes back. We decided to split the sides and fish rather than getting something else.

Before we had finished, a gentleman came to the table and asked about it. I'm not sure if he was the manager, owner, or what, but he was clearly offended that we didn't enjoy the soup or cakes. He first said everyone loved the soup, and that it was their own spin on it (which we were both aware of), and didn't seem to accept that it might have been off. When the crab cakes came up, he again insisted the flavor was part of their "special recipe"; he did not, however, give us any indication of what secret ingredient might have presented itself with such a strongly metallic flavor. He told us both items would be removed from the check, but was clearly upset with us despite our attempts to explain that we're both very familiar with food and food service, and that we were not just trying to make trouble. It was incredibly uncomfortable finishing our drinks and waiting for the check, and despite our attempts to reassure the server that we weren't upset with her in any way, the discomfort clearly affected her as well; she happily explained the dessert options to a nearby table, but never broached the subject with us. Alas... I hope the rest of her day went well, and that she didn't catch too much flak in the back of the house.

We went in excited for a new seafood place, and that excitement was heightened by the atmosphere. Unfortunately, the food didn't come close to meeting expectations, and the surly management put us off the idea of ever giving it...

I would leave no stars if that was a option, even one star is very generous. I just left this location, after coming in for the first time and it was horrible. I ordered the Tuesday special one pound of steamed shrimp and two sides. Upon the food coming to the table I tried it gave it a fair shot it was EXTREMELY BLAND. No taste in the green beans or the shrimp just all around unappetizing.

I’m typically not one to send back food but there was no way I would pay for what came out on that plate. So we brought it to our servers attention, she stated there was nothing she could do but bring over old bay and I politely declined. In my opinion it needed more than old bay to fix the meal which is fine, exactly why I sent it back. The owner decided to rudely hover our table and stated “ there is nothing wrong with these shrimp and I’m not taking it off”. Very unprofessional right? Yeah so I take a picture of the food in his hand while holding this plate over the table and asked why not if the food is still there why would we pay for this plate of bland food.

He ended up taking it off after this encounter, you can not force someone to pay for something they did not eat I don’t care who you are. Or TRY to intimidate or force them to take it home. We left a item in the restaurant and went back for it and he was gossiping to his servers about us. Not realizing we were in the building can you say BAD BUSINESS. I should’ve check the reviews before going I see plenty of 1 star ratings I see why.

Steer clear …. unless you like mediocre service and bland food this is definitely your place.

Response update to owner: When you came to check on us our food just hit the table so at that point we were fine getting ready to eat and actually try it. WHAT THE SHRIMP LOOKED LIKE VS HOW THEY TASTED TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. Let’s get the information correct shall we, she wanted me to peel all the shrimp and add old bay on them and that is too much work for food not worth the money anyway. Even then that doesn’t makeup for the bland side dishes the ENTIRE MEAL was not good. It may be perfect to your taste but not mine. I know exactly what was ordered and as stated before it was unappetizing and BLAND the food wasn’t good in my opinion. Take a class on customer service and try again, you dropped the ball hasn’t been the first time definitely not the last time with the way you do business. I can provide feedback to what I would like too, if you don’t like it...

I went to Pirates Cove and enjoyed some delicious food. The only problem I had was with the server. She was a Caucasian woman who is clearly stealing from customers. Allow me to tell you why I made this statement. When the (Tab) was brought to the table. My friend said, "Naomi, the bill is $75.40, how much do you think the tip should be?" I said, "Give her $15. When she came back to collect her gave her $100. She asked, "Would you like me add a tip sir?" He said, "No, I will pay the tip myself." But when she came back with his change she gave him two ten dollar bills. He looked at me and asked again, "Naomi how much was the bill," I said, "75.40," he said nothing and looked at his change which should have been $24.40 but instead it was $4.40 short. He looked at the girl who was waiting for her tip and pulled back the $15 he had intended to pay and only gave her $10. I didn't know what had happened until she left and he explained to me she kept $4.40 of his money which is clearly stealing. I told him allow me to handle the matter because I would have call the manager so she would know this person is stealing from customers and the matter needed to be addressed. Why? Because, people who steal only continue to do it because they've gotten away so many times they feel comfortable and because no one says anything they continue that vicious behavior and make it a habit! So therefore, they never learn a lesson until a customer gets loud, makes a scene and disturbs all the other guests when it could have been addressed in a quiet proper manner. So people, stop allowing people to take what you work hard for without permission. It's called stealing! And to the tall slim white girl: "If you keep up this behavior, - one day you are going to get exactly what you deserve and it may be a time in your life when you are satisfied and content when that loose finger you finally got under control comes back to bite you in the butt!" Then again, "Sweetie, what you do in the dark or what you think may be in secret, - "God is always watching you." Unlike the way you thought you fooled my friend by stealing his money you actually shorted yourself because we had decided before you came back with the change to give you the entire amount...... You didn't cheat him, -you cheated yourself out of a bigger tip! And FYI, most people count their change after paying a bill..... I pray she doesn't steal from the wrong person.

Turtles, Ms....