The Pearl — Restaurant in Chincoteague

First, I would like to say that I have worked in restaurants for a long time and I never write bad reviews or talk down about a place based on the first time I go there, but this was the most horrible restaurant experience I have ever had.

I went with a party of seven people for a bachelorette weekend. We arrived at 7pm. The staff were very friendly upon our arrival, but that is where any form of good quality service ended. We were seated and ordered drinks. I ordered a margarita, which was decent, but it took quite a long time to receive. They were a bit busy, so I didn't think too much of it. After receiving the drinks, our server disappeared for quite a while, and when she came back to take our order, I noticed that she hadn't written any of it down. I didn't necessarily have an issue with that, but it plays a roll later in this story.

I ordered a scallop entree with mashed potatoes and green beans. Other people ordered a variety of things including steaks and sandwiches, as well as two orders of hush puppies as appetizers, the hush puppies were borderline burnt and extremely greasy. They were, in my opinion, way too sweet, like someone dumped sugar in them. One of the women ordered a salad which came out 45 minutes later, but no one at the table was given any silverware, so she couldn't eat it. When we tried to flag down a member of staff, we were ignored. At 8pm, after waiting an hour for our entrees, a manager came to our table, made small talk, gave us compliments on our outfits and then proceeded to tell us they were out of mashed potatoes, but could substitute with fries. We weren't trying to make a scene, so the four of us who ordered mashed potatoes just agreed.

When the entrees did come out, the server had no idea what dish went to who, or who ordered things cooked in what way. She tried to hand multiple dishes to the wrong people and was not listening to anyone at the table who tried to nicely correct her when she handed incorrect things to each of us.

My scallops were coated in an over abundance of raw spices (and I tend to like things more seasoned then the average person). One of the girls had raw scallops on her plate. Everything was so salty that it was basically inedible. The green beans were the weirdest texture I have ever seen; somehow hard and rubbery but also wrinkly and cold. The fries were the only thing that had no salt on them, which were the only thing that should have been over salted, plus they were cold. Two of the girls, including the bride, ordered steaks, which were not brought out with the rest of the meal, and when they came out they were raw, not rare, raw. They were originally ordered as medium-well and medium. Not to mention that this whole time, our group still had not received silverware. Once we received utensils so that we didn't need to use our hands to eat, we started to notice the issues with the food. At this point, it had been an hour and twenty minutes since sitting down at the table. I ate 3 bites of my food, it cost $55. No one took food home.

The manager and server seemed more interested in trying to get us to stay afterward to listen to a "DJ", rather than accommodating for the lack of quality that we were experiencing.

When it came time to receive the bill, each ticket was incorrect with multiple unordered items added to each one. Yes, we had asked before we ordered to have the checks separated, but each person only ordered a few items, so it shouldn't have been difficult to figure out. We had to send the checks back four separate times and each time they came back, not only incorrect, but unchanged from the previous time. We once again had to have a manager involved to sort out the issue. On top of all of this, they charge 20% automatic gratuity for parties of 6 or more, which seems a bit excessive and they gave absolutely no discount for the horrible experience. I definitely won't be returning and I won't be recommending...

Disappointing Experience Despite the Waterfront Setting

We were visiting from out of town and excited to try this waterfront restaurant, especially after seeing mixed reviews online. Unfortunately, our experience fell far short of expectations.

We arrived on a Saturday around 4:30 pm, slightly early for dinner, and were seated promptly. However, service was extremely slow after that. Our server, Penny, seemed unfamiliar with the menu and was unable to provide recommendations or answer basic questions about wine selections.

We started with hush puppies, which came out quickly—but they were cold and lacked any flavor, tasting more like fried bread than the classic sweet corn treat we were expecting. We also ordered a Caesar and a house salad. The Caesar was fine, but the house salad was mostly wilted lettuce with a few cucumbers and minimal dressing - we were not checked on during the meal to be able to get more.

For entrees, I ordered the flounder with sweet potato fries, and my companion had the Chesapeake chicken with fries. Many menu sides were unavailable, which was disappointing. The flounder arrived fried although broiled was requested. Once the correct dish arrived it was overcooked and bland, and the fries—both sweet potato and regular—were cold and tasted greasy. The chicken was mediocre at best. We requested green beans as a substitute side, which arrived scalding hot, overcooked, and smothered in garlic—unappetizing and clearly canned.

Despite the problems with service and food, Penny offered a 20% discount on the check, which we appreciated, but it did not compensate for the overall disappointing experience.

While the waterfront location is lovely, the combination of inattentive service, poorly executed dishes, and limited menu options made this a frustrating dining experience. We hope the restaurant addresses these issues, but based on our visit, we cannot...

This was the start of the season. Maybe it was just a bad day there. The place was clean. The shrimp appetizer was good. Salad was ok but warm. We had to ask for our salad to come out. It was obviously sitting out to be delivered with our meal, maybe? The blue cheese dressing went bad. I used some of my husbands ranch that actually was very good. It tasted homemade.

Two of our group of 4 ordered a mixed drink . I got a Moscow Mule. I had to ask for mint after receiving my drink. I received 1 leaf chopped up in a plastic cup. This is not the way this drink should be made. It was one of the worst drinks I have ever had. My friend got a "special Mother's Day" drink." I can not remember the name, but it was equally horrible. Think Kool-aid and paint thinner.

I ordered a crab cake. It was obviously flash fried, bread crumbs on the outside. I asked for it broiled. It was greasy to the touch and burnt on the bottom. The inside was literally mushy. I complained to the older waitress, who seemed overwhelmed (with only 3 tables of very polite guests consisting of a table of 1 and a table of 2). I asked to speak to the manager.

The manager was very nice, listened to our concerns, and removed my crabcake from our tab. I wouldn't recommend it anytime soon.

I do believe the cook might have new, the waitress older and not able to work as much maybe. She seemed stressed and slightly confused but tried. The bar tender had 3 male drunk locals that were loud (I am from this area and knew 1 of them very well, having gone to school with him) Let's just say it was a party over there and making drinks other than dispensing a beer were not important that night.

I believe the place has possibilities and will improve eventually. Again, the manager really seemed to care and could be new to her role. With that being said, I will try dining there again. Don't count them...