The Village Restaurant — Restaurant in Chincoteague

If you are looking for fine dining in the Chincoteague Island area, this restaurant definitely fits the bill. It is a rare gem amongst the many prevalent outdoor food truck dining eateries on the island. (Something I still don’t really get given the high mosquito population of the area)

Despite calling mid day on a Thursday before a holiday weekend, the staff was able to find a 7pm reservation slot for our party of six. We arrived a few minutes before and were promptly seated at our creek side window table by the very courteous staff. The decor was very on point; lightly beach themed but not over the top. The dining room felt open and spacious with half height walls in some places to give a sense of per table privacy between larger groups. There was just the right amount of tables to give the dining room the right feel of comfortable ambience without feeling crowded in or lost in a sea of tables. The views out the windows were amazingly picturesque, especially when dining during sunset hours. We did not have time to check out the outdoor dining area unfortunately, but plan to in the future.

After perusing the menu and ordering drinks and an appetizer of the day (Balsamic glazed Brussel sprouts; absolutely delicious!) we placed our main entree orders. I chose a daily special of Bourbon Glazed Atlantic Salmon paired with Broiled Scallops. I think the picture speaks for itself; IMO, for fine dining, the taste and portion size were about as perfect as can be. It’s been three days, and I can still remember the flavor and texture of both the scallops and the salmon; to me this speaks volumes of the quality of a prepared food.

Of note, the children’s portions were very generous. My daughter ordered the fried clam strip kids meal, and was inundated with a plate that would eventually leave leftovers. My son ordered the chicken tender meal, which again had huge portions; four very large strips that could easily total to a whole chicken breast in weight. (He made it through two and maybe two bites into the third and was stuffed)

My wife had an order of crab cakes, and were easily the freshest and tastiest we ever had. (Yes I stole a bite or two) The flavor and texture of the Crab Imperial used was perfection, and this is said after being in town and eating piles of crab all over for a whole week. (Including those cooked moments after being caught off a pier) I unfortunately did not get pictures of the tenders or crab cakes before they were feast upon, but there may be some posted by other reviewers.

Lastly, the staff was professional and courteous, and also very personable. Aside from the usual duties of ordering and serving, upon departing when pointing out some wall decorations we liked to each other, the staff (owner?) mentioned where they were bought and struck up a short conversation about it and the travels involved, which happened to be near our neck of the woods. This made for a very personal touch and is rare in many businesses, but make one stand out greatly. (I am always proud to patron and support these types of family run businesses and I hope you strive too also)

As I mentioned, if you are looking for fine dining on the island, this will hit the spot. The added charm of the scenery, the excellence of the staff, and the skill of the cooks in the kitchen made this an absolute win for us and we look forward to returning during our next...

7 years ago, this place was phenomenal! Today? A BIG NO BUENO!

I arrived parking lot full. Went inside, so many empty tables. No hostess. Ignored by bartender and other staff who see me standing there, alone, no hostess. Not a word. 5 to 10 min later, a hostess arrives, ignores me too as she does a couple other things. Then tells me it's gonna be at least 10 more.minutes before she can seat me. The excuse is: so wait staff can "catch up". 5 minutes later, owner or manager tells me it's gonna be a wait, her excuse: "We are very busy". I said: "I don't see it". Her jaw drops. I see at least 3 empty tables, a bar with no one seated, area by marsh has empty tables, unable to see front room, but lots of empty tables where I can see.

I wait 10 min, am finally, very rudely seated by the hostess who acted like she had an I don't GAF attitude. 15 minutes later, I STILL am waiting for someone to acknowledge my existence and if I want something ro drink, so I'm like, out of here.... owner or manager sees me leaving, says waiter is coming. Also gave me the excuse of new register software causing problems. Interesting, I watched 3 wait staff check people out on their tabs, seemingly without issue. Anyway, I sat back down. Waiter did show up, finally.... but when I asked about recommends, it's like he has no clue what to say. Like, do you even eat here? To make a recommendation?

I left. 30 min of my life I can't get back and for what? I was starving, had worked all day, was tired and my dogs are waiting for me to get home to take care of them. Absolute waste of my time. I will NOT spend a dime in this place at all because of this. I'm not on vacation. I'm not even sitting with anyone to chat the time away with. For crying out loud, you cool have had $80 bucks for the trouble, but to be honest, I work too hard to waste my money where I can't even get common courtesy and respect for bothering to show up! Next! I hear Black Fin is good. Gonna give them a shot, spend my good money there.

This used to be a da bomb place to eat, 7 yes ago. I got better service back then, when they were packed to the gills and without empty tables. Never again. Such a shame.

P. S. The prices on their online menu are wrong. Prices are higher now. Might be a good idea to update...

The food was excellent. I was disappointed in having to choose either a salad, or 2 sides. I wanted a salad and a side. That is a new rule for the place. Salad can't cost but so much? And it wasn't worth it. The greens were bitter and the homemade dressing was a very small amount. The cole slaw was excellent, and my shrimp was great. My appetizer of stuffed mushrooms was very good as well. The bottled beer was not cold as it should have been. I would suggest checking the cooler perhaps. The place was clean, and the server was great. French fries were ok. My friend got the shrimp alfredo. The portion was ok, but it was average at best. It was also white pasta served in a white bowl, with white sauce (not enough it looked dry) and pink shrimp (6) it was not attractive, and I would not suggest it either. My other friend got the stuffed flounder. It was not flounder. It was swai. The crab inside the fish was nice and it was cooked well, but considering I'm a local, and I fish regularly, I know what flounder should look like, and that was not flounder. My husband got ribeye and shrimp. He enjoyed it but got the salad as well and was disappointed. They discontinued the fried seafood platter that was so good. I miss it and would have paid more for good quality. I will come back. The place is worth it. Just quit charging more for salad, or taking away your second side for a healthy choice, please, and bring back the seafood platter. I won't be the only one asking that I...