Coinjock Marina Restaurant — Restaurant in Elizabeth City

I literally don’t even know where to start… what a COLOSSAL waste of time, gas, and money…. A client of mine recommended the marina for a date destination, so my husband and I drove the hour down from Chesapeake hoping that it would be amazing, like we thought it would, and like the reviews would indicate….

Upon arrival, the driest drink of water person I have EVER encountered finally “greeted” us at the door after quite some time, and we were given literally the worst table in the place. Our drinks were the only thing that was brought to us quickly…. As it is a restaurant on the water, we assumed the Hot Crab Dip was a safe appetizer to order… we were SO wrong… as soon as our server set the plate down and we saw the potato chips, we knew we messed up. The dip was NOT hot at all, and was loaded with far too much horseradish to be edible. They wouldn’t allow me to ask for a broiled crabcake with fried flounder on the same entree, even though the menu specifically says that only the platters are subject to the “no substitutions” rule, and they have both a broiled entree, and a fried entree, on the menu… so I bit the bullet and ordered the stuffed flounder, scalloped potatoes, and a salad with homemade ranch. My husband ordered the fried seafood platter with fish and shrimp, scalloped potatoes, and green beans. We didn’t say anything about how disgusting the crab dip was, and our waitress didn’t ask! I had hoped that the disgusting appetizer would be redeemed by an enjoyable seafood dinner, but it only went downhill from there… the hush puppies were a globbed mess of uncooked batter that were nothing like a hush puppy, or even bread. The “scalloped potatoes” were cold, CUBED potatoes slathered in the worst mixture of glue I’ve ever tasted, and I was only able to eat the crabcake mixture from the inside of the stuffed flounder because it was just all terrible. And I don’t understand how everything was so bland!!! Literally ZERO seasoning.

The ONLY thing worth eating on the whole table was the ranch. No joke. Wait, there was a joke….. the service we received. After waiting so long for our waitress to reappear that I almost asked Ms. Dry-Drink-Of-Water to bring our check, she finally appeared and asked how everything was… when I told her we were underwhelmed and let down because we had driven so far and it was not good, her response was “Okay….anything else I can get you?” Just, wow. I told her “Just the check,” and that was that. No one ever came to speak to us, she never showed an ounce of empathy, and the cherry on top was that when I looked over our check, I noticed that there is a “service charge” if you pay with a card.

Please understand the following: I too own a business, and it is ILLEGAL to pass on any card processing fees to your customers! They are a write-off at tax time, and are considered the cost of doing business. It is wrong, and it’s in terribly poor taste.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME (OR YOUR MONEY) EATING HERE! Your best bet is to keep on driving past this establishment and go on to Basnight’s!!!

A disgruntled couple who finally had a kid-free evening for a date night and wasted it at your...

My husband and I are locals and treat ourselves to Coinjock marinia every so often. Extremely disappointed with staff today (5pm)(04/24/2023) at the restaurant. We ordered last night at 8pm To Go order. We ordered an appetizer and an entre to split. For appetizer we ordered the sweet chili thia shrimp over rice For entre we ordered Grilled Rockfish with Brussels sprouts and scalloped potatoes. They said it would take 25 minutes. We get there at 8:25pm. The wait staff let us know they were closing the kitchen at 830pm and we let them know we ordered to go already. We got our food, paid, and left. The bagged food was double tried and ready to go. Once home, and settled in already (with a toddler) we sat down to eat and take the food out. We noticed the sides were missing. I called the restaurant and let them know and told them i already knew the kitchen was closed but wanted to call and make them aware and they said to call back tomorrow to settle it. Perfect. I called back today and the girl who answered the phone , after I explained to her everything posted , says “ Wells there’s nothing we can do about that”. I said “There’s nothing you can do about not receiving the complete order I paid for”? She then goes to talk to her manager . Comes back to the phone and says they can only replace the sides that they forgot lastnight . She wouldn’t comp the sides or the order back. So not only did we not have a full meal lastnight . But again today, just got the sides replaced. Which I’m glad they did something at all, but I would have much rather had a full complete meal , or my money back. Which they were not willing to do either. So keep this in mind if you plan to order “to go” . Always check your food. Maybe even ask them not to tie the to go bag so you can check it . Oh… and when I asked the girls name that answered the phone . She hung up. After being rude and not wanting to help find a solution to begin with. I don’t believe she has worked there for long because all the employees that have been there awhile are wonderful and very helpful and always friendly. The food is always great and we love the specials and changing menu.

5/29/23Update: We decided to give it another shot . We again ordered TO GO , as that is what works with our schedule and family . We made sure to check all of the bag while we were there in restaurant. Everything was right and they even included all the sauces / condiments without having to ask . We were sad to see all new faces , after finding out Coinjock Restaurant has been bought and new owners . I hope the long time local staff has not left . Many have been there for years and years and a big reason why we go to Coinjock...

We came in for dinner Thursday night with our family of 7, which included our son & his girlfriend who were up visiting from Orlando, Fl. I called ahead to let them know that we would be arriving at 7:30 & they had our table all set up & ready for us, so we were seated immediately upon our arrival. Both the food AND the service was absolutely phenomenal! Cindy was our Server & she was warm, & friendly, & on top of everything the entire time! As soon as my iced tea was down to 1/3'rd full she immediately showed up with a fresh replacement. Not one time did anyone have to request a refill, & she got the replacement drinks correct every single time, too (which was impressive, b/c I was drinking a "half-&-half" of half-sweet & half-unsweetened iced tea!). I can't begin to tell you how much we appreciated Cindy's phenomenal service; & our experience in the customer service/hospitality industry makes us appreciate her excellence in service even more. Everyone was THRILLED with their meal! Everything was cooked to perfection. The portions were huge, & we had plenty left-over for dinner the following night. They even accommodated a special request for 2 fried chicken sandwiches (normally only a luncheon menu option) for us to take home for lunch the following day. We were truly grateful to the Back of House/Management for granting our special request. We've always been a huge fan of Coinjock Marina (home of THE BEST iced tea & fried chicken sandwiches on the planet!), but it was especially fun (& made us very proud) to show off your delicious food & "Hometown Hospitality" to our son's girlfriend.

Many thanks for giving our family such...