The Surry Seafood Co. — Restaurant in Williamsburg

Today was our first experience at the Surry Seafood Co. Over the years, we have heard mixed reviews, but decided to drive the hour-long ride and make an afternoon of it! We waited for about 10-15 minutes to eat on the deck overlooking the water, but mentioned we would also take an indoor seat if that popped open first. We were a little puzzled on the wait because there were plenty of open seats both outside and inside... but perhaps it was for folks with reservations? Still don't know... As soon as we sat down, our waitress was right behind us to ask what we wanted to drink. We didn't even have a chance to look at the drink menu. She didn't mention the entree Specials, but luckily we read them while we were waiting the 15 mins in the lobby. The menu had some interesting items like stuffed scallops and then had typical fare, such as steamed oysters, so we were very excited to start trying some food! We started with the crab soup, which did have a lot of crabmeat in it, but it was too salty and actually rather bland. (Waterman's at the oceanfront STILL has the best crab soup, btw.) My soup spoon wasn't clean (by a LONG shot) but luckily there was a spoon in the rolled silverware, so I just used that one. Next was the steamed shrimp, which the menu indicated was cooked with Old Bay. Here's where it all went wrong. First, the shrimp was barely sprinkled with Old Bay and served only with butter. The young man didn't bring a bowl for peels and didn't ask if we wanted cocktail sauce or hey, maybe some Old Bay since it was obviously not cooked with it at all. We asked him for some Old Bay and he brought a small container that almost had the bottom covered with it. He walked away before we could ask for cocktail sauce, which was absolutely necessary since the shrimp was completely tasteless. Our waitress never showed up so we stole the condiments off of the adjacent table that had been empty for 10 minutes without being bused. (It was about 20 minutes before someone actually cleared the table.) Our waitress finally showed up with condiments and filled my man's drink with the incorrect drink. Ok- everyone makes mistakes. But she didn't remove anything from the table. Waitress Rule #1- Never arrive empty handed and never leave empty-handed. The flies were starting to swarm our dirty dishes... Our meal arrived and when our waitress finally returned, we had to ask her to clear our dirty dishes, bring us some new silverware, and fill his drink with the correct one. My meal was fine, but again too salty. The potatoes could have used some butter, but they were hot, which was a plus. The fried apples were good consistency but could have used some cinnamon. Went through the main restaurant to access the restroom and was appalled at how dirty the floors were under the tables and how many empty tables had not been cleared even though it was practically empty. Flies were buzzing around everywhere.

Overall: the food was a about a 2 or 3/5- either it was too salty or too bland. The service- a 1 or 2/5 Cleanliness- restaurant portion and bathroom- about a 2/5 (toilet paper scattered around the bathroom floor) View- 5/5 Bottom line- don't plan to give this one another shot....

We came in yesterday with a party of 8. Hostess was rude from the beginning. We were initially told 30 mins. 2 hours later and several people that came in after us were sat. They kept saying they were waiting for a big party to leave but they kept breaking up 4 tops to deal the other guests coming in. Finally they said they could seat us if we wanted to sit at separate 4 tops. We said that was fine after having been waiting over 2 hours. I work in the restaurant business I am a bartender/server. They sat us at two 4 tops that were right next to each other and contained the same server. They didn't even have the smarts or courtesy to push the two 4 tops together and make one table. When the other "big party" left they pulled apart two 4 tops. The families that they took prior to us that came in that were sat I was able to see how they were placed in the restaurant and if they were going to sit us at separate tables which they did, they could've easily accommodated us prior to having to wait 2 hours with a baby. If we hadn't driven so far we would've left. Our server was decent but she seemed shaky and stressed. It seemed that a party of 8 was a little more than she could handle. When she cleared the table she lifted many multi-carry plates over the baby's head which common sense would tell you that's not ok. The next biggest issue which is a state and ABC violation is the server next to us served a gentleman with a CLEARY open conceal carry weapon on his hip. I do not fault the bartender in this as it was the server who brought over the drink, and the gentleman was not in sight of the bartender. It is against the law to serve alcohol to anyone with a firearm. Especially one in plain sight. Under Virginia Code Section 18.2-308.012, you cannot conceal carry a handgun on the premises of a restaurant or bar that is controlled by the Virginia ABC Board and consume an alcoholic beverage. This statute also makes it illegal for any person licensed to conceal and carry a handgun to be under the influence and carry that handgun in a public place. We do have pictures of this and will be reporting the establishment and server to the ABC board. This establishment needs to be managed better. The hostess needs to have an attitude adjustment, the server that served the man with a clearly openly visible firearm needs to be reprimanded because that situation could've caused a concern for all inside that restaurant. Especially because he was sitting next to our children. The good thing about this experience was the food. Not sure we will be back. I would be embarrassed if my restaurant was ran in such a matter. The manager did come out and apologize for the wait time but I don't think he knew the full extent of the situation or the multiple families coming in after us that were seated. The fact that they finally sat us at two 4 tops and couldn't even take the effort to push them together goes to show the lack of effort. Complaints will be made in regards to the man being served alcohol with an visible open carry weapon as well. Not to mention they even have Caesar spelled wrong on their menu...great attention to detail folks. You win the award in the...

Truly disappointing.

Went there tonight for my wife's birthday.

Got a dozen oysters Rockefeller only to find one of the shells empty so we only got 11. The oysters were ok. Nothing special.

Our orders considered of three seafood platters and one stuffed shrimp platter.

After ordering, a group of 4 is seated next to us.

After finishing our appetizers we're waiting to be served and the table next to us gets served. They had arrived about 20 minutes after us. I'm fairly certain they were served our food as there was a lot of hubbub behind the bar by the wait staff.

Some 20 minutes later the food arrives but my plate is missing the hush puppies and French fries. The waitress says she will be right back, but my son heard her comment about the kitchen shorting the order, prolly because they were in a bind for serving the wrong table.

Dinner 5 minutes later a different server arrive arrives with the remainder of the food.

The one thing everyone comments on is the food is not hot, except of course for my French fries.

The positives:

The scallops were very nice. Well cooked and tasty. The best thing on the plate.

The adequates:

The shrimp were fine.

The flounder was passable. I've had better, I've had worse.

The hush puppies were a bit under cooked.

The unacceptables:

The crab cake was dreadful. Dried out and completely tasteless. No crab flavor to be had.

The French fries were not only frozen, they were battered. I'm a bit of a French Fry snob and battered fries are the worst of the worst. If Five Guys can cook fresh French fries, why can't more restaurants? In my little mind, battered fries are the sign of the kitchen trying to save a few $ on the fries.

A final note, there is/was a lot of sugar in the tartar sauce. It was inedible. Thank goodness I tasted it before putting it on my food. The cocktail sauce was actually very good.

Hopefully this place is better when they are busy. But for $250, I'll...