Blue Ridge Seafood Restaurant — Restaurant in Gainesville

Wonderful service by Angie! She was super nice and helpful, took good care of us!

However, the food is so-so and hit or miss.

Crab and lobster dip was OK at best, crab dip does not need lobster BTW! Fair price at least. Onion rings like Red Robin, very good! Fried shrimp not great tasting but edible. Great tasting hush puppies! No stupid full corn chunks in there (eww) Lobster bisque is awful and tastes like wine and salt. no lobster even in it, inedible. Wife ordered extra spicy steam spiced shrimp, came out almost plain. Angie was quick to fix that for us! Crab legs were good, can't really screw that up. All you can eat "oldbay seasoning" on every table that is not really oldbay, or you cut it with something else plus a bucket of salt. Nice try there but we know what real Oldbay tastes like and costs. Overall prices are mostly reasonable for seafood. Portion sizes were just acceptable.

Owners pay close attention here!!!! Other low class people with their screaming kids that pack your restaurant full may not care, but for us having to constantly fight for our $70 meal for 2 people with bunches of FLIES in your INDOOR dinning room is inexcusable and disgusting, it made our dinning experience awful!!!

There was so many flies they needed an air traffic controller!

I stopped counting at seeing 7 large well fed flies in our TV dining area next to the tikibar.

No excuse for this and it implies very poor sanitation practices. No other major restaurants we go to in the area have this problem, including those with outdoor dinning where the doors are always being opened and closed so please don't use that as an excuse.

Please clean up your act, and get proper pest control protocols in place asap.

Not the worst dinning we ever had, but not...

I normally go here for their crab. This time I went just to have some of their hush puppies. Ended up having a proper meal. Service was fast and friendly. I went at an odd time (3pm on a Sunday) and was seated right away. I had the house clam chowder, boom boom shrimp ( I think that's what it's called), fried oyster po boy with hush puppies, and their take on old-fashioned. The shrimp and the poboy had the boom boom sauce. The shrimp is a bit like the shrimp appetizer at Longhorn Steakhouse minus the spicy peppers. I liked it. The clam chowder was pretty decent - it's a hard thing to get right. It wasn't all creamy and tasteless like in many places. The potatoes were just the right size and consistency and with just the right amount of clams. The old-fashioned was .... hmm ... don't bother with it. Not fair to judge a crab place for it's old fashioned. My bad for chosing that with all the other choices at hand. Should have got one of their cocktails instead. The oyster po boy with the boom boom sauce was just too much boom boom for one meal. The sauce overpowers the oysters. Next time I'll get the oysters by themselves. The hush puppies hit the right spot, and the coleslaw was pretty good too(orders them as a side with the PO boy). All of this set me back about $40. Which is very reasonable. The atmosphere is perfect - no nonsense with lots of tables. You come here to eat crab and get messy - and it is perfect for that.

BTW - hands down the BEST steamed blue crabs in a 50 mile radius. I'd give them 10 stars for their...

Restaurant Review: Mixed Bag of Flavors

I recently dined at Blue Ridge Seafood restaurant in Gainesville, VA, and my experience was a mix of highs and lows.

Service: The service was commendable. The staff was attentive and friendly, making the dining experience pleasant overall.

Food: Mac & Cheese: Absolutely delicious. Creamy and perfectly seasoned, it was the standout dish of the evening. Flounder: Unfortunately, the flounder was a bit disappointing. It lacked seasoning, with no salt or pepper, which made it quite bland. Crabcake: The crabcake was mediocre at best. It didn't stand out in terms of flavor or texture. Onion Rings: These were a delight—crispy and tasty, exactly what you want in a good onion ring. Fried Calamari: The calamari was just OK. It was well-cooked but nothing exceptional. Boom Boom Shrimp: The shrimp was reasonable, offering a decent flavor and spice. Cocktail Drinks: This is an area for improvement. The cocktails tasted like pure sugar and lacked balance. The restaurant should consider sticking to beer, soda, water, and juice, which were all fine.

There were also flies flying around and landing on our table, which was unbearable.

In conclusion, while there are some hits on the menu, there are also some significant misses. With a bit more attention to cleanliness, seasoning, and cocktail preparation, Blue Ridge could enhance its dining experience...