James River Grill — Restaurant in Norfolk

If I could give zero stars and a copy of Customer Service for Dummies, I would.

The sign said “Seat Yourself”, so I did — along with a few other hopeful souls. The online ordering system wasn’t working, so we waited for, oh I don’t know… a sign of life? A hello? A nod? An acknowledgment that actual humans were sitting there? Nope. Our existence, and that of everyone else waiting, was never acknowledged.

Instead, we got to eavesdrop on what I assume was a manager loudly dealing with an employee who wasn’t coming in. That same “manager” then continued talking at people in a tone that could curdle milk.

After 20 minutes of feeling invisible and watching others walk out like survivors fleeing a sinking ship, I followed suit. Several of us ended up at the bagel shop across the hall, where this staff had apparently mastered the ancient art of eye contact, a smile & happy greeting.

As I enjoyed my bagel, the same rude manager was wandering the hall looking for someone — maybe the missing employee, maybe a clue, hard to say.

I think I speak for at least four of us when I say: We won’t be back. Based on today, I’d bet good money that this staff couldn’t pass a basic customer service course if it were open-book.

So, if you find yourself at Norfolk Airport & you are hungry; find someplace else or ask for extra pretzels...

Apathetic employees, sub-par food, inflated prices, gnats (or, benefit of the doubt: fruit flies) buzzing around my plate, when I'm not actively swatting them aside. Even MORE unfortunate is that this is the ONLY sit-down / full-service (I use the term, "service" loosely, here) in the ENTIRETY of the 'A' concourse.

What's more insulting is that I informed several of the waitstaff of the week I'd had, that I had to kill three plus hours in this awful-ass airport, and that the ONLY thing I desired was a seat with an electrical outlet — they seemed to acquiesce in my request, though all were already taken.

I informed them that I would gladly wait for one, we picked one out, and then they promptly failed to inform me that it had been vacated, and someone else plopped their fat ass down in to it.

Once I called attention to the broken promise, any addressed just shrugged their shoulders and washed their hands of any responsibility on the matter.

I'm not coming back; but in the meantime, as I pen this, you can get your bottom dollar that I'm going to sit here, and soak up their time and free refills, followed by a big "Eff...

I got lunch here, and I got the fish n chips as is tradition when I go to restaurants. First, the ordering system is terrible. It barely works, and then it takes a long time for the wait staff to get to you. The table are also very close together, so you feel cramped most of the time, especially when/if the tables next to you fill up. Lastly, the fish n chips were just okay. I rate a 4.2/10

The fish n chips did come with a bottle of vinegar, so that was a positive in their favor. After that though, it went down hill. The tarter sauce to fish ratio was poor with too little sauce to properly dip your fish into throughout the meal. The lemon slice I was given was small, and it wasn't juicy enough to properly lemon the entire fish. The fish itself was tough, and the flesh did not break apart smoothly as I chewed it. The breading has multiple soft spots where it was not fully fried, and in a few spots, there was plain mushy batter. The redeeming qualities were that it was served hot, in adequate portions, and that it soaked up vinegar...