Madigan's Waterfront — Restaurant in Occoquan

Madigan's looks and feels like a family owned and run restaurant in the heart of the trendy Occoquan Reservoir area.

Located on the waterfront, it has a great view of the reservoir. The decor looks homey, almost in the style of Cracker Barrel but with less stuff on the walls.

The service was good but slow. We waited 30 minutes to be seated indoors. I don't know why their was a wait since there were tables empty when we were seated. It also took about 5 minutes before anyone came to ask if we had been served yet. Our waitress was Jocelyn. She was sweet, attentive, and apologized for the time it was taking to get our food, even offering us a free side like fries or chips to make up for that time. She was doing her best. Top notch service on that part. Only 4 stars because the kitchen is part of the service team and Jocelyn did everything she could to improve the meal.

Now onto the bad. The kitchen has to be a dysfunctional mess. The lobster bisque was watery and bland. It also had no lobster in it as well. It even looked thin. The Caesar salad had wilted lettuce and stale croutons.

The salmon bowl I ordered had flavor but it was because of the sauces they put on it. I can tell it was microwaved. The entire entree was boiling hot when it came out. Even the salmon was. If this was baked salmon then it should have rested after being baked to let the juices redistribute in the fish. The quinoa, edamame, and broccoli was very hot with hot spots indicative of being microwaved.

Then there was the Madigan Mountain. It was an okay dessert. It looks good but it is just overly sweet.

The pictures in this review are of the inner seating area, the salmon bowl, and the Madigan mountain dessert.

My thoughts are that this restaurant thrives on tourist traffic that shows up once and never comes again. If more care were paid to making the dishes fresh and more flavorful, the reviews would go up quickly. Check other reviews. They all say the same things. Bland food,...

Been wanting to try this place for years because it's right on the river, just never got a chance since I live an hour away.

Came here on labor day for supper with a group of friends. Service here was absolutely awful. We asked for refills on our waters, waited 30 minutes and they didn't even fill everyone's cups (had to get her to come back). Had to constantly ask the entire time.

The crab soup had literally no crab in it and the vegetables reminded me of the trio of vegetables you get from a frozen bag.

Side caesar salad was over-dressed and just okay, definitely not worth a $5 upcharge.

I was there with a party of 6, and the food didn't come out together. 4 people received their food, 15+ mins later another dish came out, and mine was at least another 5 minutes after that. By the time the last dish came out, everyone had finished their meal. They completely forgot about my meal until someone else said something and it was brought out with cold rice (they even admitted it was sitting there and they had forgotten about it).

The crab cakes are a lie. They look very lumpy on top until you open it, see picture. They basically put lump crab on top of special or claw crab with filler. The bottom is very mushy.

The poke bowl was just whatever, I wouldn't call it a poke bowl. The tuna was fresh though. The old bay chips didn't have any seasoning to speak of.

The manager or someone tried to rectify the situation but couldn't change the fact we sat there for over two hours, waited a very long time for water, and food didn't come out at the same time. This place wasn't even busy, maybe a quarter of the tables. Can't imagine coming on a day when they're busy.

They also charge a 4% credit card fee.

Overall it was a good night with great company but I can't recommend this place and...

Let's start off with the poor parts.

The place is understaffed by poorly experienced waiters, busboys/girls, and hosts/hostesses.

The kitchen staff is unable to maintain a reasonable pace that coincides with the orders being placed.

Last bad thing: The management does not provide a proper training for any of the staff. I spoke with multiple members of the Madigan's Waterfront Restaurant staff individually, asking them what they had learned prior to performing their jobs. They all had a very similar response: Limited to none.

Now for the good stuff.

The food was fantastic. I ordered the Admiral's Platter. I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. Properly prepared, displayed, and cooked to perfection.

My wife and I shared the Crab Combination Appetizer. I was very pleased, as was my wife with the flavor and texture of the crab dip spread over the tortilla chips and pita slices.

My wife was enthralled with the Flour Dusted Sole she received, as it was extremely fresh as well as delicious.

I watched an unruly, disrespectful, and drunk group of four couples harass and mistreat the waiter who served my family. His name is Hayes. He seemed flustered, but didn't allow them to completely put him off.

Good food, good setting, and trainable staff.

Mr. and Mrs. Madigan, I implore you to find someone to speak with your staff about timeliness and scheduling, as well as conflict resolution. You have a fantastic establishment and menu that has been around for quite some time. I believe it is time for a refresher and bit of refinement in your restaurant.

Thank you for the experience, I will be coming to dine there quite a...