Virginia's On the Bay — Restaurant in Port Aransas

We went in as a big table. 9 total, 4 adults and 5 kids. We like a quality dining experience therefore we were hoping for the best with this place. The table was sticky, felt greasy and dirty. Same goes for the chairs and the floor. Atmosphere was overall bad. The service was equally as bad. Our server was in a panicked rush the entire time we were there. Delivering the wrong cocktails to our table and letting our food orders die under the heat in the window. Now on to the food… this place is WAY OVERPRICED. If you go to this restaurant, only order premade frozen food like you’d get at TGI Fridays. The cheese sticks, chicken Strips and popcorn shrimp were fine (kids food). We ordered the Cold Sampler ($40). It was awful, the stone crab has obviously been sitting in water for days. Tasted like water, no flavor. The peel and eat shrimp were inedible. Impossible to peel and mushy. The Crab Balls ($18) were burned. The Mahi Mahi entree ($25) was terrible. The fish, not fresh and had the consistency of soft rubber. We bounced it across the table. It came with a horrible white rice that tasted like it was made with dirty dish water and the sorriest looking vegetables on the side. All of which was left for the seagulls. My friend ordered the Catch of the Day…. The Wahoo ($45) entree. Horrible. The fish, hard. Overcooked. We bounced it across the floor like a lacrosse ball. Came with the same horrible sides as the Mahi dish. I ordered a Philly cheesesteak after seeing the quality of the appetizers. Thought it was a safe option. My sandwich was inedible. The bread, soaked in fake butter and hard from being over toasted on the flat grill. The meat in the Philly cheesesteak was an embarrassment. Came with a black au jus for some reason, almost like they’re confusing a Philly for a French dip or something. Anyway, that black juice…was clearly beef bouillon paste from the jar dissolved in hot water. Inedible! The seasoned French fries that came out of a frozen box were great! We heard our server and others using profanity under their breath as they became busier and more in the weeds as time passed. If you go here, order a cold beer and a food item that came frozen from Sysco. And ask them to not burn it.. it’s your safest bet at this...

READ BEFORE COMING HERE: We were blessed with an experience hostess, efficient server and excellent seafood! PLAN AHEAD: *Friday Night They have an option to make reservations online. This is VERY important if you want to have the best possible experience. Make reservations online prior to arriving. There is a section where you can make special requests. We asked for the time our party would be arriving. When I made the reservation around 5ish, it stated they had a 5-10 minute wait but when we arrived at 7:45 for the 8:00pm request time, it was over an hour wait. If we did not make the reservation the experience would not have been as wonderful as it was. Nobody would rate a restaurant great having to wait such a long time to eat. We felt bad that the party in front of us was seated just before we were walking out. They did not look too happy being seated over an hour after they arrived. When we arrived there was a long line waiting at check in booth. We checked in and showed our text confirmation to the hostess. We were told our table would be ready in 8-10 minutes and we were not disappointed. We were seated at our table within the 10 minutes. I have to give a shout out to VICKIE (hostess) for getting us seated in a timely manner. From the time we arrived this amazing woman was going around making sure tables were turned over, communicating with buss-boys and servers throughout the entire night. Our Server KELA was sweet. She was helpful with our questions about the menu and was constantly checking on all her tables including us. Food was also very delicious. So full of Flavor! The Cajun Shrimp Dump is worth the $26 price tag. It came with seasoned shrimp, sliced sausage, corn, and red potatoes. It was a beautiful mess. The photo does not give it the credit it deserves. Views were 10/10!! Loved people watching and seeing all the boats pass by during the sunset. They also had a Live band with dance floor in front of the restaurant if you want to continue the fun with your party. Definitely a place to try when checking out...

I’m not broke, nor am I a brat. I enjoy quality food and don’t mind spending my hard-earned money on a meal that lives up to the hype. But what I can’t stand is being sold a façade of excellence that doesn’t deliver.

The menu sets high expectations, promising a seafood experience that feels local, fresh, and thoughtfully prepared. The inability to make reservations—a tactic designed to suggest high demand—is nothing more than a gimmick. The truth? The crowd is made up of unsuspecting tourists chasing a culinary fantasy that doesn’t exist.

Here’s the reality: It starts with the crab dip. You’re expecting a hot, cheesy, bubbling delight with buttery crackers, but instead, you’re served cold imitation crab and a packet of bland, mass-produced crackers. The "fresh grilled Mahi Mahi" is actually a sad quarter-filet, straight out of a vacuum-sealed package, lightly dusted with Mrs. Dash seasoning, and cooked by following instructions off the bag. The "garlic butter sauce" arrives in a plastic ketchup container, the kind you’d expect at a fast-food joint.

The $36 snow crab legs? Two Ben E. Keith-grade legs tossed on a couple of uninspired slabs of leaf lettuce with yet another plastic container of butter. And then there’s the "Cajun Shrimp Dump," a name as misleading as the rest of the menu. It’s neither Cajun nor a dump. It’s just unseasoned, boiled shrimp—plain, lifeless, and laughably disappointing.

Then there’s the kicker: a $4 fountain drink to wash down this sorry excuse for a meal, and when the bill arrives, it’s a whopping $250. For this? Trust me, do yourself a favor—skip the charade. Go up the road to Dairy Queen and enjoy some hot, crispy steak fingers with creamy, flavorful gravy. You’ll get a better meal, better value, and none of the pretense.

And as you leave this place, $250 lighter and full of regret, you’ll remember this post and wish you...