A Bite Of Maine — Restaurant in Virginia Beach

I'd had the pleasure of hitting up their traveling food cart a couple times but I'd never had the full A Bite Of Maine experience. A couple weeks ago on a Friday evening I finally visited the brick and mortar location at Marina Shores Shoppes on Lynnhaven Drive in Virginia Beach. My wife and I were planning to dine at another restaurant but upon arrival discovered it was closed. I took a quick peek at the Yelp app and saw A Bite of Maine was just around the corner. It was almost 6:30 PM and they close at 7 PM so we weren't sure what kind of experience to expect but thought we would take the chance.

The parking lot was fairly crowded when we arrived but there were still spaces available that didn't require too much of a walk. The lot shared with the rest of the shopping center tenants appeared well cared for and free of debris. It was dark outside and the light emanating through the mostly glass storefront revealed a cozy and inviting space inside. Upon entering we found the restaurant mostly full of diners eating and customers queued at the order window. There is a large menu board over the order window and small handmade signs showing specials posted nearby. The decor is what I would call Coastal Maine and Seafood. It's a bit cluttered but attractive and comfortable. It appears similar to many of the lobster pounds I've visited the couple times I've vacationed in and around Bar Harbor, Maine.

Since it was so late, when it was my turn to order I asked if we had enough time to dine inside or would it be better to take it to go. The young man assured me that we would not be rushed if we ate inside. I had planned on lobster rolls but the combo rolls (lobster, crab, shrimp) were on special so I got three of them. I also ordered the Fish Friday special of Haddock Fish & Chips and added a pint of Dad's Famous New England Clam Chowdah. I was given a numbered clam shell and told my number would be called when the order was ready.

From our table, I observed the employees scurrying about delivering orders to tables, clearing tables, checking on customers, etc... It was high energy but everyone was very friendly and polite. It just really felt comfortable to be there. Our food was delivered to the table fairly quickly and we wasted no time digging in.

First up, the combo rolls of lobster, rock crab and shrimp piled in a buttered, grilled New England Roll. You know what, these babies are so delicious I cannot even find words to describe how wonderful they are. Suffice it to say, 5 STARS! On to the New England Clam Chowdah served with oyster crackers. Oh man! This is absolutely the best clam chowder I have ever eaten in my entire life, 5 STARS! Haddock Fish & Chips was served with coleslaw, lemon wedge and choice or tartar or cocktail sauce, I went with tartar. I really fell in love with Haddock on a Maine vacation. This Fish & Chips did not disappoint, it was every bit as good as what I've had in Maine. The Haddock fillet was huge, perfectly breaded and perfectly fried. It was heaven in my mouth. The tartar sauce went perfectly with the fish and enhanced the flavor, 5 STARS! The crinkle cut fries were really tasty too, 5 STARS. Coleslaw was just okay for me. It was very creamy but kind of bland. I would to have liked it to be a bit more sour or a bit more sweet, either direction would be fine with me. Only 3 stars.

Okay, this review has gotten a little lengthy so let me sum this up with a recap. Combo rolls (rock crab, lobster, shrimp) - 5 stars + New England clam chowdah - 5 stars + Haddock - 5 stars + French fries - 5 stars Coleslaw - 3 stars Service - 5 stars

Can you tell we really loved our dinner? I look forward to returning to try more menu items. I think those whole belly fried clams (very hard to find around here) are next up. I've been to Maine twice but I've never tried those red hot dogs so I need to give that...

Awesome food, friendly staff and an experience that was well worth returning to. Over all, I will definitely come back! Quality 5/5. We had a salmon and lobster roll. Why? Because while we were standing in line and deciding on what we wanted to order, a member of the staff came up to us and offered us a free sample. Later, she offered us a lobster bisk sample as well while we were eating at our table. This kind of business tactic works, in that I want to know if what I'm sampling would be something I would order again in the future. Think about that. You're getting a reason to either return or spend more money while you're there based upon your desire to eat more of what you just sampled. Great business and customer friendly tactic. I hope they keep it up, and never stop doing it! Service 5/5. Food came out quickly. We were checked on twice to make sure we were doing okay, and offered to remove our trash and trays. Cleanliness 3/5. One small hair, or cloth fiber of some sort was found in my wife's lobster roll. It wasn't definitively a "hair", but was a little bit unsettling all the same. It wasn't bad enough to make us draw attention to it, demand a refund or anything like that. Besides, my wife was enjoying the fresh and wonderful taste of the food so much, she didn't let it stop her from finishing her meal if that tells you how comfortable we were about being here and continuing to eat. As well as the taste and quality of the food. Price 4/5. I mean, I get it. In Maine these rolls go for half the price they do here, but that's because its Maine and lobsters are practically in your backyard there. We came here on Black Friday before noon and got our rolls for $9.99 each instead of $13.99 each (two for $26 offer). I would suggest asking to have the lobster in your roll heated up, as I tend to find myself enjoying and savoring the buttery rich flavor of warmed lobster meat + melted buttery sauce over downing the coldness of congealed butter sauce over cold slimy lobster chunks. I'd also argue for use of hoagie or Hawaiian sweet bread rolls over hotdog rolls but at the end of the day that would only drive up the prices even more. My wife and I got two lobster rolls, two salmon rolls and two drinks. With tip it was $50 even. Had this not been a black Friday sale it would have been over $60. Pricey? Yes, but in a...

The 2 stars that are given is strictly for the staff they were GREAT and very attentive. I would of given one star for the food and price -There was a gentleman coming around to all of the tables to be sure that we didn't need anything and very nice, there was a bit of a line by opened up the 2nd window to take care of it. The food came out relatively quick. And the decor was great it took me back to New England with newspaper clippings up and the Nautical decor. -The Food was Over Priced for the quality given, The food we ate- -1 Lobster Rolls. Just buttered lobster on a 4-5 inch roll. found pieces of shell in every bite, the roll that it was on was very good! 1 Seafood Chowdah. A soup with "shrimp", crab, fish,and potatoes. The shrimp was cooked to oblivion where you could of ate it through a straw, the crab was good for any that you could find, fish was a sad mush on the bottom of the bowl. Living in new england my whole life the broth wasn't a consistency of a typical new england "Chowdah" it needed more of a thickener and more flavor/ ANY flavor. -the Red Hotdog. I mean it was just settled in a soft buttered and mildly chared on the grille bun you can't really make any mistake there and it was cooked good I think.... it brought me back to when I visited Maine amd had them there, it was good. -Fries and Cole slaw Both tasted good. THIS was the ONLY THING WE ATE all day. Later on that day my wife and I needed to spend a few hours back at Home with our stomachs hurting and spending time in the "room of regret". Not a great way to...