Coastal Grill — Restaurant in Virginia Beach

We went to Coastal Grill on a Monday evening for our 30th anniversary. Although we didn’t make reservations, they are recommended. We arrived around 5:30 and it was almost empty except for the bar area. By 6pm, the dining room was almost full. The restaurant is very pretty inside and out. It is nice to see real linens on the tables and cloth napkins. There is a very peaceful ambiance in the restaurant that is disrupted by the hostess and servers who hang out by the entrance/bar area and chat. The hostess is very animated and we couldn’t help but look her way whenever she flailed her arms (which was frequently) like something had happened. Seemed a bit immature. We found our server friendly yet inattentive. It is very impressive that the servers learn all of the specials each day and can recite and explain them. Our server said a cornsquash, instead of acorn squash so we expected a casserole of corn and squash! When we were served a half of “acorn” squash, we chuckled. A loaf of warm bread came out at some point early on but when it was gone we were never offered more bread. We started with raw oysters and oysters Rockefeller. Both were very tasty but lacked the brine of fresh shucked oysters so I wondered if they were purchased pasteurized and then served on the half shell. My husband had scallops and I ordered the grouper with eggplant purée. Both of our entrees were served with a half of an acorn squash and roasted red potatoes. My husband and I agreed that the scallops were the best we have ever tasted anywhere! They were pan seared perfectly. Dry and a bit crispy on the outside but moist, succulent and tender inside. The acorn squash was cooked to perfection as well and looked beautiful on our plates. It was a perfect side for the scallops and the grouper. Normally, we would say roasted potatoes are a fine side as well but beside the squash, the potatoes were just an extra starch and seemed out of place. We didn’t eat them. It would have been nice to have a non starchy vegetable, something green. There was one cherry tomato on each plate, a garnish maybe? My grouper wasn’t nearly as impressive as the scallops. It had rolled up while cooking, most likely because the skin was not prepped accurately. There was a bite size piece and a fist size piece on my plate. The eggplant sauce that it was served atop was a bit sweet but there was so little on the plate, I couldn’t tell you whether I liked it or not. The small bite of grouper was very tasty and succulent but the larger piece was tough and I wasn’t sure it was completely cooked so I took it home and cooked it a bit more the next day for lunch and it was very good. Overall, we both desired something with acid to counter balance the rich and creamy sweet flavors on our plates. They did serve a small garnish of delicious pickled onions with the Rockefeller oysters and my grouper which my husband and I gobbled up! It wasn’t enough though and the meal really, really needed a salad with vinaigrette or a green vegetable with an acidic dressing. With finer restaurants, we do have higher expectations for well balanced plates. We both drank water only, our bill was just under $100.00 and we tipped $20 bucks. So, we definitely only spend that much on dinner for two on our anniversaries. I know some reviews have said the food is overpriced but that is almost the exact amount we spent at an Oceanfront restaurant for our previous anniversary. (Although we had wine and dessert that year which added about $35 more to the bill) So I think the prices are very fair and similar to fine dining and fresh seafood elsewhere...

Wish I could give Coastal a rating range. Normally, I am always in awe of the quality, and presentation, so yummy and beautiful! My go to place for deliciousness and decadence! I don't know what's happened, maybe it's COVID, but the last 3 times I've been there 2 were sub par; one of those times I sent the meat back because I could not even chew it. I can count on one hand the number of times Ive sent my food back in my 50+ years of eating fine dining.

One thing is consistent, the wait staff is always top notch! Super friendly, honest, doting, but not in your face. Perfect!

Most recently, we left hungry. I was looking forward to the acorn squash, always so buttery and sweet, but it came out so cold the brown sugar never even melted. None of us ate but a couple of bites.

Portions, tiny! With the exception of the whole bronzino fish, the fish portions on the other dishes were very small. Not certain the rockfish or the flounder exceeded 2 oz. The trout, with head and tail in tack didn't even look like a keeper. All served with a side of 3 halves of baby, baby roasted red potatoes (I think the 3 pieces combined may have been smaller than a golf ball). While tasty, the ridiculous small quantity became the joke of the night. Even my favorite, the grilled avocado with balsamic was a disappointment. The fried calamari would have been lackluster if it weren't for the little cute fun snappy sweet peppers, which the waitress happily offered up and brought us extra peppers.

Creme brulee for dessert was traditional and perfect! The apple cider old fashioneds are a good twist on the traditional, but seemed a bit watered down from previous nights.

Overall, a disappointment. At $400 for 4 (before tip) with 2 cocktails each, with no leftovers, I would have expected to not be hungry 15 minutes after being home. Keep in mind Im a very tiny, petite lady, so if I was hungry imagine everyone else was far from satiated.

In contrast, my prior experience was 10 stars! Beautiful delicious, plentiful! Ciopinno was out of this world and easily could have fed 4 with a small side salad each; loaded with crab, rockfish, lobster, clams, mussels, shrimp, etc. Waitress recommended the soft shell crab. It knocked our socks off, and I'm not usually a fan. We remarked how pretty even the bread looked. Server told us chef wouldn't let her serve it the first way she presented it, made her redo it. In contrast to the basic sliced, cold loafs we got this last time. The herb laden warm goat cheese with olives and peppers was fabulous and so satisfying. While 3 halves of potatoes, you can see each 1/2 piece was the size of a golf ball. The 2 of us had more drinks and left overs for days at less than $200. Posting pics of my good experience though pics don't do it justice, our last dinner wasn't picture worthy.

Bottomline, it will be a pleasurable night out, but not sure these days if it's...

We made reservations about two weeks ago. When we arrived, I was a little shocked we were immediately seated outside. It was very hot. There was no option for us apparently. We noticed that we could be under dressed, maybe? But as the meal progressed we realized it was discrimination. Seated outside with us lowly people, we’re a large Mexican family, two lovely black women, a couple there that were under dressed and an Asian family. There was also a couple with a very small baby. Months old. This couple was experiencing the work of keeping an infant soothed. It was HOT! The staff were not letting them have a seat in the AC and only offered a high chair after the parents had to wrestle one from their car. Are you serious? They left and sat in their car and took their dinner home. Apparently there was a legislative rep VIP there and it was a large party, but they still had tables when we went to the restroom. The wait staff was really put out to wait on us. I felt we were pushed out. I was so disappointed. The food was good but honestly, it was too hot AND MISERABLE outside to enjoy. I left most of my plate. Looking in as we exited, there were no other “lowly” groups, just older white people. Just wow. When we realized the way we’re were treated I couldn’t believe it. Why were we not given an option inside or out when we made reservations? Are kids strongly discouraged from attending? Get your act together. How horrible. I felt extremely uncomfortable and embarrassed. Maybe we looked like we couldn’t afford to eat? Trust we we’re comfortable with your inflated prices for a meal just not discriminating service. The shrimp n grits were soup, btw, not the best way to enjoy a southern classic....