Long John Silver's — Restaurant in Virginia

UPDATE: CHECK YOUR ORDER BEFORE YOU DRIVE AWAY, IF YOU CAN.

Like so many others, we’re so happy Long John’s is back. If you like LJS, you will not be disappointed. I encourage you to support this locally owned business.

The drive through line was unbelievably long, but they still managed to be fast, friendly and good, despite having being brand new. That is a huge success.

I’m going to focus below on the things I wish were different, in case they help you or the restaurant. I still had a delicious meal, so go get some. Some things are understandable and maybe temporary, considering they’re new and super busy.

In the years they’ve been gone, prices have gone up with inflation, of course. A 2 piece meal was like $10, and a 16 piece family meal was maybe $50. But that’s because of inflation & supply chain problems. Plus the entire Long John’s business was abused and sucked dry by its previous owners. HQ is trying to come back from bankruptcy. So I get it.

The batter has changed a little. It was a bit saltier than I would’ve liked. Also the subtle anise/fennel flavor that made the flavor really pop was gone or hard to detect. This might not be the store’s fault but that of the chain’s HQ that sends them supplies.

The fried food was a little greasy. Oil came out when squeezed, and my lips felt coated in Chapstick afterwards. But the fish was still delicious, and competitors like Captain D’s are also greasy. This is probably temporary, due to them having to cook so much fish so fast that the oil can’t heat back up to the perfect temperature.

The clam strips were quite good. Be warned that it’s not a huge portion — enough for one person, maybe 2. Hush puppies were great too - crisp outside, moist inside, cooked just right.

The hot sauce packets weren’t as good as the bottled stuff in your kitchen. But that’s pretty normal.

The hush puppies were perfect.

The generic LJS menu online says LJS now sells the crispy batter bits as a side. Unfortunately this location doesn’t have this. Maybe one day.

I really miss that the old location was also an A&W, so that you could also get diet root beer, cheese curds, ice cream floats, etc. But again, that’s not their fault.

This LJS location is already doing great despite being new and unbelievably busy. So it seems they probably have what it takes to keep getting better as the crowds slow. Please keep eating there so we don’t lose them again.

UPDATE: Went back for more. It was a relatively small order, but they forgot our clams and forgot to give us hush puppies instead of fries as our side. Very frustrating to get home and one person doesn’t have their food. It was still good.

It’s hard to check your order in the car, with those big bags, and if it’s wrong, the dining room is closed and there’s a fair wait at the drive through. So if you leave the window, you may be screwed. But if you stay, the people behind you...

Locals visit to this new LJS location 12/18/24 2:30 PM. Vacant inside a few cars at the drive thru.

I haven't been to a LJS in 20 years and my wife has never been to one. The restaurant is new and clean inside and out. Staff are attentive but lacked any knowledge of the LJS website club and how to enter my phone number for "coins" (points) or how to redeem my sign up rewards. *Yes. They can do that! The manager figured it out but it was too late for my order. He gave me a free piece of Cheesecake Factory original cheese cake to offset it

The fish and shrimp platter was $16.99. WOW! The tempura batter is used on both the fish and shrimp. Very greasy. * See video. The taste was ok but you know you shouldn't be eating it after the first bite. Slaw was horrible with a fermented aftertaste. Green beans were good. Hush puppies were very good with onion bits. The wife's fish combo meal was ok. The waffle fries were good.

The prepackaged tub of cocktail sauce had very little horseradish in it. Closer to packaged ketchup. Surprisingly the packaged tarter sauce was very good. They have malt vinegar available and also hot sauce (not good). I really don't like prepackaged condiments when dining inside. We paid $32.26 for 2 simple meals which is very expensive for fast food. Capt. D's has much better food for allot less $. We won't be back.

*Note this review was completed without using ridiculous un-discriptive terms like out-of-bounds, OMG, on point, awesome, the bomb, yummy, delish, to die for, do your self a favor, trust me, or kids emojis etc.. Describe the food, service (or lack of) and provide details on the cost/copy of check and include pictures! Is the place clean? No disrespect to the employees but no one cares about the waiter/waitress/clerk names, or if they look like they fell face first into a tackle box. They get changed like underwear and you don't get to pick one. No we don't care about your allergies or the need for gluten free food.

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I placed two DoorDash orders with long John silvers the first one was technical issue , fine I had to replace my order with DOORDASH, The manager Ahmed continued to be very rude and disrespectful, and then canceled my second DoorDash order. I would not recommend long John Silvers if my life depended on it & to have a manager be as disrespectful as he was on the phone with me to tell me I can call DOORDASH the police the governor the president. He is very rude and disrespectful and you should never order from there. I use to love long John silvers, but now you can cancel that. Don’t waste your time or money here. I will make sure that I spread it across social media on how you treat customers and a loyal DoorDash customer and to cancel my order for the second time because you were pissed I called and proved I paid … I hope they shut the doors. You should be fired from your job Ahmed and they find someone with a pleasant customer service voice and knows how to handle situations like this. They should fire you. You have ruined it for me and many others!

This is what Long John Silvers has come too… rude and disrespectful and thief’s at this point. Saying I didn’t pay… Door dash won’t process an order without payment...