Mobjack Tavern — Restaurant in Virginia

Very seldom would I consider reviewing a dinner as a member of a party of eight, but I had the great pleasure of dining here last Friday night, January 25, 2019, and I was very impressed with the food, the service, and the attention to every detail of every meal served at our table. The menu is encyclopedic, running from Steak Oscar through Jumbo Lump Crabcake; the Fried Seafood Platter was exceptionally generous and beautifully fried. Among the eight of us there was not a single criticism of any ordered dish—those several who ordered steaks each ordered a different degree of doneness, and each got precisely what he ordered. Everything arrived hot from the kitchen, and the entire table was served only moments apart. It was the finest execution of a party of eight that I can remember, and every meal was beautiful and delicious!

Update: I again was a guest at Mobjack Tavern on Friday, February 22, 2019, again a member of a party of eight, and frankly I was again astonished at the menu, the preparation, the service, and the conviviality of the establishment.

The response from the owner to my initial review, which evidently he or she posted only an hour ago, suggests the level of interest in the food and the guests that one may expect on a regular basis.

On this second visit the party engaged in various interpretations of "surf and turf," the most successful of which I think was the baked Crabcake Sandwich with an order of Fried Oysters--although admittedly this WAS "surf and surf," this IS Eastern Virginia, and our Backfin Crab and our many oysters are arguably the best in the entire world.

Delicious also was my Prime Rib with a side order of lobster tail, although here--this being Eastern Virginia--"rare" roast beef is "medium," and the lobster had naturally to swim a long way from Maine. For me this was a sort of test run to see if I should return with my wife for a more intimate Prime Rib dinner--she is fond of really "bleu" Prime Rib--and so when, happily, I am able to bring her, I think it might be wiser for me to recommend the Steak Oscar, which is more accessibly on point.

Every meal is educational, but at Mobjack Tavern, every meal is enjoyable! I am very grateful to my host for this second opportunity to visit, and I thank Mobjack Tavern and its faculty for another...

Updated: Thank you for you response and you response shows the type of establishment and management you are. First: I contacted the restaurant to check the wait time. There was not a wait time for outside but a 30 mins for inside which is not realistic because there were maybe 5 tables seated and NO CUSTOMERS waiting, so that is not justified. I was at Gloucester Point when calling so I gave my name and number and said we would be there shortly. So there was no “being impatient” to it. Second: you have been open through out the pandemic with outside seating, so one would think that you and your employees would have cooking and waiting on customer down to a science and know how to do their jobs. DO NOT use the pandemic as an excuse. It’s obvious by the lack of customers you had, this is the reason other restaurants have better business than you. I know when I arrived and I know when I left. I have a copy of my receipt that you would not give to my other party and I told Brad I would pay for the food that was eaten AND gave him (you) a 5.00 tip so let’s be honest. Unfortunately leaving was not soon enough due to the lack of taste of food and I went to my waiter to let him know I was leaving there was not any advisement to us that our food was coming out. He did not approach us once to tell us of the delay. Don’t twist it. Brad must be the owner/manager because I’ve never heard of a customer asking for a manager and one not showing up to the table by request. Poor management by any means as Brad said there was one not available. Anytime there is a complaint TRUE management or ownership always comes out to try speak to the customer. So now you have “unkind BUT TRUTHFUL.” With that sort of response to a complaint is absolutely ridiculous. And that’s the reason you should not be in business.

First post: I reserved our seats for 2 and was seated promptly. Ordered crab dip that came with tortillas chips and regular white bread wedges. The tortilla chips were stuck together and stale and the bread wedges (4) were burnt on the bottom. A party of 7 arrived and placed their order after we had. They received their order before us, ate and left and we still had not received ours. We sat for over an hour and 15...

OUR FIRST VISIT TO MOBJACK - NOT A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION. THE FOOD WAS GOOD - THE SERVICE WAS TERRIBLE. WE WERE SEATED IN A TIMELY FASHION. WAITOR ? ORDERING OUR FOOD WAS NOT AS EASY AS IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN. THE WAITOR TOLD US WHAT THE SPECIALS WERE-NO PROBLEM. ASKED US ABOUT APPETIZERS AND WE SAID TUNA, 2 OF THEM PLEASE-THE WAITOR THEN SAID THE APPETIZER SPECIAL WAS CALAMARI, OK WE'LL TAKE 1 CALAMARI AND 1 TUNA. THE WAITOR TRIED TO CHANGE OUR ORDER ON HIS HAND HELD DEVICE - HE HAD TO GO TO THE BACK AND SEE IF IT COULD BE CHANGED? HE RETURNED AND STATED THAT THEY WERE OUT OF CALAMARI...OK 2 TUNAS PLEASE. HE RETURNED TO TAKE OUR DINNER ORDERS - 1 SPECIAL W/SALAD, 1 PORK CHOP W/SALAD, 1 FISH AND CHIPS AND 1 STRAWBERRY SALAD AND A BURGER. THE TUNA ARRIVES ONE AT A TIME. THE DINNERS CAME OUT, HOWEVER, WE RECEIVED 1 PORK CHOP, 1 FISH AND CHIPS IN A TIMELY MANNER. THE SPECIAL CAME SHORTLY AFTER -- STILL - NO STRAWBERRY SALAD OR BURGER. SHORT TIME LATER THE STRAWBERRY SALAD ARRIVED NOT THE BURGER. THE WAITOR ASK IF WE STILL WANTED OUR SALADS WITH OUR SPECIAL (YES I DO!) AND WITH THE PORK CHOP (NO THAT'S OK!) WE THEN ASKED ABOUT THE BURGER - THE WAITOR STATED THAT THEIR WAS A NEW COOK AND THAT THE BURGER WAS NOT CORRECT AND THAT IT WOULD BE OUT SHORTLY.......THE WAITOR RETURNED TO CHECK ON OUR TABLE....WE ASKED ABOUT THE BURGER AND HE LOOKED AT US AND STATED HE DIDN' T KNOW WE HAD ORDERED A BURGER AND HE DIDN'T PUT A BURGER ORDER IN FOR OUR TABLE !! ! ! ! ! WHAT???? YOUR JUST TOLD US??? IN ADDITION - AFTER OUR APPETIZERS- SOME OF OUR UTENSILS WERE TAKEN FROM THE TABLE - SO WE ASKED ANOTHER EMPLOYEE (WHILE SHE WAS WIPING OFF A TABLE) IF SHE COULD PLEASE GET ANOTHER SET OF UTENSILS FOR US-SHE REPONDED, YES, BUT SHE KEPT WIPING OFF TABLE AFTER TABLE AND NO UTENSILS--

NOT SURE HOW THEY JUSTIFY THE HIGH END PRICES AND THE LOW END SERVICE...??????? NOT SURE IF WE WILL BE...