Tail Whip Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Virginia

2 stars - one for the server and one for the initial pleasant atmosphere of the restaurant when we walked in. We only stayed 10 minutes. Greeted quickly, sat at the bar, drinks served quickly. We saw many things on the menu that we were excited to try. We asked our server a question about two items - peel and eat shrimp app ($13 for .5 lb and $20 for full lb) and peel and eat shrimp entree (same price, but this comes with potato and corn.) We wondered if the shrimp were cooked differently, etc. since both items were the same price and one comes with corn and potatoes and the other doesn't. Our server understood the question and thought it was a bit "weird" herself that the price for both the app and the entree were the same. She walked over to ask a man and woman standing at the end of the bar - (manager?, owner? not sure). He did not know which customer had asked the question and his response to her was very defensive. "Who's asking? Why are they asking? They should just realize they are getting a deal with the entree." All very off-putting and insulting responses to what was actually a very honest inquiry. It was our first time there and there is no way we could have known what the differences, if any might be. The server pointed us out to him and once he realized we had heard every word he said, he quickly changed his tune. I can't think of a better example of hypocrisy and insincerity. He tried to backtrack and make excuses for his rude reaction, but by then we had learned all we needed to know about the actual atmosphere of this restaurant. We asked to pay for our drinks so that we could leave. I do not own or manage a restaurant, but if I did, I would have quickly said something to the effect of, "let me get those drinks for you, we'd love to have you stay and show you what we are really all about here." Nope - we were handed the bill and told "have a nice day." Disappointing experience on many levels - we were hoping to have found a new local...

Great new little seafood place to add to the list. They have a little twist to traditional seafood boil place with a touch of Asian infusion. On the front you have a number of options to put your boil together. Then get to pick your spices and sauces. On the back there are quite of number of Stir fry to choose from. Pretty wide open space with a good number of tables. They have a good sized bar and a number of tvs. There is a large patio, which was closed, since it's bbbrrrrr season. I even saw that they had some cornhole tables. We ended up getting a couple appetizers the salt and pepper shrimp and I ordered a half dozen Rappahannock oysters. Both were very good. My wife got the chicken and broccoli stir fry with some cashews then I got a boil with clams, mussels, king crab and Dungeness crab. I picked the Cajun spice with medium Heat. My wife really liked her meal, I didn't care for the occasion seasoning it tasted a little sweet to me almost like a Tei flavor. There was nothing wrong with the seafood itself I asked them to get me some dip and spices which they did so the seafood actually tasted pretty good. Everything came out nice and hot, my wife's food actually came out probably a good 6 to 7 minutes before mine did. Staff was super helpful and nice plus very attentive. We definitely would come back again and I would try a bit of different seasoning. Also looking to come back at lunch time and try one of...

Stopped in here after some post-Christmas shopping in Ashland. Wonderful experience as an unplanned sort of date night. Sat at the bar on a rainy Friday night. Came in for some oysters on the half shell and cajun shrimp, but was impressed by all measures. Service was attentive and friendly. The food was great. We ordered oysters on the half shell, crab rangoon, hush puppies, cajun shrimp boil and the poke don.

Oysters were super fresh. The poke don was one of the better ones I’ve had in years. The hush puppies were delightful. My gf was very happy with her meal choices, too.

Drink selection was commendable. Whiskey selection was especially curated but they had options for all tastes.

Lots of parking was available (off-street) but then again it was raining—not sure how it might be when the weather is nice. Service was spectacular. The bartender, Blanton, was friendly, attentive and kind—but especially personable. Rest of the staff was also great. Overall very impressed, and will return when in the area.

If i had to give any constructive criticism, I would say consider changing the lighting. The can lights made things seem a little sterile and were too bright. If anything maybe install a dimmer, change to lower lumens and or “warm” bulbs or something. Honestly didn’t detract from my overall experience because food was amazing and Blanton was spectacular.

Look forward to coming...