Coles Point Tavern

BEST VIEW IM THE NNK. Great food, awesome service perfect beach vibes. Ig you havent been, your missing out. Get the rock fish sub, the nachos, the rockfish bites , it's all great

What a wonderful little spot! Sunset views, excellent crab fries and crab cakes! Teresa, our server was truly outstanding! Definitely a dive in some ways, but my God the food, service, and views are unbeatable! A must go! Update: do not order the cheese steak, really just don't do it. UPDATE This place has really gone down hill! The last two times I went the hostess was really rude, and the food took 2 hours to come out! They also forgot to cook several of the things we ordered, so some people had no food and other people were eating their dinners before the appetizers even came out. It was an absolute disaster! They give you a lot of crab, they have cheap strong drinks, and a great view. If you're looking for good service or have an expectation that what you order will actually come out, skip it. Otherwise go for a drink, watch the sunset, and eat whatever ends up on your table.

This was my first time coming to Cole’s Point. We came with friends. There was 6 of us to be exact. We came in as soon as they opened. We came in just to have a couple of drinks and an appetizer. We ordered beer (ultra) it was cold but not cold enough. The PBR was disgusting and we had to change to something else. My friend ordered a rum punch and it was brought to the table without any liquor in it. We did eventually get to be able to order an appetizer and it came to the table a while later. We asked for old bay. My husband had to get up and ask for it. Not once but twice. The first time our server was conversing with the host then we seen her go out into the patio then my husband just went straight to the kitchen to ask. Our sever Jocelyn (and she was terrible.) as she was bringing the old bay back to the table she proceeded to tell us I’m so sorry it took so long I was plunging toilets in the restroom. This was my SERVER WHO HAD MY FOOD IN HER HANDS. WHO DOES THAT? I wouldn’t come back here again or recommend to any friends. The view of the water was beautiful though.

The hostess (Barbara) was excellent She was willing to seat us wherever we wanted, was friendly, and answered amy questions we had. Our server (Joey ..I think) was wonderful. It was the best crab we have we have ever had, and the views were amazing. We aren't from Virginia, but we will be back.

I needed a day away and found Cole's Point Tavern. I had the best crab cake sandwich I might have ever eaten and a really nice conversation with the waitress, Jocelyn. Everyone was very friendly and the view was amazing. I will definitely make many future trips :)

Happened by here after work and gave it a try as I had commercials on the radio focused on the live music. Got a great local IPA from a local brewery across the Potomac and an ice cold glass just the right size. Lots of house made specials from an owner who is very hands on. We shared an order of the Chesapeake pay fries smothered in she crab soup and parm. They were absolutely delish and while a surprising combination paired well together. Even though it’s an hour from home, I’m already planning my next trip. Reduced hours off season so check before you go.

Right on the water. You can come by boat or car. Great views! Outdoor and indoor seating! Good seafood dishes! Rustic and historic, they've been in operation since the early 50's!

First time here. We came by boat. Easy docking. Pleasant atmosphere. Kitchen was apparently way understaffed. Mixed drinks were way too strong. Food was ok but the plate presentation was pretty bad. Overall decent experience.

Traveled by boat across the river from MD, to get something to eat on this beautiful day, got inside and if you don't have a reservation they won't seat you. All tables inside empty and outside half empty, bar empty. No food service allowed at the bar. Walked out.

We are at Coles Point Tavern. The food is amazing. Chris is the best chef. Ann is the best bartender too. Love going there when we come to VA from MD. We drive past the Back draft to go there after we learned a few years ago about Coles Point Tavern. If you haven't been there, go! Live music too on weekends. Sit on deck outside and enjoy the water view or sit inside.

We went on a quiet Sunday afternoon in December. Food was tasty and service was great. Beautiful location with a local dive bar feel. Loved it!

Stopped by for lunch on a November Saturday and it was steadily busy with regulars. The vibe is definitely waterfront dive bar but the food exceeded expectations. We sat at the bar and ordered crab nachos, sweet and sour wings, and pickle fries. The pickle fries were AMAZING. I'd go back just to get them again, especially on a summer day/night paired with an ice cold beer. The crab nachos were HUGE and also surprisingly tasty. They were tortilla chips with melted cheddar cheese, a white sauce and a healthy amount of fresh crab meat on top. The wings were also tasty but not super crispy and came with ranch and blue cheese plus a side of cucumbers. Service wasn't fast but the bartender was super nice and the food was good. Wish it was warmer to sit outside on one of the decks, but I guess that just means I'll have to come back!

What a GREAT place! First of all, the views are AMAZING. The wait staff is SPECTACULAR, and the food was pretty good. Before I begin, this restaurant is pretty remote, so the fact that they were out of numerous menu items the week after a holiday is COMPLETELY understandable! Our server was sure to let us know what was NOT available when we got our menus. Hubs had the pork sandwich, I had the fried fish. Hubs said the pork was delicious, but super tough. Pry because being out of so many items, they most likely didn't have time to cook the pork long enough to get as tender as it should be. My fish was good. Could've been cooked a wee bit longer, but the fish itself was great. The fries? THE BEST. Great, horseradish-y cocktail sauce, too! The interior had a really nice bar, seemed cozy enough, and there was a large seating area with lots of room for groups...or to just not feel crowded. The outside, well......simply perfect! What sold this place was our no-bones waitress, the perfect service she provided, the views, and just the overall realness of this place. It is kind of a long drive for a meal, but we will be back!

We came in as a party of 2 and the hostess asked us to sit at the bar for a few minutes while she cleaned off a few tables and then she'd come and get us. In the meantime, 2-3 other groups of 4-6 got seated. I got up to see what was going on and she looked at me and said "Did I forget something?" I said "Yes, you asked us to sit at the bar first a few minutes and said you'd come get us." She apologized profusely and said she'd clear a specific table and seat us. Then another group came in so she cleaned another table off and seated them. As I write this, they are eating their food now. We just got a drink. I hope the food is good because so far the service has been worse than awful. It's a bit muggy in here too. The music is awesome and so is the view. The bar was amazing and the bartender attentive. This is our first visit here and I was really hoping for an awesome experience as we drove all the way from Colonial Beach to try this place.....

The best of all is their view. CPT sits on a pier over the Potomac river with incredible views and sunsets (access by boat too with tie ups). CPT is a great bar that will periodically have live bands. The wait staff are friendly and knowledgeable about the Northern Neck area of Virginia. They do have a staffing shortages like many restaurants so service can be slow like Key West. Just relax and enjoy the view, and order two beers at a time so you are not sitting empty handed for a long time. The meals are great.

My family and I ate there last year, although it was a bit pricey...The food was excellent...the service was good could have been better but they were very busy at the time, we do plan on visiting Coles point tavern again.

Food is good, friendly staff, great water views. Check to see if they're open as they have seasonal times.

It's worth the drive to just get a drink and be on the water. I showed up and they stated they were not taking food orders because they were out of food, at around 3:30-4pm. This seems to be a common theme in reviews. It's worth it for a beer. Atmosphere is great and the employees I encountered were nothing but nice. If you get food it will just be a pleasant surprise!

Been here several times and never disappointed with the food. They have the BEST crab cakes and fish around. Highly recommend. Just wish they were open year round.

It was 4 p.m., the place was not super busy and we waited over 20 minutes at a table and were never waited on. We ended up leaving without being acknowledged. Such a shame.

Food is good if you like fried. The view is wonderful. A great place to spend a summer afternoon.

Delicious food with great service. Waterfront ambiance with outdoor seating. We went by boat and just tied up boat on their dock!

This is THE worst. We stopped in for dinner. Wasn't that busy. The bar area was a little full but outside was pretty open. We had 6 people. Walked in, seated right away. Took a minute for the server to come. We ordered drinks...should have ordered food at the same time but we didn't. It took her at least 20-25 minutes to come take our food order. After that. We sat there for another 55 minutes...no food, drink cups empty, and when I went to ask the status of our order she said there were EIGHT orders ahead of ours still. LIKE HOW?!?! Anywho. We paid for our drink and left after she tried to explain why our food was taking so long. All I would have preferred was for them to advise us of the wait before we actually waited...wasted hour and a half...had Arbys on the way home. It was delicious.

Loved this place. Sat out on a picnic table and the views couldn't be beat. Our waitress was friendly. Had the she-crab soup (YUM), sweet tea (YUM), and pork bbq sandwich (YUM). The sandwich came with cole slaw, which was the exact kind of cole slaw that I had growing up and it was delicious! I'll definitely come back here again when in the area.

Lovely spot to take in the sunset, enjoy a few Miller Lites on the river, and enjoy a crab cake sandwich. Low key vibe. Super casual. It's all about the local experience. Plenty of parking, outdoor tables galore.

Food was delicious. Took a bit to get our drinks after we ordered. When we ordered our food I was told I could swap out the chips that came with my burger for French fries. The bill came and I was charged for the full side price so there is no swapping sides I guess but the food was really good

We tried the seafood pizza. Amazing. Pricey, but well worth it. A wonderful blend of flavors. Our friend had the clam strips. So much better than Howard Johnson's. My friend said that I should give a bad review so we can keep for ourselves. We will return.

Excellent food and service. I'd read some poor reviews, but I wanted to see the place, as it's historic. I'm glad I ignored the negative reviews. We sat outside for soft drinks and an appetizer. The food was hot and arrived quickly, if that's a requirement for your party. Everyone from our server, the servers who weren't waiting on us, the food runner, the hostess, were all friendly. The young man who we had seen emptying trash cans earlier even came over and asked if we needed anything. The seafood pizza looks great as well as the crab soup. I hear they have the best crabcakes on the Potomac. The history of the place is enough to inspire a visit. They have some cool events like comedy and live music. We will definitely return.

Nice folks, cold beer, quiet atmosphere. Will continue to come here for sure! A+++++++

The bbq sandwich is so good with fries and drink they live music sometime and amazing food to

Sunday on the water... called ahead because it's a trip across the river! Was told as long as you are here by 5 you will be seated. Got there about 4:55 and was told sorry kithen is closed ran out of food!? So I was like wish that would have been explained to us that this was a possibility before we crossed the river!? I was actually like ok you know stuff happens, THEN the little girl who spoke to me on the phone came out with an ATTITUDE, and was like you called a long time ago so that's on you. WHAT?! We will never waste the time to go over there again! So freaking rude and we've had the food before, it's basic at best , just USED to be convenient while out boat, but if that's how they treat customers, NO THANKS! we will tell everyone we know, to stay away! Sucky people!

I've been working in this establishment with my family since last season. I can tell you it is a great restaurant with an amazing environment for family's. Are establishment is cleaned after every shift and before we open every morning, all of our food is fresh dropped off the day before we open. We reuse nothing as to that would risk illness. Very welcoming environment it's cool to be able to, be their around so many different people and speak to so many interesting customers. Well I can't tell you much just come here and see for your self.

the food and the view were the only good things about this outing. the server was very snarky towards us multiple times (maybe because she was working on the fourth? who knows). the hostess was unkind to us as well because we moved our seats to being outside rather than inside once. the waitress was very very slow; a person in my party had to get up and go to the bar to ask for refills. the entrees and baskets were yummy tho!

Alright. Here we go. I have been to this place dozens of times and everyone's reviews are spot on. The food is usually good but the service is consistently miserable. But you have to take it all in context. Here are the pluses: fresh seafood, cold drinks, gambling, cool old dive bar. Here are the negatives: worst service anywhere, tiny kitchen, outdoor dining is on the wrong side facing away from the gorgeous sunsets. But....it is a cool river bar. It really is. Don't go there in a hurry, go there for the experience. It is a local treasure because there ain't much else around here. Take it for what it is and order the seafood pizza.

Jocelyn63 & Belinda - thanks for your awesome customer service, the homemade tartar & cocktail sauce is delicious. Thank you! What a great Service experience. Oh food is awesome too!

Amazing view - delicious food, huge portions and the staff is excellent! Will definitely go back!

This place IS WORLD FAMOUS! More history here than you know! LOL!! It was built in 1951 when Md. Had liquor by the drink, gambling and 24 hour packge stores and Va. Had none of those things! Va. law could not enter and Md. Didn't care! Made for a real interesting place!

I'm diggin' the crab quesadilla and the seafood pizza. Playing Maryland lottery is cool

Love the location out in the middle of the river and whoever's working the fryer back there is gifted. Everything we ordered was perfectly fried - pickles, rockfish bites, and mozzarella sticks. One of the best spots in the Northern Neck for a real waterside meal.

Enjoyed Sunday Funday at The Tavern with Local friends. Food was great, but "Mother" Teresa made our day! Thanks for the great service T!

That's crab cake in the Northern neck, if you're in a hurry come a little early all the food is cooked to order. The seafood is unbelievable here the crabcakes are huge and if you're from the Northern neck and you know a little something about crab cakes every now and then you might get a small shell that's how we know that it's real, it's not pre-packaged and the size of the crabcake is humongous well worth the $25 I sure you. I've visit here quite often one of my favorite places.

I've read the other reviews and well, they are all pretty much spot on. The one stars have a point and the five stars are right on as well. The Tavern is one of the crown jewels of the Redneck Riviera along the Lower Potomac River. It is in fact located in the Potomac River (Maryland) but is only accessible by car from Virginia. You can buy lottery tickets, play keno, video horses and tear off cards. They serve and sell beer, wine, and hard liquor by the bottle through the package store entrance. They also carry ice. Cole's Point Tavern is nye on around 50 years old now depending on who you ask. It's walls and pilings have weathered hurricanes, Nor'easters, ice flows, pretty much everything that mother nature has thrown at it and it still stands. In a heavy wind or heavy seas it will rock a little bit. When there is country line dancing it will rock a lot. It looks like it's going to fall down but hasn't yet. The view from the East deck towards Ragged Point is better than the view from any other restaurant on the Rivah. It's shaded in the late afternoon/early evening. Sunsets from the front deck are spectacular. The tourists always stop to snap photos of the sunset. There has to be 50 million photos of the sunset that have been taken here. I kid you not. The food is excellent and fresh, the crab cake sandwich ($25) is made fresh and huge. A new addition, seafood pizza ($25) is made with crab, shrimp, and scallops and can only be finished by two people and on a dare. Burgers are good, the seafood is local fresh and the portions are large. Every so often they run a special and it is always good. The remainder of the menu tops out at $20 with most in the $10 range. The beer and mixed drinks are all priced on the low side of average. There is a jukebox that plays about a 100,000 songs and you can access it from an app on your mobile. Yes, sometimes it taken well over an hour and a half from the time I arrived until served. I have learned to never go hungry but instead to go in anticipation of being hungry. If you are in a hurry or expect fine dining then you are going to the wrong place. It's not Appleby's or Chili's or a chain restaurant that is focused on turning over tables. Cole's Point Tavern is a dive bar that serves some pretty good food and is one of the few places in the entire Northern Neck where locals and Come-here's mix and have a good time.

Below is the message I sent to management. I was not looking for anything more than an acknowledgement they read it, maybe even an apology, but I did not get the courtesy of either . "I just wanted to make you aware of a bad experience we had yesterday. I decided not to write a review, because we typically have positive experiences there, but yesterday was not it. We arrived at around 3:00 PM to take my daughter out for her birthday and were seated on the back deck. We ordered and were served our appetizers and drinks fairly quickly and then we ordered our four entrees. About 40 minutes after that, the waitress came out and we asked how much longer. She said - should be up soon, I leave at 4:00. I said, I hope so, I might leave before that. We laughed. 5 minutes later she came back and said the cook did not have crab cakes and was waiting to hear if we wanted something else.... We told her to forget the crab cakes and just bring the 3 orders that were ready out - to which she said, he was waiting to start those based on the crab cakes..... We left... As a customer, we would have expected to hear 10 minutes after we put the order in if there was a problem, NOT 40+ minutes later when we asked if the order was almost up. And if the cook put the order to the side, he should have made sure to follow-up with the waitress. Not sure where the communication broke down, but I know we were the ones who wasted our time."

Welcome back Coles Point Tavern! We were glad to see you re-open for the 2015 season! As the first diners of the season we can't complain.....the staff and owner were friendly and ready to serve. It was a breezy day but we couldn't pass up sitting outside with the view of the water. Beer, burgers and fries - the perfect combination for a Saturday afternoon. Fries were the same as last year - we had them loaded - tasty but a little greasy and limp. The burgers on the other hand were really good. Perfectly cooked - juicy, fresh and the buns were awsome! Couldn't have picked a better place for a burger and a beer on the water! We're glad to have another option for the season and look forward to coming back by boat over the next few months as well.

this was our first time here. we called for a table and they were able to fit us into their night. when we arrived, they shared that they had run out of most of their food since it was the last night of the week for them. we ended up staying. and they could not have been more gracious to us. the owner came out and told us what they could make for us, which was perfect. they served huge portions, which we really could not eat since it was so much food! they served us quickly, even though my mother ordered this super complicated drink. it is hard to run a business in this environment, and we saw 2 guests completely (and unfairly) berate the very young server and the owner. we had a great meal with great service sitting on the water - I didn't have to cook. we will be back. maybe just on a different day! and with sweet vermouth too....

We heard good things about this place, and, since it's the only place around, we thought we'd give it a try. Alas, try we did not. After waiting nearly 20 minutes for someone to take our order, we left without a bite, an order placed, or even a glass of water served. During our wait two waitresses told us they would be right with us or someone would be by to take our order. One of those waitresses came back to tell us Jocelyn would be our waitress - progress? A third waitress, Jocelyn, arrived only to tell us she, too, would be right back. She then went to another table, serviced them, walked by us, and proceeded to chat with a patron for three minutes (we were timing things at this point thinking we would find some humor in it. We did not). At that point we didn't feel like Jocelyn or any of the wait staff we looked lovingly at were interested in our table of six hungry and thirsty patrons. At least they had bathrooms.

My fiancee had the 25$ crab cake and it had plastic in it. The server was very nice about it but I could see the cook in the back bitching like it wasn't his fault. And they still charged me full price for it.

My favorite place for lunch round these parts. You can get there / here by boat or car and the trip is worth it because the people are nice, friendly and welcoming whether you're local or a "come here". The rockfish sandwich is one of the best I've had because it is locally caught, and Chris is a great cook. You can't go wrong with anything on the menu.

Service was horrendous! They were out of multiple items and blamed it on a busy weekend, this was Sunday. I myself ordered the BBQ plate that was advertised to come with coleslaw but did not receive it. The BBQ comes on a sub roll which is really off putting and a bag of chips are served as a side. The cheese fries were decent but you would hope so. The place has a lot of potential given the location just note that it is considered Maryland and if you just recently turned 21 and still have a vertical license they will not serve you! Also for some reason the water and the sodas had a strange iron taste.

Absolutely horrible service, food wasn't all that, long wait for food and drink, nasty disposition of staff who was very condescending to us, staff argued and cursed amongst each other in front of customers, tried to voice our problems to the owners who could have cared less, young boy that brought us food told me and I quote "to not fuc*ing talk to me" when I asked him who the owner was. No utensils or napkins brought us, told we had to ask for them if that's not a joke, had to go get our own menus. The owners should be utterly ashamed and embarrassed by his staffs actions and more importantly his own actions. He could have cared less what problems HIS staff caused. Other customers were complaining. He should have fired that disrespectful little punk right on the spot for talking to me the way he did. I was told by the owner himself that we needed to leave after paying good money for shitty, overpriced food and the overall disrespect of his staff and more importantly himself. You sir should be ashamed. We drove from Hampton to eat at your restaurant and this is how we treated. We will gladly NEVER return. And for your punk boy that said what he said to me, he better be damn glad I didn't right punch him in his trashy mouth.

Stopped in for lunch and the service was slow and inconsistent. Overshadowing the food was horribly slow service as we waited for 75 minutes without food and never received our appetizer. View was great but I wouldn't recommend this establishment if wanting to receive food/drinks in timely fashion as they have one grille and a small kitchen according to the staff.

Last night some friends and I went to Coles Point Tavern for dinner and to watch the sunset. There weren't too many people there. Service was a bit slow, and they forgot three items we had ordered, 2 sides and a drink. Food was on point however. It took over and hour and some change for food to arrive.

They were out of BBQ and all seafood besides crab. We waited an hour and a half for our food after being told multiple times that it would be right out. When the food finally came, it came out separately. Three silverware delivered to a table of six and when we asked for more we got one empty roll and one with only a knife. We watched one young boy run all of the food and mostly one plate at a time after checking his phone and the window full of food. Four employees gathered to talk multiple times while people were waiting on their food, as they window set full of food under heat lamps. The chicken philly came out on three cold sliders rolls (said they ran out of sub rolls) overflowing with Mayo and the chicken was disgusting. Chips on the side? Never saw them. A diabetic at our table ordered no bun and of course it came out with a bun. It was sent back and retuned with a big pile of coleslaw (not ordered and not wanted)! A simply awful experience and I'm starting to feel sick so I guess the crab meat should have been taken off of the menu as well.... Maybe that's why they were pushing it with specials!

Wow. We're not normally one to write a review good or bad, but we're just so disappointed. We waited all year for the Tavern to reopen so we could enjoy one of the few waterfront restaurants we have in this side of the Potomac. After a long Sunday working, we were excited to treat ourselves to a short boat ride to Cole's Point for dinner. We crave their smothered crab and old bay fries. We pulled up to the dock only to find they were completely out of half their menu, understaffed, and with an incompetent kitchen staff holding up orders. The staff told us flat out it would be quite a while to get our food at 4pm in the afternoon with a half empty restaurant. Get it together. You're one of the good ones, but this is NOT IT!

Taking into consideration that it is the holiday weekend, we expected a wait for service and food. What we didn't expect was almost two hours of a wait :-( not did we expect to hear about how the wait staff was hungover from the night before. Or expect the constant " yours is coming right up, it's in the window" I was hoping it was gonna be in my belly :-) look, I get it, your busy but please don't lead me on. I love this place and I'm happy to see it fixing up and putting some paint on the walls. But come on...... get your management shit together !!! I hope y'all straighten up by the tine I get back here :-(

This place is a dump. Ownership changed recently and it is just as bad if not worse. On our most recent visit, service was rude, they didn't have half the things on the menu, food took nearly half an hour to come out and it was just ok. Tried to order an Italian sub and was told it would take too long? My daughter's "chili" was questionable. Looked more like leftover meatballs thrown in a can of beans... just gross...

Food was good, when we got it. It came out in stages, and one of our friends didn't get anything he ordered. Said they were out of shrimp, the bacon cheese fries came out burnt to a crisp, my flounder was actually pretty good. The rockfish bites were bland and tasteless. The waitress would be better off choosing another profession. It got to be so bad that it became a joke by the end of the night.