Dockside Seafood & Fishing Center

We stopped in for an early dinner at Dockside and had an outstanding experience from start to finish. Everything we ordered was fresh and flavorful — the fish was perfectly cooked, the clams were tender and tasty, and the Greek salad was super crisp and refreshing. The hush puppies were a definite highlight — golden, crispy, and addictive! Our server, Kelly, was wonderful. She was friendly, attentive, and made sure we had everything we needed without being intrusive. You can tell she enjoys what she does, and it really added to the experience. Highly recommend Dockside if you're looking for great seafood, a relaxed atmosphere, and excellent service. Ask for Kelly — she’s the best!

Love Dockside! Great food. Crab cakes were meaty and fresh. Crab legs were tender and plenty of choices for the non-seafood crew. She-crab soup was good too. I love sitting outside by the water and watching the boats pull in for dinner. The walk through of the fish market gives it that authentic feel.

The fare was fresh, calamari was amazing! Salad and soups were tasty! The lager I ordered was too heavy for sea food but the sweet tea was perfect! I wish they used glasses instead of plastic cups, here’s my other complaint. I ordered blackened seafood trio, nothing on my plate was blackened or crusted. The crab cake was crunchy, the shrimp not crunchy the scallops were definitely not crunchy or fried in a pan necessarily. Also everything was coated in old bay! Like so much old bay I could hardly taste the fresh fare I’m paying good money for. I guess maybe it’s an east coast thing but that doesn’t mean everyone likes it and if the dish is going to come like that it should be mentioned that it will come with old bay so I can at least ask for it without. Yes my waiter was very nice and offered to take it back but it was Father’s Day and the restaurant was extremely busy and it wasn’t that bad I just didn’t enjoy it. I’m just disappointed because I feel misled by the menu I highly recommend y’all display an accurate menu. Other than that this place was good.

Must visit restaurant while at Virginia Beach! Rock Fish was literally 20oz, fresh catch. Batter was just enough. Snow crabs were fresh, plump, and juicy. We sat at the dock around sunset, wonderful view and ambiance. Our waitress was very pleasant and service was fast. Will visit again!

If you like fresh, expertly-prepared seafood, eat here. This is a quintessential down-home, waterside seafood restaurant! Friendly, experienced waitstaff serve up food from a clearly experienced and talented kitchen staff. Best seafood lunch (or dinner) I’ve had in a long time. Our table ordered fresh halibut (huge serving), fried oysters, and a pound of steamed gulf shrimp. Excellent.

Great restaurant on the water - food was flavorful and crab cake had an amazing texture and flavor. All of the food was amazing and I was able to finish the meal with a creme brulee cheesecake - highly recommend! Staff was friendly and accommodating

The food is so fresh and delicious. Best crab cake I have had in my life! You can take a fishing charter and eat what you catch at the restaurant. They will filet it and fry it for you. They also have a nice shop of fresh catch fish you can purchase to make at home. The views from outdoor seating is amazing too.

Super friendly service and delicious food! The salmon done blackened was so fresh, fried haddock, oyster sandwiches also so good! Would go back again and we do every year we are in town!

The shrimp are to die for! Nice sized and well seasoned and large portions. And then...are the hush puppies. You certainly have to try it out, not to mention that the service is amazing and exceeded my expectation.

Broiled scallops were quite over-cooked but also not hot when served. Cole slaw was either spoiled, or they use a vinaigrette-type dressing. Quite an odd flavor for cole slaw. Spinach artichoke crab dip was very good. Potato salad was good. Fried shrimp were good. Crab cake was good, but had some shell in it. Food was, for the price, just OK. Service was pretty good. Environment was decent.

I can't recommend this spot more if you're in the VA beach area!! Every item was so good and fresh, nothing disappointed. I highly recommend crab dip, oysters, and crab cakes here. The oysters were so good we started off with half a dozen and ordered half a dozen more. I was very satisfied with my crab cake as well, it was large and they do not skimp on crab meat! It was lots of meat and not loaded with other fillers. This was our favorite meal during our time at VA beach/norfolk. Service was awesome too. Pro tip there's a sunset happy hour with several seafood platters for $18 until 530 pm!

Nice, serene location on the water off Shore Drive. Service was prompt since no one was in there, greeting was lukewarm. Food was mediocre, it lacked seasoning. The she crab soup was good, crab pieces were minced. Oyster Rockefeller had good size oysters but the spinach was overcooked. The flounder lacked flavor.

Absolutely amazing. The food was phenomenal the service was outstanding. We had Steamed shrimp for an appetizer, I had the stuffed shrimp and my teammate had the fried whole snapper. We sat outside and enjoyed a cloudy sunset but otherwise amazing view while we enjoyed our food. We will definitely return next time we are in town.

What can go wrong when fresh SeaFood is served waterside outdoors on a summer evening. Broiled or Blackened is best.

This was our family's first visit, and we couldn't have been happier with the food, service, and overall experience. The weather was perfect, so we asked for a table outside. Beautiful view. Our server was very kind, and the food came out in good time. We got the Oysters Rockefeller, Shrimp Platter, Surf Burger, Crab Cake Platters, Hush Puppies, and Key Lime Pie. Everything was fresh and delicious.

This place was awesome. Server was catering to our every need. Food was absolutely delicious, in a nice and peaceful space. Couldn't get enough of the fried shrimp, they were amazing, as were the crab legs. All in all, perfect restaurant for seafood.

Busy bar like atmosphere, you have to find seating. Otherwise good service. Excellent place to watch the sunset!

Greatest seafood in the greater Norfolk and Va Beach area. One of my favorite old haunts. I come here to relax, enjoy the water views, and mostly to enjoy the scrumptious seafood. I'm a regular customer for over 15 years! If you are just visiting the area don't miss this treat! Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, this restaurant has something for every season!

I have been going to Dockside for years but will not go back. I had the shrimp, scallops, crabcake. it was not cooked throughly, very slimy and not hot. Another person at the table complained of the same thing. could not eat it. The waitress said we should have said something sooner and she would get something else. She offered no discount. At that point o did not want anything off the menu

We've bought crabs from a lot of markets in VA beach, but Dockside has been the most consistent in having the best crabs around. They steam and season them to perfection, when we visit, we only go here for our seafood.

We've been meaning to try this place, so we stopped by tonight for the sunset special (early dinner special). September contains an "r" so we had a dozen raw eastern shore oysters. They were good. I'm still getting used to Virginia oysters after living in the northwest and northeast. I had the fried shrimp platter. The shrimp was great! Flavorful, and lightly breaded. The fries were $1 more, and were good. The coleslaw was just okay. We also had the shrimp pasta and the fresh fish platter. Fish of the day was flounder, and it was delish. Our server, Faithlynn was spectacular. Very fast and friendly. We weren't planning to linger, and she had our entrees on the table before we could finish a dozen raw oysters. The view of lynnhaven inlet is also great!

Good food and generous portions, did a call in and food was ready in 15 minutes pretty generic blackened crab cakes fried flounder and a crab cake sandwich all were delicious

Excellent! Went there twice while we were on vacation last week! Loved it! It is now our go to seafood place in VA Beach.

We've had fish, seafood, steak and burgers. Food is usually good. Staff is typically friendly and helpful, they are pretty busy but the hustle and are working hard. Sometimes when they are busy because it seems the servers have so many tables it may take a little longer.

Very good fresh seafood option at the beach. Great for a large group. Food is standard seafood fare, crabcakes are the real deal as were the oysters Rockefeller and clams casino apps. Our party was all locals.

Bar Service was adequate but lacked warmth. The server was polite but not particularly attentive or engaging. The Fried Oyster sandwich was cooked well but didn't have a wow factor in terms of seasoning or presentation. The fries were underwhelming and soft. Dockside falls into the moderately expensive category, which might be a bit high for the quality of food and service provided. It used to have a lot more passion for its product. What happened?

Stopped by Dockside for dinner with some co workers. Upon entry there's a fresh seafood market and they also sell their merch! There's plenty of seating all around, outside, and at the bar. We sat at the bar and the friendly bartender took our drink orders immediately. The. menu offers a vast variety of fresh seafood. We started off with the calamari which was cooked to perfection, really tasty. I ordered the crab cakes with roasted potatoes and steamed veggies. These crab cakes were HUGE. The meal was delicious! Really hit the spot. I'd definitely visit again!

Amazing food, amazing view!! Closest thing to Florida seafood since I moved back. Will be back for sure!

the blackened fish here changed my life because this is the only way i'll order it now. the crab cakes were huge and the she crab soup was so good!!

Had so much fun fishing and the crew were awesome! Love the food the restaurant had to offer, oyster rockefeller was yummy with plump big oysters! Ocean scene was amazing!

Fishing trip was awesome. The crew was fantastic. Very personable, helpful, polite abs courteous. We were catching Fish as fast as we could drop our lines. Unfortunately the fish are still very small for this time of year. I definitely will take this fishing charter trip again. Ted

Great fishing boat with some amazing crew. They kept the experience fun from start to finish and we're super engaged with everyone fishing. We had a great time and caught lots of fish. Would definitely recommend for a fun day fishing. Plus the restaurant afterwards was perfect. Great food, fast and friendly service.

Great experience doing the half day fishing . I went with 3 kids and the deck hands were very helpful with my youngest. We caught around 70 croakers and everyone had a blast. There was a guy at the pier who cleaned and filleted the fish. If you wanted the restaurant to cook the fish for you he needs to make sure all the bones are out. It was pricey for that around 48 dollars. But the restaurant cooked it for around 8 bucks. They only fry it no fish tacos or blackened options . It was a great experience one that the kids will always remember. Highly recommended

Strictly for the fishing experience- AMAZING. The price alone was fantastic, and the "customer service" from the deckhands can't be beat. All 3 of them (Haley, Aiden, and another gentleman) were absolutely amazing and attentive. They weren't overbearing, but they would be right there if you needed ANYTHING. They were also all super sweet and super cool! I would love to go back to VB just to fish here again, especially with the same deckhands! Especially Haley, girl I loved you! 1000% recommended fishing with this group!!!

Service was awrsome! Kailie was amazing and funny, and they all were a great help as me being an inexperienced fisherman, this was very helpful.

Drove from Ohio to visit and needed Seafood for the soul. This market delivered with its fresh food, great view and atmosphere. Dinner was worth the wait. Will return again.

Enjoyed the Dockside fishing charter with my family. Definitely recommend packing a cooler for water & a snack . & Bring cash to tip the deckhands (20%) because they r all very helpful.

We came out to go fishing. We went out in the morning. Tom and the Captain were wonderful. After returning we had lunch in the restaurant. We had a fantastic meal. The staff are great. We will be back. Thank you!!!!

We really enjoyed our meal. I had the fried seafood platter and my wife had the catch of the day. My food was good. I prefer my crab cakes and scallops broiled over fried but they were both good. The crab cake flavoring was a little sweet for my taste but interesting. The fried flounder and shrimp were seasoned well. The setting was great too, we were looking out over the water. The weather was great too. The service was excellent as well.

We booked a fishing charter back in August to celebrate my son's birthday. Dockside was recommended by a family member who lives locally and I am so glad we booked a charter with them. First, the charter was very reasonably priced. We are a family of four, and I couldn't stomach paying 400-500 dollars to fish, which is what many of the other charters were charging. The Dockside crew was awesome! Professional, knowledgeable and fun! My two sons were the only kids on the boat, so they pay extra attention to them, making sure they were actually learning how to fish and enjoying the trip. During our trip, we caught over 59 fish and Dockside filleted them right on the spot. The next time you're in VA Beach and want an awesome fishing experience, Dockside is highly recommended!

Best, fishing trip ever! The Captain kept us on fish. The crew was awesome! Highly recommend going on a Half Day tri.

What can I say, it's a hidden gem of a seafood market that many know nothing about. They have been in operation for decades hauling in the freshest of area seafood out of local waters. The prices and quality are remarkable. They are best known in my opinion for oysters. Jun is the man shucking away and can often be seen on weekdays. Visit their restaurant that features fresh seafood. Both are housed together. You can also schedule fishing tours that depart off their docks. There are two check-ins, I always forget the market has its own. I recommend and have been coming here for over 10 years. Super staff that are all local waterman.

The atmosphere was amazing for our date night! Our waitress Rachel was polite, professional and had incredible timing! The seafood was so fresh with the fried shrimp being perfectly cooked & lightly fried. I really enjoyed the flank of grilled swordfish!

The team on the fishing charter really does a great job at making it a fun trip & helping people that are new to fishing. The online booking process is easy & unproblematic. If you have a preference about where you sit on the boat, it would best to get there early.

The crew were so nice and helpful and patient with the kiddos (and adults) that were on board. We caught a ton of fish and they made sure to take us to a few different spots so that we were sure to get some bites. Haley and Tommy were great and the captain runs an awesome operation! We will definitely book this trip again!

Amazing trip for my family! We went for Father's Day with our 6- and 7-year-old daughters, and it was the perfect trip for them - no need to lug around a lot of equipment, multiple fishing spots that kept them from getting bored, and an attentive staff that made sure we had everything we needed. Also, can't beat the price. Appreciate everything they do!

Really enjoyed this place! Fun atmosphere, beautiful views and if you like seafood, this is your kind of place

I have been doing the half day fishing charter for the last 4 or 5 years with my boys. It's a fun and easy way to get them out of the house and doing something they like. (and I don't have to keep rods/reels/bait/licenses etc). The deckhands are always so helpful and this year they started cleaning the fish and cutting them up for us. (last few times it was a guy at the dock that would do it). The deckhands charged less to clean the fish than the other guy and then we always take our catch to the restaurant and have them cook it up and we get a delicious very fresh meal! I should know the deckhands names by now, but sadly I am usually refereeing my boys and never catch the names! But it's been the same gentleman every year and the girl I've only seen last 2 times!

My sons and I went on a weekday morning fishing charter boat. The deck hands were awesome. (There was one male and one female.) They were very professional and educational about the area and the fish that we were catching. And we were catching fish two at a time! It was the best fishing trip ever. The boat was very clean and well stocked with snacks and refreshments. The captain was friendly and we enjoyed watching him walk around checking on the people onboard. We've been to Dockside for several years and this was one of the best trips ever! There was an office group of 16 onboard. There was also a family of nine (children, parents, and grandparents) from New Jersey and Texas. We all had a great time catching fish and enjoying a wonderful experience. Would definitely recommend.

The crew was so nice and informative. You can tell they do this daily. The water was a bit more choppy than I would have preferred which mad fishing very challenging. We were trying to bait the hook, release the hook and reel it in all while trying to balance. We bright our own snacks, wine and beer. It was so hot we took a break in the closed in part of the boat. It would have been nice to have a fan or ac in that are. We enjoyed ourselves and I did catch a few croakers and sea bass. They were very small, but it still made me excited because it was my first time doing that kind of fishing. The restaurant food was absolutely amazing. The Eastern Shore Oysters were so fresh and light. The crab cake, shrimp, flounder and hush puppies were unmatched. The coleslaw wasn't really like a traditional cold slaw, but it was ok just more like a cabbage salad. I would definitely go again.

Amazing seafood, so fresh and great service !! Great view as well !! 10 outta 10. I will drive the distance to Come back.

The crew was fantastic! They were so attentive to everyone on the boat!!! Great experience for a beginner!

I've waited until my third recent trip to write a review on Dockside because I really wanted a different experience. The food is so good that I wanted a 5 star experience. But alas, the service was sadly lacking. We began ordering takeout from the restaurant during the Pandemic, when that was the only option. Calling in the order, we made sure to specify our choices. My sister received the wrong vegetable. And I received catsup, rather than 2 cocktail sauces as requested. Now I am totally "old school" Tidewater regarding Fried Shrimp. I can't eat it without cocktail sauce. And I had none in the refrigerator. Ugggg.... Believe it or not our second takeout try was the same..... catsup instead of the requested cocktail sauce. My sister got there early. And.... being the impatient type, she went in to pick it up. She returned with tales of seeing no one with masks with everyone going in and out of the kitchen. This was during the height of our shutdown. And I'm high risk. So, regardless of my urge for really good Fried Shrimp, there has been no more takeout from this restaurant. But..... the worst service of all was a Pre-Pandemic visit to the restaurant. Service was really slow. And once, when our server visited the table, she absolutely slammed down what she had brought, turned quickly and walked away. We all sat there shocked. She later came back & apologized, saying she was having a bad day. Now this is a restaurant I had frequented often in the early '90s, when my husband & a good friend were still alive. There were 4 couples who would go, sit outside & have a great time. So I had recommended it highly to my sister & friend, who were dining with me that night. With the service we had, I was sorry that I had done that. The food & location are fabulous!! I always order the Fried Shrimp (with Cocktail Sauce :), Fried Red Potatoes & Mixed Vegetables. Don't think that the Vegetables are the standard "ho hum" variety. They are awesome, with cabbage and all other sorts of yummies. And the desserts, of which I don't normally partake, can't be passed up. The location is a picturesque spot on the Lynnhaven Inlet, on the east side of the Lesner Bridge. If you sit outside there's a gorgeous view of the inlet and incoming boats. If you are headed East, take an immediate right after you've gone over the bridge. Immediately turn right into the small group of restaurants & seafood markets. Dockside is the most southern one. It look as if you are entering a bait & tackle shop/seafood market. Walk through that to the restaurant entrance. Will I go there again? Probably..... once I've gotten over the previous three experiences. It's one of the last few places where you can get really good "old school" Tidewater seafood.

After 30+ years of eating at this resturant, I had the worse experience ever. The waitress was slow with a simple request for crackers, the food arrived luke warm, and when I spoke with management I had zero appreciation for the problems from her. I am going next door to Bubba's from now on. Apparently the wait is worth it there. This is a real shame too! My father loved this place so much we even had his wake there. Something very bad has happened with this restaurant so much so that they would treat life long locals this way! If I could leave a zero star I would.

Great mom and son fishing trip! Our Captain found us great fishing spots, we were pulling them in sometimes two at a time. Our mate, Tommy was awesome, so helpful, knowledgeable and friendly. We are looking forward to our next visit.

Phenomenal fishing trip and the team onboard are rockstars!! I would highly recommend this experience to all. Additionally we had lunch at their restaurant and the ambience and the food was outstanding!!!

2 starts for the view... the waitress was pretty good... the food was far below expectations. In all fairness, we visited on a Sunday, which happened to also be Fathers Day. Wife ordered tuna sandwich ... raw Daughter 1 ordered scallops and fries Daughter 2 ordered pasta Alfredo with shrimp I ordered fried shrimp My meal was great, albeit I had to trade it with daughter 1 .... Hush puppies were ON POINT wife's meal ... not sure how you overcook RAW ... but her "raw" tuna was medium - medium well ... Scallops were good, and the fries would have been great ... if they weren't cold Everyone said the Pasta was great, but the shrimp were heavily "charred" ... AKA blackened ... AKA burnt Three stars if the only problem was the quality of the food... but they lost another star became it took nearly an hour (+/- 55 mins) to get this meal of raw fish, fried shrimp, and pasta. The waitress was self admittedly embarrassed about the time/food. With all the great options in the immediate area, I will not be back.