Denson’s Grocery

Denson’s has the best and freshest and most local seafood in town. Dining is casual, on the enclosed porch. Background music is subtle and appropriate. Because everything is prepared fresh, to your specific order, expect to spend some time engaged in great conversation, enjoying a great wine or beer at very reasonable prices while your dinner is prepared. Reservations are recommended for 5:00 PM and after.

Without a doubt the best place to eat in the area. The service is almost as amazing as the food.

Denson’s Grocery was the best, most unassuming dining experiences I’ve had on the Northern Neck. The small grocery store and raw bar stands out in Virginia’s culinary scene. Blair Denson greeted us and sat us, and explained their dining philosophy — fresh farm to table food, a regularly rotating menu, and a place you can enjoy leisurely dining. Without being intrusive, she shared about the dishes on their menu, and you could tell they had a relationship with each of their producers and small business suppliers. Their raw oysters were from a small Oyster farm in Mathews, VA — phenomenal. The corn crab bisque was outstanding. We shared the strip steak, from a farm 5 miles down the road, and it was cooked perfectly medium-​rare and served with fingerling potatoes. We also shared the crab cakes, served atop a fried-​green-​tomato and local corn. I’m from Baltimore, and the crab cakes were among the best I’ve had. Their wine selection is very nice; if you can find it at a supermarket, you won’t find it here — they work with local distributors who import quality wines from small quality wineries. Rocky Denson, the owner and chef came out at the end of our meal and thanked us for dining with them. This place is doing thing’s right, and we were really pleased we stopped in.

This is a dynamite seafood restaurant disguised as a very cute local grocer (though it’s that too). I’ve lived in Virginia for 12 years, my rockfish with blue crab in a beurre blanc was best seafood dinner I’ve eaten in the state. If you’re in Colonial Beach, this is a must try.
Make a reservation to guarantee a seat! This place is tiny.

Rocky and Blair are great people! Denson’s has awesome food, made with top quality meats and seafood. You will not be disappointed with anything you order.

«Denson’s Grocery» has to be the most deceptive name I’ve ever seen. Yes they are a grocery store, but they are also an amazing seafood restaurant. I was visiting a nearby winery and they came highly recommended for lunch. My meal did not disappoint.
I ordered the fish tacos and was shocked; the seasoning had exactly the right amount of spiciness to it, and the calamari was also excellent. Apparently they change the menu constantly (according to the catch), although they serve other dishes as well. But it’s hard to justify getting the bison burger when in a town with «Beach» in the name, so seafood it was. The chef actually came out and asked us how it was!
It’s easy to pass this place; the enclosed patio is the only give-​away they serve food. Maybe it’s all part of the game; they lower your expectations just to blow you away later.
When it town — visit!

Date night in a Friday night… call me crazy but I paired the Gingerbread Stout with the shrimp and grits! I don’t even like stout… but I digress…
The wait time was reasonable and the service was very good.
My wife and I started with the stout… she had a glass of wine. The Blue Fish Dip appetizer was excellent.
My shrimp and grits was superior… one of those meals where you anticipate and truly enjoy every bite!
My date’s wedge salad and Porterhouse steak was also great! Just what she wanted… just how she wanted it cooked.
The hot fudge Sunday was the perfect way to end the meal.
And in the end I decided that I actually do like stout… but only in Winter!

Good food and friendly service in a super casual, laid back atmosphere. We would definitely stop in here for lunch again.

Absolutely AMAZING!!! Everything is made FRESH. When they are out, they are out so you gotta get it while it lasts because this is a local hotspot but definitely deserves a food network feature. They offer gluten and dairy free options and will make anything to order and also cook on separate surfaces to avoid any contamination with allergens. I had the teriyaki glazed sockeye salmon and I am a huge foodie who is very critical and dine at world renowned restaurants and have lived in cities like Las Vegas and DC and this was by far the best fish I’ve ever had. Location is locally owned and operated by a husband and wife and almost all foods and ingredients are locally sourced from local farms. Denson’s is a must go whenever you are anywhere close!

Friendly, knowledgable staff to help select wine to drink with meal and to select bottles to go. Fantastic crabcake sandwich! Casual atmosphere, left the beach to have late lunch, no worries about flip flops and beach hair! A must when in Colonial Beach

I don’t know what I enjoyed more, the crab cake sandwich or the service! A must when you are in the area.

OMG this place has REALLY GOOD food! Had the BLT with crab it was amazing! Great fries and fresh brewed ice tea. I’m in heaven!
Ok so it was so good yesterday so I came back again today. I have no words to say how delicious the soft shell crab sandwich is, it was huge!

We usually stop for trickling springs creamery ice cream — yummy. Had time for lunch today delicious. Check it out when visiting colonial Beach.

OMG, Denson’s Grocery is just TOO CUTE!!! The hubs and I were in town, and we decided to stop by Denson’s, as we saw a little sign for ice cream. When we walked inside, I was pleasantly surprised at how neatly organized it was — it has that little specialty grocery store vibe to it, with freshly-​made salads, local and organic produce in little baskets, fresh meats and seafood, local/​imported/​domestic wines, craft/​micro brews, gift baskets, and a deli section with dried and cured meats. We were greeted right way by Mr. Denson, who was as sweet as can be, and was ready to offer us any assistance. We decided to try the ice cream and was pleasantly surprised that it was Trickling Springs. The sweet girl that helped us offered us samples, and I decided with the Blueberry (creamy, very blueberry-​ish, and yummy!). Scoops were generous, and you can choose between a cup or a cone. There is a little window where you just walk up to in ordering your frozen dessert, so there is no need to go into the store (but, please do, and check out their offerings!). The little dessert ‘corner’ also offers root beer floats (they also had a ‘Nehi Orange Sycle,’ in which it’s an orange float, which I’d love to try next time). The little ice cream place is cash only, so keep that in mind. Definitely a little gem in Colonial Beach — check them out! :D
+specialty grocery store
+local and organic produce
+deli
+fresh meats & seafood
+Trickling Springs ice cream: D
+ask for Mr. Denson: D
+friendly staff: D
+small lot for your vehicle

We found this place via Unilocal.What a great place! Seriously! Super friendly people! Delicious food! They take farm to table seriously and we love that! The watermelon salad was so good! The burger was fabulous! I am not lying. It was the best burger ever! They make a lot of their own sauces and dressings too. Love it! Super delish ice cream too! Seriously, where else are you going to find super friendly folks and delicious farm to table food? Give it a try. If I could note one thing that might be a draw back it would be that the sit down dining is outside and on a hot day that could be a minus for some. But otherwise there just aren’t enough nice things to say about Rocky, Blair and Morrigan!

Breaking the mold.
A lifetime of drive thru’s or standing in line at fast food chains has not prepared you for a venue of this caliber. First, if you came here for 30 pak of Busch and a bag of cheese doodles (I know, 2 of your 4 major food groups) forget it pal. They call it a «grocery» but its really a restaurant… well sort of… well yea it is.
They have various off the shelf high quality sundries but the real gem is the food they cook and dish out. Asian food seems to be dominating the Colonial Beach (I know, right???) scene… not here. Everything on the menu is memorable. Hell, even if you just ordered a basket of fries… they’re a home run.
This is really more of a café’/ brasserie /​specialty grocery store with great wines and craft beers.
–0.5 stars for the tiny sit down dining area.
I asked the owner «why can’t you guys expand and get a few more tables in here?» She said ” …because we don’t want to”. +0.5 stars for an honest and respectable answer to a loud mouth patrons D.A.Q. (dumb ass question).
Hey, I’m down with that… if the joint is full, I’ll gladly sit on the sidewalk out front and eat my delicious Ruben.
Bottom Line: You, Momma June and the rest of your mouth breather family wont appreciate a place like this… better take ‘em to McDonalds down the street and leave a table open for me.

Amazing Cippianio filled with calamari, scallops, mussels, clans, shrimp in lovely tomato garlic sauce with toasted bread for sopping!!! Great craft beer and wine selection! Only 20 seats… Cozy and kitchy, make reservations! !

Found this place thanks to those on Unilocal!It was a little confusing when you first walk in — not sure if your order the counter, sit down and get waited on, or what. Once we navigated, we sat at the bar on the porch and we were waited on. Was thinking of knocking down a start for the initial confusion but I’ll stick with all 5.
Crab cake was good — not much filler — but I think there are better choices. Fried oysters were delicious and they were willing to make a po boy even though it wasn’t on the menu! Makes this place a winner in my book. Rockfish sandwich was awesome. Loved the fries! The seasoning and the homemade ketchup took them over the top for me.
Owner came out a few times to say hello and to check in. Wait staff was friendly and attentive. Looking forward to going back and trying more…

I really hate to do this, but my 4 star review might kill the 5 star average… Before you gasp and ignore my review, let me explain why.
Let me first start by saying this place was awesome. The food was fantastic. The three of us had a large fry, crab cake sandwich, oyster po-​boy (not on the menu), and the rock fish sandwich. Each was delicious. This place will make anything you want, so don’t feel limited to the menu they provide. Everything is fresh as can be, and the atmosphere (once you’re seated) is very homey. The owner and staff are quick to welcome you as one of their own.
Now — this is the reason for the one star reduction: the first impression. When we first walked in, I had no idea what was going on. In fact, I was so flustered and confused, we actually almost left! Boy am I glad we didn’t.
My recommendation — stick it out, ask for help. These people do not bite! Don’t feel limited to the menu — ask for what you want.
It’s pretty much a tiny sandwich shop, with a 17 person patio. If you’re willing to squeeze onto that patio, it’s worth it. Just let them know you’d like to be seated on the patio, and that you’d like to be waited on, and they’ll be happy to oblige.
Next time I am in the area, I’ll be back. Hopefully everyone else who stops in is determined enough to stick it out and make it to the food.
See ya there!

My second visit to Denson’s in less than two weeks was not as memorable as the first. It would’ve been nice if they’d remembered me, but no such luck.
Anyhow, on this lunch visit, I got a crabcake sandwich and shared fries with my sister. She got the haddock sandwich (which is what I got on my first visit). The crabcake was a nice large portion of large pieces of lump crabmeat, and it was very fresh. However, there wasn’t much taste to it. The fact that they put no filler in their cake makes it all the more important that it’s seasoned well, and it wasn’t. I didn’t taste any onion, no old bay, no nothing. It’s hard to complain about a fresh, no-​filler crabcake, but it really didn’t have much flavor.
I figured out on this visit what makes the fries taste so good, and it’s the ketchup they serve with it, which is a sweet chili ketchup. Still incredible.
The worst part about this visit was that we waited an entire hour for our food. There isn’t even room for but about 20 people at most in the dining area, so it’s not like busy is all that busy. There were others who came after us who were served before us and left before us. The first thing our server said to us was, «I’m not ignoring you, but…» After she took our order, she never came back. It’s not like we were hidden. There’s nowhere to hide! About 40 minutes into our wait, Rocky told us our food would be right out. It took another 20 minutes, and he brought it out… with a nice explanation of what we were getting. When he checked back on us, he asked how it was and we simultaneously said, «It was good.» He said, «Good or really good?» We said, «Just good.» He was stunned. Didn’t say anything else. Just walked away. Missed opportunity to make good with a customer.
Second missed opportunity was when we checked out. Practically the same conversation was had with a woman, and again nothing was said in response.
It’s really unacceptable to let diners wait for an hour, especially in such a small place, and not try to do anything to make the experience better. It should’ve been free. Or a percentage off. Or a dessert thrown in. I’m not one to ask for any freebies, but I do appreciate good service, and I just didn’t get it on this visit :-(