The Thirsty Camel

Bartender was very nice and informative. Its apparently a sister bar of Greenies, another place i was recommended that she said stays open til 2. So i think ill go there next

Good food kinda greasy but yummy the staff could have been much nicer but if your looking for bar food it’s an ok spot.

Don’t do it !!! This place is filthy, has roaches & I saw kitchen staff smoking in the kitchen. The food tasted ok, but can’t be clean with this other stuff going on.

Nothing to brag about on the outside and once inside, it’s dark and we were very skeptical. BUT the service and the food are GREAT! Food choices are a little better than typical bar food. Everything we ordered was fabulous! Shrimp, salads, burgers… not an unsatisfied person in our group. Give this place a chance and definitely go when you’re hungry!

Divey and fabulous!
Went there and happened to catch a live band, great music. Server was friendly and attentive. Atmosphere was chill, decent beer selection, and my burger was tasty. Can’t ask for more from a local watering hole.

Great waitstaff and weekly deals on food and drinks! Make sure to grab a custom Camel t-​shirt while your there! The tuna salad is amazing! Best shrimp prices in Ocean View!

Wow. Prime rib hardly resembled itself, a fight broke out between a girl n guy, waitress couldn’t add up and split the check correctly between 3 people, got yelled at by the bartender, and they always close a couple hours before the posted time on the website.

I’m pretty disappointed with our visit. We’ve come a few times and enjoyed the food. Suggested it to a friend and when we went we had a terrible experience. Our bill was wayyy over priced and upon checking what was totalled for our food we noticed that each items price was raised more than what was listed but we were then told it was due to us ordering fries with the meals, knew that was BS because hush puppies are $ 3.50 not $ 4 and they didn’t come with fries. And my husband’s meal was bumped up more than just one dollar. Our drinks were very light and very expensive. And we felt like we had been forgotten about. Its sad because we enjoyed it the past few times we went. Thought it would be our new hang out… Suppose not.

Shame. Went for Paint Nite tonight. This was one of my all time favorite bars. Born and raised in Norfolk. Go here often. Guess not often enough so that the bartender recognizes me. Bar clock is set 15 minutes fast so they can stop happy hour early. Told us before 7pm ‘real time’ that happy hour was over. Tried to order food. Well. I did order it. It never came. I guess some folks think it’s an imposition with 20 or so customers come to spend money. Is that an imposition? The Paint Nite folks bring in people and you’re rude? Maybe she was having a bad day. Around Christmas I always carry extra tip cash to make someone’s day. Left with all my cash. Real disappointing tonight. And I’m not picky when it comes to Ocean View. You expect the worst. Came hungry and thirsty and left that way. Managed to get one drink. Oh well. Plenty of other places to spend money. Another OV dive that’s off the list.

I get that this is a dive bar. Their menu is nearly identical to Greenie’s down the way — mostly bagged freezer food that is then fried or grilled. It’s okay and on par with expectations.
While I kind of expected the reluctant service because we’re not regulars, it’s still not acceptable. While there was a show that night, the place was not busy yet and the bartenders seemed less than interested in dealing with actually getting anyone in my group a drink. There was only one person in the establishment that seemed to care at all about our experience. I really don’t have high expectations for dives, but I at least want to be able to get a drink!
I’m mostly taking off stars for the women’s bathroom. It was still early in the evening, yet there were small lumps of dried vomit on the back of the stall door and lower down dried blood — not the sort of artwork one wants to see while they’re using the facilities. The rest of the bathroom was otherwise surprisingly clean compared to the door.
Though we were waiting on a cab, once we paid our tab we were spoken to in a way that heavily indicated we were expected to vacate our seats since we were done. We ended up waiting outside.
If it hadn’t been for the bathroom and terrible bar service, I would be far more inclined to return.

If you set your expectations at the level of a dive bar, you will be impressed. Beer is cold, food is hot and fresh, inside is clean, and atmosphere is awesome for old Sailors to catch up. Haters keep hating, this place is great.

— When we arrived my group was about to turn right around due to one occupied pool table, no karaōke, and no pull tabs however the LIVE music, repeat, live music kept us there.
— We had prompt and friendly service as my group of 5 constituted half of the bar on the evening before July 4^th.
— The camel outside can be difficult to get on top of for a picture but it’s doable.
— It’s a dive bar.

Stayed for one beer. The flies and roaches were just too much to handle. Especially when a roach crawled across the bar in front of me. Extremely depressing atmosphere.

Great local place. Great steamed shrimp. Been here several times and never disappointed. A local hang out.

Total dive bar. It gets a little crazy in here with the older folks. There was a silver fox wanting to do jello body shots off of me. Kinda creepy… The Jell-​O shots didn’t have much alcohol in them but I didn’t expect much for $ 1. There’s a small outside part you can sit and have a drink…
That’s about it…

Nice dive bar on the Ocean View beach. Happy hour is from 4 to 7pm with $ 1.50 drafts. Food looked good as well. They have some great specials but $ 9.50 for a Philly Cheesesteak in Norfolk is not good for me lol! I’ve had them all in Philly lol! Bathrooms are clean unlike Greenies and it’s ran by the same people I hear lol! Check it out!

The Camel Burger (bacon and cheese) was delicious. Slightly charred, perfect medium, full of flavor. Had Sam Adams seasonal which I wanted. The missus lived the butterfly shrimp. Definitely a locals bar and a slightly older crowd. Very nice bartender (Amy).

Probably the best dive bar in the Norfolk Area.
On a recent return form Hampton to Virginia Beach I decided to check out several dive bars in the area and it just so happened that the Thirsty Camel was my first stop. Upon walking in, it was a small little place but seemed to have a welcoming appeal to it, as I decided to sit at the bar I did notice it was a little on the darker side as far as the lighting went but that didn’t seem to bother me as I frequently hang out at the Lynnhaven Pub over towards VB. I was recently told by another Unilocaler that it might not be here much longer and there are plans to tear it down in the near future. Although I didn’t have any food here and just a drink the atmosphere eventually seemed to win me over. After leaving here and stopping by Greenies and Dockside both places were nowhere close to the Camel.
**Overall, the Camel seems to be a nice place to stop and grab a cheap drink or meal. Don’t go to Greenies come down to the Camel. Did I mention they have PBR on tap? YUM!

The classic dive bar!
The camel is small, dark, and populated by regulars.
The food was very good. I was surprised to find a prime rib sandwich on the menu. I was more surprised that it was as good as it was. Medium and juicy. The bread was a hearty bun that held up to the juiciness of the rib without becoming mushy.
I loved the atmosphere. You can imagine it being smoky and loud but it is actually very inviting and the staff was very attentive.
The specials change daily and they have great specials listed for football season. When you finish your meal they give you a wooden coin. Collect 5 and your next meal is free. Who says not to take a wooden nickel!
If you don’t like dives you’ll not like this place but if you enjoy bars with character you can’t miss the camel. Bring your friends and enjoy a beer!

In a land of chimpanzees I was a monkey…
As a true connoisseur of The Dive Bar, I’m very picky and particular about what makes the best of the best. TTC could very well end up in that list (mental note to self: Make a list) after some extensive hands on research.
If I lived in Willoughby, I’d probably have a spot at the bar with my name plate permanently attached. It seems that good. We had just come from another place noted for its BBQ and were highly disappointed. After being at The Thirsty Camel (we had come to check out the local blues band playing that night) for all of 3 seconds and inhaling the scents wafting from the kitchen, I could tell that here would have been a better choice to satisfy the gastrointestinal requirements of the evening.
But we were here for two things: Beer and Blues.
On this night, they had both in abundance. At the right price too.
The locals that gather here are ultra friendly, this is too far off the beaten path to draw any tourists at all, so if feels like a true safe zone with a killer view of the Bay. What could be better than that???
Everything about this place is casual, including the parking area surrounding the place. When you drive up, the building looks a bit like a giant cinder block dropped into the middle of the world’s largest sandbox. For me, it just adds to the vibe of the place. This night was not exactly beach weather, but as summer returns, this could be the go to spot for flip flops, ripped up shorts, and a t-​shirt that should have been thrown away years ago.
Vibe, the place wreaks of it! That and cigarette smoke from years gone by (they moved the smokers out of the main room it appears, but evidence of years of nicotine ingestion linger). I really can’t think of another place in the area truly like it… but I’ll strap on my spare liver and start the research… because if I find another treasure like this, life will truly be good.