Water Coastal Kitchen

Lovely place in the heart of Carytown; quaint and quiet… adult atmosphere. Excellent wine list. The food was very tasty. Lots of variety. The Southern Fried Trout with Tomato Chutney was delicious

(Blindness to run-​on sentances required)
You know how all the millenials and wannabe young folk post those «That moment when…» or «When you…» on social media? Well here is my version: When you take your hip, well-​travelled, well-​educated, artistic, gregarious, and eccentric older brother, (who tells everyone he’s younger than me), visiting from Northeast NJ, and dines/​travels for work and visits NYC, Europe, Asia, etc regularly to PENZEY’S spices on Cary. He over-​buys, then around 11:30 you both become pekish and you were going to take your brother elsewhere to a fave RVA spot before taking him to RIC, but he insists on the place, just across Cary: Water Coastal Kitchen.
I had never been there, it looked empty, etc, so I was very skeptical. Man was I wrong.
1^st batter up: Their raw oyster sampler. Maybe it’s how we ate it, maybe it’s because we decided to drink sparkling wine at noon-​ish, but WOW. Tey were fresh and perfectly presented.
My brother enjoyed the red snapper tacos special with the pickled carrots, and although not being a fan «of anything spicy,» enjoyed the kimchi served with it.
I went for an «Appetizer Survey,» and opted for the truffle parm fries, and pork belly and grits appetizer. My brother insisted on the fried green tomatoes with pimento cheese and anco chili cream.
Overall our experience and lunch was spectacular. Tucker the server gave us amazing service.
The Fried green tomatoes app was perfectly executed and the breading is surely crack-​filled.
The pork belly ap and grits is the perfect portion size and the pork belly was crispy yet tender and the grits did not seem instant, and I’ll quote «My Cousin Vinny,» «No self-​respecting Southerner uses instant grits.» Cheesy, perfectly textured, awesome grit-​ness.
The fries I would call a mildly failed attempt. They were flavorful, but a bit soggy for us, and the grated cheese used was not melted at all when served. This dish needs some execution work.
Overall I’ll be sure to visit them again on a wife-​date! My check-​in had great pictures…

Came here by myself for the RVA restaurant week, which only lasts a week. Typically restaurant week (dineLA) back home lasts 2 weeks so that restaurants and us have better experiences. Typically we go to 3 – 4 restaurants for dineLA. I can only do 1 or maybe squeeze in 1 more in RVA. Saturday and Sunday. Back to back.
I had the braided short ribs confit for appetizer. Yes it is an entrée on the regular menu. The portion was big. For the real entrée I had the trout with lobster grits. I picked it over the popular crab cake because I never had lobster grits before. Not bad. I like the chilled sauce on top of the trout. Special sauce. I had the chocolate torte for dessert. The whole experience was great. Worth the $ 30.

I had a pleasant first experience at this restaurant. The waitress was attentive and helpful in choosing what to eat from the menu. Fresh bread was brought out, along with the calamari (appetizer) I ordered. The calamari was good but nothing amazing. For the main dishes, I ordered crab cakes and my boyfriend ordered the special of the day which were crab legs, ribs, and mashed potatoes. We both ate well and were content with our meals.
The overall atmosphere was great and the restaurant looked clean. I would recommend to others.

completely unimpressed by the food, awkward layout, and service at this restaurant. I have no clue where these reviews came from but it seems to be polarized on opposite ends of the spectrum, so that has to say something right?
service is slow and unattentive even off-​peak times. food is mediocre
oysters aren’t great quality, not clean out of the shell, taste is ok. served with a load of horseradish and some bad cocktail sauce
buffalo oysters are lackluster as well, not really any buffalo or blue cheese flavor, and the side salad was a decoration pretty much
shrimp and grits were ok. I liked the grits (but I just like grits I think). shrimp was decent, but I didn’t love the mushroom based sauce, and there was no bacon in this dish like the menu states — if I had known I would’ve ordered something else.

I regularly frequent this spot because it’s location and seafood. The happy hour raw bar/​drinks are nice. Normally I wouldn’t write a review for such a zen like serene place with a decent bar but the food needs work. Bad. Maybe someone stop caring but the wait for food is counter productive to being a for profit business… Customers actually walked to the front of the kitchen to wait for their food. Seriously whose running the kitchen or is this restaurant by the numbers?
The waitstaff are as nice as can be but they’re not the one doing the cooking. Simply it’s a place you want to love, where the service is great but horrible fail in kitchen management.

Best crabcakes I’ve ever had. Love this place! The atmosphere is great, the drinks are good the food is phenomenal.

We love this place. Every time we come to the beach we must visit. It completes our stay.

I went to Water Coastal Kitchen because of the reviews on Unilocal.I think we made a wise choice. The outdoor seating is kind of cramp, so it makes it hard to hold a conversation. It makes it seems as though you every word is being heard by the surrounding tables. Now on to the food, I ordered the shrimp and grits, and my date ordered the lobster mac and cheese. Shrimp and grits are popping up everywhere with all kinds of variations. This one included asparagus, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and of course bacon. Simply delicious! With that being said, I wish I ordered the lobster mac and cheese. I tasted a bite of my date’s dish, and it was very well prepared. I wanted to order a bowl of it to go. She went to work on it. There wasn’t much talking during the meals, so the cramp area didn’t bother us. Top that off with some good craft beer, and you have an really good dinner.

Nice small place, great service, I enjoyed my food, the restrooms need some updating, some tables are wobbly. Other than that, very nice atmosphere but they do not offer any discounts. A little bit overpriced for what they serve.

The staff was friendly and helpful in getting seated and when you talked to them. But as far as being there on top of what you need, they fall short. You will wait a few minutes while your waitress flirts for tips with other customers. If it’s your birthday or special occasion, do NOT expect anything special, or even a happy birthday.
The food is alright. Not bad, and definitely not good either. The grilled lobster was very tough, chewy, and difficult to even cut through with a knife. Definitely NOT worth the prices for the food, service, or atmosphere.
Ambiance had alot to be desired. For the prices you would think it would not be so crowded (tables on top of each other with little separation room) and loud to where you can’t hold a private conversation without broadcasting it to half the dinning room. Bathrooms are disgusting! A ton of staff, not many customers and yet nobody can clean the restrooms nor make your food in less then an hour and a half.
Like I said, they are not bad, but perfect if you like to waste money and NOT get what you paid for. We went here for a special birthday dinner on reviews from Unilocal and other sites, only to be greatly disappointed. The only positive we really have is at least we did not get sick.

Nothing to write home about. The food is bland and overpriced. When eating out, I never like to feel as if I could easily cook something better at home, and I regret paying for my meal here every time I go.

I’ve come here several times and give each visit a solid 5 stars. The ambiance is lovely both outside and in, and the service has been phenomenal every time with attentive and friendly wait staff. I have never had to ask for a refill here, I think they’re all psychic and know exactly when you need them.
Most important of course: the food is outstanding. I always recommend the fried green tomatoes, and anything off the brunch menu is amazing. I have never had a disappointing meal or bite off a friend’s plate here.
The best bang for your buck is to come during weekend brunch. The plates are cheaper and you get an insane amount of food for the price. Totally recommend the po boy and crab cake Benedict.

I am disappointed.
The reviews for the restaurant have been excellent and I had high expectations for Restaurant Week– it’s a time for places to shine in order to woo in more regular customers, but I and my sisters all feel that WCK kinda of… phoned it in on this one.
The service was pleasant without being intrusive, we did have to ask for my coffee to be refilled, but that’s hardly a problem, and the waitress noticed before dessert was delivered that my cocktail had barely been touched [I’m not sure what was wrong with it, but no one at the table really liked it] and removed it from the bill. Everything arrived swiftly– but perhaps that was the sign things were not as they should be?
The bread will be here momentarily, fresh out of the oven… and it was, but with no crunch to the crust for being fresh-​baked, though it was warm. The appetizers actually arrived –before– the cocktails, which is a little weird and hints at having been pre-​made. That’s to be expected of the she-​crab soup [not bad, my sister quite liked it] of course, and the fried green tomatoes hardly take much time to fry up [they were delicious, with excellent pimento cheese], nor is short rib confit exactly made to order. The main courses came out almost as quickly, though, and while plated attractively, fell decidedly flat, flavor-​wise.
The blackened mahi mahi was the only dish with any particular flavor at all, and that was only in the fish itself. The coconut risotto was dull, with no support from the tropical fruit salsa or the spinach. The fried trout had no real flavor not imparted by the tomato chutney and fresh herbs sitting on top of it [my other sister ended up picking it off the top to eat and leaving much of the fish behind] and for having visible cheese and a few solid chunks of lobster in it, the grits were somehow boring. The scallops themselves were good, but their shrimp companions were somehow overcooked despite having sped to the table, and the wild mushroom/​asparagus/​house bacon risotto with truffle oil was really just rice with some utterly flavorless sauce and stuff stirred into it. Everything desperately needed salt, but even that didn’t help much. [Lest it be asked– no, I don’t have seasonal allergies, and none of us were congested. I did think of that.]
The desserts salvaged things a bit. While the bread pudding [unsurprisingly] followed the hard and fast rule that essentially no one outside of New Orleans seems to be able to make –actual– bread pudding [bread of some sort, soaked in custard, warm and gooey on the inside, crisp on the outside, with good boozy sauce], it was tasty enough, and both the key lime pie and flourless chocolate torte were excellent.
We will probably not return. The place is far from terrible, but there was nothing to recommend the restaurant either, despite the happy reviews that will come before and after this, and there are too many other places to go instead.

Happy hour (4−7pm Mon-​Fri) serves Chesapeake oysters ($ 8 a dozen). They were really good and fresh. We also got a pound of steamed shrimp which was also a happy hour special ($ 11). Both were super good.
The restaurant is very clean looking and has a modern, simple, elegant design. Very comfortable and friendly. The staff were also helpful and friendly.

Absolutely exceptionally perfect. From service to food they deserve beyond 5 stars. I wiped all my plates clean! They’re portions are large enough to fill you up, it’s almost hard to eat slow because it’s so delicious!

If you are in the mood for seafood and don’t want to pay big bucks, happy hours here is the place to be! Our group each got the raw oysters, white wines, and calamari. The oysters were big and fresh. The wine went down smoothly and hit just the right spots. Calamari, on the other hand, left much to be desire. It was okay, a bit over salty. I did come here a long time ago and order some sort of sandwich. It was meh so I would suggest you choose their seafood dish over other choices.
DO check the prices on their happy hours menu. Apparently we were served with their old menus and they have increased their prices recently (by like a $ 1). However, they still honored the old prices for us so A+ for customer service! Their seafood happy hours prices are on par with Pearl Raw Bar but between the two, I like Water Coastal Kitchen better.

If, hypothetically speaking, I had to choose a last meal, it would come from here. I am so excited about this restaurant that I am very tempted to write this entire review in caps, but to avoid yelling at everyone, I’ll refrain.
I was so impressed with my meal last weekend that I’m going again this weekend to celebrate my birthday with my family. Über comfortable, quaint, and homey, Water Coastal Kitchen represents everything that makes Richmond, Richmond. You could easily pass this on a stroll down Cary Street if you’re in a hurry. With a façade that looks like a home, it invokes a «this is a restaurant?» response. I’ve always been eager to see what’s cookin’ in there and the perfect opportunity presented itself last Friday when I found myself having something to celebrate. I scooped up the boyfriend and we had us a fine seafood feast.
We had calamari for an appetizer which was perfectly fried. I wasn’t crazy about any of the sauces that came with it, but a few squirts of lemon got the job done. I ordered one of the night’s specials which was a lobster tail stuffed with a crabcake with mashed potatoes and stir fry vegetables. Excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the ground and wipe the drool from my chin. Ya’ll. It was that good. The crab cake was especially meaty; there was little to no filler at all. The mashed potatoes were obviously home made, flavorful, and delicious. The lobster was perfectly cooked and accompanied by a container of steaming hot butter. And the vegetables? Divine. While I was raving over my food, my boyfriend got the fried trout and was not impressed. I don’t know if it was just him being picky or if it really wasn’t that good. Nevermind that, there is no room for negativity in this review. All you need to know is that if you’re a seafood fan, you need to go here immediately– no celebratory occasion necessary.

Food:
I ordered the half lobster with crab cake. It came with mash potatoes and asparagus. Everything was great except the asparagus. My husband ordered the Maine lobsters and said it was fantastic. No complaints there. I will say that most of the items/​menu online is not updated.

My office decided to dine here for our annual holiday dinner. We had a group of 12 and they did everything to make our visit pleasant. Our Waiter was very knowledgeable about the menu also made great recommendations. I ordered the daily special; the lobster tail stuffed with crab cake. My food was cooked perfectly. My coworkers also raved about their entrée selection. This place has definitely earned a spot in my top 5.