Fish Bones Restaurant

Clean restaurant. Nice staff. Great waitress. Buffet $ 31 per person. Not much variety. Crab legs were different quality. Desserts were ok.

It was a good buffet. I ate fresh oysters and cocktail shrimp, the crab legs were very good, the she crab soup was ehh ok, dessert was good, I’m not sure it was worth $ 31.50 pp, even the kids and $ 31.50. I’d say it’s worth maybe $ 18.95 But it wasn’t bad. Everything was fresh.

The food was kind of just okay and they water their drinks down. a lot. Pretty pricey for what they have. Definitely not worth over 30 $ a person. Aside from that, our service was AWFUL. Our waitress «Haley» was very rude, very slow, and was obviously not wanting to tend to us and it definitely showed. Was definitely the worst service we have ever experienced. When we were leaving and was asked how our experience was, we told the manager about how poor our service was and he replied back with «Oh, the waitress you had is just shy.» Which is pretty pitiful if you ask me. Definitely won’t be coming back here or recommending to any friends.

This place had really good shrimp Alfredo and crab legs. They’re a little on the expensive side. Waiter bought out our appetizer with our main dish so it was kind of pointless for it to be an appetizer. Never really got refills but once and we were there for a few hours. We were waiting a really long time for our food as well. The place was decent. Our waiter Matt was very pleasant.

Visited this place over the weekend with my husband. The service was great! Our hostess and waiter were both very attentive and were a lot of fun to chat with. The food was pretty good. My husband got the all you can eat and had no complaints. I had the Norfolk Special. It was flavored great but the meat was a little dry. Still tasted good though. I would recommend if you are looking for a casual dining experience.

Ocean buffet was great. Small but a lot of choices. Sushi, crab legs and lobster cakes were great. Very busy for dinner. Restroom needs some work– lost a star for that.

Horrible attitude, the manager kicked us out cuz my service dog. He claimed only seeing eye dogs allow to go in even I keep telling him under federal law service allows to go in restaurants and showed him my service dog’s ID, he said he didn’t care.

How can you have a resterant without a restroom??? When someone finally showed me where it was. you needed a room key to get in… I wasnt staying there! I just don’t understand… is there a secret to using the restroom here?

We are from Maryland so we know good seafood, especially when it comes to anything crab. I visited Fish Bones with my family on our trip to VA Beach. It was one of the worst restaurants we’ve eaten at. Nothing was made with real crab meat and none of the food was warm. The service was terrible. Our waiter never paid attention to our drinks. It was like he didn’t want to help us. The only thing that was decent was the steamed shrimp, but it had VERY LITTLE flavor. Very disappointed. There wasn’t much of a selection of food, and what they did have wasn’t good. Won’t go back, not worth it, I’d rather wait an hour to go somewhere good.

First, let me explain that the only reason we went to Fish Bones for dinner last night is because it was pouring down rain and the restaurant is next door to our condo. There are far more interesting and better choices in Virginia Beach if you’re looking for seafood.
We saw the reviews and they were a mixed bag with many 4 and 5 star reviews among the 1 and 2 star reviews so we thought, «how bad could it be?» (Read my review for Neptunes two years ago to see why we should have learned our lesson then.)
«How bad can it be» should never be a gauge for trying a meal.
It was pouring rain in Virginia Beach and the place was half empty — this is during a time of year when every other restaurant in Virginia Beach has upwards of a half hour wait for a table. Still, we wondered, «how bad can it be?»
Welp. We were soon to find out.
The buffet had limited options and for someone like me who isn’t a seafood lover it was very uninspired. Shells mixed with a cheese sauce that more or less resembled a boxed mac and cheese, ribs that were over sauced and over done and over sweet… and don’t even get me started on the sushi.
Ok, since you asked let’s talk about the sushi.
When I saw online that there was sushi, I figured I would have at least something to enjoy while my family gorged themselves on seafood. However, this restaurant needs to fire their sushi chef. The rice, the most important part of a good roll? It was so mushy it could have been called «congee.»
The «loaded» potates — which were potato chunks with bacon bits and cheese melted into it was cold, as were the grilled squash. I couldn’t finish the salmon cake. My family had the shellfish — clams, crab legs, shimp and mussels and said the only thing worth having more of was the shrimp.
My family enjoyed a couple of the desserts — puddings in shot glasses but I didn’t finish mine as I found them too sweet and the texture unappealing. To each his own.
You may be asking me, «But Deb, if the food was so awful, why did you give it two stars instead of one?» I’m glad you asked. I awarded Fish Bones an extra star because of the good service. We were seated right away and our server was very attentive. So, one star for food and one star for service.
Would I return?
No. No I would not.

Great service. Not once was my drink left empty. The buffet was fully stocked. The crab legs were good an unlimited. Some of the other items weren’t seasoned to perfection but with a buffet you can’t always expect that. My wife and I sat outside and had a wonderful view of the water.

I’m a huge seafood fan and I enjoyed everybit of this restaurant. We chose the Buffett. Pretty pricey ($ 31) but I expect that for an all you can eat seafood Buffett with a view of the beach! Although I didn’t get to try everything on the buffet since I was zoned in on the steamed shrimp and crab legs the entire time, the service was great. Our waiter (didn’t catch his name but he told us he was originally from Serbia) he was on point. He was hustling and bustling trying to accommodate his tables and did with a smile. I can appreciate that. If I’m ever back in VA beach I’m definitely visiting again. I only gave 4 stars bcus the bathroom wasn’t as clean as I would of liked it to be and we had to wait twice for the steamed shrimp to become available.

Friday evening and only one table was occupied… on a Friday evening? Never a good sign. But what made me walk right back out was the musty, moldy smell as soon as I walked in.
So we left.

Excellent service… food mediocre at best. The seafood was on the chewy side or overcooked. The chicken was processed chicken. The crab legs could benefit from seasoning.

This restaurant is one of those places you think they have the potential to be great. The food i like disappointed me, the mussels and clams were way overcooked. We were there for the crab legs and was an okay experience they were over done the bones were not cracking. The sushi tasted gross. The fish dish had so many bones in it. The best thing was slow cooked ribs. Was it worth it 30 dollars definitely NO. Overall the service was great. I want to go back and give them one more chance.

Serious one of the best buffets on the beach, they have an amazing breakfast buffet if seafood isn’t your thing. All the usual you expect plus some surprises like fish tacos, an amazing crab salad, and sushi.

So we went to fish bones last night and honestly I was kinda concerned due to the Unilocal reviews. But we went with an open mind and this is what I think:
1. Food
The food was cooked well. The carving station has medium rare and medium well meat but only one type of meat. The buffet has a variety of seafood but limited and they take a lengthy time to refill the buffet. All in all its a buffet which I don’t typically visit cost was $ 31 but if u use this summers coupon (found in any of the FREE coupon books along the boardwalk) you can take $ 3 /​person off or get a free whole lobster.
2. Service
Our server was a very polite woman who made sure she visited our table frequently so the shells did not pile up she really should get a solid 4 stars and only not 5 because she lacks attentiveness at the end.
3. Ambiance
I would suggest this place for families with kids who like seafood. Or young people traveling on a budget who want to fill their faces as full as they can be with seafood. It is neither upscale nor downscale just your average wear anything but a bathing suit type of place.

We tried to go to Watermans on our last night, but there was a 2 hour wait on Sunday, so we walked the opposite way and decided to stop here and we are glad we did.
The buffet was packed, so many kids and families, we decided to just sit at the restaurant. The hostess was quite rude to my gf, but our waiter was really good and attentive. The salad bar that comes with entrees is very fresh, but lacks a lot of toppings and is small. The tomatoes were really good though, and I just had a small salad before my meal. I got Scallops, Shrimp and Crab– It was great, the potatoes were really good and the scallops were huge, I got 5 of them and they were much bigger than the ones at Mahi Mah.
My gf got the steamed platter and she loved it. The crab was better than Capt Georges buffet, and she said the shrimp were amazing. She really enjoyed her meal here. The meal itself was about 20 dollars per entrée, which is kinda high, but we were on vacation, so its all good.
There are a lot of options for Seafood in the area, but I would come back again– Food was fresh and tasty. Other than the rude Hostess, we had an enjoyable meal here.

My family second time here, mid-​August. We were a party of eight so the friendly waitress broke down the price for us, cool. Food was good, raw oysters were fresh, crab leg tray was filled most of the time.
Would rate a four star if they would sit us by the window (ocean view), there were only 2 – 3 tables of guest when we arrive. Don’t think they could get five star because the buffet section was hiding in the back and you could only access either through the Hotel or a souvenir shop entrance. And the restrooms are outside of the restaurant and most likely shared with the shops and is not very clean.
Would go back next summer if we are staying in a hotel nearby.

My family and I went here for dinner here and the service was slow. It took 10 minuets for the waiter to take our drink order then another 15 before the drinks came. The waiter was not attentive. He came and checked on our table and I asked for a refill on my drink. 10 minutes later he came back without my drink and I had to ask again. This also happened when we first arrived and asked for a booster seat for a child with us.
Over priced with very poor service. I would not go back nor would I recommend to a friend.