Sandpiper Restaurant

Excellent dinner. The fried oysters were phenomenal; steak perfectly cooked and tuna delicious. Abundance of food. Fabulous deserts: chocolate mousse pie and ice cream sundaes. Crowded on weekends but worth the wait. Our server was very knowledgeable about the food and helped with our need for a gluten free meal for two of our party. Irish coffee was excellent.

Pricey for what is served and the staff that serves it.
We’re in the area a lot and have always wondered about this little restaurant. Luckily we arrived right at 5:00 and were able to be seated immediately. The hostess that welcomed us was very friendly and that was nice.
Now, onto the rest of the meal. Our waitress — Kathy — is LESS than attentive. Had to ask twice for straws. No bread was brought out with our salads — when clearly — everyone else had bread with their salads. We watched the other waitresses/​waiters and saw how attentive they all were — ours always had to be hunted down — she liked hiding in the back when clearly she should have been in the front. She never cleared our plates — one of the other servers always stepped up to the plate for that. She never asked if we wanted refills. We were all drinking water — that was an easy enough refill!
My daughter and I ordered one of the specials. Petite Filet with Crab. It had a little of the Mornay Sauce across the top and that was delectable. The steak that was supposed to be medium well was cooked VERY well done! Dry and not much taste. My husband ordered a fried fish. His portion was HUGE and he enjoyed it. My daughter asked for rice pilaf with her meal — her plate arrived with the twice baked potato. We’d already spent time hunting down our service on 3 occasions, all we wanted to do at this point was eat and get the heck out of there! Our meal was $ 105. Notice above I said we all drank water with our meal! Our «special» was $ 39 and should have been HALF that price! I don’t mind paying $ 39 if the food oooohs and ahhhhhs me, but this was mediocre — at best!
The reason I’m leaving 3 stars and not 1 star is because I noticed how friendly and attentive the other servers were. Lots know the locals by name — which is very nice. I figured we got the «one bad apple», but because of that and the price that goes along with a rotten apple — we’ll not be returning!
I noticed with the other Unilocal ratings that the word «mediocre» comes up a lot! Pay attention to your customers, Sandpiper Restaurant! There’s plenty of room for improvement!

If you are in the Kilmarnock/​White Stone area this is the place to go. Great food — wonderful people. The Beer Battered Onion Rings and Shrimp are the best!!! It continues to get better each and every time we go

Best casual restaurant in the neck, steaks n seafood, solid cheap wine, heavy cocktails, and an atmosphere to match.
My favorites: red pepper soup when available, stuffed shrimp, kabobs, ribeye when on special, the filet is bomb, solid shrimp scampi. It’s all good here! To me it is not always about having the nicest wine or the nicest cut of beef, it is about an experience that is fun and enjoyable, and a place where you can go and drink a little too much wine and nobody gives a sh?!

The locals know that they pour a very heavy drink. It’s a little noisy, the people are really friendly, parking is kind of a bitch, you have to wait for a table if they’re full but the meals are really good there’s always more than you can eat. And did I say they pour have a drink? No smoking, thank goodness!

The restaurant is improving. We have dined there four times during the summer and enjoyed our meals. The food preparation and quality have improved and, in fact some menu items are exceptional. I give high marks to their steak entrees and their seafood specials. Their pasta items need help (frankly, more emphasis on a wider seafood offering would likely be best).
The service is the area of huge improvement. Class actors in the service staff… watchful, but not hovering… professional, but open to being salty… all create an enjoyable dining experience. Bravo to the changes!

Had an excellent meal here. Features fresh steaks, seafood. Fried clam strips were crispy. Had pile of oysters for my dinner. Service was upbeat and friendly. Will be back soon!

**2.5 stars**
No reservations taken here, folks! Get ready to wait during peak dinner hours, but after that you should be able to get a seat fairly quickly.
This is a smaller restaurant, so dining areas aren’t very spacious. This is especially true in the back room where it tends to be dimly lit — almost bordering on dark — in the later hours.
Overall the employees tend to be welcoming and provide good service. Some servers could stand to be more personable, but it could be due to the large crowds they’re trying to please.
For me, the greatest asset to The Sandpiper is the heavy hand making the adult mixed beverages. They’re always strong and worth the money.
The food, however, leaves much to be desired IMO. I’ve never really understood the reverence given to this place in regards to the food. I don’t think it is worth the price. But hey, I may just be the minority!
On my last visit I ordered the Sandpiper Alfredo with chicken. The portion was large, much more than I could eat in one sitting. However, the dish was extremely oily. The chicken was a bit overcooked and chewy. When I went to re-​live the dish the next day with leftovers, I had to throw it out. Still oily and the taste dissipated overnight.
An additional, silly note:
I find some of the food descriptions on their menu to be a bit underwhelming:
1. Filet Mignon: «Hand-​cut, tender & delicious»
2. Crab Cakes: «Absolutely divine signature taste»
That does not describe how the dishes are prepared or the ingredients used? For new diners this wouldn’t be very helpful. Of course we expect your food to be delicious and divine… tell us what will make it that way!

Had a great dinner here on November 23^rd. The service was superb and the meal excellent. I had grilled salmon which was done to perfection. The dry martini straight up that I ordered was perfectly made and the portion most generous.
I just wish that The Sandpiper took reservations but I guess they don’t need to since they are so popular. On pretty much any evening, weekend or not, expect to wait if you want to eat about 7:00 PM. On this visit we arrived at 9:15 PM and just breezed right in — so for immediate seating plan on an early or late dinner. And it’s remarkable — you can usually find seating at the other most popular restaurants in the area at peak dinner time — but not here!
Only four stars because of the reservation situation, otherwise I’d give them five and would be dining there a lot more frequently.

We got a recommendation from a local to try this place. Although the service was good and they were very friendly the food was mediocre at best. The thing that turned us off was the taste of the water and the smell of the dishes. I know that sounds weird but the water tasted like pond water. The steak was so so and the pasta dish my wife got was very bland and lacking in flavor. Over priced and not very good. Would not recommend!

It was our first time to Sandpiper, and I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised, they were very accommodating and friendly towards us and our children, though we were seated at a table very close to the bathroom, which had a suspicious door chain locked inside. The Lamb Lollipop appetizer was yummy and a good value, and entrees were as well. I had the jumbo shrimp and crab, which was excellent, and my husband had the ribeye special which was also good. Service was friendly, but lacking once the dinner rush picked up. We waited 10 mins for the waitress to check on us, just to ask for our check. There are plastic tablecloths, but I’m not that picky so it didn’t bother me. And they did have cloth napkins, not paper. We were happy with the meal, but I feel the kids meal should be a set price, maybe $ 5, not individually priced. We will return to the Sandpiper on future visits.

I was ready to give this establishment 3-​stars until I read some other reviews and thought better. Good — The entrees (5 diners, all getting some seafood) were prepared very well but I thought they were on the expensive side for the ambiance of the resturant. Things that need Improvement — The place does not take reservations and for some reason (probably because this is a very small town and there are very few resturants to select) it was standing room only waiting for a table. The tables are covered with plastic table clothes and the silverware (I use that term loosely) looked and felt like it came from an army mess hall. Our server provided one small bagutte for the five of us. The house salad was very unimaginative, the dressing OK but served in a plastic cup. The wine list was OK but again pricey for the ambiance of the place. I would try other places before coming back here.

Feels like sitting at a picknick table– complete with plastic table cloth and paper napkins. Water (and ice cubes) chlorinated to a degree where our taste buds could not tolerate it. The house salad looked suspiciously like supermarket mix, dressing the same. My soft shell crab was well fried and generously served but overall we still left disappointed.

I’ve been to The Sandpiper three times since I moved to the area. It’s a bit pricy, you can wait a long time for a table, but the menu offers good food and good service. The crowd tends to be the retiree set from the area, and visiting family.
The steak I had was excellent, as was the Osso Bucco my friend offered me a taste of. If you like standard American fare and seafood dinners, you would enjoy this place.

Great local, family owned restaurant. Fabulous crab cakes, fried oysters and local seafood. Homemade soups. The red pepper soup with crab is over the top. Plenty of other choices for every palate. In season, the soft shells are the best. Tonight the Ossobuco was wonderful.

Scores (out of a possible 5)
Food: 3
My wife ordered the crab cake dinner ($ 22) and I ordered the ribeye steak dinner ($ 28). Her crab cake was meaty and it had good flavor, however, it was served only on the warm side. In addition, the potato she was served was small and the plate was bare. It was a rather sparse looking dish. I ordered my ribeye medium-​rare and I got something more on the rare side. The searing looked good and the bleu cheese butter on top made for a great topping. Overall the steak had a nice flavor.
The down side to the steak was the amount of fat on it. This was not marbling, but a lot of fat on the steak edges that should have been trimmed. The onion ring garnish was bland, but the mashed potatoes were excellent.
Service: 2.5
A reasonable amount of water refills, but no follow-​up from the waitress after the dish was served. The minute I told her we did not want dessert, she produced the check.
Ambience: 2.5
We sat in a backroom, it had the interior of a trailer. Nothing special and somewhat tacky.
Price: 2.5
It was about $ 68 with no drinks ordered. We felt that we did not receive a $ 68 experience in any way. A fair price would have been $ 55 out the door.
Overall Value: 2.6
Average restaurant with expensive prices and a bloated reputation.
Suggestion:
Pay more attention to the quality of the food preparation and a more personable and attentive staff.
Alternative Recommendation:
Tides Inn

Evidently this was not a good «eat out» weekend for us. While in the Northern Neck we took my parents to one of our local haunts for dinner. We’ve been going to the Sandpiper for about 5 years, so not our first trip in for dinner.
No crowds on a Saturday evening at 5:30…partly due to the season and it was a bit chilly. Let me start by saying that the wait staff is always welcoming and happy to chat up their customers at any time. We sat down to a group in the back room cheering and flashbulbs flashing as a couple got engaged on the spot. (the Sandpiper, come on fella you couldn’t think of something more romantic??)
Let me start with the good stuff — the seafood chowder was creamy and full o f crab, shrimp and clams. Mildly seasoned the roasted red pepper soup was quite acceptable, but the star of the bowl were the incredible chunks of lump crab which were tender and sweet. The salad is always crisp and the homemade blue cheese dressing is one of my favorites.
The main courses were as follows: prime rib — sent back and replacement wasn’t any better-​tough, inconsistent in doneness (I asked for rare and had a little bit among my well done-​did they cook it in the microwave??), my mom’s flounder was thin and soggy, my dad’s salmon was fishy and overdone and my husband’s shrimp were frozen not fresh. Needless to say none of us were pleased and there was plenty left on our plates.
I am always happy to pay premium price for excellent service and equally well prepared food, but my wallet was screaming at me as I signed off on our check…“are you kidding me?” This is certainly one time I should have listened to my mom and made a great home cooked meal!