Chincoteague Inn Seafood Restaurant

I have been coming to Chincoteague for the past five years and never been to this restaurant. When my in-laws suggested this place I was all in for some good seafood. My father in-law just warned me about the service being a hit or miss.
    We arrived to the restaurant which seemed a little empty for a July Saturday night but it was 5:30 so I overlooked the fact. The whole restaurant you has a view of the water which is nice. We waited about 5 minutes before the waitress came over to take our drink orders. We all ordered water to keep it simple for her who told us she had been there since 10. After another 5 minutes of waiting we received our drinks and place our orders. My father in law order the stuff flounder with fries and side salad. My wife and her mother ordered the crab imperial corn on the cob with a salad.
    The waitress allowed us to use the buffets salad bar so we can build our salad. After looking at the buffet and seeing other customers face I was glad we were just getting the salad off the bar. The salad bar was basic and nothing to brag about. I began to talk to a lady at the salad bar and she told me I should be happy that I didn't get the salad bar because it was all cold.
    I returned to my seat waited for a while before the waitress came over in our area when my mother in-law asked her for a pitcher of water which was the best option at the time. The crazy thing about this whole meal was that other customers around us was being taken care of and we were being over looked. Other tables were getting cornbread and drinks regularly. Our food and cornbread came to us at the same time, while the other family behind us was finishing up their meal. We had to tell the waitress we order fries not potatoes and we were missing a corn on the cob. The cornbread muffins were excellent along with the fresh cut boardwalk fries. The flounder was average. They use the imperial mix in a lot of their items and it wasn't anything special. My wife said her corn was horrible after biting into it and my mother law confirmed My wife crab imperial was moist which she enjoyed but my mother in-law's was dry. When we finished our meal we informed the waitress we wanted the check. It took us over 15 minutes to get our check. The buss boy kept us entertain by telling us all of the new kitchen rumors.
    Overall our whole experience was bland. The service was absolute worst and the food wasn't anything special. Hearing all the gossip from the staff was by far the highlight of our meal. I think they should think about switching the buss boy to the wait staff.

We've been to CI many times over the last 4 years. Yes it's not pretty, yes it's not that fancy, but they have the best food I've had in the area. The locals, the employees, and the 2 begging ducks are great. To bad they are going to tear it down soon. It will be a Chincoteague lose. My heart goes out to all the tourist, locals, emplyees, and my friends who love this place. Progress is not always the best for Chincoteague!

My boyfriend and I decided to try the buffet here for dinner earlier this month. When we walked in, I was slightly concerned that the place seemed slow on a Wednesday night in mid-August, and the staff had that bored look to them, but we persisted because someone had told us the buffet was good.

Considering how nice the location is--the dining room is right on the bay, and there are large windows with lovely views at sunset-- this place should be packing people in during the summer.  Now I know the reason is because the food is just mediocre.

Some good things: the server was super friendly, and we ordered a decent bottle of white wine for under $20. But when it came to the seafood buffet, it was just sort of unremarkable. The steamed clams had no flavor, the crab legs were just okay, and the fried oysters and fried shrimp had been left sitting out in this steamer dish so that the breading  was pale, soggy and bloated. The food wasn't exactly BAD, but for $28.99 I was expecting fresh, local seafood with some zing to it.  The only exception on the buffet was, strangely, the prime rib, which was tender, perfectly cooked, and flavorful.

Another weird thing I noticed is that they had a radio station on during dinner, with all the talking and commercials! I mean, really? You can't shell out for dinner music for your customers? So weird.

We still managed to have a nice time, since we were on vacation and in relaxation mode, but I probably wouldn't return.