We had heard about Coleman Lake from a friend and after her rave reviews decided to make the 1+ hour drive for my husbands birthday. We called ahead and made a reservation. Upon arrival we were told it would be 5 minutes, 20 minutes later we were seated in the darkest back most corner of the restaurant. After learning they no longer have the buffet that everyone raves about on this site we ordered off the menu. Almost an hour later our food comes, cold. We sat and waited, and waited, and waited some more for our server (which was the norm if we needed anything we had to go and find help from someone else) I eventually went to the front and spoke with the hostess. She came and took our plates to have them remade and said "I will take care of your bill, the whole meal." About 10 minutes later out server came back with our new plates. The food was hot and delicious. Now comes time for the bill.. And huh, $91.93. That didn't seem "taken care of" to me so my husband took it to the front and they took 50% off. Again not "taken care of" in my book. So now weve decided we're just going to pay it so we can leave, and again comes the wait for the server.. 15 minutes roll by and no sight of her (or anyone). So we just take our bill to the front and we gave it to the hostess who hunted down our server. In the end we spent 2 1/2 hours there for dinner. And will NOT be returning. Â Also, be sure and check your bill because with the re-do of the restaurant they have lowered some menu prices on the menu but not in the computer.
Review Source:We drove an hour to get to this restaurant! A lot of dark dark roads to chow down on seafood and Steak! They have a really classy buffet (yes, I put the word classy and buffet together)
After all the sketchy driving...Coleman Lake was set back in this really nice location with a long walk way and fire pit next to a small body of water...not so much a lake but I guess it will do! They have plenty of seating! Upstairs, main dining area and deck!
The food was fabulous! All different types of shrimps, fish, seafood, sides and steak. The only poultry they had wasn't chicken or turkey...it was something like a hen but not..idk lol I didn't mess with it.
Everything was fresh including the salad bar! The homemade Italian dressing still has our family raving!
The Soups was good..my favorite was the chowder and the hush puppies were awesome! It wasn't salty at all and that's exactly how I enjoy them!
The service was great and our waitress was very helpful, kind, and attentive!
My main complaint was that dessert wasn't included in the buffett...not even the chocolate at the desk was free! For 27.00pp I expected something sweet to top it all off!
However, I will still go back!
So as a Virginian, I have been wondering where I can get my fried seafood fix in or around the 'Boro. I like barbecue and casseroles as much as the next guy but fried fish and hushpuppies are some of my favorite southern food items. Coleman Lake (or Coleman's Lake if you're a local) is the place to get said fried goodness in the area.
My wife's family and I finally went out to Coleman Lake. Several friends from the Boro had sung its praises and I was very excited. The layout of this place is really unique and provides ambience. The restaurant is (you'll never guess) next to a lake and there's a nice view. Coleman Lake is a large restaurant with private rooms and a screened in outdoor area. Our group chose the private room and it was quite nice. I love that they have huge round tables with a lazy susan. Round tables are where it's at. Everyone is equidistant. It makes for great conversation. The lazy susan is nice too. You got people excited about passing condiments.
Most entrees come with access to their salad bar, which was decent. Not quite the caliber of Ruby Tuesday's salad bar but for the fact that they have two really good seafood soups and two types of hushpuppies (regular and spicy) included. You can't beat that with a bat. The hushpuppies and soup were delicious. We split an order of fried wild gator with a spicy remoulade. That's the first time I've ever had gator tail and this Virginia boy was impressed. While the Florida Gators get no love with our family, fried gator tail now has a special place in our hearts.
I ended up going with the seafood buffet which was a giant leap of faith for me. When one thinks seafood buffet, one gets disturbing images of the overpriced garbage you find at hotels and tourist traps while on family vacations at places like Myrtle Beach, Ocean City, and  Virginia Beach. Lots of god awful grade D seafood choices that have been sitting under heat lamps for hours. Stringy crab, rubbery lobster, and shrimp from the can. Coleman Lake restored my faith in seafood buffets and therefore in humanity. It was like finding out that Santa exists and there are honest politicians in Washington. This buffet was off the hook. Seafood alfredo, corn on the cob, french fries, fried quail, grilled mahi mahi, beef riblets, pork tenderloin, mussels, peel 'n eat shrimp, frog legs, fried shrimp, fried catfish, oysters on the half shell, fried oysters, etc. Everything tasted great and they refilled the buffet regularly. This was the best seafood buffet I've ever had.
One of the reasons that Coleman's Lake doesn't get 5 stars was the service. We were on our way to a party and didn't have all night to eat. While it does say on the menu that it will take a minimum of 45 minutes to bring out food, that doesn't make it cool. It took about an hour for our food to get to us. Is it me or does it seem a bit ridiculous that it takes an hour or longer to bring out an order of fried shrimp and french fries?
Our waitress was friendly and well intentioned but not up to par for a restaurant this expensive. She couldn't answer any questions about the menu without checking with someone else, which is annoying when you're in a hurry and food takes an hour to make. We ordered our meals and two of the members of our group ordered a combo platter with stuffed shrimp, sea bass, and salmon. After 20 minutes, our waitress comes back and tells us that she forgot that the third fish was tuna and not salmon. If that wasn't okay, the two of them could order something else and get their food 45-60 minutes from that point. Can you imagine waiting almost an hour and a half for a fish platter with a baked potato? Fortunately, the cooks agreed to bend the rules and get them the salmon that they had ordered.
Unfortunately, my wife's salmon (which was cajun grilled rather than broiled like she ordered it) was so overdone that it was gross. When my mother in law got her food, her sweet potato was completely undercooked. We're talking rock hard, bright orange, and completely inedible. The best that they could do was (after waiting an hour to get her her meal) to give her a baked potato 15 minutes later while still charging her an extra dollar for the sweet potato substitution. The additional dollar for getting a sweet potato was also never mentioned until the bill came. My wife wanted a glass of white wine towards the end of the meal. Our waitress said to her,
"I don't know which ones are white wine. We do got White Zinfandel. That's white wine, right?"
(My wife and I shook our heads ruefully)
Despite all of this, I do recommend that you patronize this restaurant. Come with a loose fitting pair of pants, get the seafood buffet, and order some fried gator as an appetizer. Get yourself a bowl of the soup and try both kinds of hushpuppies. I swanee you won't be disappointed and you sho' nuff won't leave hungry.
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