Mallards At The Wharf

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  3.5 stars.
  
  Stumbled upon this restaurant on a Friday night after a suggestion to check out the quaint town of Onancock during a drive through the VA Eastern Shore.  Sweet local restaurant by the water and you have the option of sitting at the bar, indoors in the dining room, or outdoors on the patio.  Arrived just after sundown and it was a chillier evening so we opted to sit inside.  Ordered a cup of Eastern Shore crab soup (tomato broth-based) as a starter, the crab cake sammie (nice size with lots of crab meat), and the grouper with vegetable quinoa.  Everything was tasty but not memorable for me; my favorite was the soup (hearty, rich, flavorful).  I expected more seafood options but they only serve their lunch menus all day on Sundays and Mondays so options were more limited.
  
  Service was very friendly and professional.  I can definitely see why this is a popular local spot due to the lively outdoor patio.  Next time I return, I'd like to sit outside to enjoy the views, water, and ambiance.

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  Posted on 10.16.13 Sonia P.

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  Go there for the ambiance and the view, not for the food or their beer.
  Onancock is one of the hidden beauties of the eastern shore of Virginia, and I was looking forward to visiting there.  Asking the locals, I was told that Mallards was decent, and they are probably correct.  What turned me down that once I was seated (outside) people sat down at the the table upwind from me and proceeded to ask for an ashtray.  I other words my enjoyment of my drinks and food were ruined by second hand smoke.  The beer choice was very limited as was the food choice.  The crab cake was nice, but it was thrown onto a dry role that had absolutely nothing else on it.  Far to often things are OD-ed with dressing, so this is not really horrible but some minor coating of my bread would have been appreciated.  The crab cake had a good amount of crab in it with little filling.  The cole slaw was about a table spoon full and yes it was fairly expensive.  Again great views, but second hand smoke, yuck.

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  Posted on 10.11.13 JW B.

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  Great Location, beautiful views, and friendly staff. It is a shame that no local beers on tap. But the food was above-average. Crabcake sandwich was very good as well as the Fish taco.

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  Posted on 08.24.13 TJ Jax J.

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  Reading some of the other reviews I was expecting some really unique food, but it just wasn't.
  
  First, the setting is nice and it has great views.
  
  I got the fish tacos and they were just very uninspired.  It fish on a tortilla, with some lettuce and a little spicy mayo.  It was cooked OK, but there was no depth of flavour at all.  I've only had a couple of good fish tacos and it takes some real effort to build the flavours together.  Compared to some place like Mama Kwans in the OBX, this was just terrible.  
  
  The side was a bag of chips (that's fine) and about 1 bite of a macaroni salad.  
  
  I couldn't believe I paid $12 for that.  
  
  Wife got a soft shell crab sandwich and wasn't impressed.
  
  Kids got shrimp and nuggets.  Nuggets were obviously right out of a frozen box and into a fryer.   Shrimp about the same.
  
  Just really not worth the money and a big let down.

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  Posted on 07.31.12 blain t.

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  I wavered between two and three.  Call it two and a half.
  
  Friendly service but a plain room with little view of the water, such as it is.  My wife ordered grouper with salsa, I got a bowl of the "Eastern Shore crab soup - Made the traditional way with a rich tomato broth & local ESVA crab" and a soft-shell crab sandwich.
  
  The soup was an unfortunate start; it was thin, not rich, with a few vegy's and a little crab, served at the bottom of a big mostly empty bowl.  The soft shell crab sandwich came with no condiment but I was curious to see what it tasted like so I dug right in.  It's my first one so I can't compare it to others but I can say I'm not tempted to get more.
  
  My wife liked her grouper and said the salsa made it quite good, but I had the last of it and I've had much better grouper and fish with salsa.  It was so so.
  
  My sides were a small plastic cup of macaroni salad (the chef's "side of the day" I guess; tasty, but little and who wants macaroni salad with a sandwich, anyway?) and a bag of chips.  With her grouper my wife had a side salad that looked pretty good.  I suspect it was the best thing on that table.
  
  I won't be going back.

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  Posted on 05.22.12 Neil S.

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  One of my favorite summertime spots. Sit on the deck overlooking beautiful Onancock Creek while you sip on a cocktail and listen to acoustic music by Johnny Mo "The Musical Chef" Excellent Food in a casual dining atmosphere. Crab Cakes are a favorite dinner entree and Turkey Sandwich called " The Clerk" is a favorite lunch item on the menu.

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  Posted on 01.23.12 Genevieve W.

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  What a great find! We came in for a visit to Onancock on our boat and tied up to the city dock. Right next door was Mallards and on their menu was crab cakes "held together only by love" - in other words, no fillers. We decided to give it a try and the crab cakes were out of this world.
  
  The chef, Johnny Mo, is also a musician with multiple CDs out and several cookbooks. After the delicious dinner, we bought his latest cookbook, "Rock the Kitchen" and have used it several times a week on our boat. We've enjoyed all the recipes and the cookbook is only one of three we have on board - we're selective, but Johnny Mo's book is great for a boat - not long on ingredients and easy to prepare - and they have flair.
  
  We'll certainly be back.

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  Posted on 10.22.11 Robert S.

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  Mallards is a wonderful, sleepy, small-town place to visit if you're just passing through - and I highly recommend passing through while you're on your way to parts North or South.  Take the CBBT and enjoy the Chesapeake Bay on your trip rather than taking I-95.
  
  A 5-star review of a mainly seafood place might sound strange coming from a veggie, but the girl loved getting her second helping of crab cakes in 2 days, and I had a surprisingly good veggie grilled cheese.  It's truly right on the wharf - you're sitting on the dock looking out at the Bay as you dine, and there's even a bar.  I bet it's a fun place to hang out after a hard day's work.
  
  Left Coasters and East Coasters alike, take note!  The Delmarva Peninsula has wineries, and great seafood - well worth a side trip!

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  Posted on 07.28.10 Joe B.

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