Gotta love a great bar with a cook in the back chugging a 40 ( not sure what was in her jug.....) while firing up my prime rib. That's Ocean View baby! This place is the biggest hole in the wall but serves better food and drinks than its sister The Pier next door. I've listened to live music quite a few times here. Don't expect fancy. It is what it is and we love it.
Review Source:In a land of chimpanzees I was a monkey.....
As a true connoisseur of The Dive Bar, I'm very picky and particular about what makes the best of the best. Â TTC could very well end up in that list (mental note to self: Â Make a list) after some extensive hands on research. Â
If I lived in Willoughby, I'd probably have a spot at the bar with my name plate permanently attached. Â It seems that good. Â We had just come from another place noted for its BBQ and were highly disappointed. Â After being at The Thirsty Camel (we had come to check out the local blues band playing that night) for all of 3 seconds and inhaling the scents wafting from the kitchen, I could tell that here would have been a better choice to satisfy the gastrointestinal requirements of the evening.
But we were here for two things: Â Beer and Blues.
On this night, they had both in abundance. Â At the right price too.
The locals that gather here are ultra friendly, this is too far off the beaten path to draw any tourists at all, so if feels like a true safe zone with a killer view of the Bay. Â What could be better than that???
Everything about this place is casual, including the parking area surrounding the place. Â When you drive up, the building looks a bit like a giant cinder block dropped into the middle of the world's largest sandbox. Â For me, it just adds to the vibe of the place. Â This night was not exactly beach weather, but as summer returns, this could be the go to spot for flip flops, ripped up shorts, and a t-shirt that should have been thrown away years ago.
Vibe, the place wreaks of it! Â That and cigarette smoke from years gone by (they moved the smokers out of the main room it appears, but evidence of years of nicotine ingestion linger). Â I really can't think of another place in the area truly like it...but I'll strap on my spare liver and start the research...because if I find another treasure like this, life will truly be good.
Whoever said this place had great crab cakes needs to have a real one. Â I went tonight based solely on the crab cake recommendation from the other day. Â I should've heeded the 'bad' crab cake advice I found from a couple of years ago--I was served the same one: mushy, doughy, chunks of onion and pepper, NO lump crab anywhere. Horrible. Â Further, the crab cakes were lukewarm in the middle, and the hush puppies were COLD. Â Let's see if I come down with food poisoning later tonight.
Waitress never came by to check on me or my meal.
It's a real dive bar, but I have no problem with that. Â I do have a problem with them charging restaurant prices ($22.99 for a pound of steamed shrimp??) for lousy food.
Go somewhere else. Â Anywhere else.
heard this place was "divey" but went for lunch. Good service and friendly atmosphere (at least at the time of day i went at). The Camel Burger is as solid as you can ask for, a delicious, filling burger. I had a side of onion rings and those were some of the best i've ever had, i devoured them before i had even started my burger, once i started eating them i couldn't stop till i had destroyed everything on the plate.
Oh, and did i mention this place is cheap? because it IS!
To sum up: good food, beer, friendly service and cheap prices... i'd definitely come back, again and again...
The Camel is an establishment with a long history in Willoughby Spit. It's a local dive, the food is good, if you weren't born and raised in OV, or aren't a regular, you should probably go with one of the aforementioned. It's dark inside, it looks the same as it has for years. My grandparents used to head down here for a drink on occasion, today was the first  time in years I'd been there. Bar seats are comfortable, there are a few booths and one pool table.
Burgers are good, greek salad passed me and looked good. Bloody Marys are really tasty, they make their own mix, and garnish with Old Bay. Eggs Benny at brunch were good. My sister had the Quickie for brunch and she liked it. I think Monday nights are 75 cent beer night.
If you like spotless, chain restaurants and are not interested in local color, character or dive like qualities, this is not the place for you.
HORRIBLE food and HORRIBLE service. I just ate there and the waitress was extremely rude and trashy. We asked for a refill on a drink and she glared at us as she was walking away and said "um you need to give me a minute". She never once smiled or said thank you for anything. She had 0 manners and 0 customer service skills. The 10% tip we gave was far more than what she deserved.The French dip was dull, dry and tasteless. It tasted like it had been sitting around for a few days. The fries had definitely been frozen - they were the best part of the meal though along with the unsweet iced tea.
Review Source:It has been a few years since I have visited the Thirsty Camel and time has not changed the place too much. Â They build a small patio on the back for smokers, but everything else looked the same.
I had a very bad crab cake sandwich here for lunch today. Â I mean it was really bad. Â It was a patty of mushy, crab flavored dough. Â There was no lump meat at all. Â If you bit from one side of the over-sized bun it oozed out the back side. I had to remove the top half of the bun and eat the patty with a fork. Well, I started to, but then it was just so gross I stopped. Â
I love crab cakes, but this was just down right bad.
It's been a while since I've been in here... How long  you ask? Ooooh...about 18 years and it's pretty much exactly how I remember it. That's neither good nor bad, in fact it's just right.
Food wise I'll cut to the chase and say go for the Shrimp. For the price you pay, there is no other business in the area that gives you the amount you'll receive here. It's the best deal in the house. In the past I used to be fond of the bacon cheeseburgers here as well. Â
I can't stress enough that what you see is what you get here. It's definitely a dive bar where you'll find all types of people, but it's not the bottom of the barrel.
This place is quintessentially Norfolk (or at least tidewater VA). Â It looks like the bar that the 80s forgot, with purplish tint on the windows to keep the sun out, a few small snowy TVs scattered around and the scowls of the barflies greeted us as we entered for a late Friday lunch. Â We picked a booth away from the smokiest group of regulars and our waitress came over to take our drink orders. Â She was nice enough and sat talking with us for a few minutes after noticing we were obviously not from 'round here.
I was tempted by Lynley's review to try the steamed shrimp, but after seeing how dirty the kitchen was on our way in, I opted for a hot ham and cheese sandwich instead. Â It was exactly as advertised, slices of lunch meat ham, melted american cheese between two greasy pieces of wonderbread. Â The fries that came with it were standard diner fries, but at least weren't soggy or burnt.
My friend ordered the prime rib sandwich, which was dressed up a little (friday blueplate special?), but was basically a half-inch thick piece of steak on a hamburger bun with a leaf of lettuce and a slice of tomato.
If you know who drives the M&M car or how to replace the spark plug on an '87 mustang then this is the bar for you. Â For me? Â It seems like a great place to hide out for a few hours, but avoid The Thirsty Camel if you can't handle a seedy dive bar, because Saturday is Earnhardt's day and the best things on the menu come in a choice of "bottle or draft".
The Thirsty Camel has been a staple in Ocean View for years and years. Â It's right off the 4th View exit in Ocean View- specifically, the mouth of Willoughby Spit. Â They are well known for pouring a great drink, and their jumbo shrimp.
When I say jumbo, I mean jumbo. Â As in, nearly junior lobsters. Â They are served by the pound with your choice of drawn butter or cocktail sauce and seasoned well with Old Bay. Â Their greek salads are also very noteworthy (and a great item to go along with the shrimp!). Â The Thirsty Camel is one of two locations noted in the area for the size and quality of its steamed shrimp.
Entertainment usually on the weekends- can sometimes be a little loud and smoky, but the Camel is one of our favorite hang outs any day of the week.
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