Island View rents kayaks during the summer. This is a casual place and friendly service extends to tables outside. (Order inside. ) Shrimp salad sandwich is very good. They close for the winter.
I have been here a few times now. The view is amazing. The staff very welcoming and friendly. I will have to say there is a lot of room for improvement on a few of the menu items. The food we had was a very small portion. For example 2 small chicken tenders in a jumbo wrap had you wanting more chicken inside but the flavor was very good. Cream of shrimp soup is inconsistent we had 3 bowls at our table and 1 had 2 shrimp in it, 1 had a few more and the other was loaded with shrimp. The crab cake left a lot to be desired due to the size, taste, texture and cost of $28.00 with 2 sides which they were very delicious. I would definitely go back again to try some other items on their menu. But if the above were improved I would say this place would be well above 5 stars. Thank you for having us and we will be back again.
Really nice little cafe near Rocky Point golf course. Good menu. Plenty of drink options. Staff is super friendly. Service was excellent. Beautiful views from the patio and lots of outdoor seating. Really good comfort food. Highly recommended.
Great place beautiful view. Nice people and real good food. Have a meal and rent a kayak! Great place to kayak. I highly recommend this place.
Enjoyed an afternoon there on Saturday. Sat on the deck overlooking the water. Had some butterfly shrimp and some tasty drinks. Great way to spend the afternoon. Would recommend.
Limited bartenders knowledge of mixed drinks. The servers didnt bother with our table because we didnt order food. Lots of fried food. The menu looked very average. The surroundings are pretty.
Very good .clean facility, all associates great.. great food .our server summer did excellent, thanks...
During the pandemic, they are only serving using disposable plates and plasticware. Everyone at the table was satisfied with their meal, and for myself, the breakfast burrito was wonderful. At the time we were there, they had no champagne, so they could not serve mimosas. I myself, was going non-alcoholic, and chose coffee and grapefruit juice for my beverages. The weather when we were there, was cloudy and a little drippy outside, but the view was fine. Our server, Abby, was wonderful and took care of all of our needs.
I’ve been going here for years. Just want to reply to some of the negative reviews. It’s a small family restaurant. If you are in a hurry go to McDonald’s. They have no control over the birds on the piers either. The food has always been great. Also just to the guy complaining about spending $100 for a family of 4 that isn’t expensive.
The location of the restaurant is great, beautiful views, tranquil atmosphere. What is not the greatest is the attitude of the blonde middle aged man I’m assuming is the owner. We spent over $100 on dinner and drinks for a family of four and ate our food on the picnic tables by the water. Our food took a long time to be brought out to us, they ran out of coleslaw and they offered a replacement. I guess at some point someone ran out to go get coleslaw and instead of communicating to us that the option of coleslaw was available again we were just served the warm coleslaw. No one came out to ask us if we needed anything at any point or we would have spent more money. We will not be returning which is a shame, the restaurant has a lot of potential. The menu needs to be revised and their customer service needs drastic improvement.
We found Island View Waterfront Restaraunt by accident and we are so pleased that we did. The atmosphere is great, but the food and service is even better. You can sit on the deck and dine while watching the boats go by or sit inside.You can even put your kayak out for 10.00 or you can rent a kayak from them. Great place to eat breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Didnt even go in. Went by boat guess they do not want boaters. Waterfront dining place that doesnt want boaters. Both Piers are a complete mess you have to walk through geese or some big bird dropping to get to the place. What a mess
Such a great atmosphere especially after 4 hours of kayaking, and the ladies were extremely attentive to our table .... Thank you !!!
My wife and I really did enjoy our lunch today. We had the mixed crab soup, coddies, and the Russian burger. The food taste great and the service was fantastic! They did have craft beer. However, it would have been better if they served something from the closest brewery (Key Brewery). That being said, I cannot wait to be a repeat customer. I highly recommend this place if you like a nice relaxing place on the waterfront.
Very friendly and good food, beautiful view. We will be back. Plus family owned 3 generations.
The only reason I gave them a 2 star because the customer service was not bad. The food I strongly agree with other reviews it is okay. My food took long and when it arrived it was wrong and waited a lot more longer.
I was super excited to try this place! Ive been to Rocky Point Beach park a few times and always wanted to try this place. We went on Thursday afternoon for a takeout lunch and it was completely dead. There was one family eating out on the deck. The staff was nice. Its definitely a very small family owned joint. From the photos and the menu prices I was expecting something a little more fancy, it looks a lot different inside then the pictures represent. Its a lot more homie, beach shack vibes instead of fancy waterfront cafe. It was still cute inside! We got takeout and waited about 15-20 mins for the food. I got the crab cake meal and my partner got the shrimp tacos. He said that the shrimp tacos were excellent. I was a bit disappointed with the crab cake for the price, but I do work at a very famous seafood restaurant that specializes in crab cakes, so I do have high standards. I did ask for it broiled (you get a choice) and I got it fried by mistake. The meal is supposed to come with crab soup, but they were out of that due to the crab meat shortage so I got shrimp bisque instead. The shrimp bisque was great. It came with coleslaw and fries as well, the fries were just meh, but the coleslaw was actually great and I dont usually like coleslaw. It has very little mayo and tasted more like a mini shredded salad which was awesome. For the price of $28 for one crab cake, coleslaw, fries and a soup, I was a bit disappointed with my meal. I think it the crab soup would have been in stock it would have made it a better, but I know that the shortage is effecting a lot of restaurants. I cant wait to try it when its back! I was mainly disappointed in the crab cake, it just tasted like a frozen crab cake patty that they tossed in the fryer. Very little lump crab meat and it looked more like a burger patty then lump crab cake. They had a few other things on the menu that I would love to try, so I definitely will be coming back to try something different and support a small local restaurant.
Island View Waterfront Cafe for being my first time to this place I can say it is such a well hidden gem in Essex, MD Such a great view, food, drinks and great customer service.I highly recommend their soup a mix of the Maryland crab soup with Creamy Crab soup is to die for. Delicious soup.Please give them a try they will wow ya. Trust me the view is amazing !!!!
Food was a little salty that night but it was great live music.
Worth of driving. What an athmosphere!
Nice atmosphere at the sea. Worth of visiting.
Middle Rivers hidden gem! The service was good and the food was perfect. Will definitely be returning!
The wrong turn from the beach brought us to this hidden gem. The customer service was Awwsum they put me on to fish tacos 😋 soo yummy. The Princess had crab dip also yumm. Next time at the beach we shall take that turn again. Oan the view is love.1⭐️ short because the🕸 put me on edge
Not a huge meal selection but what they do have is very good
Amazing view. Literally a gem of a location. Amazing food as well
BEAUTIFUL VIEW, WARM SERVICE & GOOD FOOD!We were looking for having lunch with beautiful ocean views and this place didnt disappoint. We arrived there and the the restaurant was spic and clean and had this breeze feel from inside. The deck was full but the waitress told us to wait for 15 mins and I am glad we did. The views from the outside were amazing. The sun was blazing, there was little breeze and the shade due to umbrella, there were kayaks in the water and you can hear the water gushing on the pier.The server was pretty friendly and started us with a carafe of sangria (which was okay-ish) and pina colada which was amazing. For entrees we ordered:- Maryland crab soup which was creamy and delicious- Soft crab sandwich which lacked some seasoning but otherwise okay-Steamed Mussels which were fresh and delicious-Mrs Frans Crab cakes which were perfectly cooked and delicious- Veggie burger which well seasoned and delicious!- We ordered Baltimore pie (way too sweet) and Key lime pie (perfectly sweet and tart and creamy) for desserts!Overall, we enjoyed our extravagant food with the breath taking views. I would highly recommend checking this place out during lazy summer weekends !
It is so bad I can not write review you have to go to order drinks and food at the bar drinks watered down 2 drinks 18.00 what a joke no stars
Amazing view of the water from the deck, plus awesome food selection make this a go to spot for me. Try the crab dip pretzel and the jerk tuna bites for sure. Last time I went they also had a new drink of pomegranate iced tea and vodka which was out of this world. Shrimp tacos were also good, but not as spectacular as the first two dishes I mentioned.Deck has about 8 outside tables with some shading depending on where you sit and time of day. They also strung some fabric overhead to create shading which would probably help. Servers are usually friendly and playful, not pushy at all. Overall a favorite summer spot for me and gf when we are in the area.
Staff was great food needs some work
Cute place. Great crab cakes.
My wife took me to the Island View Waterfront Cafe for Fathers Day 2017. The place was quite busy, and they were turning away people who didnt have reservations. Fortunately, we did have a reservation. Our service was excellent, and the Angus burger was the best burger I have ever tasted, and Im a 72 year old American so I have eaten lots of burgers over the years. This is a casual restaurant / bar way out on the end of a peninsula east of Baltimore. For burger aficionados, its well worth the trip. They also have good seafood. I had the shrimp appetizer. The cocktail sauce needed a bit stronger horseradish.Update Sunday 7/8/18:Sometimes, when I return to a restaurant that I really liked, the experience isnt quite as good my second time around. This place was just as good today as it was about a year ago, the last time I was here. The appetizer, PEI mussels in garlic sauce, was excellent. And my burger was outstanding. My only quibble is that the potato chips they serve as a side dish for the burger (Utz potato chips according to the menu) should have been homemade potato chips. This is a quality establishment. They should make their own chips. They shouldnt serve chips that you can buy at your neighborhood convenience store.
The view was good. This is best thing I can say. For the rest, the soft crab was diminutive. It was served on a Kaiser roll, but only needed half a roll. The crab cake was small. It was a platter with baked frozen french fries. Spent WAY too much for the guantity and quality of food received. I was glad to be out after 3 months of isolation, but I wont go back.
I went with my boyfriend to this restaurant this past Saturday. Basically there is no service and staff was very unfriendly. Cant believe people have written good reviews of this place. We ordered crabcake platters which were not inexpensive. They claim that they serve lump Crab meat. The crab meat was shredded up and was definitely not lump. The French fries were lukewarm. The meal came to well over 50 dollars. I say for what? I could have gotten a better crab cake outside of maryland. And this is with NO service. You have to go up to the counter and order food and they deliver it in plastic ware. THIS PLACE is a RIPOFF!!!!!!!!!!!! We have been to several waterfront restaurants in the area that were excellent! We will never return to this one!!!!!!!!!
Did the kayak rental, which was great! Reasonably priced and easy. Food was OK... not much in the way of veg options, but good service!
Decent crab cakes but the slaw was not to my liking. Go for it if you like creamy peppery slaw.Nice service peeps, excellent view
Great dinning must stop in area
Always a n beautiful place to start the day!!!
Excellent hide a-way food was great
Great view of the lake however, prices are too high for the quality of food served. Served on paper plates and plastic utensils. Very few fries served with order. Philly cheese steaks were burnt. The alcoholic beverages tasted more juicy than what it shouldve. Customer Service was average. This Was our first time and last time visiting. Only gave 1 star bc of the lake view other than that just not a good experience.
Great restaurant with a great view. My wife and I came here for a lunch date, and had a great experience. We sat on the patio to watch the water and it was very relaxing. Service was painfully slow, but we were assured it is because everything was cooked fresh and to order. We enjoyed our meal, and would plan to return.
It was my first and last time. The food was bad and the service worse.
Great views 5 starFood needs serious helpStaff is great.
Our 1st time at this little place and loved it! The drive there is interesting as the place is tucked away in a small town along the river. Food was good, portion size awesome, and the drinks were very well priced. Kids went down and walked in the dock while we waited then after dessert we all took some time to enjoy the quiet beach. They also rent kayaks! : )
Very nice, reasonable prices..went for the kayaking!! What a great time. Perfect.
Great location, very scenic right on the water. Nice relaxed atmosphere and great service. The food was good not great, except for the Maryland soup which was the traditional tomato based with cream of crab soup in the middle. It was full of lump crab and delicious!! We will return for Kayaking and more of that MD soup!!
Best crab soup ever! And their crabcake sandwich is amazing as well! The view is breathless. Highly recommend.
The place is a paradise but the people were really rude to us. We tried to call all day long to ask if the place was pet friendly and nobody answered. We decided to go and frove there 30 minutes and in a second a guy came out and asked us to leave because of our dog. Nothing against their policy, rather with their rude ways to deal with us. I will never try to go there and it costs to say that because that place is located in a paradise.
Nice spot on the water. Great food and service.
Its located right on the water.You can eat inside,or on patio.They even have picnic tables,by the water.You can rent kayaks.They have 3 piers.You dock your boat,and come and eat.They are open Wednesday thru Sunday.Have a big parking lot.Handicapped flooring to come up to outside patio.They have a bar.I love their different crushes.They have salads,soups,sandwiches,and entrees.Due to the conavirus,you pay at bar,order your food,and they bring it to you.They do practice sanitary with everything they do.They keep the place very clean.I look forward to eating there.I love the view.
Good food
4 of us for lunch on shady deck. Cool breeze made it a comfortable visit.Fried chicken, pulled pork, pot roast, and crab soup were all good. Very attentive waitress. Worth another fall visit. Wanted to rent kayaks but too much grass in cove for us.
Absolutely AMAZING food. The crab soup is the best I have ever had. The crab burgers are to die for. Ask for the special, great food at a good price. The view is also beautiful overlooking the water. Great romantic seating, inside or out. Best tiny, whole in the wall hidden gem.
Great location for outdoor dining this day couldnt have been more beautiful
My first visit, and will definitely return. We kayaked for an hour, then enjoyed drinks and lunch on the porch, with a tranquil breeze from the bay and oak trees shading the porch. Incredibly relaxing atmosphere, and I felt like I was on the perfect vacation. Sweet potato fries were delicious.
View is nice. The place is quaint. People are nice. Food is okay. The pie was amazing. Probably better for lunch than dinner. They need a bartender. Servers had to do both
Food was good, staff was great. Very relaxing. Maryland crab soup was a meal in itself.
Came highly recommend, but we waited 20 mins and no server came out to us. Waved down a passing server as two tables beside us got food, but to no avail. Guess you have to be on island time to eat here.
Nice waterfront views. Small casual restaurant. Food was good but not the best Ive had. Prices were moderate.
Amazing oyster po-boy sandwich! My favorite secret spot on the water. My husband and I eat here often. Staff is amazing. I spilled something on my shirt there and they gave me a free island view tee shirt. Super nice! Never had a bad experience at this place, not sure about that one review below. I can say, I do not know the owner or anyone that works there. I am just a random person that discovered this place while driving around one day, and we have been back time and time again. Great deck and amazing view. Love it!
The place is slow, there was 1 cook, you better eat on your way here because food will take forever!! Food is good, but waitresses are very slow
This place has a lovely staff. Friendly and quick to serve. The water views here are marvelous too.
Great birthday dinner with 4 generations to celebrate at the Island View Waterfront Cafe. We enjoyed favorite foods -- crab, shrimp, mussels, and even pot roast plus fantastic water views at sunset. I always plan to more than sample the fried sweet potatoes. Super friendly and welcoming atmosphere complements the polished up and freshly painted restaurant.
The old bay wings were large, juicy and the right amount of seasoning.The steak salad was good, lots of steak but over cooked, the restaurant was hot inside, ac not working very well.the place needs some upkeep and cleaning. it took a while to get seated eventhough the place was 3/4 empty.Wouldnt be my first choice but would give it another try.
Lovely restaurant we found this little gem purley by accident. Wonderful food, attentive staff, nothing was too much trouble and all was reasonably priced. If you are ever in the area I strongly suggest you drop in for a meal. You won’t be disappointed.
Beautiful scenery, very low key which is great. Food pretty good. Wait staff friendly.
I really like the views from this cafe. We were inside because a thunder storm was rolling in, but the patio looks great, too. The food and service were okay but wouldnt be worth going out of your way without the views. My spouse wants to return, so I will too.
A very nice place to enjoy great food and waterfront views away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. I will definitely be going back.
Went kayaking, had some crab tacos and beer. Great atmosphere,food, and service! Saw some eagles and other wildlife. Lisa was extremely professional and helpful. If I ever come through here again, this will be the place.
This restaurant is a gem, the people are very friendly and the food is excellent especially the the Double Chocolate Cake!! The view is Great with the ospreys on their nest at the end of the pier. I will support and patronize your place as often as I can! Thanks for having us!!Carmen
Amazing establishment, amazing atmosphere, amazing food..... THE CREAM OF CRAB SOUP WAS LOADED WITH PLUMP TASTY CRAB MEAT!!! LOADDDEDDDD!!
Waterfront, watching people put canoes in the water. Crab cakes were small but good. Made it in the top 10 of Baltimores best crab cakes, good, but I have had much better at places that didnt make the top 10.
Had lunch with a friend today. The view is breath taking and the food was delicious. We had a bowl of crab soup, crab cake with homemade coleslaw and pickled beets. All was great and the service was wonderful. Will be going back soon.
Comfortable setting, friendly staff and service. Nice, quaint place to eat on the water after Golf at Rocky Point.
Very, very nice people and great atmosphere!
No word to describe. Its the perfect scenic restaurant. The food is also amazing.
Tucked away at the end of a neighborhood and on the water. Its quiet and serene. Perfect for a lunch on the water! Good food and nice atmosphere and nice staff.
Took forever to get food and it was not good when it came. Also very dirty inside.
Island View is always a pleasant experience. The food is consistently good. The staff is always friendly. And the atmosphere is always relaxing.
This is a favorite family-owned place tucked away where youre unlikely to find it... but if you do, youll love it. Waterfront (free dockage, though tie-up might be only a slight challenge... youre highly likely to score a spot as boat traffic isnt heavy to the restaurant). The food is average to good and the crab pretzel is a knockout must-have. They serve dangerously delicious pies if you are a fan. Burgers are always great... full menu something for everyone. And you can even rent kayaks there, too. A fun spot. Only open seasonally from maybe April to October-ish.
Nice place. Great waterview, not crazy about the crab cake didnt have any flavor.
First time there the food was really good. Cant wait to be able to sit outside & eat look very pretty.
This place is awesome and its in front of water which makes the place very relaxing.
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