Chesapeake - Irvington

I was there for my 70th birthday. Everything from the Swedish massage to breakfast in an outside heated bubble was absolutely fabulous.

We love dining at the Chesapeake Restaurant when we stay at Tides Inn! It's a great escape from Alexandria, VA. My wife had the fettuccini and I tried the catch of the day, Rockfish. Both dishes were delicious and the service from CC and Meghan was exceptional. The staff at Tides Inn is always wonderful. If you haven't been, I highly recommend it!

We could not have had a more delightful and delicious dinner. The chefs nailed the venison Osso Buco and the seared duck. Both were prepared and plated, with fabulously tasty accompaniments, beautifully. Very generous portions, making the dinners a good value. The wine list is very good, with affordable gems sprinkled throughout. Kudos to the chefs!

Although the Tides Inn advertises as a 5 star resort, the Chesapeake Restaurant has a ways to go to be comparable to a high end restaurant. The attention to detail is lacking. The beef tartar comes with nothing to accompany the dish no crostini, cracker, toasted bread. I order the Seared Duck Breast and the waiter asked how I'd like it prepared. I responded whatever the chef recommends. The waiter said the chef recommended medium rare. The duck came out so over cooked that I had to ask for a steak knife to cut it and I still had a hard time cutting. When I mentioned to the waiter that the dish was not very good, he did nothing to try to make it right which was very disappointing. The service was also slow. The Crispy Fried Shrimp is the Tides version of Shrimp and Grits, which isn't typically served with fried shrimp. This could be a fun, fresh take on it if breadcrumbs were crunchy with a light coating but all I could taste was breading. The shrimp were overcooked as well. I have never written a restaurant review on open table and I was so disappointed by the food and service that I took the time to write a review. My recommendation is that if you're going to pay the prices that the Chesapeake Restaurant charges for their quality of food, you should go to Adrift in White Stone, VA or down the road to the Vine.

The service at Tide's Inn is excellent, and their oysters are incredible. The setting is beautiful as well.