Captain Groovy's Grill & Raw Bar

We had a fantastic dinner, and the service was great!!! We love eating here for special occasions and then just anytime 😊. We'll be backkkkk.

Excellent seafood and cocktails with great value This restaurant offers top-quality seafood and fish dishes, all incredibly fresh and well-prepared. The variety of cocktails is impressive, making it a perfect spot for both food and drink lovers. Service is friendly and attentive, adding to the overall great experience. Highly recommended!

Usually a fair menu with great shrimp. I took my visiting family and had a horrible experience. People who came after me received their food and paid their bills before we got our food. Had to ask the server to get the 4yo twins food. Then my son’s shrimp dinner came but I was told my shrimp were being made. The oysters on the half shell were mangled so they were cut into small pieces. We also ordered clams where one didn’t open, advised our server and she said she would have that replaced. Never happened. I finally told them to cancel my order. Just when I did, the food came out. Our server stayed away from our table because the food wasn’t ready. Then they added an 18% gratuity to the bill while I understand the situation wasn’t her fault, she was completely disengaged from our table. My water was never refilled. I was quite embarrassed by the whole thing. Very sad experience.

Went there because they’re on a list of the best She Crab Soup in Hampton Roads. I first had that ambrosia at the old Painted Lady Restaurant in Norfolk 20 years ago.
Well Groovy’s was really good. A thicker style rather than a bisque. Great flavor and tons of crab meat. Their shrimp cocktail was great. Lots and lots of horseradish! 🔥🤯 The key lime pie was good too. The traditional yellow with a really lite crumbly crust. Will go back if I have more time here.

First time here. Surprise! It was bottles of wine on sale night. Yay! Split the spicy buffalo shrimp and broiled seafood platter with my wife. The food was just as great as the service. We can't wait to come back to try some other dishes. Has a laid back atmosphere. And smells so very appetizing when you walk in. Try it out!

The atmosphere was charming, but unfortunately, our experience fell short. We waited nearly 15 minutes before being greeted by our server, and after receiving our drinks, she left before taking our order resulting in another 20-minute wait. Despite arriving before several other tables, we didn’t receive our food for over an hour and a half.
When it finally arrived, I ordered the Rib & Swiss and was shocked to find the meat spoiled the odor was overwhelming, and I was unable to eat it. I also ordered a side salad that never came, and our server checked on us only rarely throughout the visit.
To her credit, she did comp the sandwich, which I appreciated. Still, the overall experience was very disappointing, and I would not recommend dining here.

Visited for the first time 3 days ago. Waitress was friendly and attentive. We ordered shrimp appetizers and two ribeye steak specials. Unfortunately, the steak dinners were terrible. Steaks and vegetables were bland. Barely any seasoning. Mash potatoes with gravy was gross. The lump crab meat and shrimp part over the steak was the only thing decent. Each platter was $40 too! We expected better quality steaks and presentation of our food for that price. Dinner was over $120 and we walked out unhappy.

We arrived on time were seated immediately, ordered our food and then waited almost 2 hours to receive it. Our server rarely checked on our table and when the food did come out, it came one person at a time with 15 to 20 minutes in between each. I had to request our bill which was wrong. I've been to this restaurant before I never had such poor service.

Groovies was a local dive bar but has changed ownership sometime in the past year. But not much has changed. Inside and outside dining. we had an option of brunch or lunch. We went for both. Started with calamari, a huge portion which we shared with our neighbor and still ha plenty left. It was lightly fried and very tender, not rubbery. Probably the best calamari we have had in a long time. I had the fish and chips with slaw, very good. A sizable portion of lightly fried cod, more fries than i could eat and creamy slaw. She chose the crab benedict, two giant crabcakes on an english muffin with an egg and hollandaise on each. The poached egg was overcooked, not at all runny and she asked for more hollandaise since there was little on the cakes. Still the taste was excellent. Fried potato side was great. We brought a cake home. Service seemed a little slow until, being able to see the kitchen, we realized that everything was prepared to order. Definitely will be back.

Captain Groovy’s used to be an all time favorite but that has changed. First time since the change in ownership and the change has obviously not been good. Stopped by on a Saturday at 1pm and it was maybe 30% full. In the past it would have been packed. The wife doesn’t eat large meals so she asked if she could get a kids burger and the waitress said sure but I’ll have to upcharge you for a regular burger. Never mind, instead she ordered a cup of she crab soup and I had the oyster stew. The she crab soup was bland and had very little crab in it. The oyster stew looked great but tasted off with tinny after taste. I passed on it after a couple tastes. It just didn’t taste right. Service was fair. And that is usually the case when you have to compete with their cell phones for attention. One thing that we noticed and was commented on by the diner a table over was the amount of time food spent sitting under the heat lamps waiting to be brought to the customers. Very disappointing to say the least and I don’t think we’ll be going back.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 2

Fresh, delicious, and lots of great options!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4

Recommended dishes: Clams

Owner threatened me when met with a review exposing NUMEROUS health code violations instead of addressing said issues sous chef drinks to the point of vomiting on the job, thaws food by sitting on counter for 10 plus hours, moldy product all over the line their sous chef has a drinking problem to where he drinks and has thrown up at work from intoxication, this place is ran like a dump would rather lick cement than get food poisoning here again, being paid 18.50 an hour isn’t worth the habitual harassment, constant reminder that the best payed employee is drinking at the bar instead of doing his job, and as a cook your unable to address major health concerns and when you try your treated like an idiot over valid concerns the owners do NOT give one iota of concern for their customers

Atmosphere: 1

Service: 1

I really wanted to keep liking Groovy’s after the old owners retired, but the new management just doesn’t have it.
On our last visit some time ago the She Crab soup was much thinner and had far less crab than previously, oysters were off and we had to send them back, the food was just not nearly as good all around.
It’s pretty obvious that corners and quality are being cut to make an extra buck since the ownership change.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 2

Service: 3

The food was okay. I ordered a mushroom and Oscar Grouper. Everything was so salty and too buttery. Now I'm home and I'm afraid Santa is gonna have to suffer my aftermath when he drops the gifts off. Other than that, the customer service and atmosphere was amazing!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

Great food, nice atmosphere, great service, and felt very welcomed. The ahi tuna nachos were very good! The fish and chips, crab cakes, burrito, and burgers were all loved at our table. We all left full and happy. Highly recommend. We will be back!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5