Coastal Flats

Coastal Flats has always been a favorite. I frequent often and have been for over 10 years. Only complaint is that the menu seems to be smaller and smaller with less options with prices steadily increasing. Also they give smaller portions especially with salads recently and stingier with toppings. Host/​Hostess always very friendly and accommodating. But they have problem seating parties over 6. Very small selection of large booths. I would not recommend big parties. Desserts are amazing!

I just finished lunch and I was very impressed with the service. Instead of telling me they don’t have honey mustard, they went and made it from scratch. They really went above and beyond!

For a Friday night, the wait was short: 15 minutes at 7pm is not bad. Service was friendly and they happily made pretty significant substitutions for me (it’s a seafood restaurant and I have a shellfish allergy).
The food was FABULOUS. Do not accept any plate or side offering that doesn’t include their grits or grit cakes. They are amazing, creamy and fresh– nothing like any instant grits and probably nothing like you’ve had before. Texture and flavor were exactly right!
My halibut was grilled, flaky, white, fresh, flavorful basic seasoning with a rich, smoky, slightly salty sweet sauce underneath it all.
The hickory smoked chicken breast is not your basic chicken breast. The skin on roasting and brown butter sauce elevated the dish. Really good.
Claire was the best server I’ve had in a DC area restaurant in years. She was attentive, responsive and not hovering.
Rob, the manager, checked at the table to make sure everything was to our liking. He genuinely seemed interested in our overall experience in the restaurant.
Overall great place/​great dinner/​great night.
Prices are completely reasonable for quality and quantity of food.
Restaurant is a little noisy, but in a good social way-​not clattering or overbearing.
Going to try the bar on the back patio here next time!

First time coming into coastal flats, and let me tell you it’s amazing! The seafood is on point and the service is great. Everyone is friendly and willing to go above and beyond to make sure you’re satisfied. I wanted to try everything on the menu. Will definitely come again.

I’ve been coming here for the last 3 years and I can’t get enough. The food is always fresh and amazing and the service is great. I absolutely love Costal! xoxo

Great experience. Very friendly staff; they all worked together to make our meal perfect for us. We showed up with one more person than we were expecting and they accommodated us seamlessly even though it was a busy Saturday night. The food was also delicious. I had the salmon salad.

Not bad. Got the lobster roll, which was way colder than I expected, but Google confirmed that they’re meant to be served that cold. The fries were those cute little thin ones that always taste better than big ones somehow. Bloody Mary’s were a little bland/​watery, and garnished with a lime, which is wrong. My fiancé enjoyed his steak, and the key lime pie was incredible.
It’s a casual place, maybe not date or celebrating-​an-​engagement material (which is why I was there), but my fault for not researching well enough. Overall, sufficiently enjoyable seafood restaurant with a distinct «pretend like you’re by the beach when you’re not actually» feel.

Consistent service and food that I can never get tired of. Top picks are the Deviled Eggs, Shrimp Yucatan and the Lobster Roll. No happy hour specials, but the appetizers drinks are always worth it!

I have been coming here since it opened, but have never done a review, so why not now?
The staff is amazing (Chase was our server on the Patio on Friday and was on the ball).
The food is amazing (the bacon that comes with the deviled eggs is to die for, you should just sell that as an appetizer).
The drinks are amazing (Bourbon Smash is phenomenal).

OMG. What a great dining experience. Seated quickly. The menu had all kinds of surf and turf. Had the petite filet mignon with garlic mash and sauté mushrooms and a fantastic melt in your mouth crab cake. I’ll definitely be stopping by on my next trip up to Virginia. Perfect location too with plenty of party. Fantastic cocktails

Amazing food and amazing service! I usually go to the inside bar or the patio on the weekends with friends and family. The bartenders Miguel and Alexa always take great care of us. If Miguel is working, ask him to make you a mango mojito — I’ve been getting it everytime I go in for over a year now because it’s so good! I’ve yet to try anything I didn’t like but my favorite is either the filet tips with pasta or the fish tacos when they’re available.

Great food. Adam was our servers name I believe and he was fantastic. I loved my food! I got the filet and crab cake with cauliflower mash. Kudos for having a healthier option to mashed potatoes. The chocolate waffle was to die for. There are so many things I want to try here. I’ll be back!!!

Coastal is great! Special occasion place for me. It isn’t my favorite seafood but the Ozzie rolls and atmosphere sell me on the place. It’s a Great American Restaurant and it lives up to the name in décor, liveliness, and service.
My only complaint is that it isn’t the best bang for your buck. Also, The menu is a bit smaller than other Great American joints but everything on it is splendid.
They have the classic shoe string fries that you find at most Great American Restaurants. I had the Smokes Salmon last time I went and it was probably the best Salmon I’ve had. Any of the appetizers are worth getting. The Deviled Eggs are my favorite. They are at most Great American Restaurants. They come with maple crystallized bacon that I could eat a pound of.
Great place to go if you aren’t footing the bill. Not a crab type seafood place but the food is great regardless; with good service and a great location and surroundings, I enjoy it.

Off the bat, I’m going to acknowledge that this review might sound like a paid-​off sham because I have no criticisms to offer and only glowing compliments to shamelessly through about at the feet of this restaurant. Fair warning.
My family and I got something from each part of the menu, and just like at Ozzie’s, we were all beyond satisfied. I got the beef back ribs, and I think I might have genuinely concerned everyone with how crazily happy I was with my meal, and might have started speaking in tongues at one point. My dad got the lobster roll, and he was just as happy as I was with my meal, and said that even though he had no point of reference (it was his first lobster roll) he would absolutely have it again. My brother got a burger (good, but unremarkable) and my grandparents split the rockfish, which they said was out of this world, and a refreshing change from other seafood fare.
As for the details of the visit, our waiter was incredibly prompt, friendly, and remarkably efficient, no complaints there. Oh, we also had dessert, and despite us all being uncomfortably full, the key lime pie and bread pudding vanished like magic. We left disgustingly full, but with no regrets. I 100% recommend!

Who doesn’t love Great American Restaurants? They do everything right and this place is no exception. I always have a tough time choosing between them and Ozzies. Sometimes I just do both.
Everything here is amazing. My favorites are the baby cake sliders, crab and shrimp fritters, lobster roll, crispy shrimp noodle salad, smoked salmon, pecan trout, and banana pudding. For cocktails, the mojito, bourbon smash, and the sangrias are the best. They also have a new cocktail called the rum swizzle; it’ll put a smile on your face!
Great staff with warm personalities as usual. They set the standard for how restaurants should operate. Disregard the bad reviews because those reviewers don’t get it. This place rocks!

I honestly can’t think of a single negative thing to say about this place. If I go it’s normally on a Sunday with some girlfriends (yes I’m a straight male and said girlfriends — deal with it), but have found myself here during the week to grab a bite or drink before the movies, as it’s right across the street from the theatre. Always an excellent experience. Service is prompt, food is amazing. Drinks are stiff. Definitely one of my favorite GAR’s to frequent.
Here is your concoction for a perfect experience:
— Go to the bar on any Sunday — ask for Miguel.
— Ask Miguel to make you a bourbon smash. Trust.
— Crispy sweet & spicy calamari as an appetizer.
— Filet tips. Filet tips. Filet. Tips.
— Finish up with an old fashioned banana pudding.
Thank me later. Cheers.

Everything about this place is amazing!
The food was very delicious. The atmosphere was really nice. The service was outstanding. Everything tasted so fresh and so good. The candied bacon is so addicting! Love it!

On this last visit home to Northern VA, I finally was able to try out Coastal Flats. You know I had to have the lobster roll and compare it to the one at Legal. Mom, DH, and I went for a Saturday lunch. We arrived after 1pm and the place was still packed. After a short 5 minute wait (we were given a pager in case we wanted to wander the shops) we were seated.
Since this was a weekend, we all started with Bloody Mary’s. I tend to like mine a bit spicier, but this worked. In retrospect, I should have asked for hot sauce. They brought out a bread basket with just THE BEST small slightly sweet rolls with a soft herb butter. I could’ve eaten an entire basket of just these, but we had the spinach and artichoke dip on the way. This was one of the better versions I have had. With 3 of us eating it, it went very quickly.
Mom and I both had lobster rolls, the reason for this visit, and DH had a burger. The lobster rolls came with corn and shoestring fries. This was a VERY GOOD roll with easily identifiable pieces of claw meat. I will say that they could put it on a longer roll. When you get it, the lobster is piled too high and you need to at least start with a fork. This one uses a bit more mayo vs. Legal, so I lean a bit more on the Legal side. However, I will be back for Coastal’s version because we all need a little variety in our lives. DH liked his burger and pronounced the bacon «outstanding». He also finished off my corn (see bread above) that I couldn’t eat and he liked that as well.
Since Coastal is close to Mom and Wegmans, I know you’ll see me here again.

The food at Coastal Flats is amazing for a chain restaurant. Their specialty is seafood, although there are many other choices. The classic crabcake is just superb; the meat is sweet and the fillers are non-​existent. The salads are always fresh. A highlight is the fresh baked bread from Best Buns. The Ozzie rolls are addictive! It wouldn’t be dessert without the white chocolate bread pudding! If you like to partake of the bar offerings, the pineapple mojito is the best!

Oh Coastal Flats, I love you.
I have spent many a happy hours sipping mojitos on the back patio here over the years.
CF is a solid choice of restaurant in Fairfax corner for sure, and although it may not my favorite of the GAR brand, it’s a close second.
I have to be in the mood for seafood, and since this GAR staple’s focus, I really have to be in the mood to come to here. But when I am in the mood, it’s a great place! They have a lobster roll and shrimp roll that are phenomenal, and then they have nicer dishes like the Hong Kong style sea bass or the shrimp and grit cakes that are also very good.
I also love the nautical décor and you just can’t beat GAR’s customer service.
Noteworthy: They take limited reservations for special holidays. Ex: Mother’s and Father’s day.