Backfin Seafood Rstrnt & Raw, Williamsburg

The Backfin was one of the best experiences we had in Williamsburg. The food was very good and the staff was very friendly. It was not too crowded as it was Christmas time, however, everyone except ourselves were locals. Previous reviews from a year (or more) ago sounded like they were reviewing some other restaurant. The oysters were excellent and a very good size. The prices are extremely reasonable for food AND alcohol. One night a week (maybe Tuesdays) they have a super discount dinner which had nice choices for the entire family.

My husband and I visited The Backfin Restaurant last night upon the referral of a friend. We were a little surprised to pull up in the parking lot at 7:00pm on a Friday evening and have only 4 cars in the parking lot. That should have been our first indication to run! I ordered the Seafood Sampler and to say it was aweful is an understatement. It was so overcooked that I didnt even eat it! The scallops were so done, you could hardly chew them and the 2nd one I tried to eat tasted very sour...the fish was so rubbery that you could hardly poke your fork into it, the crabcake was ok and the shrimp were ok. I had to ask them for the oysters as they forgot to bring them out and then to boot, there was shell in my oysters! The rice and beans were horrific. My husband ordered a steak and it had no taste whatsoever. He had to add salt to put a little flavor into it. I had a taste and told him immediately that the steak was not fresh and not a good cut of steak. I didnt even eat half of my food and when we left, both of us had an upset stomach. I would NOT RECOMMEND this restaurant to ANYONE...Waiter we had was very nice and courteous tho!

My wife and I went to the restaurant when we were in Williamsburg for our Honeymoon. We both ordered the shrimp plate for $7.50. We expected to get a good amount of shrimp, some fries, and coleslaw. Well, we only got 6 farely small shrimp. I asked the waitress if this was all and she said that's the amount it says on the menu. When she went to show me, it didn't say the amount of shrimp. She got the manager and he wasn't any help and was very rude. He also said the amount was on the menu but didn't try to show us. He then started saying he hasn't had any problems in 3 years and that someone even came in today and didn't complain, who even paid $.75 a shrimp for more. We are in our early twenties and we believe he thought we were much younger trying to get a free meal or something. My wife made a comment that he was treating us like we were 13 and he said we were acting like we were 13. That's when we left without paying for the shrimp, just the clam chowder, which was pretty good, and a coke. I explained that I wasn't trying to complain, I was just dissatisfied. He told me I was complaining and he would be embarassed to call a manager over about this. We were treated like we didn't have good money and like we were kids. Please don't go there. There is better places to eat in the Williamsburg area. And you can probably get more then 6 shrimp for $7.50.