Man, really wanted to give this spot a chance but it's a complete fail. Haven't been in years but remember when it was sea & sea. Full of regulars keeping it afloat. The reason I gave it two stars is for the riverfront location and the affordable prices but other than that.. not much else going for it. My boyfriend and I ordered oysters, poke, a wedge salad, and the crab chowder. The oysters were dry.. I didn't think that was even possible (not to mention, full of shell). The wedge, was wilted brown and tasted unwashed. The tuna poke app was decent. The crab chowder was the best thing by far and was mediocre at best. So much potential for a spot like this but sad to see the lack of effort and complacency. read more

Hmm... Yikes, I think this establishment has room for improvement. The views are gorgeous, they almost have a monopoly with this amazing location. There's very few waterfront restaurants in PWC. The waitress we had was very friendly, but bar service and food service couldn't seem to handle the amount of customers. I don't think their food was "exceptional" by any means. I would only recommend the stuffed shrimp, which was delicious. Unfortunately, our table finished all our meals before they brought one of our parties appetizer and meal. I would not recommend this place for large groups and would not recommend sitting inside. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be returning anytime soon... read more

See all

Great dinners. For a while this was our evening dining spot in Occoquan, South of Springfield. In the summer months US navy gals/dudes simmer on the River-front boardwalk; Coronas or Buds in hand. The food is decent. High end for Occoquan. Medium end for upscale DC dining. The options are endless and food heaped. You get $$ worth. We usually order the appetizer sampler; which comes with a crab dip and fish entrees. Check online or ask ahead for live music in the early evening until 10 pm-ish. Bands play loudly in a separate room with darts. Review: 5 read more

After kayaking on the river, we decided to try eating here since the outdoor seating looked pleasant. Sure enough, we were seated outside and the view and atmosphere were great. I ended up ordering the waffle with chicken tenders and my date had the popcorn shrimp. My honest opinion of the food is that it is a solid 3 stars. The waffle was good but the chicken was dry. The popcorn shrimp were also on the well-done side. The portions were big and the prices are fairly cheap and our service was amazing despite warnings posted about being short staffed. We didn't notice a slow down in service at all. Overall I give this place 4 stars because of the view, prices, portions, and the quality of the service. It's not the greatest seafood, but then again, you aren't paying $$$ for it. This is a solid choice for family dining or a date. read more

Madigan's Waterfront - Outdoor seating - Seafood Near Me - Occoquan, Virginia

If I could give 0 stars I would. I have grown up in the Lakeridge/Woodbridge area my entire 35 years of life. Madigan was once a very nice run establishment. I have been there twice in the past 4 months. Once for lunch and once for dinner. Each time the food was incorrect, we have been served nearly 45 minutes after ordering and the food itself is subpar. I mean, it's not that hard to cook a chicken quesadilla. The menu will fool you with ingredients that sound delicious and should be one of the most flavorful things you've tested yet, I could of made this at home on my own. Tonight, after being one of two table sat, it took us over an hour to get our food for 6 people. Luckily, my sons food was brought out prior. By the time all of our food was brought out it was cold. Again, I could of made better dirty chicken pasta on my own with much more taste ans flavor. The steak tips with gravy were full of gristle. My sons cheeseburger was a hockey pick. Sorely disappointed and will never be returning which is a shame be abuse the building itself has an astonishing view and such good potential. Who owns this place? Whoever it is needs to take a look into this place and spend some energy bring it forward into a better years before they shut down and someone else does better. Disgusted. read more

Not good at all... brought my food out with a long hair across it. Then, instead of bringing me a new entree, when I got my replacement they brought out the original meal/plate by accident. I suspected it was the same sandwich... the fried fish fillet was a unique shape/size so I was thinking it was a serious coincidence for the new one to look EXACTLY THE SAME as the old one. Despite my suspicions, at that point I couldn't prove anything, so I kept it and just picked around the edges of the sandwich, the part where the hair wasn't. A couple of minutes later... out comes the fresh sandwich, looking hot at obviously a new/differently shaped piece of fish! The poor waitress actually said, "oh, you already have one!" and walked quickly back to the kitchen leaving me to eat my formerly hairy sandwich. No one said... ma'am we are so sorry, please don't eat that. We screwed up and we think you have the old sandwich. So, as you can imagine... I was so done by then! To add insult to injury, they failed to deal with the bill correctly. I had to point out that they shorted me $2 on the credit. Everyone was very apologetic, but honestly, none of that really matters in the restaurant business once you have committed these types of grave errors. First, check your food quality throughout the preparation process and before it leaves the pass. Second, when a meal goes back for having hair or other foreign object in it, THROW IT AWAY IMMEDIATELY. Don't leave it hanging around for someone to think it's the redone meal ready to go out. Third, when you have to comp a check, get the amount right... better yet, COMP THE ENTIRE THING. Show your customer you understand the seriousness of the situation and a willingness to make it right. Sadly, you can tell this restaurant is struggling. I did think about not posting anything here for concerns of making their situation worse. But, I thought about the nature of what happened. It's like how to run a restaurant 101. Some things you just can't overlook. read more

Terrible food and service. Too much help that would rather talk between themselves instead of waiting on customers. The mussels had spaghetti sauce poured on them and they were chewy and cold. Only brought us one ice tea and one soda and never asked if we wanted anymore. The fish sandwich was so hard and dry that it was crunchy on the ends. The onion rings were soggy. The inside of the fish was black and had no taste. If there was a category for zero stars I would give them that. This used to be a nice place but we will never go back. We told the waiter how bad the food was and all he said was he was sorry. Drove all the way from Falls Church. I would rather have gone through Chick Filet drive through read more

We had the good fortune to select Madigans for lunch today having only been to Occoquan once before in 2023. The service was friendly and attentive and our crab cakes were, as my wife said, "The best crab cakes I've ever had." I have to agree with her. I almost ordered a different meal and I am so glad that I ordered "What she's having." And we have been to a lot of "Crab Shacks" in different states up and down the east coast. The food and drinks are very reasonably priced. What a wonderful setting for lunch or dinner looking out over the Occoquan River. read more

The food, the service and the cleanliness were below par. The salt shaker was filthy the windows were filthy, the beautiful waterfront is obstructed by an ugly air conditioner in addition to the filthy windows and my plate had two big chips in it. That was the best table they had other tables which are obstructed by big brick pillars and not centered right with the windows. Ordered two french dips, it comes with fries for $11.99 very good price for a waterfront meal, it's apart of the lunch menu which I believe ends at 3:30 pm. The service was below par and it took them 30 minutes to make the food, the fries were nice and hot the sandwiches were lukewarm. Overall the food was decent and a good value. The waiter barely came to the table, in the 30 minutes from taking our order to coming with the food she walked by 0 times to check on us and there was no one else in the restaurant. Overall I went there to kill some time waiting for my sister to get done with her dental appointment, the experience was positive. The restaurant could be a lot better with new management. read more

See all

Good food service and atmosphere but the bathrooms are disgusting. I've been in cleaner bathrooms at truck stops. If the bathrooms are this gross what does the kitchen look like. Please address the bathrooms. read more

This is a place you want to see exceed but after going there three times over the past 5 years enough is enough. We live very close to Madigan's in Occoquan but every time we have given them a chance we come away very disappointed. Most recently we went with friends to celebrate their last day in town. We ordered the Scallops ($22) and a Mariner's salad ($18) since the restaurant's specialty is seafood. We also ordered the chowder of the day. Everything was mediocre at best. The salty scallops were penny or dime size and everything was cold except for the mashed potatoes. The salad was just a pile of lettuce with a few pieces of seafood and cheese. Both dishes cost way too much for what you got. The chowder was good but tasted straight out of the can. The margarita was flavorless and weak. To top it all off, even though the entire restaurant was about 40% filled it took almost 1.5 hours to get our food after we ordered. We arrived at 6:30PM and left around 9:30PM. We were there so long that the late night band started to play in the bar and overwhelmed us with loud music in the dinning area. The only reason we ate our meal was because we were starving from the wait. The rest of our party had similar issues. The only thing positive about this place is the location and the wait staff were very polite and apologetic for the kitchen. If you are visiting the town of Occoquan there are much better places to get something to eat. You really need to avoid Madigan's unless the cheap dive bar scene is your thing. BTW, the pictures posted look better than they tasted. read more

Madigan's Waterfront - Three average shrimp and four very small scallops on a bed of lettuce for $18. Rip off! - Seafood Near Me - Occoquan, Virginia

See all

Went here for dinner, restaurant does gets crowded in the weekend if you can make reservation. We sat inside restaurant, order the bourbon chicken which comes fried and you can order sauce in the side with celery stick and small pieces of carrots. Order the Nautical pasta which come with crab meat and white sauce, penne pasta. My meal was delicious very tasty and plenty of flavors. Our meal total was about $64.00. Also order chicken nuggets with fries, chicken was tender and fries were hot. our meal was great and our server Ashley was friendly. the restaurant has street parking which can be full during the weekend, since occoquan is history area. The restaurant view of the Occoquan river if you want to sit outside beware of smokers which can be sitting next to you. The restaurant has live music on the weekends and two bars available for someone who just want to have a drink and enjoy . read more

The food is maybe three stars but the view from the porch adds another star. A nice place to sit in decent weather and take in the river views. Service was adequate and was reasonably handicap accessible. read more

The second time here with my mum for her birthday and it was lovely! We had a wonderful view on the deck. The best part of the evening was the service from Eddie. He's an absolute darling and very attentive. The apps were delicious, cocktails strong and food tasty. Mum dad and aunt were very happy. The only unfortunate matter was I ordered my potato without bacon and it came with it. I'm vegetarian so.... Just wasn't keen on eating that. the chefs apparently found it difficult to deliver after I sent it back. I suppose they got sassy. That being said, after it took too long and I got fearful of the upset chefs, it felt best to cancel the meal and i got a small ceaser salad. The live music was a plus so we loved that. Again I recommend Eddie! Made everything pleasant! read more

Madigan's Waterfront - Ceaser - Seafood Near Me - Occoquan, Virginia

See all

Fourth of July evening and we decided to go to a seafood restaurant for dinner thinking it wouldn't be a wait. We arrived at the restaurant, and had to wait 10-15 minutes for a table even though the restaurant was 50% capacity. The hostess states we had to wait because the kitchen was short staffed. Went to the bar to get some drinks. The bartender was nice, but she was one person deep and we had to wait extended amount of time to order drinks and get our change after we paid. The waiter, Caleb, was a true professional. Quick on his feet, very knowledgeable of the menu. The food was bland, but okay. Thank goodness they had Tabasco. They use a lot of lemon to season the food. Need some onion powder, garlic and paprika. Oysters weren't seasoned, just covered in flour and fried. You do better going to The Secret Garden up the street. read more

My mom suggested going here for brunch with some of her friends today and I had brought my daughter with me as well, for 5 of us I felt like there was plenty of room for us at the table and it was beautiful overlooking the river, even in January. I had the classic eggs Benedict, my mom had the Maryland crab omelet, and my daughter had the Belgian waffle. The plating was beautiful and the poached eggs were cooked perfectly! My daughter loved her waffle and was so stuffed she only ate about half. My mom has a fish allergy and was happy to hear the crab in the omelet was real crab. A huge thank you to Kenny for keeping our table happy and being so nice, especially with how busy he was. I only got a picture of my food with how fast everyone started eating, but it was well worth it! I'd love to come again and enjoy the dinner service! read more

Madigan's Waterfront - Classic eggs Benedict - Seafood Near Me - Occoquan, Virginia

I live in Occoquan. We should demand more than this, town folk. Appetizers were fine. Mains were a TERRIBLE. Bouillabaisse was literally Prego, with onions, with some grilled focaccia for $26. My boyfriend's steak was tough, no jus, and horrible. Not to the server's fault, but god, after living in DC for 23 years with great restaurants, and then in Europe for 3 (Germany), this place is horrid. Also, Occoquan, if you want people to convene here - closing at 12:30am kills that. **And after informing the bartenders that a woman had puked in the bathroom, they told me to use the bathroom upstairs, while no one cleaned up vomit on the first floor bathroom for the rest of the night. Again, horrid. read more

Service 5 star Ambience and location 4 star Food 1 star (like cafeteria food or worse for everyone at our 7 person table) read more

Drinks here are probably the only thing aside dueling pianos that I look forward to seeing. We enjoy coming and watching our friend perform and never have an issue with drinks they seem to be reasonable priced. Service is nice I'm just not a huge fan of the food read more

Came on a rainy rainy day while traveling...just had to check out the water view. Staff was super friendly and accommodating (let our well behaved pooch on the covered patio area due to the rain - note the web site says it's dog friendly but really only allow service dogs) Only had apps but they were good. Tunes were good as well (little loud for a small enclosed area with a small crowd). Will try them again on a sunny day when in the area. read more

First time coming to Madigan's after walking around the Occoquan. We came on a Sunday around 1pm and were extremely disappointed. There weren't many people there, and I think I know why. The positives: great view of the Occoquan, provides indoor and outdoor seating. Things to work on: 1) food is awful (excluding the Old Bay chips, those were good) We got the Turkey Sandwich which came on a Croissant but it was dry, not flavorful, did not have any condiments. The Mad burger was dry and bleh. The big fish was BIG! 2) the service (waitress never came to check on us, got drink orders confused, wasn't sure of the menu or the specials menu--I saw on the outside specials board that they had fried pickles, she had to flip thru her notes and ask several people about it) 3) the cutlery and dishes were not clean Either way, we will probably explore other restaurants and not be returning. read more

Half empty. Seated grudingly (we are busy). Waited 20 minutes and nobody stopped by. Walked out. Never again. Beware the 4% up charge for using a credit card. read more

We really enjoy this restaurant. We would highly recommend! The service and food were great.

not a great experience... bar service was basic at best, maybe I didn't know staff members enough but after the way we were engaged i really don't think I want to?!? corn fritters were very tasty!!! the charcuterie was very 'lacking' for the $20 tag and honestly the Brie was the reason for that as it just tasted off and the portion was small too but that mad have been better for us because of the taste... hopefully other's experiences are better and I hope this is used constructively for you establishment read more

So bad... just so bad. I made the mistake of dining here without checking reviews. The service was horrendous and slow. It took 45 minutes to get our food. When our meal finally came it was so bad that it was almost inedible. I ordered the what I think was supposed to be crab cakes. I would compare it to hospital food but I don't think I've ever had a meal this bad at the hospital. Never again. Hard pass. Nope. read more

I would give it no stars if I could. Signed up for the waitlist (40 minutes) after getting the runaround who we have to see between hostess and bar tender. After 40 minutes, we were told the wait was an additional 35 minutes. Can't say I tried their food, but their customer service alone is enough of a reason to avoid Madigan's. Go to any of the other smaller restaurants nearby. Because they are on the water is a reason for them to treat customers and patrons like peasants and idiots, I guess. read more

Good food, good service and loved the tiki bar outside. The entertainment on the weekend is always good too with a pretty scenery.

The food was not good . Po boy grouper was fried with too much bread and chips . So ordered side salad for 5 extra and it was wilted / inedible. Dressing also bad . Service was good .. Alec was our waiter . Drinks good too. I would just do drinks at this place and look at the ducks and river . read more

I waited 20 minutes for a table outside, the rude hostess told me I couldn't sit outside because of rain. It was not raining it was beautiful out. Mean while tables are being sat while they tell me I can't be sat. Manager "Bailey" was extremely rude telling me I could be sat now just acting like it wasn't a mistake. I would think twice about visiting this location. Bailey you need to work on your customer service!! Why are you so rude to your customers ? Why do you feel that we're not inconvenienced? You should be asking what You can do for us. There were so many open tables outside you should be apologizing to us. Rude manager rude staff try a different restaurant if you are in the area. Rude rude rude not worth my business. Look at this dirty bathroom to top it off... read more

Madigan's Waterfront - Bathroom gross - Seafood Near Me - Occoquan, Virginia

We have not been there recently but enjoyed the meal we had there when visiting family. The food was great, they accommodated our larger party and numerous children. We sat outside. We are planning to return next time we are in the area. read more

These guys took forever for my food dawg like im so hungry and I waited a hour for this

Worst meal I've ever had. Prime rib? More like old shoe. I've had better at Boston Market -not joking. I'll take my chances at McDonald's before ever returning to this whatever it is. Please don't waste your time or money. Just walk on by. Plenty of actually well run restaurants in the area. read more

Beautiful view and amazing food! Have visited for both brunch (eggs Benedict) and dinner (salad, sandwiches, and dinners are all good). Impressive to have the manager stop by and ask about the experience. Hard to find people committed to a good overall experience but know Madigan's will always be good. read more

We are visiting Occoquan for the first time. This restaurant was recommended to us so we decided to give it a try. We will not go back the wine for nine dollars a glass was so thick. I feel like I was drinking a bottle of syrup. The crab soup was also ridiculously thick. It was more like a gravy than a soup, and there was absolutely no seafood in it. This restaurant is subpar. It was lovely to be able to sit on the water, but we were told that our service would be delayed because of the choice of seat where we sat. All in all two thumbs down. read more

Sat us quickly. We ate outdoors by the waterfront. Beautiful view. Ordered. Bit of wait for the food but worth the wait. Everyone enjoyed their food with leftovers to take home.There was a 4% up charge for using a credit card. Not thrilled with that. read more

First time going-- great ambiance & busy (which explains the slow service, so as a past restaurant server i understand that). the waitress we had was doing her best at keeping up with the pace so i appreciated her service a bunch! she was very kind too. she also communicated allergy needs which is very important! thank you! although, the buzzkill here was the food. chicken wings were alright but very greasy. fried & drenched in plain, bottled hot sauce. nothing spectacular. my main course was a turkey sandwich, which was very very plain. just a croissant roll, lettuce, turkey, and avocado. no sauces, no pepper and mayo-- just slapped the plain ingredients together and called it a day. no flavor whatsoever and was the most bland sandwich i've ever had (minus the bland sandwiches i made as a child). i couldn't believe that a restaurant would serve that type of quality, considering the price too ($14). the fries had a nice crisp to it, but the taste was off. i don't know if it was old oil or just the fries batch but it wasn't the best. they also took 30 mins to bring out another glass of wine. i understand a busy restaurant, but at least communicate with the customers on the delay maybe? idk. my menu & table was also dirty as if it was used before i came. not even wiped down and had sauce slightly dried up & spilled on it. considering we're recovering from a pandemic still-- yikes. i just hope other places at the restaurant are sanitized frequently. read more

Ok, my wife and I go out to eat with the kids every weekend, and we try to go somewhere new. We decided on Madigan's since we were out shopping at IKEA. Unfortunately, the food is terrible here. As in, Everything is either fried or soggy. We ordered the kids' nuggets and a cheeseburger. The burger was decent, and the Nuggets are literally like from a frozen bag from Giant. French Fries with the kids' meals were fresh and probably the best part of the meal. The adults ordered peel and eat shrimp which were soggy. We tried the old bay chips, which were just ok. We got the hush puppies; those were good, but how can anyone mess up cooking hush puppies. For our entrees we got the fish tacos and scallops: Fish tacos were fried mahi-mahi. The mahi-mahi was overcooked and had too much batter. It comes with 3 tacos. I only at 1 whole taco, and that was it b/c the taste was too overcooked. My wife got the scallops. They were overseasoned. You couldn't even taste the scallops--wife ending eating just one scallop. We quickly got our check and bolted. The price of the food is overpriced for the quality of food. One and done. Won't ever come back here. read more

Racist employee ruined our experience and due to lack of respect this will be the last time I'll step foot into this establishment. A older Caucasian male bartender named Jimmy thought it was okay to tell the waitress that her table was the "white girl, black guy". He could've said anything else, perhaps, the table across the stage, the table with no food on it (as there were only 3 tables filled with patrons), the table with the white and peach sweaters, anything. However the waitress didn't stop the disrespect she just led herself to the "white girl, black guy table". Heather, the manager was informed of this incident and without surprise she wasn't sympathetic. read more

Came here for the first time Saturday night. We had a table of 8 and celebrating a birthday. Ordered a round of drinks. When they showed up to the table one was wrong (a martini was brought instead of a margarita) we let the server know and we also asked for a water. Neither were ever brought. Go to order our food. I ask what kind of oysters. Server had no idea. A buddy asked which fish were in an entree server didn't know. Apps come out. No app plates guess we just eat with our hands. I couldn't even get the servers attention so I walked to the bar and ordered a second round of drinks for the table and brought them back myself. Entrees come out before our salads. Lol then my girlfriend never even got the entree she ordered. Terrible service. Worst I have ever had. I waited tables all through college I generally tip 30-50% and can see when people are overwhelmed they lost me all along the way with this one. No knowledge of menu. Not returning to refill drinks or bringing drinks. Never pre busing the table and clearing off empty glasses. Pace of meal was terrible app then entree immediately after and then the salads after the entrees. Most of us just sent them back. Not even bringing out one of the entrees.. After all this I ask for the manager. He said sorry it's his 3rd day back. How is that my problem as the customer... I will never go back to this establishment and will voice this on every outlet I can to save others the headache. read more

Good view and location. It's a nice place to relax for a bit in a historic town. The food is nothing special, pedestrian American food, nothing fancy or anything. Clam Po'Boys was not that good, couldn't chew; chicken quesadilla was okay. Portions were good, French fries were good, all dishes are heavy, not good for dieting. read more