Flounder and soft shells- fries, slaw and hush puppies. All made to order, friendly service. Will be back!! read more

Ray's Shanty - Flounder and 2 soft shells- I already had 1/2 of one! Fries, hush puppies and slaw. Everything was great- made to order!!! Worth the stop!! - Seafood Near Me - Wattsville, Virginia

Awesome deliciousness!!! Dinner Specials we're Amazing!! Tuna marinated was really really good!! Fried Flounder was overflowing the plate and really delicious!! Scallops were super tender and delicious!! Crab legs were really good and super delicious!!! It was awesome to come back to and a little wait before was well worth it!!! read more

My husband and I were first time customers today although we have been frequent visitors to the area for about four decades. My husband is an Eastern Shore native and a definite crab snob. He told me his crab cake and soft shell crab were as good as any he ever had. That is impressive coming from him. He also loved his fried soft crab. He likes it crispy and well done like his Mother used to make and that is exactly what he got! We did not experience the wait like others have described but we did eat early. It might have been 3 pm. We did not see any of the staff chaos that has been described by others. Highly recommen! we will be back! read more

Our favorite restaurant when we visit Chincoteague. Food and service are consistent! Shrimp is delicious steamed or fried. Scallops cooked wonderfully. read more

8/16/17 530 pm. Creative dining room management accommodates our party of 11 in a short time despite a busy dining room. We were brought samples of shrimp to view the size, etc which was a nice touch. It was Lobster Night which included a nice sized lobster, baked potato, and cole slaw. First out were THE best hush puppies I've ever eaten! Hot and packed with flavor and a heaping basket of them. Lobster was cooked perfectly, tasty baked potato. Good service and positive interaction with the owners, one of whom came by to show off some huge shrimp from his catch which the kids also enjoyed. He also made sure to check that we were being treated right. Terrific experience and we will definitely be back! read more

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Even though this place looks like an industrial building, it is actually home to some very good local seafood. Obviously the locals and vacationers know about this place because it was packed. But no worries, we were seated in about 5 minutes without a reservation on a Friday night. I was here with someone who has been here many times and insisted we had some hush puppies. These did not disappoint at all-crispy on the outside and soft and bready on the inside. I ordered the flounder. This was huge, but I was starved and almost finished it. The fries were clearly hand cut, so bonus points for those. Our waitress was awesome-very attentive and nice even though she was clearly very busy. All in all, great dining experience. read more

Ray's Shanty - Seafood Near Me - Wattsville, Virginia

Went last night again, and just like before another Great dinner, the large flounder was enough for two and we left with a doggie bag for lunch the next day, Outstanding service and Great foods, what else! read more

This place is awesome! They're VERY busy at dinner time and couldn't get in but we came back the next day for lunch and walked right in. The hush puppies are DELICIOUS- and I don't usually like hush puppies! We got the 2-lb. shrimp trawler & broiled scallops. It was all very good! Service was great- Carlie was our server. read more

Food ALWAYS Top Notch! Prices are very Reasonable especially for Portion size! Clean,Friendly! One of the Owners are Usually on Site!!! Have been eating there for 12 Years! Not one bad experience! read more

In love with this place! We stopped by on a whim, after a day of roaming around Assateague and Chincoteague while staying at Wallops Island with the Navy. We were pretty in between lunch and dinner, timewise, so no wait or anything. When we pulled up, it looked like there was a line, but that was at the attached fish market. The interior is obviously nautical, but in addition to being seaside themed, it also actually reminded me a lot of northwoods, cabin decor that I know and love from the upper midwest. Knotty pine paneling, deer trophies, decoys, A surprising bit of home! The server, Lindsay, was the sweetest, and was super nice to my kids, ages 4 and 5. It's obviously family oriented, and when we were there, it was kind of the oldsters' dining hour, and a group of seniors was in all dining together. They were obviously regulars, with servers coming by and hugging them, and it was one of their birthdays, and the whole restuarant sang to them, which was just heartwarming. We ordered a dozen steamed clams as an appetizer, and they were just great. They had a kids' menu, which is always nice, and my shrimp-loving daughter was appeased as well as my hot dog-loving son. They have great combo platters, which was convenient, since I couldn't decide between fried or boiled shrimp, and boom, I didn't have to. Husband had boiled shrimp and a softshelled crab. The fries were on point, with lots of Chesapeake Bay seasoning, and I got a baked potato, which was generous and full of sour cream and butter. Everything came with a piled-on plate of the best hush puppies I've ever had. We had a handful we couldn't finish, and they heated up the next day in the air fryer like they were fresh-made. We were too full for dessert, which was too bad, because they had a good selection of cake. The hostess even gave my kid a quarter for the gumball machine when we paid. Such a lovely, warm, friendly place, with a wonderful atmosphere. I would absolutely go there again when next I find myself in that neck of the woods, no question. read more

This place is constantly talked about, so I finally made it there this Chincoteague visit. I ordered the soft crab and Crab Cake combo. The soft ctab was amazing, but the carb cake was just okay. Not horrible, but very small and runny. The fries were great though! Others ordered various things and they were very satisfied. The service was good, a little slower, but it was very busy. The hushpuppeis were my very favorite part! Like AMAZING!!! BEST THING THERE! The only downfall I saw was how crazy and chaotic the staff were. Sooo many staff everywhere. Like kids and teens and people just sitting around or running around. One young girl at the front was very rude to the hostess who was working her butt off! I felt bad for her. If you don't like crazy, running around busy places then I wouldn't go during a dinner rush. Also they don't take reservations, so there's usually a wait! read more

The crab cakes were delish a lot of fresh crab meat. We had the 2lb shrimp w/o the heads. We noticed everyone around us got the jumbo w/heads shrimp so the waitress brought us one to try. They were better flavor & juicy. I was disappointed with the hushpuppies. They were greasy which they bring it before the meal. Service was great! read more

We visited Chincoteague for a few times, but only found this place in the fall of 2018 as we were there for the Oyster festvia. We checked it out and loved how reasonable the prices were and the freshness of the seafood they offerred. We happily left with two lbs of crabmeat. read more

The steamed shrimp and crab legs were amazing!! So fresh and great quantity and quality for a great price. The beer on tap wash fresh. The hush puppies were traditionally made to perfection. Glad we found this place on the way back home from VA beach. I left a happy camper! read more

Went here after a recommendation from the owner of the Thirsty Mosquito on Chincoteague Island, VA. The interior looks like the inside of a log cabin, it's a little loud, very casual. We got a booth and didn't have trouble drowning out the noise. The hostess and waitress were both very friendly and aimed to please. Before your meal they bring you a plate of Hush Puppies. Honestly, I'm not a fan of Hush Puppies period. I usually won't even try them (historic reasons) but they're famous here so I did. They were pretty good with the sweet cream butter on them. We both ordered the Shanty Special which lets you pick any two items, we chose the Flounder and Crab Cake with fries. Our order was ready surprisingly fast. The flounder was fried in a very light coating, and you should add their special red seasoning sitting on the table to your liking. Very fresh and cooked well, the flounder was great. The crab cake was different in appearance, it looked like a huge Hush puppy, the coating was much harder than most crab cakes I've had. When you break into it though, the crab inside was perfect; sweet, no filler, very good. Their sweet tea was just right, went perfectly with the meal. We were both very full, good portions. Our meal cost $50 without tip, we felt it was a good value for two entrees, a beer, and sweet tea. We would visit again. read more

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Although we had a 30 minute wait, the food was definitely worth it. The price was unbeatable and the food was delicious. Will definitely be returning. read more

Ray's Shanty - Steamed shrimp and snow crab legs - Seafood Near Me - Wattsville, Virginia

Had reservations for 4:00 and they had a lobster special that began at five. My wife asked Iof she could order the lobster but was told no by the manager who is not customer friendly and a bit rude!! Anyway right after we ordered, a couple were seated next to us with their two children and asked the same manager if they can order the lobster, to which she said they could??? It was only 4:20. I guess if your not a regular or the manager isn't in a good mood at the moment you are treated like crap. Anyway the waitress was very nice and friendly thank god. We had a party of eight. Food was okay nothing to get excited about. I also asked it they could take the skin off both sides of the fried flounder but they wouldn't do it. Not a fan of the management at this place but can't take that out on the other staff who work their butts off. read more

This spot is gem! The seafood is so fresh! Manhattan clam chowder, crab cakes, flounder scallops and oysters amazing! Dana, our server was so friendly and made us feel at home. Had the pleasure elf meeting Ray who fishes for all fish. read more

Fantastic food, scallops were amazing and service was incredibly quick on a Saturday...would absolutely recommend the hush puppies and crab cakes as well read more

We went on a Wednesday night, which happened to be lobster night. My husband had the 2 1/2 lb lobster, and I had the platter with shrimp, a crab cake, and a soft shell crab. Portions were huge, everything was fresh and delicious! Definitely stop here if you're in the area! There was a wait, but so worth it! read more

Ray's Shanty - 2 1/2 lb lobster - Seafood Near Me - Wattsville, Virginia

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We had a very nice visit out to the shore on Assateague, toured Chincoteague and headed back to Richmond. We timed it for lunch at Ray's Shanty. Ms T and Aunt Annie started with Crab Soup. This was a heavy, tasteless and pasty abomination. The complaint to the server was handled well. She admitted that the kitchen management was pushing the servers to sell it and that it had been around a while. As pasty as it was, I suspect it was never really any good. She took it off the bill. We all had fried seafood of one form or another so here is my report. The oysters had a good briny flavor, making them plenty salty. They had more batter than they needed, but otherwise were decent. The shrimp had good flavor and a light coating. It was over fried making it a little tough. The scallops were medium rare with a light batter and very good fresh flavor. These were the best prepared of the three. The slaw was finely ground, needed salt and was very mild and tame. It was finely ground and could have used a splash of vinegar. The hushpuppies were painfully oniony and unpleasant as a result. I just can't give more than two stars. The seafood was just OK with each item needing a little help. Execution of the cooking here is not well done or thought out. read more

The sppetizers are good, but being a place right on the water, their crabcake should have been full of crab meat. It is a premade cake full of filler and truley tasted like nothing. I was really looking forward to a great cabcake and was greatly disapointed! read more

I tried the special, blackened flounder I believe. I also had some crab bisque and my husband had a steak and crab dip. He doesn't like seafood much or eat hush puppies, but I liked them. We didn't understand why everything seemed to come in small packages, condiments like butter and ketchup plus the crackers for the crab dip....why crackers? It was just strange. Maybe they ran out of pita or something. Décor was nice and homely. read more

Ray's Shanty - Part-time place, March thru ? Thurs thru Sun. Many things were in packages like crackers for crab dip. Good fish tho buttery. - Seafood Near Me - Wattsville, Virginia

Fresh seafood and reasonable prices! We are so glad that we went to Ray's rather than to the more expensive seafood restaurants at Chincoteague. My favorites are the hush puppies (crunchy, sweet & flavorful) and the drum ribs (so meaty, juicy and tender). The Shanty Special with 4 fried seafoods is enough to feed 2 people. I especially like the lightly fried scallops. The sandwiches are very affordable if you are on a budget. We only spent one night at Chincoteague but would definitely come back to eat at Ray's again! read more

Cold french fries. I ordered blacken sword fish and my husband ordered broiled sword fish and they were both the same. When I told the waitress she saidy had blackened seasoning on it, but they are cooked the same way. The only thing that's good is the hush puppies. Also ordered steamed oysters and had to send 1/2 back because the shells were no even opened. Bummer read more

06/12/20 5:30pm Friday. We saw this place had great reviews so we pulled off to order. The order came very quickly. Which was an omen. The food was fairly flavorless. We ordered a 4 item combination fried clams, fried oysters, fried scallops, fried shrimp with fries and a side salad. We added 1/2 pound of steamed shrimp. The clams were little slivers as if it were the bottom of a frozen bag. The clams were dry. It all tasted as if they just dumped it all into one basket and deep fried it until it was all dry! What a waste of good seafood. Who could tell if it was fresh or not? The salad was iceberg lettuce, 3 tomatoes, 3 cucumbers and 3 onions. The fries probably dumped into the same basket had no salt and were soggy. The one bright spot the steamed shrimp we added at the last minute proved to be decent. A waste of money and calories. Skip this place and find a tasty meal someplace else! read more

Really bad vibes from this place. As soon as we sat down in our booth we were encountered with some questionable/racist decor. Anyways that was the first red flag. Our waitress was nice enough but the rest of the service was immature and unprofessional - we heard staff bicker at each other and complain about patrons in front of other patrons waiting for the bathroom at the host desk. And then midway through our meal we overheard a waitress doing paperwork or prep in the booth behind us say out loud "Ugh, I hate g*y people." We both immediately looked at each other like what the hell? So incredibly inappropriate, uncomfortable, and wrong. And then the food, it was just alright, we split the shanty special and did the choice of 4 items option and besides the shrimp, it was okay and overpriced and everything essentially tasted like a differently textured french fry. I hate to rag on a local business like this but it really just put a bad taste in my mouth for the rest of the day, literally and metaphorically. read more

First night we are in the area we ran into Ray's Shanty. The place is very homey feeling with old items on the walls related to the sea. We had no idea what to expect but were seated in a booth. Trying to figure out what to order a gentleman starts talking to us. It turns out to be Ray himself. Yep is a fisherman by trade and a restauranteur with his wife. They both ended up making our visit wonderful. Ray ordered us a couple of heads on shrimps to try on the house as well as giving us a lightly fried scallop off his own plate! Got to hear how they met and they were very pleasant and hospitable. Ended up visiting once with the hubsters and then the next night with the two teenagers. Ordered chowder, it is manhatten style, not my thing. The crab dip was excellent and not cheesy which turned out great. It is served with standard crackers. Ordered the soft shell crab (which was flavorful and great), the heads on shrimp with the old bay (AMAZING), crab cakes (no fillers at all and great), the jumbo flounder my son had was wonderful and huge, the scallops are lightly fried and perfectly tender, the shrimp were wonderful on the rice pilaf, coleslaw is not too sweet or too anything, it is very light and good. Hush puppies were good but overcooked, otherwise everything was cooked well. Everything tasted wonderful and per Ray, the scallops were caught within 24 hours and cooked for us. read more

Rays is good food although slightly pricey. They restaurant is very small so you may have a wait. They have daily specials and the portions are pretty big. I had the Mahi Mahi and it was excellent! My husband had the Flounder and really liked it. They had a clam, scallop and crab Chowder the night we were there and it was packed with seafood and very flavorful! If you are in the area and looking for seafood you should definitely try Rays. read more

2 hour wait for not really good meals. Waitress was good and sweet. 4 pieces of Smigh Island cake to make up for wait. Eh

Not sure where the name comes from, but for seafood or a quick lunch, Ray's Shanty hits the spot. Each sandwich goes with chips or if you upgrade, then fries or something else. Provided that the area doesn't have too many options for food, I would either come back or go to Ocean's Deli read more

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This quirky spot has good local food and friendly servers. Their fried shrimp and flounder are terrific.

Great food great service. You wouldn't be able to tell from the outside it the inside looks like a rustic cabin. Well worth the trip

Ray'a is our go to spot after checking in at the campground. Food is consistently very good and the hush puppies are simply outstanding. Definitely a must visit if in the area. The single fried oysters though are a little heavy on the breading however they are crispy on the outside and juicy inside so please take note if you do not like that crunch. All other items such as scallops, shrimp and flounder are all very good and no disappointments! read more

Everything was wonderful. The staff is friendly. There was 2 birthday celebrations while we were there. They ring a bell and invite everyone to sing happy birthday, then they present a piece of cheesecake to the person. The food was really good. The crab cakes have mostly lumps of meat... very little filling. Well worth the 2 hour drive. read more

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I have recommended Rays for years, always a good meal. Tonight was awful. Fries actually dripped oil, hush puppies were so over fried, we couldn't bite them. Crab cakes were ok, but flounder was very dry. A shame. read more

So, I took several employees who have been working near there for dinner! I was happy when they made room for us (7) and our server was really great! But then my food came I got the clam strips and steamed shrimp! My plate was half empty! Everyone at my table laughed at it saying someone in the kitchen must have been hungry! read more

Ray's Shanty - This was the whole dinner! Very disappointed! - Seafood Near Me - Wattsville, Virginia

Just ok for me. Went in with high expectations, maybe a little too high. Expected fantastic seafood. Ordered two pounds of steamed crab legs for my girls. They loved them. I ordered the special, stuffed shrimp for $21 and it came with two sides. What came was four shrimp with little "stuffing". We'll find a better place to eat next trip. read more

If you Google "shrimp capital of the world" you will return numerous pages of results. I have attempted to contact Google to name Ray's Shanty the official Shrimp Capital of the World but have had no luck. If Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue had survived the Vietnam War, I image him running a restaurant such as this. read more

Stopped for lunch on our way home from Virginia Beach. Nothing fancy about the interior and it was chilly. Our waitress was prompt and friendly and she recommended the "heads on shrimp". She explained they were the freshest and offered a sample. My husband ordered soup (he said it was great) and we got a sample of the shrimp. They were delicious so we ordered a platter which included fries, coleslaw and hush puppies. The shrimp were boiled with olaf bay seasoning. Juicy, fresh, perfectly cooked. Fries were home made, fresh and crispy. The hush puppies were good too- not too heavy or greasy. Really great seafood with friendly down home service. This is not a fancy spot but if you like fresh seafood and don't mind peeling your own shrimp, you're in for a treat. read more