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Great Machipongo Clam Shack
Categories: Food Specialty Food Seafood Markets Restaurants Seafood Seafood Markets, Seafood [Edit]
6468 Lankford HwyNassawadox, VA 23413
(757) 442-3800
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
11 reviews for Great Machipongo Clam Shack
11 reviews in English
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Review from Captain A.
Germantown, MD
10/3/2011 2 photos
This place is great. Good food. Friendly service. Cheap beer and lots of options on the menu.
I stopped in twice and was not disappointed. The soups are all good. For dinner I got one of the broiled platters (pictured) which was a lot of food. I think the platter came with 4 huge tender scallops, 4 big shrimp, a crap cake, two large sides, hush puppies and sauces. I was hungry, but had trouble finishing it. Shrimp and scallops were great, crab cake was okay...I actually think that one piece would have been better fried but I liked the rest broiled.
Good bottled beer was $3! If you come during happy hour the beer is $2 and the mixed drinks are $2.50. That's not bad.
So here's the thing, the menu isn't that different from other local seafood places you have been to...a bunch of seafood sandwiches and platters you can get fried or broiled. What's different here is the quality seafood, friendly service, and a real eclectic local feel. You walk in and want to come back again before you've even been served your food. It's not fine dining, it's a seafood shack! Get your self some chowder, a cold beer, and enjoy the music.
I'll be back. -
Review from Sj F.
Colts Neck, NJ
8/2/2011
Everything is fried. Slow service. VERY disappointing.
Very salty. -
Review from archie j.
Berryville, VA
11/16/2010
Drove around twice before deciding to go in--the dead untagged mercedes in the parking spoke "go away", but I went in anyway. Saturday nite, so live entertainment, which apparently varies each saturday nite. Our was pretty good, though odd.
Beer is all bottle, and a pretty good variety, with frozen mugs. I had the scallops and oysters. Oysters were quite good--scallops good though really would rather not have had fried.
Sides -- slaw and mashed potato -- were quite mediocre, although the hush puppies were good.
Service was fine.
I think the owners are distracted and running on autopilot, but overall pretty good---just not the great seafood restaurant i was hoping for. -
Review from Alan C.
Hyattsville, MD
4/18/2011
Yeah! A no frills, no pretension, real live seafood dive! You don't stop at a roadside seafood joint on the eastern shore in the middle of NOWHERE for "classy" or "ambiance." The people were friendly, the clientele diverse, with both locals and tourists, and it had PERSONALITY. There is a little bar, a little stage with local entertainment (seems to lean towards open mic/folk/americana/coffeehouse stuff), a seafood store and souvenir shop in the restaurant. Of course it is in an old fast-food building, what else would it be next to an old US highway? What do you want, a Tudor manor house? it's a seafood joint!
Oh, the food... it was really good. Simple and tasty. I had the seafood cake sandwich=GREAT, my partner had the crab cake sandwich, which was the chunky lumpy heavy-on-the-crabmeat, light-on-the-filler type. Mostly lump, not claw, and excellent. We liked the slaw and hush puppies, too. Service was not super fast/efficient, but we weren't in a huge hurry. At least they were friendly! -
Review from Franco C.
6/23/2009
Seafood
I tend to drive up and down the eastern shore of Delaware / Maryland & Virginia (the Delmarva peninsula) a lot- and usually my stops are reserved for gas or rest rooms.
In this case, I was starving and having passed the Great Machipongo Clam Shack a zillion times, I wanted to finally get in there. Firstly - the name grabs your attention as it is way too much to handle while flying by doing 80. There are some bill boards announcing it which does get your attention - otherwise by the time you figured out the name, you'd be long past it.
The place serves seafood and plenty of it. Additionally it is a seafood market where you can get some killer deals on very fresh sea items and take them home with you.
The waiter was top notch- very polite and johnny on the spot with everything. In fact, everyone working there was very awesome- a young group of workers and the entire place is an outpost for various causes from saving Tibet to protecting the fish through sustainable fishing.
The food was very good- and that of course stems from the fact that it was fresh - not frozen - and cooked to order. While waiting for the food, I was looking around -the entire place is a loaded with nautical gear and pictures to remind you of where you are -
Live music on Thursdays (I think) either open mike or bands.
Great little place and absolutely worth hitting again Parking around the perimeter. -
Review from C S.
Princeton, NJ
We stop here en route to SC when avoiding the DC traffic on 95 (I've been coming here since at most 2003). It's in a converted McDonald's--with drive through service from a hand-painted sign.
We usually order a pound of cold boiled shrimp to eat and then pick up a pints of oysters for $11, chowder clams at $4/dozen, and anything else that looks good (frozen lobsters and crabs, fish cakes, etc.). If you need a cooler, they have those with freezer packs (our cooler has lasted over a year, having been reused for items from the farmer's market as well as for picnics).
The original location is a tiny shack with less to purchase, but with a greater ambiance. It's a real shack.
A gem if you happen to travel on this tiny road. On our next visit in a few weeks, I may pick up some alligator--it doesn't taste like chicken at all, but is really good. -
Review from Shawn T.
Woodbridge, VA
11/20/2010
The most disappointing thing about this place is that it was actually in Machipongo at one point. Now its in Nassawadox, still along 13 but further north. When I would come home on vacation this place was the greatest. Friendly people, all about service with a smile. Now the management has changed. The people tend to look at you like you don't really want to buy anything.One older lady in particular just seems like she doesn't care what you want. I can understand a little based on the surrounding area with a lot of drugs and so on, but customer service should still be customer service. 2 stars for not being what it used to be.
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Review from Julie C.
Smithfield, VA
5/5/2011
This is a great place for the down home feeling! The locals like this place so we thought we would try it. My husband got Joe's Seafood Sampler (fried shrimp, scallops and clam strips) and I got the Bayside Seafood Cake (broiled crab, fish, shrimp and scallops). Well the locals were right! The fried was lightly coated and the flavor rang thru and the cake...well just say I would for sure order it again! Service was good and friendly and we felt they really cared about us and the food they prepared. I will eat there again. The room was filled with lots of funny posters and there were local cookbooks, good wine and a section to pickup some fresh seafood. Sooooo...try it on your way on Rt. 13 of the Eastern Shore of Virginia! You will get a treat!
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Review from Misty D.
Odenton, MD
8/28/2009
This was my first trip on the shore without stopping here. Squeaker was sleeping happily in her carseat, so I didn't dare jinx it! As the other Yelpers have mentioned, it's a great spot for a meal or to pick up fresh seafood. Love the drive-thru as well. My faves are the steamed clams, steamed shrimp, and crab cake sandwich. Highly recommended.
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Review from Jason P.
1/26/2009 5 photos
In or around Chesapeak Bay Bridge Tunnel? Hungry for some seafood and not sure where to go? We were in Virginia Beach for a wedding and on our way home to New York. Just 26 miles north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel on Route 13, we saw a small establishment called The Great Machipongo Clam Shack. Since none of us had our seafood fix in Virginia Beach, we all decided to check it out.
Pulling into the lot, the place reminded me of a familiar fast food chain restaurant. (I couldn't quite put my mind to it until I read the previous Yelp post that it used to be a McDonald's). The ambiance of the restaurant was pretty old, with brown tiled floors, blue walls, laminated tables with wooden chairs, and several plastic seated booth tables. We were greeted by a tall man, who I assume is the owner, and asked if we would be ordering out or dining in. We decided to dine-in, and were seated by the owner. The hostess came by and informed us she was short menus (which was a piece of plain paper), so we only had one menu for our party of 4. I browsed around the tables and saw one on another vacant table so I snatched it so we could look at the menu more easily.
Service was somewhat inattentive, as the waitress took about another 10 minutes to come by to take our order. I decided to order the Macho Clam Fritter Sandwich ($7.99) with a side of cole slaw. The waitress asked if I wanted cole slaw or fries to my surprise, so I requested the latter. We also all asked for glasses of water with lemon. It took about another 10 minutes for the waitress to bring over our waters for a restaurant that was not busy at all, with only about 5 of 20 tables occupied. As we sat and chatted, and waited for our food, I noticed this was a locals joint. As each patron walked in, they would say hi to the owner, waitress, and other patrons, all addressing by first names. A true locals joint. A party of two patrons did come in at one time and sat by a table near us. They sat there for about 10 minutes without anyone ever coming to them, so they got up and left. I noticed you really have to holler and get the waitress or owner's attention to get service.
Our orders finally came out in about 15-20 minutes from ordering. My entree was presented on a red plastic basket on top of a piece of parchment paper. The clam fritter was quite huge, almost the size and thickness of a whopper, sitting on a seedless hamburger bun. Included on the side was a small portion of fries, and to my surprise was a small cup of cole slaw, two hush puppies, and two cups of tartar sauce. My eyes lit up with all the extra food they tossed on my plate. Not bad!! And the food was delicious. The clam fritter was perfectly deep fried, and was not filled with extra breading or random ingredients. I could taste the clam as it was meant to be eaten. Compliment the clam fritter with the tartar sauce and mmmm mmmm....delicioius! The fries were crisp on the outside and moist on the inside, a fairly standard french fry, but good nonetheless. The cole slaw was homemade and fresh. The vinaigrette and mayonaisse in the cole slaw were light and not overpowering. The hush puppies were perfectly fried and moist on the inside. I also had a chance to try the Chesapeak Lump Crabcake ($9.99) which was very delicious. The crabmeat was generous without all the extra fillers (bread, etc.) that you find at most franchise restaurants which only include 10% crabmeat. Everyone was pretty content with their meals and were pretty full.
This shack is where it's at! Despite the slow and slightly subpar service, this locals joint does not skimp on portions. And even though their food might take some time to prepare (as a sign in the restaurant goes, "Good Food Takes Time!"), it is for good reason, quality seafood at its finest. And let's not forget, cheap prices! While you wait for your food, you can read the interesting health nutrition facts for a variety of seafoods and other random chatchkis on the wall. If it weren't for the slow and subpar service, and slightly unappealing ambiance, I would give this place 5 stars.
Note: If you're on the go, you can also order fresh seafood ranging from clams, mussels, shrimp, lobster, scallops, octopus, crabcakes, fish, alligator meat and more! Just don't forget that cooler. If you did, they also have styrofoam coolers available to keep your seafood cool for your road trip. -
Review from Cristina K.
Raleigh, NC
10/27/2009
I'd never been across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. 17.6 miles of road and bridge and tunnels. Impressive. Something inside me commands that if I am that close to the Chesapeake Bay, I should eat some seafood. We drove from the bridge all the way out to Nassawadox, VA, for a little seafood adventure.
We decided that we should try to The Machipongo Clam Shack. Memorable name. Middle of no where. Let's go.
When we arrived, I thought, wow. That looks like an old Hardee's. I think it was.
We were seated promptly and still cold from walked the entire length of the pier on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, we ordered Clam Chowder, hubby's favorite. It was delicious. I thought. Okay. If their chowder is that good, this place is going to rock! Not so much. Most people seem to revere the fresh seafood for purchase. After having the crab cake (good crab to breading ratio, but weird flavors and odd consistency) and the peel and eat shrimp, we were relieved that we'd saved some chowder to end on. $40 for lunch doesn't seem right in a reconditioned Hardee's. We got our Machipongo on. Whatever happens in Nassawadox, stays in Nassawadox. I'll fondly remember our trip out there and the quality of the chowder, but try to forget the shrimp, crab cake and the price.
