Charlie’s Bayside

Pretty terrible. The only redeeming quality was that the new owners are very friendly and the waitress was nice. But let me tell you, they have their work cut out for them. They said they had only owned the place for 3 weeks. I’m hoping the current functioning is reflective of how it was, not how it will be, or Charlie’s will not last long.
I decided on the scallop special. But who was I kidding when I expected a $ 16 scallop entrée to be any good. They were described as coated in parmesan. More like buried. I literally had to dig to find the scallops and when I did, they were overcooked and rubbery. Everybody else just seemed to pick at their meals as well.
The worst part had to be the wine. Four of us ordered Pinot Grigio, but upon the first sip, I knew it wasn’t right. Had my glass been filled with Sauvignon Blanc or some other similar wine, I may not have noticed. But to fill it with Chardonnay and try to pass that off? No. I hate chardonnay. Two others confirmed theirs definitely wasn’t pinot and my boss’s tasted like and odd mixture of the two. When the waitress came back we told her, and she kind of admitted they had to use the last of the bottle of pinot. Are you kidding me? I don’t care if you’ve run out of wine but don’t serve me something I didn’t ask for without telling me and try to pretend like nothing happened.
Props for being open on a Sunday night in the off season, though.

Went last weekend with my brother and sisters. It seems that the restaurant was sold 3 weeks before. The new owners have no clue what they’re doing. Took forever to get drink orders. Half the appetizers came out while we waited for the rest. Once the appetizers were finished, it took another almost 40 minutes to get the entrée’s. The waitress never stopped by the table to see how we were doing and when we stopped her to ask for drink refills, they never came. The owner stands at the end of the bar and does nothing or he goes into the kitchen area never to be seen. He id, at one point, get on a chair and turn the A/​C up so we were all freezing. No one cleans the tables until somebody shows up and they need one. They actually parade people into the dining area and point out the dirty tables they could sit at. Then they leave them there while they run and clear the table! The food was acceptable but nothing was great. The steaks were waaaay overdone — and couldn’t be sent back because (though they were a special) the kitchen announced they were out of them. Once the food was served, the tray stand was left in the middle of the walk area so anyone coming in to be seated had to walk around it — this included the wife of the owner and our waitress (if you could call her that). No one bothered to move it back where it belonged. We were there almost 2 hours. And the ambiance is horrible. There is a fountain area that is not used and the lighting is just bad. When we went the previous year, the food was great and the service okay. Now it is all horrific. This place should close. The new owners have no idea what they’re doing. Never again. We learned our lesson.

Under new management. Sat for 10 minutes before our waitress came over. From the time we ordered dinner and received it, it was 50 minutes. Asked repeatedly for refills of drinks and they forgot. Asked 3 different times for water and never received it. Steaks were over cooked. Total time in the restaurant was about 2 hours. Horrible service.

Well, the Fiancé got me to try this place again this year. Can’t say I was really looking forward to it (see last years review) but I gave in and decided to try it again. I stayed away from the specials this time. I had fried crab cakes. These were pretty good. The rest of the items ordered by those in my party were acceptable as well. No WOW factor but it was better food than last time. Service? Same waitress as last year, same mixed up orders as last year… those possible kitchen issues are probably waitress issues.
If the Fiancé insists on going here for nostalgia sake, I can live with it… if I’m on my own, I’ll probably try somewhere else.

Great outside deck with lots of beautiful plants. The restaurant has a classic beach feel. The food is good but overpriced. Margarita was good. Good service.

Went here tonight for dinner. Got the Parmesan crusted filet mignon… Meat tasted like poor quality, definitely not up to the normal standard of filet. And the Parmesan crusted meant a bunch of Parmesan cheese melted on top. Definitely not what I was expecting. My husband had the ribs which were good and the rest of my family had seafood that they said was fine. We sat outside for the bay view… All left with about 10 mosquito bites each. All in all I probably won’t be going back

Ok food; prices comparable for the area. Had the crab cake sandwich on a potato roll, came with homemade potato chips and small slices of sweet pickle ~ $ 14. Nice outdoor space as others have suggested. Friendly service. Location is somewhat hidden behind other shops/​restaurants off Coastal Highway.

Very dissapointing. The outdoor space is nice. I spent the whole time wishing I was literally a few plants away at the sushi restaurant. Awful.

Found paper in my martini and a hair in my side salad. My filet tasted like a Burger King hamburger. Would never go again.

Had poor service and when the bill came the prices were higher than the menu prices. Will not go back. Management never acknowledged the problem.

Absolutely one of the worst restaurants in fenwick. Owners are rude and completely disrespectful, and service is really lacking. I can’t even rate my food because I lost my appetite after the experience we had in the middle of service. After we originally ordered, bread was placed on the table. My mom asked the server for some Parmesan and olive oil to dip the bread into. The server never brought it, even after my mom asked two more times. Someone completely different ended out bringing out the Parmesan. My mom had said something to the owner about how it took along time after he asked (and while we had seen him sitting at the bar drinking) he said something not even a drunk patron would have said. I don’t even want to say it because it was so rude and disrespectful towards my mother. I literally went and sat in the car after this. My dad said he ordered blacked scallops which were broiled, no blackening seasoning, and my mom ordered crab cakes which she actually thought were decent. It’s sad because this restaurant may have some good food but their obscene, drunk owner may be pushing away good, local customers. The only decent thing about this restaurant is the owners son, who was very apologetic for the way his parents were acting (his mom also served us). We definitely won’t be back.

Too bad for us. We have had great meals here. Something bad has happened. Lobster was closer to ½ pound than 1 ¼ as advertised. Sides were skimpy. Rock was sadly frozen. What a shame. I know the difference.

Went here on a whim and thought the $ 12.95 dinner specials were a great deal. Food was hot, tasty and the service while a little slow was friendly and aimed to please.

Overdone, tough lobster. Pasty, tasteless chowder with rubbery clam bits, old bagged lettuce. Don’t waste your time or money… took out of town guests… what a disappointment!

Hard to find faults. Pricing was very easy on the wallet for a family of five. Seafood was fresh and well prepared. Lobster stuffed with crab was excellent. Even the kid’s fish sticks were hand cut, individually breaded and fried — not frozen. Server was a little slow but was pleasant and attentive. Not fancy but a solid family spot.

Not a fan, I had their $ 17.95 lobster special, service was slow and that’s being nice, appetizer was meh. The lobster tasted overcooked and tough for a meat that is supposed to be tender and sweet. My wife had the crab imperial which was good and the only reason I’m giving this place two stars. I did not feel like the value was there for the price I paid.

I like this place for lunch outside. The inside needs a redo but the porch is great and the flounder sandwich is perfectly done-​lovely fresh fish with not too much batter. The service is always good and they are patient with older people and kids. And you can conduct a conversation.

As always the dinner was great. The seafood was fresh and very taste. Charlie know how to cook a good meal. It was the off season and the service was a bit slow, but then I am use to the fast pace of the big city and when at the beach everything is slow. After dinner stopped at the bar for an after dinner drinking and ended up watching rest of the Orioles game (which they won) with rest of bar patrons that were also O’s fans. The bartender was good and we did not have to wait long for our next round. From my take if you want to watch your Baltimore team play, this is the bar to do it at.

Review by The Boy:
This is an okay resturaunt with a great outdoor space and a good view. The food is okay as far as I could glean, but the prices are insane, and that’s not in a good way.
It was $ 27 for a crab imperial and my burger was $ 9 total our lunch cost $ 50 which it was not entirely worth.
The prices are not the only things that are large though: the proportions were quite big and my burger was about 4 and a half to five inches wide.
Another problem was the flies, this was not their fault but if you left you food alone for 5 seconds five flies would land on it.
Dispite all of this the place had pretty good food which rates it at about 3 stars in my opinion.
–the boy
Review by The Mom:
Charlie’s By the Bay was just fine, it was by the bay as advertised, however the house beside the restaurant was being landscaped and there was a pile of dirt by the water and a l’il earthmover next to it. That was our view. And an orange plastic thing stretched across the water that must have been to keep the silt from the landscaping project from getting into the bay.
Like the boy said, the flies were intense. They basically swarmed our food and we had to keep waving them away.
If the restaurant could get those issues resolved it would be a cute little space.
My California turkey wrap was unremarkable, and the Lovin’ Hub’s mussels were the same.

Mostly just an OK place to eat.
Quiet bar inside – order the «Tropical Itch» if you’re adventurous.
Good enough food, but really nothing special. Outside bay-​side seating is pretty.
I like to come here at least once a year because I know exactly what to expect every single time. I suppose being consistent is a good thing!