Nazary Nebeluk

Review of Cole's Dockside

This is a really nice local restaurant serving rea...

This is a really nice local restaurant serving really fresh seafood. It makes really good use of its location near the marina and being on an island.

I went with my parents on a Saturday night. We called ahead to reserve a table to be safe after a few other places said they were booked. They had the table ready when we arrived but it wasn't really prepared - there wasn't cutlery, plates or glassware for everyone. Overall the service was kind of off - a waitress never introduced herself to us, but random people would walk up to us and ask if we needed anything. The drinks came out pretty quickly and they weren't anything special - the martini with the blue cheese stuffed olive was fine.

The bread basket arrived with a fresh loaf of bread but also one bizarrely stale piece that appeared to be red with sauce. It took a while for the food to come out but it was fresh so I didn't mind. The calamari was delicious - it almost melted in your mouth, firm without being chewy. The duck rolls were alright - the sauce was good but it was clearly an effort to re-use old duck. I had the scallops as my entree and they were delicious. My mother got the blackened shrimp and scallops on top of the arugula salad. The dish had a bit of spice to it so be warned.

Overall I think the service wasn't great because they were really busy - which isn't an ideal scenario but is understandable. I'd also rather a seafood restaurant be too busy than the opposite. I enjoyed my entree a lot and could see myself returning with family for a casual dinner.