by Jackie Nunnery –
Tucked back off Urbanna’s Cross Street, Portside Grill is something of a hidden gem. On Urbanna Creek at Urbanna Port Marina, the outdoor patio is the perfect place to enjoy the waning days of autumn along with some great food and drink.
Portside Grill is a family business started in June 2019. Co-owners Bob and Kathy Patton along with Kathy’s son Bart Carrique have created an inviting and casual place for boaters and residents alike to drop in for American cuisine, Southern classics and, of course, seafood.
In addition to regular menu items, they offer a kid’s menu and seafood specials. On the day we visited they were offering stuffed sea bass, grilled salmon, littleneck clams and she-crab soup. The menu changes seasonally to take advantage of fresh ingredients, and in addition to a selection of Virginia craft beers, they will soon offer Virginia wines.
“Being near the water you have to do solid seafood,” Carrique said as he walked me through the menu. From starters to salads and burgers to blue crab cakes, Portside’s menu is extensive enough to accommodate the tastes of any group.
Urbanna is known for the Oyster Festival, so it’s no surprise that the first thing on the menu are oysters—naked, roasted and rocked. Carrique loves the Bay Dream Oysters out of Deltaville for their “great quality, salinity, and flavor profile.”
My regular dining partner and husband, Blaine, started with the rocked oysters, which is their take on Oysters Rockefeller. The oysters are grilled then baked with parmesan, spinach and bacon butter for a mouthful of flavor.
Other interesting starters include punchbowl shrimp, which are lightly fried and served with their signature punchbowl sauce—a sweet thai sauce with a sriracha kick—that packs a spicy/sweet punch. They also have sea sprouts, an interesting take on brussels sprouts. Deep fried and seasoned with sea salt and almonds, they are on my list to try on my next visit. Another vegetable starter that I did try was the roasted beet and goat cheese. The perfect portion amount for two people, the earthy red beets and tangy goat cheese went well together as did the greens and honey maple balsamic that they were served on.
The indoor dining area has a few large screen televisions, and as it was a Sunday afternoon, many came by to grab a beer, a bite to eat and catch part of a game.
For lunch, Blaine ordered the Creek Cobb salad, which comes loaded with sweet corn, fried onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, blue cheese and hard-boiled eggs. You can also add grilled shrimp, punchbowl shrimp, grilled chicken or buttermilk fried chicken. Blaine went for the grilled shrimp. The salad was full of fresh ingredients and the additional shrimp was a nice touch.
At Carrique’s suggestion, I went with a Banna Burger, a whopping half-pound burger which had both a nice char and seasoning along with applewood smoked bacon and cheddar cheese. Burgers come with a side and there are several to choose: hand cut fries, sweet potato fries, potato salad, onion straws, or smashed potatoes. You can also add a side of sea sprouts, a cup of soup, or mac and cheese for $1, or a side salad for $2. I went with the sweet potato fries which were cooked perfectly—a crunch on the outside while moist and soft on the inside. They were sweet and salty and I ate every last one. Not something I normally do.
For those with more of an appetite, Portside Grill offers a number of classic entrees like a driftwood sirloin, crab cakes, chicken and waffles and shrimp and grits—another item on my “next time” list.
Our server Melissa, is a fan of the rattler pasta, which the menu says “has a bite!” Blackened chicken and spicy jalapeno Alfredo topped with more jalapenos and cheddar. Sounds like it’s not a dish for the faint of heart!
Although desserts are not listed on the menu, I decided to ask and I’m glad I did. In addition to tiramisu, they offered a warm cinnamon crumb cake with a scoop of French vanilla ice cream and drizzled with a caramel sauce. The cake was a strong finish to the meal and the perfect touch to a fall afternoon, especially with a cup of coffee.
As Urbanna’s only waterfront restaurant, the Portside Grill is worth the trip to experience seafood near the waters they were taken from, relax on a warm sunny afternoon and watch as the boats come and go. It is coastal living at its best.
