Madigan's Waterfront

I had lunch here this past weekend with 2 friends before heading next door to paint some pottery. I had the crab cake sandwich and my dining partners had the fish & chips and the steak salad. We all enjoyed our food. more

We stopped by Madigan's Saturday evening and sat outside at the Tiki Bar. My wife and I found a table and a waitress appeared right away. We told her that we had a couple more people coming to meet us. We ordered some beers and shrimp. She was very polite and friendly. Little did we know that she was to become "The Beer Fairy" aka "Niki". And don't let anyone tell you that fairy don't come around in the rain, because our The Beer Fairy never made us wait for our next round and it was pouring on her. We were there for four hours and all enjoyed the live music, shrimp, beer and atmosphere. Niki, you made our night. I'm not sure if you're a "The Beer Fairy" or a "Beer Angel", but your great in our book Thanks more

My friend and I happened upon Madigan's one night in June and had a nice, intimate dinner. We sat inside, which has a cozy atmosphere- too bad it was chilly out, or we would have preferred sitting outside, as it looks very inviting as well. The food we picked was delicious and the waitress was friendly. They had a band playing in the bar on our way out, so we ended up staying & dancing for quite a while. There were a bunch of folks out to enjoy themselves, just like us. It was a pleasant surprise. We ate there again this Wednesday night and both of our meals were delicious. The prices are kind of high but the service is good and if you're out to enjoy yourself, it's a nice place to go. more

Lunch four times over the last couple of years, and never a bad meal. The last time was in the back room by the window overlooking the river...... and it was wonderful. We elected to have several appetizers as 'shared variety' with a lite fruity Blue Moon to take care of the road dust. We've always had later lunches so service has never been a problem. Atmosphere is relaxing and always repeatable. more

My fiancé and I went here the other day b/c we are thinking about having our wedding reception there. I did read the reviews beforehand and was disappointed b/c I really like the location but we decided to check it out anyway. We had a really good experience. Our waiter was totally awesome. It's beautiful sitting on the deck at night. I had the crab soup which was some of the best I've ever had and the shrimp and crab nachos which were so good I can't stop thinking about them. My fiancé had the jambalaya. It was good as well with big juicy shrimp. The chicken in it was just ok but the rice and flavor was excellent. The only bad thing I can really say is their bread kind of sucks. Now, it is possible they treated us so nice b/c they know we are considering doing our reception there but the food was definitely good. We've decided to do our reception there so I hope it works out.... Oh, I did take a look at the inside bar and it did look like redneck city like somebody else said but... this is close to Woodbridge so what can you expect? Besides, rednecks can be nice too. :) more

It was a beautiful day but only March so I wasn't sure if their deck would be open yet, but they opened it for that day! We sat on the deck and had drinks. Then we ordered the shrimp & crab nachos. I had never tried that combination on nachos before but they were fabulous! and definitely enough to share, almost too big for 2 but we finished them! I had the crabcake sandwich, wonderful. You could see the lumps of crab & perfect seasoning! My friend had the Reuben and he loved it. I would absolutely recommend this restaurant. The server told us that they have entertainment at the tiki bar on the weekends and are offering fun events for the summer...we will definitely be back to hang out with our friends and the food & prices were great too! more

We recently tried Madigan's after I returned from a week long business trip. It was the perfect place to relax and enjoy dinner with my wife and our little boy. We sat out on the deck overlooking a quiet spot on the occoquan. They had live music and great food. We really enjoyed the crab cake appetizer, the stuffed flounder (extremely good) and the chicken alfredo. We will definitely be going back for another relaxing evening on the deck. more

Location is everything! I visit Northern Virginia often to see family and outside of Old Town Alexandria or DC riverfront locations, the setting here is incredible. It is a true destination and a special place to bring friends and family. It is my favorite place to visit when I am in town. It offers something very different, actually, which is a quaint village setting. The historic town of Occoquan is a real Virginia treasure. The restaurant is right in the middle of the main street of the little town and right on the river. There is a beautiful bridge over the river to look at and a charming riverwalk/boardwalk to stroll on after your meal. The town is adorable with several shops and ice cream parlors so you can truly make an afternoon out of it. The restaurant is very spacious with different areas inside and out. I recently dined upstairs for their prix fixe wine dinner which was many many delightful courses and yummy local wines to taste. Every seat in the room was filled that night and it was a wonderful evening. I have spent lovely afternoons on the deck enjoying the live music, beautiful scenery and friendly patrons all around. The deck is especially lively in the warmer weather. I once experienced a beautiful rain shower over the river while I was there that we could watch and listen to from the safety of the covered deck. The roof over the deck also provides shade so no need to worry about the sun in your face. The restaurant is very clean and constantly being updated. The bar and restrooms were all brand new when I went for the wine dinner the other night. The staff is courteous, the prices are very reasonable and I can always count on a relaxing and enjoyable experience there. Highly recommend!! more

Simple elegance, exceptional food. The service was wonderful and the food was great. We especially enjoyed the wine selections and the captians reserve wine options. No question, we'll be back. more

Madigan's Waterfront is the PERFECT venue if you want to have a ceremony and reception on site for no more than 80-90 people. End of story. Cathy Madigan, one of the owners, acts as your wedding planner for the event. She is there well before you wedding helping to get set up and make everything beautiful, she is there to make sure your ceremony goes smoothly, and helps to organize the events of the day so that everything stays on schedule and you don't have to worry about a thing. We did pictures before in the courtyard with a gazebo starting at around 3:30 with all of our family and extended family. We were also able to do pictures later on the docks outside the venue which made for some really pretty photo opportunities. The ceremony started at 5:00pm it was over by about 5:20. Our guests started drinking and the wedding party went back outside for a few more pictures. The rest of the day was perfect. It ended at around 10:00pm, probably a little bit later since we were having so much fun. We had about 75 guests which was perfect for this venue. There were several levels in the venue to help separate the eating area, cocktail area, dance area, buffet line and cake area. It was also nice that there is a large wrap around deck that is totally private and for your guests to use if they want to go outside to get fresh air or look at the river. The price per person included just about everything including the cake. She doesn't nickle and dime you for the use of her chairs, linens, china, etc. She was also able to provide you with a DJ that she uses frequently for a very reasonable cost. The food was amazing! So good. I would definitely suggest the Roast Beef Carving station with the "Horsey Sauce" and the pasta station. They were a huge hit with my guests. The cost of booze is based on consumption FYI, not open bar. For most people having a wedding this would probably be fine because the cost of alcohol per drink was very very reasonable. But, lets just say we went a little over on our anticipated bar bill. Our gue more

wonderful food and service. The view could not have been more plesant. I will be back. more

My experience with Madigan's Waterfront has always been a happy one. There is live entertainment Friday & Saturday evenings in the bar area starting about 9:30. which has been a pleasant experience. The food is wonderful and the service is terrific. If you haven't visited the waterfront you don't know what your missing. more

I went with four family members at about 4:30 on a Saturday. It was not busy when we arrived, but was getting more crowded by the time we left. I must note that we all enjoy good seafood. To start, we had the crab and shrimp nachos - they were delicious. My dad also had the crab chowder and enjoyed it - it was very thick and creamy. For dinner, I had the seafood pasta. It has shrimp, crab meat, and scallops with penne, in an herby white wine sauce with parmesan sprinkled over it. It was delicious. The scallops were cooked perfectly, which I do not find very often. At restaurants, they tend to be overcooked and dry, but not these. I did bring about half of it home. Two of my dining companions had the appetizer of mini crab cakes for their entree - three mini crab cakes that made for a perfect-sized entree. The were crispy on the outside and moist and flavorful inside. Another had the stuffed flounder - it was rich and VERY large. I didn't try any, but she really enjoyed it. And finally, my dad had the big fish sandwich. It was huge - and really really good. more

My sister-in-law insisted that we come here for Father's Day brunch yesterday because she heard good things about the buffet. Let's just say that based on the other reviews, this was far from my first choice, so I was prepared to hate the place, but in the end actually turned out to be good. The reviews that said that it took a long time for them to get seated were right on. Maybe it was just the holiday, but the line to get seated for the reservation-only brunch buffet was pretty long. It took a while to get someone's attention, and unfortunately we didn't know that you needed reservations for the brunch buffet, so we wound up sitting on the back deck for their regular lunch menu. The restaurant was half-empty, so there was no problem getting a table. We were greeted promptly and courteously by our server, and had no problem placing our order. My wife and I shared the Crab Alfredo and Petite Open Face Filet. The first dish was a little light on the crab, but what was there was good, as was the alfredo sauce. We ordered the filet medium-rare and it came out medium, which is what we expected since our waiter actually warned us that they tend to overcook the beef. The quality and tenderness of the meat was very good. The only downside to this dish was the bearnaise sauce, which tasted like it came out of Campbells Soup can, not fresh at all. Fortunately it came on the side in a separate plastic container. My sister-in-law had the chicken quesadilla, which I tasted as well, and it was quite good, the chicken tender and tasty. However the tomato salsa that came with it was not fresh either, so it was good that, like the bearnaise, they had put it on the side. My father-in-law had a roast beef sandwich, which I didn't get to taste but he said it was good. Also a couple of the dishes came with fries, which were good as well, they tasted fresh and were not soggy like at some restaurants. more

I came here on a holiday weekend afternoon and it was not crowded at all for lunch. The staff was friendly and showed us to our table almost immediately. The menu has some good choices for lunch, namely the appetizers, salad and sandwiches. I can see how this place could get negative reviews since their dinner entree options seemed a little pricey. I ordered the big fish sandwich- a large piece of fried haddock (the fried part was not mentioned on the menu) and the portion was huge! I ended up splitting the sandwich because it was so big. The fish itself was very well fried and deliciously crispy without being overly oily. The fries were also great. Others at the table ordered the fried soft shell crab sandwich and the crabcake sandwich. My friend complained that the crabcake sandwich was more filler than crab, but my other friends said that the soft shell crab sandy was yums. I'd totally come back here for lunch on a day that the weather was less sweltering. Oh and, all the reviews about the bathrooms are completely correct. They smell terrible. Someone needs to throw an air freshener up in there because it definitely smelled like stale cigs and spilled beers. Bleh. A lunch time goodie! I'll be back next time I'm in the neighborhood. more

I shopped around in Northern Virginia, and Madigan's provided the best price for a catered reception. The site is smaller then most (comfortably sits ~75 people). It is upstairs from the restraunt, on the waterfront. Cathy is friendly and helpful. She acts as a coordinator during the reception for no additional fee. I was impressed by the professionalism of her staff when serving throughout the reception. The food was wonderful. A wedding cakes comes free with the site. I picked my style of cake out from a book (really nice on my budget, too). It tasted fine and looked nice. She is a good friend with a DJ who has worked with her for over 20 years. You have to pay for his services seperately, but it was nice to find someone reliable so quickly. more

A bunch of us went for a boat outing. We docked at the small pier in old town Occoquan and opted to have lunch at Madigan's which is right off of the water. We were seated in the outdoor patio, even though the place was crowded. I ordered the goat cheese (!) Quessadilla. It was very good. Several of my compadres ordered the crab crake sandwich and said that it was fresh and tasty. Very convenient if you're going there by boat. more

We used Madigan's for our rehearsal dinner venue. Our guests complimented us on the restaurant and food. My in-laws couldn't have enough nice things to say about Cathy as they worked with her in organizing the dinner. Everything ran smoothly on the night of the rehearsal dinner and you could tell that Cathy and the staff have a lot of experience and they knew how to handle everything! more

I am surprised to read the lackluster reviews of this place because in the last three weeks I have enjoyed both happy hour and breakfast here. First, the happy hour. The location is fabulous and when some co-workers and I heard of the wine special on Wednesday's we took advantage! For $10 off a bottle is a nice treat. Once we ordered our wine, we decided to go for for some food as well. I enjoyed the fish sandwich (HUGE!) and fries, another had the french dip, and another had the soup of the day with a salad. Everything was hot and fresh, no complaints! Service was also just fine. Now for my breakfast visit. Went with my husband while we were perusing the town of Occoquan on a Sunday morning. I enjoyed the western omelet, with the potatoes and biscuit being some of the best I've had in awhile. He enjoyed the eggs Benedict. The one weak point of our meal was the OJ. It just didn't taste quite right. For the money, we feel the food, service, and setting were well worth it and would come back again before stopping at an IHOP. Bottom line: Madigan's Waterfront has a variety of seating and meals to please almost every diner. Give it a try! more

We randomly ended up going to Madigan's on Father's Day, and it was perfect. I'm actually surprised to read some of the bad reviews, because we had an exceptionally good time. The location was great, and it appeared to be the only place in Occoquan that was doing something special for Father's Day. I had the filet mignon in the peppercorn sauce, which was AWESOME, and he had the soft shell crabs, which he enjoyed thoroughly. Our server, Lisa, was great, and provided wonderful customer service. There was a live band there that day, and they were really good, but we wished they had played a little later...I think they left the stage around 7:30pm. more