only gets two because the scallops were good. waitress got the order wrong. slaw was discolored because it should have been thrown out two days ago. bathroom was hosed. staff much less than stellar. manager sat on his ass and watched the world go by. won't be coming back. read more

Not one of my favorites of the week. Everything was deep fried, and not as clean as I thought it could have been. For the reviews it had I thought it would have had fresh shrimp. They tasted like Sysco frozen shrimp. read more

Basic calabash seafood except extremely greasy! Hush puppies were good. Trout had a lot of bones and skin, sort of a turn off for me. Hubby didn't like the greasiness and the shrimp were muddy tasting. Service was good. Price a little high for what it was. Nice deck out back and a lot of Grackles as dining mates. Oh yes and the plastic straws on the deck right on the water, stuff was blowing every where. Ditch the plastic straws, you should have more respect for the ocean that provides your livelihood! #savetheturtles read more

Wow, just, oh my. I think the staff is so disappointed by the quality of food they have to serve that you could get better service from a cardboard box. The inside was comparable to a musty back room of a dive bar. This place really needs an overhaul. The menu is vague and doesn't detail any of the dishes. It's pretty hard to mess up French fries, but here is Captain Nance, ruining French fries. Not to mention, the outside seating area has bird crap all over the hand rails of the deck, screws pulling out of the deck causing a potential accident to patrons and staff alike. They even managed to ruin a glass of water, a filter change every month or two could go a looong way. This place relies on tourist's blind money. For sure a one and done for me. I will not be back, I wouldn't go back if my meal was free. I would rather chew on the grass growing from the "river". I could have just went to the gas station and got a quarter star pizza from Little Caesar's and got more than Captain Nance offered. For the 40$ bill, I'm still hungry. Shrimp sandwich was just some popcorn shrimp on a nickels hamburger bun. Lettuce and other toppings were extra. I would be embarrassed to own this establishment. read more

Apparently is a family tradition for us to come to this place. Your food will be exactly what you expect when you walk in. First off, the floor is all carpet, so I'm wondering how clean the place actually is. There are no booths, busy a wide open room with junky tables. The food quality was similar, just as expected. You get what you pay for, no bad experiences or anything. Could be cool if they spent some money on renovations and the atmosphere of the place! read more

My family and I have been coming here for every beach trip ever since I was little. I won't let them eat anywhere else in Calabash. I always get sautéed shrimp in butter with a baked potato. It's SO good. They also bring out plenty of hush puppies and honey butter throughout the meal. It's right on the water and surrounded by all these other cute little restaurants. The atmosphere is so peaceful compared to Myrtle Beach. read more

After trying three other calabash seafood places I will be going every vacation if possible. Have not been disappointed yet. Back for third year straight just this week. read more

I was going to put 1 star, but that's not fair because the food was delicious. My issue is this: I stopped for takeout and all of the waitresses and waiters that I saw had their masks below their noses (NC is currently under mandatory mask requirement but the only way to wear the mask effectively is to cover BOTH mouse and nose). When I told 4 or 5 of them they needed to cover their nose, all but one raised it. She said her manager told them they didn't have to. That was extremely disappointing - the purpose of the mask is invalid when the nose is uncovered. I understand that it's hot and uncomfortable and the staff will try to get away with it. But for the manager to flat out tell them they don't have to? While it was clear they had removed tables inside to adhere to the reduced capacity requirements, all of the tables were grouped up together near the windows. That negates the reason for the capacity reduction. I took my takeout home and then saw that they didn't give us any cocktail sauce! The food was really good but I doubt I'll be back due to the complete disregard for the current situation and the health of their customer. And, how do you forget to put cocktail sauce in the bag? read more

The only reason I am giving this one star is that the food was not that bad. Trouble was that we could not finish because the more we looked around us, the more uneasy we became. The floors were absolutely filthy with food under the tables and used napkins were under a couple. I was afraid to put me feet down on the carpet because I did not know what I was stepping on. We had to wait for them to clean our table even though there were only 2 other tables occupied inside the restaurant. There was food in our chairs and we had to wipe them out to sit down. FOUR tables sat almost the whole time we were there with dirty dishes on them. Two people finally came out to clean them and they used the same rag to wipe off the table and the salt and pepper shakers and condiments. We could not finish our $59.00 meal. I have been going to Captain Nance's for years when I went to the beach. This was the dirtiest place I have ever been in. The manager stood at the cash register the whole time and never offered to help. Three waitresses sat at a front table and talked. There are too many good clean restaurants in Calabash for me to waist my time and money on this one. We brought our food home and gave it to the dog because we could just imagine what the kitchen looked like if the dining room was a pig sty. read more

The place is very simple and straight forward, nothing fancy or particularly nice about it. Cheap, fast, family owned fried seafood. That's about it. The hush puppies are free and brought to you immediately like tortilla chips at a Mexican restaurant, and they are five stars in and of themselves. The service is OK, and the rest of the food is also just OK. Huge portions and low prices, but you will probably walk away feeling a little queasy from all the greasy fried food, which is nearly everything on the menu (which I guess is kinda the point!). The fish wasn't great quality, but for the value I can't complain. read more

Awful food everything is fried and greasy and done so much it has no flavor and hard as a rock. The service is terrible too never again

The only reason we are even giving this place 1 star is because the manager comped us our main dish after we told him it it was absolutely horrible and essentially in edible. We started with oyster stew and should've walked out right after that (boiled milk with 4 chewy oysters in it- not even any salt and pepper!) This is my first time on the east coast and I wanted some good southern seafood, but I have had better in a TV dinner. My fiancée is from here and grew up coming to Calabash for seafood. She said she has never had such a terrible and disappointing meal. How can you get soggy, not fresh fried seafood at calabash??? Cold food and warm sweet tea? No thank you. If you consider coming here because the other restaurants have a waiting list- don't!! Put your name down and wait- you'll be glad you did. read more

Captain Nances is a Calabash fixture and word of mouth referrals has served them well. But don't bother going if you want good food served with a smile at a good price. FOOD: fair. Fried everything or pay more for broiled. No flavor unless you put something on it.. I got clam strips and they killed the poor things TWICE!. They were not hot, tough, the breading was hard as a rock. Obviously they don't know how to cook good food...nor do they care. The shrimp I had were a little better, but they didn't taste like great seafood should. SERVICE: staff are friendly, but don't treat you like they are glad you are there. DECOR: place needs an update In a MAJOR way. Tables are dirty, Metal tubing chairs from the 80s don't match and are not comfortable. Bathroom needs a visit from SC DHEC ...horribly dirty! PRICES: competitive for the area, but food and service are not worth what you pay. If you are considering this place, reconsider . Your money will be better spent elsewhere. read more

While vacationing nearby we decided to go out to dinner and get some local seafood. Hearing that Calabash was the seafood Capitol of NC we went with high expectations. I am sorry to say that was not the case. We were a party of four and got right in. Our server was friendly and attentive. Our server delivered Hush Puppies a local favorite. They were great but they were served with some type of honey spread, not real butter and honey that you might expect. When The silverware was delivered in little paper bags I should've had a clue. I Ordered the scallops and steak for my entrée. My wife ordered the fried shrimp platter. My son the Catfish platter. My daughter was excited to order the crabcake sandwich. Two of our meals came was salad. And as noted in someone else's review the ingredients were chunky and sparse. My meal came and I Was disappointed to see that the scallops were fried, The steak was about a quarter inch thick and resembled something that had been put on a griddle and smashed, fine shoe leather. My daughters crab cake was fried also. Being from Maryland I was anxious to sample it. Sorry I did. Once I got by the grease taste the crab cake actually tasted more like crab Imperial. My 15-year-old son, commented on his fried catfish that it had no taste at all that it tasted just like fried stuff. I would say my wife's fried shrimp was the largest disappointment on the table. The three-quarter inch long shrimp were pink and look like something from Mrs. Paul's. If you're on the waterfront and you are the seafood capital of the world shrimp should be one of your specialties. The bill was $57. I think a lot would have to change before I could recommend this restaurant. I know this restaurant is very old and has many traditions. But maybe they have compromised on the menu to make things simpler and to be able to handle the crowds. I think this is a bad move. If they're going to continue this way they should rename this restaurant to Mrs. Paul's. Everybody's experience is different. I must sign off I now have an appointment for the whole family with the cardiologist. I think it to start rating is generous. read more

I really enjoyed the lunch we had at Nance's. We got the lunch special which lets you choose 2 items from list of fried seafood options and comes with fries, cole slaw, and hush puppies for under 10 bucks. The sides were all wonderful and the seafood very good as well. Service was fine. No complaints. Food came out quick and was hot. Would definitely go back. read more

It makes me sad to do this but we had lunch here yesterday and I understand the need to serve a lower priced lunch but they need to fix this. Wife had the fried shrimp, she said it had no flavor and I had the fried Flounder and it just sucked, worst I have ever had. I don't know if bulldog is still kicking but if he was I imagine he would kick someone's ass. When he was there every meal I had from there was perfect. Going to seafood Hut tomorrow so I hope they are still like they use to be. read more

My wife and I ate here last night. I ordered, grilled, not fried, scallops , oysters and shrimp. I had a few bites- food was tasteless. I didn't see any seasoning on the food and there was a about an 1/8 of water in the plate. My wife ordered all fried ,which was OK , except for the devilled crab . She said it was not seasoned properly. Looks like a lot of people agree based on other reviews. read more

Good for lunch. Waterfront, seafood restaurant with reasonable lunch special..calabash shrimp, devil crab and fries or baked potato $6.29. Or claim strips with side $5.79. Warm hushpuppies served before every meal. Staff is very friendly. I've been eating lunch here for 11 years and it hasn't changed at all. There is something to say about that! read more

I have unfortunately been here twice. For some reason both trips to the area we ended up in this area on a weekday at lunch and this is the only waterfront place open at lunch in Calabash apparently. The food is ok, but everything is fried. Nothing special, just fried food. It is cheap and fast so maybe they have that going for them. Also the average age of the diners seemed to be 85 for some reason, a lot of locals. read more

If you love fried food, a mixture of 80's decor, and a view of fishing boats, this is your place. The hushpuppies were good. The clam strips, like stated previously, were too tough to enjoy. The french fries were also hard like they had been sitting out a while. Nance's doesn't seem to be hurting for business, but I don't think I'll go back if given the option. read more

We just had Friday lunch here and were disappointed with the quality and cleanliness. The food was undercooked and very greasy. I became ill before I finished the meal and my wife and I were both ill during the night. That could be a coincidence but I don't expect to be back. read more

Terrible greasy fried food-- the shrimp were real tiny with no taste-- there are so many restaurants to choose from and we picked the wrong one. read more

Eh. Nothing special. Fried seafood. Nothing very flavorful. Could probably make the same stuff from the freezer section at a grocery store. The hush puppies were good and the service was okay. Probably wouldn't go back. read more

So we are newly locals to the area and we made reservations because it was Fourth of July which thankfully we did because as soon as we got there the place started filling up. We all ordered different things, I ordered the "crab cake" should of been called a "crabby patty" that damn thing was so tiny and flat as a pancake! The flavor was mediocre but thankfully no filling. I don't know why the cook would make it flat and use claw meat instead of lump meat. My kids ordered the basic and they weren't even satisfied. My husband ordered the soft shell crabs, coleslaw was TRASH! Bake potato comes plain with butter, so don't get excited. He did say it was "okay, but they are not cleaned".... No one ate the coleslaw from our table... The hush puppies were boring but edible. My two other guest ordered platters, they serve the food on tiny ass plates so your food is piled high but it's not a lot of food once you shift things around. The deviled crab reminded us of something you would get from a long John silvers or a captain D drive thru seafood place. The shrimp and flounder were blahhhhh but again edible. Definitely don't recommend this place. We only picked it because it had 3.5 stars and Dockside grilled was closed for the Fourth of July. We've been to Osyter rock and it's okay too but wanted to be by the firework show. We would NEVER dine here again & honestly wouldn't send anyone on vacation or locals here. read more

They have great food, and a good view. The waiters/ waitresses were very nice. Sometimes they have a bit of a wait.

I had never been to the ocean. Never been anywhere near the ocean for that matter. I thought Red Lobster was the only place with seafood. September 2009, i made a trip to Holden Beach NC with family. My dad kept saying "we need to go to Calabash" I couldn't figure out what was so "HIP" in Calabash until we ate here, at Captain Nances! The shrimp is to DIE for! Sweet tea is the best in the entire US. I've drank a lot of sweet tea and would drive 13 hours just to drink theirs! Since my first trip in 2009, i have went back in 2010 and 2011. Just this past september, my husband and I took a vacation at Holden Beach. Out of the 7 nights there, 5 nights we spent in Calabash for dinner at Nance's! Don't forget to go to the ice cream shack out back, say hello to Captain the cat! read more

Friendly staff! Amanda our server was on top of it! The hush puppies were on . Reasonably priced. Food was incredible.

The special for 7.25 is amazing! Fresh taste for a cheap price, but nothing really fancy, good place to take the family to see the boats and get some fresh food! read more

Oyster stew was good. Leslie liked the clam chowder. Leslie had the shrimp sauted in butter and I had flounder, oysters and scallops Calabash style. read more

I was disappointed with my food at this location. I do not recommend getting broiled food here. It is not their specialty. My broiled shrimp was dried out and crispy. My sisters broiled flounder was stuck to her plate. She said her french fries were not good either. My did like her fried shrimp. Disappointed in the food quality for the price. Location setting is nice. Sits on the water. Staff is super friendly and gives great service. read more

Very greasy ... Oil hadn't been changed.. All my shrimp, oysters, and scallops tasted burnt. Oil was scorched. Really not edible. Have eaten here my last time. read more

If you like a lot of breading with a little bit of fish then go here. I had the $20 grouper special and I couldn't even taste the fish. The other 3 diners at my table didn't like their meals either. Also, they don't serve alcohol. read more

My wife and I were looking for a place to eat after golf in Calabash. We found this on our cars GPS system and tried it. We both had senior dinners. She had the flounder and was very happy. The fish was cooked perfectly and had 2 large pieces and 2 sides. I had the scallops. There were 12 medium size scallops that were absolutely the best I've ever had. They were cooked beautifully and had a great flavor. The price of the meals were extremely reasonable and all the staff were very nice. We are here for 3 weeks and have 2 friends joining us for golf tomorrow in Little River, SC. We will definitely recommend to them that we go here for dinner afterwards. It is on our must list for future trips to Myrtle Beach. The only down side is that they don't serve alcohol. The food more than made up for that though. read more

I would rather eat long john silvers. I've been here every other year for the last 13 years with my wife's family. Hands down the worst food I have ever eaten. I try to convince them to try any other place but this is some sort of sadistic tradition (they are from Ohio, and don't know any better). One time I had a dead fly in my tea the last time my flounder sandwich was cooked so long it was not edible. If I had a choice I would never eat here again. I would give this zero stars if I could. read more

Service not great. Food took forever to get. Mom ordered cold boiled shrimp and fried shrimp. They ran out of cold boiled shrimp. Her food came out lukewarm. Would not go back. Becks is much better! read more

The only thing fresh about this place is the air. The crab cakes are frozen then fried hockey pucks that clearly were shipped in. The slaw is essentially over-wet mush. Hush puppies and fries were ok, but right out of a bag not prepared and under seasoned. The fried shrimp is the best thing on the menu, but that's not saying too much. While it's always nice eating right off the water, the inside decor is old carpet, whit tables, and fish on the wall - as plain as their food. The only positive is the friendly staff who were as nice as could be. If you're ok with flavorless seafood and old esthetics then this place will do. read more

this restaurant is FANTASTIC!! Very quick service and has great food! definitely recommend it.

Great food. Definitely a niche restaurant Taylored to folks that like fresh deep fried seafood. Great lunch specials.

Food was very good but service was not great. My wife and I were seated quickly at 6:30 PM and our server was prompt in bringing drinks and taking our orders. We both ordered combo platters: Wife had fried shrimp and scallops. I had boiled shrimp, flounder and deviled crab. It all tasted good but was very greasy. After our food was served, we did not see our server again until the meal was almost over. She came, delivered the check and refilled our water glasses. Cost of meal was as expected for a resort area seafood restaurant. read more

Just okay. Only one tums to settle the fried upset stomach. Hush puppies not so good. Flounder had bones? Shrimp good-clams not. First time to a fried food calabash. Would go back if there were no place else, but 8 more that we have yet to try. read more