Unpretentious place with great food. Obviously a favorite with locals, as many were greeted by name as they arrived. Very friendly and attentive staff. Would definitely eat there again. Be aware of their hours; they close before lunch on Mondays as of this review (Jan 2026). read more

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Starting off let me just say my 4 stars are like a lot of people's 5 stars. I try to grade as honestly as possible. So I'm new to the area here and off the bat there isn't many breakfast spots. My first visit was for breakfast and I ordered the biscuits & gravy with a side of patty sausage. I'm not a huge fan of their biscuits personally but let me just add I am very picky when it comes to biscuits. To most people their biscuits are probably really really good. The gravy was decent white gravy and the patty sausage was to be expected. Service was good. They check on you often and throw in a lil small talk here and there. It was obvious they had normal reoccurring customers in which they staff carried on conversation and joked around a lil with those patrons. I went back another day for lunch. Service was the same. Very nice pleasant staff again. This time I ordered the flounder sandwich and fries. Honestly one of the best fish sandwiches I've had in a long time. Fries were nothing special. Crinkle fries from a freezer bag which hey.... Don't most places? But to keep in the critiquing mind set they were fried perfectly. Place is a lil dated but looks like it's kept clean and in order. Definitely a favored local spot. Many many locals recommended it to me. I would definitely recommend this place to others. read more

Great old time diner. Food was delicious and it's very affordable. Staff was super friendly. We will definitely be back. Patty melt and flounder sandwich were wonderful read more

Breakfast was great, Steaks are off the chain for Supper definitely must Try this place.

Great little local eatery if you're craving a "diners, drive-in's, and dives" kind of meal. Standard American and Southern fare of breakfast foods, sandwiches and burgers, and traditional mains served with fries or your choice from a list of good old sides, like homemade potato salad, cole slaw, or fried okra. This place is like the friendly "Cheers" pub of Ocean Isle -- go in for breakfast or lunch and you'll be seated among tables of locals, catching up on stuff happening around town. This place would only be a 3-star in a big city, but in a small town like Ocean Isle Beach it really does stand out as a place worth the visit. read more

Good stuff and super inexpensive. Wonderful wait staff and awesome location. Close to everything! read more

Castaway Grill - An egg - scrambled with cheese, homestyle potatoes, crispy bacon, biscuit and pancake. - American Near Me - Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina

Ate here for lunch with 4 adults and 4 children. Our server was very nice and the food came out quickly. I had the country fried steak with mashed potatoes and a salad. The salad was nothing special. Iceberg lettuce with a cucumber, tomato and shredded cheese. It was fresh and the tomato was ripe. The country fried steak was greasy, it could have done with a quick drain before they put it on the plate. The food came out so hot, you had to wait for it to cool down. That is never a bad thing. The kids had chicken tenders, burgers and grilled cheese. No one was complaining. One person got the seafood platter. It was giant and everything was good. The Patty Melt was also good. This is a clean little diner with a good choice of sides. Good value for the price. Give them a try if you are in OIB. read more

Castaway Grill - Side salad - American Near Me - Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina

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Went for breakfast. Simple and good place for a decent priced breakfast. Quick in and out. Good service.

We love going to eat here. I always get the fried popcorn shrimp, or a cheeseburger. The food always seems to be really good. There's always 2 meals in one order, so, you will have lunch the next day, if you know how to eat in portions! I wanted to give this place 5 stars but the hostesses can sometimes seem to forget to bring something out, and when they do, it's wrong and have to bring out the right thing again. I'm really not one of those people that are wound so tight that I go off the deep end over small stuff like that. It can take a few minutes to get your drink, but, we're never in that much of a hurry when we go in there. The fried dill pickles are really good. They're probably the 2nd best I've ever eaten (the number one fried dill pickle being at the Pik N Pig in Carthage, NC. I've eaten that family's fried pickles since I was a small child in the 1970s). Oh yeah, Castaway Grill uses pickle chips and NOT those pickle spears. I despise going somewhere and getting excited about fried pickles being on the menu only to be served fried pickle spears! These are crispy and delicious. Dip them and ranch and Texas Pete and WOOOO WEEEE!! Prices are good, too, since you get two meals out of it! read more

Castaway Grill - American Near Me - Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina

The food here is definitely delicious! We came here for breakfast, I ordered an omelette with potatoes. The omelette was made with real eggs, not the powdered eggs you get at most breakfast places. And it had real cheddar! Breakfast was so good we decided to come back the next day for lunch. At lunch my mom and I shared a cheese burger (made with real meat not those frozen patties) and an order of fried pickles. The Pickles! Omg the pickles were so good! We ate half the order then our burger came, when I finished I decided to try them again and they were still crispy! How is that even possible!? Also it is very reasonably priced! read more

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This is a great little place for average food, nothing special. Service (wait-staff) was prompt and friendly but the wait for food (and there was only one other table seated, employees of the place, it appeared) is overly long, about 25 minutes; this was probably due to the massive number of phoned-in take-out orders stacking up on the cook. All in all, average food, prices in line for same, nothing fancy or special about it. We had: Barbecue plate with fries (not on menu) - Barbecue is, of course, pot/crockpot cooked but the sauce, made in-house, and the volume of the serving make it a great value (photo shown). Fries - The fries were served lukewarm, after a 25-minute wait, so perhaps you'll want to ask for hotter food if you visit. Calabash Shrimp (on menu) - Shrimp breading is mushy and shrimp are popcorn-sized and fragments, not the crispy medium shrimp for which this Gullah region is famous, but there were plenty of them. Fried Okra - it's the frozen kind, no seasoning of any kind, so you'll want a bit of salt Coleslaw - NO seasoning whatsoever other than mayo, no ingredients other than green cabbage. No salt, no pepper, no nothing. Dining room staff were extremely friendly, place was busy as a beehive later during our visit and apparently this place is filling a tourist-need niche here in Ocean Isle Beach. I did not try the ten-dollar Reuben (I've got to see this thing and I was tempted) but I'll probably give it a try if I visit again. Oh, and my barbecue, fries and okra were served on three plates, styrofoam, so don't expect anything fancy. I understand they're putting in beer and wine once they get their dishwasher water up to commercial standards and they have a small bar that appears as though it will seat about six folks, so you'll have that to look forward to soon. read more

Castaway Grill - Barbecue plate, fries, okra, Castaway Grille, Ocean Isle Beach, NC - American Near Me - Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina

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This is a seat yourself style restaurant. Standard fare at a low price served in large portions and cooked well! The wait staff is very friendly and happy to help you with the menu. I got the chicken slouvaki plate that came with a Greek salad, French fries, and pita slices. It was enough food for me to easily take half to go for dinner later (I typically eat all of my food so this was BIG) and it was very tasty with all of the sauces. My friend got the chicken salad sandwich and it was standard pulled chicken salad with not too much mayo, also a lot of food and yummy. read more

Castaway Grill - Chicken salad sandwhich - American Near Me - Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina

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This place is a MUST when you come to Ocean Isle!! I have no idea why some folks say they are closed!!! The food is consistently great and made with love! The staff are equally amazing! so friendly and always treat us like family!! A true treasure!!!! read more

if you come here you won't want to go back. I came here with a party of 4 and nobody said any of the food was even decent.

We ate here on our way out but wish we had found it sooner. Great breakfast and the waitress was so friendly and nice as was everyone we encountered. Fair pricing. Next year we will definitely visit again. read more

Gave this place another try.. First we tried eating here on Saturday at 2:54pm but the door was locked.... They close at 3. Most restaurants will accept ppl until that time, apparently not this place. So we came on a Monday. We were forgotten by our waitress once we had our drinks. Had to go up and ask for her to take our order. Reuben wasn't really good. They were out of onion rings. Sweet potato fries were meh. Gyro was good. I'm usually very pick with gyro meat being "questionable" but this wasn't. Thinly sliced which I liked. But it wasn't a sandwich- pile of meat, and pieces of pita bread. Came with a Greek salad and great dressing. Subbed fried okra for fries, wish I didn't. Okra was pretty tasteless. We also ordered fried pickles, which we had to ask about as they were forgotten too. Still not the best pickles I've had. Service could be better. Locales frequent this place. read more

Very laid back but the food was good. The three of us had shrimp. My son had Calabash style, my wife had grilled jumbo and I had fried jumbo. The tasted like fresh prepared and there was a generous portion. The side were just ok we had fries (crinkle cut) slaw, pasta salad, and green beans. My son liked the pasta salad but the green beans didn't have much flavor. We ordered fried pickles as an appetizer and they were good. It was a huge portion for three people. The hush puppies were ok but most of the basket were overdone. Our server was very friendly - we will eat there again. read more

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Great traditional diner. Very good food quality. Wife and I stop here regularly. Love the Chicken Slovaki Plate. Good tzatziki sauce and greek dressing. Wait staff are family, and very pleasing. read more

Love this place! Definitely not fancy but the food is great and reasonably priced for the beach

We had a family dinner here while vacationing. The food was well prepared and tasty and we got big portions. The services staff was attentive and friendly and took good care of us. read more

If you blink you will pass it! BUT make sure you don't as this was SUCH a find!!! I had the Fried Flounder plate and chose Green Beans, Hushpuppies and Slaw....it was AMAZING! My Husband had the fried Flounder Sandwich and it was AMAZING too! I grew up in the South, but had to go to CA for 20 years, brought my Hubby back with me to NC to retire.....let's say I've MISSED Southern cooking SO much, and THIS WAS SOUTHERN COOKING AT IT'S FINEST!!! The fried Flounder was PERFECTION! It was lightly breaded with cornmeal and cooked perfectly! The green beans were just like my Grandma's! And the Hushpuppies were light but dense all in one....perfect! We will go back as often as we can! FYI Service was Southern Charm in full swing too! read more

This restaurant prices themselves on customer service. From the time we walked in (of which we were greeted by everyone) to the time we walked out, we enjoyed the dining experience. The food was amazingly awesome! We found our new spot for when we travel to this area:) If you're looking for great food served with a smile, this is your spot! read more

Just moved to the area and hunting out new places to dine. Saw a lot of good reviews of Castaway Grill so decided to give them a chance. Ordered the Gyro Platter. I should have known better. There is no way this meat was cooked on a spit like most great Gyro's I've had. Likely packaged from a food supplier distributor. But to know for sure I should have asked the cook. All I can say is that it was mediocre at best. My guest had a hot dog with cheese and ketchup. Mediocre at best. I keep reading great reviews of this place about burgers so I might go back and give that a chance. Hope they can salvage their reputation. But today's showing was just unimpressive. read more

If you want breakfast make sure you arrive no later than 10:15 am. They will not take a breakfast order at 10:45 am.

Some friends took me to this fantastic place on Saturday. Had a gyros and fries. Service is excellent, food is outstanding. Can't wait to go back! read more

Aside from Calabash seafood, there isn't much in the way of restaurant food that makes me want to dine out when vacationing in Ocean Isle--until now! My husband discovered Castaway Grill recently when he left the beach in search of a quick lunch for us to eat by the waves. He brought back the tastiest and juiciest hamburger I've had in years. The burger was delicious, but we wondered if it was because we were so hungry, so we ventured back the next day for breakfast. We were not disappointed. As a southerner, I'm picky about my grits, and never has a restaurant in North Carolina been able to fix them to my satisfaction--until now! The grits weren't runny and they were seasoned well. The portions were generous--both food and beverage. We splurged on an order of pancakes. I've seen gargantuan pancakes at other restaurants, but never have they been so thick and fluffy and packed with flavor--until now! So good was our breakfast that we returned later in the day for lunch. The freshness of the food was not lost on my husband or me, and we were amazed again by the care with which the food was made and large portions we were served. The menu and quality of the food is reminiscent of top quality diner food one would find on "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives." Has anyone called Guy Fieri? Can't wait to go back. There's now more than just the ocean calling me back to to Ocean Isle Beach! read more

Nice clean place. Food is OK , nothing to rave about, somewhat bland. Large servings. my friend and I had dinner there recently on a Friday night...bad mistake. The staff was overwhelmed. Service not up to their normal standards. They were stingy with their sauces/dressings/drink refills. Asked for additional dressing...ignored..During The height of the busy tourist season, they are under staffed....As a native, I MIGHT go back later in the year. Eleven months have gone by....Today at the height of tourist season we placed a to go order. A very pleasant surprise. Food was good...still a little bland. The portions were still copious, service was still awesome and friendly. I have given them a four star instead of a three star. read more

Web page said "Breakfast until 11:30. Got there at 10:40. Waitress finally came to our table at 11:05. When I ordered my breakfast she informed us that they stopped serving breakfast at 11 AM. Ordered something we didn't want, and watched the waitress haul breakfast to another table while we ate. I told the waitress that their website advertised breakfast until 11:30. She replied " yeah, they are trying to get that fixed." To be fair, I have had breakfast there before, and it was good... The prices are good also. Jerking your customers around like this makes me want to go elsewhere in the future...... read more

Got there at 10:45 and they wouldn't serve us breakfast even though they said they serve breakfast until 11:00 AM. So we proceeded to order from the lunch menu and waited 45 minutes for them to tell us they were out of pork chops and pork tenderloin for a sandwich. We re-ordered and then waited another 30 minutes for food to be served and my husband's grilled chicken sandwich was still raw on the inside. They did not make us pay, but it was still a horrible experience and we wasted 2 hours of our time for really bad food. And we're locals. Won't make that mistake again. Poor business practices. read more

I guess Saturdays aren't the best here? They were out of everything or said they didn't serve certain things on Saturdays. Yet they don't bother putting that anywhere in the menu. Everything we ordered had to be changed because they were out, etc. Apparently this place is great during the week. My dad eats here often and was very disappointed with today's service. read more

I had the same issue as another reviewer here. I went at a not busy time and no one could seem to decide who was our server. We got terrible service and the food was getting cold when it was finally, grudgingly brought to our table. I got the Gyro Sandwich and would probably have enjoyed the meal if we were not ignored. At least it saved me from having to leave a tip. read more

Looking for a place that wasn't going to be overly expensive for the evening, we followed our fellow Yelpers here. Excellent! Both of us had the seafood platters, and we got HOMEMADE onion rings as an appetizer. (Just how many times do you ever see a restaurant serve homemade onion rings, I ask you...) The platters were chock full of shrimp, scallops, flounder and deviled crab just off the boat 20 miles south. So fresh! And the batter was extremely light. Get the green beans as one of your sides...like grandmother used to make. We'll be back sometime this week for another meal... Evidently this is THE go-to place for the local Ocean Islers and a hidden gem. read more

This was a good little place pretty close to where we were staying. The food was good, prices were great, service was excellent. The reason it's not getting a five star rating is because the cook/manager/owner whatever he was, was absolutely screaming at his servers the whole time we were there. He was absolutely treating them like that weren't even people, and apparently didn't care who heard, because you could hear him all over the tiny restaurant. He should really be ashamed of treating anyone like that. I wanted to say something to him but didn't want him to treat them any worse because of it. read more

First try. Might give another chance. Was not majorly busy. Walked right in to a table and was greeted. Waited 10 minutes without service, crew seemed like they were trying to figure out who was going to serve our table. Service seemed poor as they were even a little less attentive to a local regular customer. read more

2 previous visits were pretty good. Prices are reasonable. This time not a good experience. Lack of help, long wait and food wasn't done. 1 napkin to share with 3 people. No one check on refills or apologized for having to redo eggs that weren't done.(scrambled and white was milky). Sorry to say it will be awhile before another visit. read more

The best place we've found in OIB, kids meals were large & the shrimp platter and pork tenderloin sandwich were amazing. Very friendly staff & fair pricing. read more

Unfortunately I will not be going back here until COVID is under control due to their unsafe practices. Our waitress came to our table unmasked every time except for when she took our order. Other waitress were also unmasked behind the counter and out in the dining area. I like to patronize locally owned restaurants so am disappointed I won't feel comfortable going back here. read more

We got there a little after 11. The menu said breakfast served till 11:30 which was perfect because I wanted breakfast and my wife wanted lunch. After waiting 20 minutes to get waited on the waitress told us they quit serving breakfast at 11. We left so I can't comment on the food. read more

The food is always abundant and delicious with different specials every night. Home cooking done right! The only reason I am not giving 5 stars is because the service has been hit or miss, just depends on who is working and how busy they are. However everyone is always very helpful and friendly. read more

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Steak sandwich was fantastic! Generous portion and top notch service. Will be going back very soon.