I'm in the middle of a three-week trip to the area, and I have to say that Circa 81 is as good as it gets. Frankly, several of the so-called favorite restaurants in the area have been quite disappointing, and this was a welcome change. I've greatly enjoyed lunch at Dank Burrito several times already, and when I realized that Circa 81 is part of the same family, I knew I had to try it for dinner. Every aspect of the experience was excellent, especially the thoughtfully prepared, delicious food. I like the small plates concept that allows us to sample a variety of dishes. It works really well for the style of food they're preparing. We had the Serrano ham hush puppies, the charred Brussels sprouts, potatoes brava, and chorizo & clams. We also shared the mixed grill, which is one of their larger plates. Normally, I would never order something like a mixed grill because I'd expect to get two or three underwhelming protein preparations. However, I'm very glad I made an exception here. I was intrigued that the mixed grill consisted of rosemary beef tenderloin, seared tuna, and pan-seared duck breast. I never expected to see duck breast as part of a mixed grill entree. I have to say all three proteins were seasoned and cooked to perfection, and the mushrooms, potatoes, and onions on the plate were a terrific accompaniment. To cap it all off, we had chocolate creme brulee and key lime pie for dessert, which were also wonderful. I liked it so much, I'm already going back for brunch today. Can't wait! read more

Family friendly, great beer selection and very fresh local food. Had the Amberjack sandwich and wife had the Hatteras burger. All great. Kids love the small pizza and Grilled cheese. Very nice surprise! read more

We went to Circa 81 on our last night of vacation. We have been coming to Emerald Isle for over 20 years, and this is the best restaurant we have found in all those years. They accommodated our party of 10 and take reservations, which is something most restaurants in this area do not do. We were seated immediately, which was important since we had four children with us. For appetizers, we ordered crab dip, potstickers, beef skewers, and gnocchi. I can't say which which appetizer was the best as they were all superb. She crab soup was divine. The seafood macaroni and cheese, shrimp and grits, seared tuna, ribeye steak, beef short ribs and pork osso bucco ordered by our party for entrees were delicious. Service was fast and efficient, and our waitress was very accommodating. Don't miss a visit to Circa 81 when you are in the area. You won't regret it. read more

Not overly impressed with the execution of their tapas fare. There were some great recipe "concepts", they just didn't translate well from oven to plate. A case in point, the seafood mac & cheese. It was heavy on the mac, not so much on the cheese or seafood. However, we loved he use of local NC ingredients. The Ashe County cheese plate was enjoyable. read more

Ok atmosphere, good service, but overall undistinguished food (nothing that you'd say "oh that was really good"). Their idea of making a birthday dinner out special seemed to be wishing me a happy birthday on the way out. There are better restaurants in neighboring cities. Disappointing. read more

Absolutely incredible. Some notable tapas that we tried was the gnocchi, kalimari, shrimp Mac n cheese, hot crab dip, shrimp and grits and potstickers. ALL of them were to die for! Our server was welcoming and warmhearted and I must say that we were all extremely pleased. read more

Overall, a good place. Food: We had the shrimp and grits for an appetizer-- very good.. almost "Charleston" good.. If you've had shrimp and grits at any of the local places in Charleston, you know what i mean. My wife had the chicken and proscuitto sandwich with pepperjack cheese.. very good also, the chicken is incredibly moist and tender and the roll is comes on appears fresh made.. would get this again. The only thing I wasn't thrilled about was my crab cake sandwich. It shows on the menu it is made with jumbo lump crab meat.. there may have been one pc of jumbo jump in the entire crab cake, but 99% of it was just the run of the mill fine, shredded crab meat, so I was disappointed, since the inside of the crab cake was so mushy. Back with Laughry's Landing was in Beaufort, they had a crab cake, that rivaled one you'd find in Maryland.. 90% true huge chunks of jumbo lump crab meat, with only enough "filler" to hold it together. I guess I got spoiled. Service: I am pretty sure our server was drunk.. seriously. frequency of service (filling waters, checking on thing), was pretty good, but for quality of service, I would have to say it was subpar. Overall, when we are in town again, we may try it again. (I was on the fence b/t 3 or 4 stars, but compared to what else is in the area, this is def above average). read more

Eat here. It's amazing. Never had a bad meal. Love the tapas. And the Hatteras Burger will be the best burger you have ever put in your mouth. read more

There are not a lot of good options for a "decent" dinner in Carteret County. There are even less great options. We found Circa 81 based on Yelp reviews and we were not disappointed. This IS one of the only GREAT places in town. Our server Margaret was on point and the food was served quickly. My wife and I decided on tapas. The pork belly tacos were the yum. The she-crab soup was great. They had a special called pork wings that I really enjoyed. I also had a orange basil mojito that was tasty and refreshing. I am not a word smith, but I know good food. This place hits the mark. read more

She-crab soup and hot crab dip were delicious, but seriously, $5 for a dinky basket of bread that we always get for free at any tapas restaurant? Ridiculous! Very eclectic mix of tapas here - like they're trying to cover all the bases. The scallops were dinky and our least favorite while on Emerald Isle. We were also seated in between a large party and the bar...so dinner was loud and the AC was used sparingly. If looking for a special night out while on vacation, you may want to consider one of Morehead City's other well reviewed restaurants instead. read more

My family has been vacationing in Morehead for 30+ years -- Circa 81 is easily the best restaurant around. I was thrilled to discover it on our recent vacation. Highlights: The pork osso bucco was incredible, and the salads were crisp and refreshing. The $4 house sauvignon blanc was a great deal. I didn't expect to like the seafood mac & cheese -- dishes like that usually obscure the seafood too much for my taste -- but it turned out to be delicious. The cocktail list alone will be worth a return trip. The owners couldn't have been nicer, and the wait staff was friendly and knowledgeable about the dishes and the drink selections. Enjoy! Tip -- they apparently also cater and host parties. read more

This is a restaurant we tried for the first time two weeks ago. We've been back twice and we are only in the area for 3 weeks. My husband is very particular about how his seafood is prepared; especially unhappy if it is overdone, and that has not been a problem here. They have an excellent Sunday brunch menu but no alcoholic drinks served before noon on Sunday. I would say Circa 81 has become a favorite place to eat in the area. We will be return customers. read more

My husband and I had a lovely evening. This was our first experience with Tapas. It was perfect for us. We can never decide what we want and we got to try a lot of things. The wait staff was friendly and efficient. The food was excellent. read more

Great atmosphere, quiet, you can have conservation without shouting. The Hatteras burger is too die for. I will be back.

OMG I love this restaurant!!! Me and boyfriend eat here at least once a month for our date night. They have the best food in Carteret County. The potstickers, hot crab dip and seafood Mac n' Cheese are our favorite tapas. The mojito's and Martini's are the best in town. I bring my girlfriends here on Thursday nights for $5 Martini's and the Tahitian Pineapple martini is the my absolute favorite. The desserts are soooo amazing. I think we have tried every flavor of cheesecake they offer but our fav is the white chocolate raspberry. And I recently brought my best friend and her husband for Sunday brunch and they loved it!!!! If you go for brunch which I highly recommend you have to try the Circa 81 Benedict or any of the omelette's and also order a pitcher of white sangria it's only $10!!!! read more

Great place. Had a $10.99 Sunday special for a pitcher of sangria and a good variety of beer and micro brews available. The food was awesome and very reasonably priced. Your choice of tapas style dining or entrées. I would highly recommend to anyone, maybe not with little kids as it's more of a quiet atmosphere than others. read more

Tried this place for the first time yesterday and LOVED it! It's a small venue but Huge on flavor! Lots of pride put into Every dish! Everything is made in house and you can tell! Love the tapas menu because it allows you to try more than one dish, plus because it's hard to pick just one, or two for that matter! Their drink menu is awesome! Great for a date night or brunch with girls! Highly highly recommend checking this place out! read more

Great for a date or something special. Prices are reasonable, service was great, and the portions were great. I thought we'd have to order 10 tapas to satisfy our hunger but we did great with 4 and an app. Everything was good. The gnocchi was probably more average than good, but I still liked it. Get the seafood mac and cheese. Tuna was good. Fried tomatoes were awesome. I would go back. read more

This place was amazing! Went there for lunch and got the shrimp and grits tapas. Then I got the half yellowfin tuna sandwich with wasabi mayo and a cup of she crab soup for $9. I will definitely go back and try more. Paul the waiter was also fantastic!! Atmosphere is also very cozy and inviting. read more

Circa 81 - Shrimp and grits! The grits are actually a fried polenta cake. - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Morehead City, North Carolina

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This restaurant is a breath of fresh air amongst over-priced seafood restaurants on the island. It was the best meal we enjoyed on our trip to Emerald Isle. We went on a Thursday night and we're pleased to hear about their $5 martini special. Our waitress recommended a ginger and lemon one, which was amazing. We shared the tuna salad, pimento cheese and cracker, crab cake, rosemary beef, pork belly and chocolate creme brûlée. The food was made of the freshest ingredients, served in a perfect time frame and the environment itself is completely relaxed and not pretentious. This may be a weird thing to mention but the temperature was perfect inside. I've found so many restaurants freezing and this place was just right- on so many levels. read more

Definitely a must stop when in Morehead City area. Great staff, great chef! I'm usually not a fan of small plates but their small plates weren't that small. We're definitely very full but had to leave room for their creme Brule, AMAZING. Will definitely return another night this week while we're here. Came highly recommend by someone back home, so glad we took their advice! read more

Word cannot explain how amazing this place is! The food and cocktails are THE BEST I have found in the area and the food just melts in your mouth. Great for a date night! read more

Very small plates with little to nothing to eat , a bit over priced , but i will say the mixed drinks was very good only reason why I'm giving them 2 stars read more

My son had a life-threatening allergic reaction to their food. His aunt asked if the selections were "free" of the foods that he was deathly allergic too. We had to run out to our car and grab his EPI pin then to the ER. He is only 9 so this was very traumatizing to him. The owner never called me back and he avoids any contact regarding the fact he almost killed my child. He admitted he made a mistake in reading the food ingredients. We are seeking legal assistance for this matter now. read more

I really liked the food and the service was also great. I went with my husband and we ordered the Seafood Mac and Cheese, Crab Dip, Gnocchi and the Mushroom sandwich. But I have to say that my favorite was the Gnocchi. This place will be a must for me every time I vacation there. read more

Circa 81 was a very nice treat. Had 2 of the specials and 2 menu item tapas. All were amazing but we especially liked the fried Maco! Very tasty! The she crab soup was amazing! Highly recommend this restaurant for any occasion! read more

If there is something better than Circa 81 in Morehead, I have yet to find it and I think I've tried all the top spots. Circa 81 just never lets us down - above all else, the food is exceptional, reasonably priced, and we love the small plates that allow us all to share and taste several wonderful dishes each time we dine here. We just returned from Christmas Eve dinner and it was outstanding. Our family of 4 split a mix of salads, small plates, and the prime rib dinner. With drinks, a wonderful 90 minute comfortably paced meal, all in for well under $200 - excellent value. Bang for the buck, nothing else in MHC compares. read more

Loved the atmosphere and the change from the many fried fish joints the area. Food was great...definitely worth it! read more

I decided to try Circa 81 for lunch, the place was pretty empty for lunch time. I ordered there eggplant sandwich, it was a huge let down. It came with some heavily oiled veggies that were cut into teeny match strips. More bell pepper then veggie. The eggplant was soggy and lacking any flavor or seasoning. Included was a slice of tomato, and some chewy cheese. This was not good. On a positive note, the pumpernickel bread was pretty tasty, I will give it another try, to see how Sun. Brunch,goes. read more

Nice economical brunch. Great eggs Benedict selection. Fried French toast wow. Elegant presentation.

Beyond impressed with this restaurant! I ordered the Shrimp & Grits, and my husband order the black bean quesadilla. Both were amazing & we plan on returning regularly! read more

Great food, favorite place in town to eat with friends and family. The tapas is the way to go. You get to taste a little bit of everything, makes it a more fulfilling meal read more

Amazing! We went here back in August based on yelp reviews. Staff was great! Mojitos were amazing and they had a great deal on them. We did Several different appetizers and loves them all. We had the cheese plate which was great, pork app was amazing, gnocchi was very good!! Highly recommend this place. read more

Nice little tapas joint. The sweet potato quesadillas, calamari and bacon wrapped dates were tasty if a little salty. The mixed grill was absolutely fabulous. Haven't ever had duck that beautifully done before. Would definitely recommend visiting if you're in the area! read more

The chef will prepare items for you that aren't on the menu. I'm a vegetarian and needed adjustments to some menu offerings. They were quick to accommodate. Our food and service were very good. read more

Wonderful restaurant with outstanding food and wait staff! My friend has a rare food allergy and our server wanted to make sure without a doubt, that my friend would not get sick. The owner/chef came to our table and went over each dish she was interested in, and told her what would work for her and/or how he could modify the dish. To top it off, the food was out of this world amazing! Easily the best I've had in North Carolina! My well traveled friend Tamra said that her gnocchi was the best she's ever had. We will definitely be back, and I plan on bringing friends and family when they come to visit. read more

The place was really cute. I started off with the clam chowder and was a bit disappointed but the person I was with ordered the she crab soup and it was amazing. We both had the tapas. I ordered the duck and the brie. She ordered the seafood Mac and cheese and the crab dip. The Brie had a little too much the cheese but the sauce made it worth it. I actually ended up dipping the duck in that sauce because it lacked something sweet and fruity. The service was a little too fast but that might be because we only ordered tapas. Out of everything I think I recommend the the seafood Mac and cheese. read more

We love this place. The drinks are amazing and we always pick out six tapas to share. I like to try the tapas specials. If you go, get the lobster mac and cheese, the crab cake and the tuna. The staff is friendly too. One word:Yum! read more

So, we're new to Newport and this was our first experience dining out. They were open on a Sunday and the restaurant is nice inside. The menu had good selections for my husband and me. My husband's had the catch if the day and I had the salad with the blackened mahi. The salad was very good and do was the fish. We ordered a side of the Mac and cheese that everyone wrote about:eh. Not fabulous, little flavor. The waitress was great but we probably won't go back soon. read more

Our one and only experience here was great! Service was wonderful, food was very good, and the atmosphere is nice for a Saturday night date. There's also a small sports bar area that looked like a good spot to catch a game and enjoy a meal. We shared a variety of small plates-- seafood mac 'n cheese, gnocchi, tuna nachos, tenderloin, and a dessert--plenty of food and reasonably priced. We will return if we have the opportunity, and we definitely recommend it! read more