Great Atmosphere. Servers.. Here for a job but overall just "meh" attitude. Lunch: Lobster roll, good, but a lot of celery. Crab cake was delish. Prime Burger also delish. Key Lime Martini was on point. Haven't had breakfast or dinner here but those menus looked more appealing than lunch. Would I eat here again? Yes. read more

We had breakfast here. The food was great, but the waitress that we had was TERRIBLE. She acted as though it bothered her that she was waiting on us the entire time, from ordering the drinks and food (don't ask for lemon or tea...that really irks the waitress) to bringing everything out. Poor service can really ruin a restaurant. read more

Amazing fish tacos!!! Probably the best I've ever had! And the Mahi bites were spectacular!!! We ordered here twice on our trip :) And they had great customer service... when there was a mix up and our order was cold, they refunded our order! We super appreciated how kind they were! Definitely will come back!!! read more

Stopped by to try something new and was pleasantly satisfied! Service was on point and great! They had a lot of gluten free dishes to choose from, which is something new for me, so it made it easy to choose. And, although it's gluten free everything was really delicious! read more

Coastal Cravings - Delicious!!! - Seafood Near Me - Duck, North Carolina

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I have never been to a more unorganized organization. I'm a party of 7, called twice to confirm information before traveling 25 mins over to eat at this poor establishment. I waited on a line to be greeted by a nice lady who tried to get her bosses attention to see if she could seat at a open table. By the time the lady heard and responded to her she was annoyed that she was being bothered by the other employee. She then proceeded to go in circles saying she had a wait list and had to call them first to see if they would want the table. She made literally no sense and it was clear she was upset she was bothered by us interrupting her social hour down memory lane by the customers who were talking to her. I called her out on her making everyone on the line wait to find out if she could sit us or not. She then told me that we were not welcomed to eat there. Haha what a joke! I wouldn't want to eat somewhere where are business is not respected. I called after leaving the restaurant and found out she was not the owner like she claimed but the owners wife. Wow! I feel bad for them that she is ruining their business single handily from the front as thinking who she is. I give this place zero stars and would never give them a chance as the owners wife needs a reality check and should be kind to her customers read more

Unfortunately this place has really taken a turn for the terrible. We went here two years ago soon after they had opened and really enjoyed ourselves; service and food were both very good. We went there tonight for dinner at 5:15pm as we had our 1.5 year old with us. He and I both have food allergies to dairy, nuts and sesame. I told our waitress, Shannon, that right away and asked her if he could have the fish sticks off the kids menu. She said she thought it'd be fine but that she'd double check. She came back to us a few mins. later and said there was milk in it. So we ordered the only thing on the kids menu that was "safe" - penne with marinara. I asked her to put that in asap and that we'd order our drinks and our food items after she placed that order with the kitchen as my son needed to eat. She left and came back 15 mins. later. We ordered our beer flight and the bbq wings. She disappeared for another 10 mins. and came back to ask if we knew what we wanted for dinner. I asked her about my son's food and she said she was just about to go put the order in. I was baffled. What had she seen doing all this time? It was before 6pm on a Thursday night in early May. The restaurant was pretty empty. I asked her to please go put in my son's order right away as he needed to eat. As soon as she left our wings came out. So clearly she just forgot to place my son's food order. The wings were sprinkled with sesame seeds. Another waitress came out and said she realized there were sesame seeds on them and that they would remake them. Our waitress comes back 10 mins. later with penne pasta with butter. I ask her what that was and she told me it was penne with butter and did I want the marinara on the side. I told her that we had a dairy allergy and she said, "Oh, right. I'll go get that fixed." So here we are almost an hour into getting there and we have no food. Our food finally comes out and it is mediocre at best. I had the seafood combo special which consisted of a tiny lobster tail, a few puny shrimps, a couple of scallops and a bit of white fish. It was completely bland. The sides which consisted of veggies and a baked potato came with butter, melted butter and sour cream. I reminded her once again that I had a dairy allergy and she took them off my plate. Some of the butter had spilled onto my plate and she says to me, "It's just the juice from the veggies. Oh wait. No, that's butter but it's not that much. You want another plate so you can move the food on it?" By this time we are speechless. I just said yes as I didn't have the mental capacity to try to explain to her that a tiny bit of butter to someone with a dairy allergy can be quite serious. My husband had the scallops that were supposed to be so phenomenal and he said they were so so. I almost forgot the piece de resistance.. They forgot to give us your credit card back. I eventually went inside to go ask about it and the waitress sheepishly went into the kitchen where she left it and handed it to me apologizing and saying it's starting to get hectic.. I did learn that the head chef was not there that night so perhaps that explains the nose dive in food quality. However, if they don't get their act straight as far as the staff they hire they are not going to last very long. This was by far the worst restaurant experience we had in OBX and we've been eating dinner out every night for this entire week. We were looking forward to going back here since we had a positive experience the first time we went but left feeling completely disappointed. read more

This was a good out of town pick. It's attached to a gas station, which sounds sketchy, but it a really nice place with good ambience. The good was very good! I had the scallops at the recommendation of our server and husband had the steamed shrimp and hush puppies. We also had the crab dip for an appetizer. All yummy, though I would pass on the hush puppies next time. I have had better. Sort of mealy, not real onion flavor...but that's the worse I could say, so definitely a thumbs up from us! read more

Came in for lunch on a Saturday. The hostess sat us at this bizarre half-booth facing a wall. But whatever. I've worked in restaurants. Not all tables are winners. Someone's got to sit there, right? We then proceed to wait 15 minutes as a host of servers walked by our table multiple times, all of them ignoring our polite attempts to flag them down. I have no idea what was going on. The place wasn't even busy. (Side note: It's attached to a gas station but still feels somehow justified charging $24 for crabcakes). Through the open kitchen window I could see a teenager dumping french fries out of an institutional food service bag directly into a fryer, a couple of slackjawed cooks standing around looking bewildered, and other various forms of nonsense. Am I on Kitchen Nightmares? We left and went down the street to Coastal Cantina, where we were warmly greeted and had an amazing meal. read more

The best lobster roll I ever had! Very generous portion with great flavor. We went back for dinner another night to try the scallops and they did not disappoint. Can't wait to go back next summer! read more

Coastal Cravings - Lobster roll and potato salad - Seafood Near Me - Duck, North Carolina

Meh. Apps and dinner arrived within 90 seconds of each other. Probably because we ordered quickly made dishes. Still a good expo would have done better. Was not knocked off my feet and a what we received for what we paid didn't pan out. My advice, no kids, sit inside, order specials. read more

Pretty interesting. I had a hard time finding this place since it is attached to a shell station and only says cravings. The restaurant is a bit small (inside) and service is a bit slow. However, you're on vacation, so where else do you need to be? The sandwiches are delicious. My favorite is the italian sandwich. The fish tacos were also better than average (but fried). Prices are cheap and considering the other options in the area, I would highly recommend this place. read more

Five of us had dinner here, and everyone was happy. We were seated in a large booth, and we were promptly greeted by our server. She was friendly and courteous. Our drinks were brought quickly along with water for all of us. The wings here are perfectly cooked. Crispy outside and juicy inside. My caprese salad was huge and delish, their pesto is very good on this salad. Normally, I am not a pesto person. We ordered everything from beef to fried shrimp, and no one had a single complaint. Everything was hot and nicely presented. This is a very lively restaurant/bar. They had outdoor seating and entertainment that was awesome, even in off season, weather permitting. My husband and I were dancing in the parking lot and having a great time after dinner. I would highly recommend this place to anyone who is looking for a nice place to eat and even hang out, and have a couple drinks in Duck read more

Total disappointment for lunch. Outside tented picnic tables are all that is available for seating. Food is served as takeout with plastic flimsy utensils and paper plates. Really bummed as we heard this establishment was quality but food was marginal at best. Chicken Caprese salad with unripe hothouse tomatoes and stringy chicken strips. Fried green tomato sandwich was okay, but fried tomatoes were not crispy at all. Wait staff was good but they don't have much to work with. It is a shame but I think COVID accommodations have wrecked the experience and food here. .... And the flies were very abundant and totally detracted from the mediocre experience. read more

Not sure how I missed the information that this place had no indoor dining - especially when we were sitting in crazy Saturday traffic for 2 hours just creeping from Currituck to Duck. Mahi Bites were over-the-top salty. Fish tacos were 'meh'... read more

Excellent service great food. Needed a sandwich after beach and water sports. This place got the spot.

What a wonderful place!! I had steamed shrimp with old bay seasoning. The shrimp were fat and cooked just right!! I believe it was a pound, which was extremely satisfying! They had live music out on the patio!! When I go back to Duck I will come back here! The menu had a lot to offer, especially for seafood lovers! read more

I had the CPM Crabcake Sandwich ($12.99), their award-winning 'best on the beach' crabcake with lettuce, tomato, and remoulade sauce on a soft roll, with a side of fries. The sandwich was delicious, with juicy chunks of fresh tasting crab meat and an outstanding remoulade sauce. The roll was a little too soft for my taste and flattened down as I ate the sandwich. The fries were slender and well seasoned, with a good balance of crispness and moistness. Notably, the sandwich and the fries held up well to the rigors of take-out. Coastal Cravings wisely wraps the sandwich in paper and allows the fries to breathe so that they don't get soggy. My wife had the fish and chips ($11.99). The fish consisted of several flat, crispy breaded filets of white fish that resembled the best of the frozen, store bought varieties. However, the flavor and consistency were much fresher than anything from the store. Sadly, no remoulade or tartar sauce were provided, and while the fish was edible without it, the sauce was greatly missed. We are not sure if the lack of sauce was an oversight or by design. My wife did not enjoy the fries as much as I did. read more

Tried twice to eat here this past week, both times taking a seat at the bar. Each time, I left after having been ignored despite multiple servers coming to the bar area and my having said hello or tried some other means of gaining someone's attention. The first time was early on a Saturday evening before dinner rush, so there were few other customers. The second time was at the tail end of a weekday lunch rush when the restaurant was quite busy, though there seemed to be a surprising number of servers working, more than enough to ensure I might be given the chance to order, but again, I left after about 10 minutes. A group to my left were eating but they made a few mentions regarding the difficulty / long waits they'd had getting attention. From what I observed on those visits, I don't believe the problem lies with inattentive or rude servers but with an extraordinarily inefficient setup. It appears that there are no bartenders at Cravings: the main room servers also work the bar, which means they are especially busy not just trying to serve two different parts of the restaurant, but also with having to pour their own drinks. Plus, I noticed during my second visit that they also have to go all the way back into the kitchen to pick up their orders from the food prep tables. So that might be key to why my experience is so different from the vast majority of other customers who've left reviews. For best service, perhaps you need to get table service and avoid the bar, though even then, your server is likely having to work harder than he or she ought. read more

This place is changing the definition of "gas station food". We stopped by to order and take out dinner. They were pretty busy for a Wednesday evening and all of the tables outside were full with guests enjoying some decent live music. We only had to wait about 15 minutes for our food. We got the hush puppies, which were some of the best I have had anywhere in the Carolinas. They didn't come with honey butter, and that's OK. We had their scallop dish with lobster sauce and chicken marsala. Both were served with seasonal squash as a side. Both dishes were excellent. I particularly enjoyed the chicken because it was grilled instead of fried and made it a little lighter and summer appropriate. We will be back to hopefully eat there! read more

Very good food but do not eat outside here after 7pm. The outside seating area is not screened in, so many flying bugs ended up in our food and drinks. In addition, there were cockroaches seen crawling in and out the bricks in this same area. Bug control is obviously an issue here at night. read more

For the price, I expected fresher ingredients. My wife and I went there on a food tour and enjoyed the mini crab cakes. A few days later we went back for lunch. We were greeted by an extensive wine list and friendly service. My wife had the fish tacos. Simple and tasty, but not amazing. I had the tomato-mozzarella sandwich. It would have been beautiful, but for the tasteless Sysco tomato. A fresh tomato isn't too much to ask for on a tomato sandwich, no? Maybe the Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives hype had my hopes up, but I was sadly disappointed. read more

Location was not ideal by gas station but we are glad we tried it. Scallops were awesome and the steaks were really good. Attentive staff with good service. Not cheap but highly recommended. read more

This is an amazing place in Duck, NC. There are few places that have fabulous wine (including Alberino!), awesome food, super live music, and gas for the car! We enjoyed fresh fish, a filet and the portions were generous. Weather permitting the music is outside where you can eat or simply have a cocktail. The restaurant is always a part of our beach-trip agenda! Pam n Jay from UpNorth Chgo read more

Outstanding food and service....don't let the location fool you. Stop in and try.....you'll be glad that you did!

Great Food Great Service. Zac was the bomb. You will not be disappointed if you stop here. Thank You Even catered to nephews food allergies. read more

The crab cake was amazing, just like the other reviews state. What really made this place stand out was their honesty and customer service. Brian is the man. Let me explain. We had a large to go order of 10+ orders with a lot of custom orders due to dietary needs. Not the raisers thing to put together during rush hour. When we got the order home, 1 of the orders was missing. We called them, and this is where the place earned the extra star. They were honest that they accidentally missed it, said it was their fault, and then insisted on delivering it to us. It was at our door in under 10 minutes. Service like this doesn't exist most places. These guys rock. read more

I have to admit, we came to try Coastal Cravings for two reasons - it was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and it had live music Friday night during off season! My husband and I rolled in about 6:00, grabbed a couple seats at the bar and ordered cocktails to start. The music started right at 6:30 so we were looking forward to a leisurely evening with great food. As others have stated, this small restaurant is connected to a convenience store with gas station and has a drive thru. With that said, the atmosphere within the restaurant was fine. Friendly service and locals hanging out. In fact the couple seated next to us were celebrating their anniversary. Even with the band (a quartet) set up not to far away, it was not to loud and we were able to carry on conversations with no issues. We started with a grilled romaine salad topped with Feta and a balsamic glaze. It was delicious! My husband ordered a ribeye which was the steak recommended by the bartender that night. I wanted to try the lobster brandy sauce as that was one of the items featured on DD&D, but I was not interested in scallops that night. Lucky for me one of the specials was mahi served with the lobster sauce. If my husband were writing this review or I had ordered the ribeye, the restaurant would have scored two stars at most. The ribeye was tough and very thin. Should have known better than to order steak in a seafood place. My mahi was good, fresh and the lobster sauce complemented it nicely. However, I was expecting to be wowed by the sauce since it was featured on the Food Network and that really wasn't the case. It was tasty, creamy but just not the explosion of flavor I expected. I would give this place another chance, but recommend anyone who tries the food stick with the seafood. read more

Went back to this place post COVID. Waited an hour for a table which was not bad but over an hour to get served our meal. Served 30.00 per meal dinners in cardboard boxes, Plastic utensils and paper plates. Spent over 150.00 for family of 4 and felt like I was eating at an overpriced outdoor picnic. Chicken was over cooked and dry. Best part of the meal was the fries. There are 100 better places to eat - did I mention the flies... skip it - you won't miss anything. Guy Fieri's review of this place is so outdated. read more

My family has been going to the Outer Banks every summer since I was little. We rarely go out to eat while we're there but it was the last night of our trip and we were already shopping at Scarborough so we decided to stop in to Coastal Cravings. We got seated right away, which is a miracle on a Friday night. The restaurant is very small and easy to miss - we passed by twice trying to find it. One thing that really bugged me was that there are no shades on the windows so around 6-7PM when the bright sun is setting and in your face there's no hiding from it. I eventually had to switch places with my Dad because he had sunglasses - and had to wear them for the majority of the meal! If there's one easy thing a restaurant can invest in - it's window blinds. We ordered two appetizers that were good - the crab dip and oysters rockefeller. These two items turned out to be the highlight of the entire meal. Collectively, we ordered the sea scallops, fried clam strips, fish & chips and fried shrimp. Out of all these meals, the fried shrimp was probably the best. The rest were just so bland, lacking any seasoning or flavor which was really disappointing. Needless to say, we will not be returning to Coastal Cravings on our next trip. read more

We have been to Duck twice and both times stopped here. The first as a couple and the second with our daughter. Both times, the food and service did not disappoint. The seafood boil was awesome and so were the cocktails. We loved our waitress - very cool and efficient. There was a live band the second time we went, which was fun for our daughter to see, and also created a chill vibe, which we loved! Not stuffy at all. Get the cravings coffee drink! It won't disappoint. read more

Coastal Cravings - Seafood boil! - Seafood Near Me - Duck, North Carolina

Soooooo good if you near here you gotta try it !!! Great place very nice people ! The tomato and motz sandwich was great fresh and homemade motz what's not to love my husband had the fried clams they were amazing! Will be back!! read more

Coastal Cravings is a quaint restaurant in Duck, North Carolina, this place is one of many on Route 12. The things that sets this dining experience from others is the rich quality they put in there dining experience. FOOD: I ordered fish and chips that had a wonderful cocktail mayo sauce. My mother got the shrimp ceviche, and she loved it. My girlfriend got fried calamari and a GRILLED romaine salad. Grilled?! Yes. It was awesome. As an appetizer with had mini crab cakes with an amazing remoulade sauce and complimentary honey bread with maple butter (my best guess, it rocked either way) ATMOSPHERE: This is a restaurant connected to a gas station! It sounds odd but the whole ambience of this place is a experience you will remember and enjoy. SERVICE: Our waiter was wonderfully knowledgable and encouraged any questions we had. Plus, he gave you time to dine and enjoy your party. The ultimate waiter balance in my opinion. read more

Don't go here for lunch, nothing good on the menu. Food is mediocre, price is definitely high for the food quality. Wanted some seafood platter but got denied.. read more

Love this place! Our first night in the OBX looking for 'our kind of place' for a really yummy, not chain or touristy, comfortable place. This is it! And seriously don't let the fact that it's attached to a gas station convenience store scare you off. Oysters Rockefeller (made extra special with just a touch of blue geese sauce), spiced started shrimp (best I've had in years), fried clams (described accurately as "voluptuous" to the delight of my hubby) - all out of this world. We'll be here a few more days and I'll guessing we'll be back. Fabulous! Oh forgot the homemade bread. Wow! read more

Good lobster roll, solid fish and chips. Crab cakes very tasty, just enough binder to hold the patty together. Fries a little stale, cole slaw unremarkable. Overall, definitely will hit up next time I'm down here. read more

I think the sign just says Cravings....or that's all we saw at least.... You could easily drive by this place and never see it, but it's worth the stop! We dropped in here for lunch and were pleasantly surprised! The place is very casual (picnic tables inside) but the food was very yummy! Between the table we tried the Tomato Mozzarella sandwich (so fresh and amazing tomatoes), the crab cake sandwich (fried, but not too much filler and delicious), the turkey and brie (also yummy), and the french fries (cut thin and seasoned with salt/pepper) - all were AMAZING! And they serve beer, which is a plus for a quick lunch place. Also to note - the staff was very friendly and helpful and the food is very reasonably priced! I would definitely hit this place up again. read more

This is a surprisingly good place to grab a lunch while in the OBX. Don't let the fact that it is in a gas station keep you from grabbing a seat and chowing down on some pretty solid sandwiches. My DH and I were here in January. During the off-season it can be difficult to even find a place that's open, let alone one with a decent lobster roll. That's right people, a lobster roll! We rolled in for lunch on a Friday and were able to grab a booth. There is a small bar right in front as you walk in, a counter for take out steamer buckets to the left, and a small number of booths and tables to the right. It is by no means a large place. We grabbed a booth and were handed menus. Tip for the restaurant: add a few starters. We would've ordered something to start and our sandwiches which would've been a bigger ticket. We were completely confused by the beer selection. There are a bunch of taps on the wall next to the booths, but they have ZERO to do with what is currently on tap. Your girl here looked like a dummy when she ordered something that wasn't available. Don't be me - ask your server 1st. I ordered the lobster roll and DH had the Salumeria. My lobster roll was terrific with big lumps of lobster. I understand people thinking that the roll is on the small side, especially when compared to the size of the other sandwiches, however for $17.99 vs. Market Price (at least $25 in my experience) I think it is a fair value. DH consumed his Salumeria with all the different meats and a slightly spicy vinaigrette. The fries were OK, certainly nothing to waste calories on. We were pleased with our food and will probably be back in July! read more

Wow, this place lives up to the hype! First time for lunch, a bit crowded and warm ( outside seating only). Quickly seated under tent, where it was immediately nicer. Service fast and efficient. Our party had the crab sandwich, which was chock full of crab, pickle. Brined chicken sandwich, nicely brined and fried, and the cheeseburger, delicious but a smootch too salty( just a smootch). Ranch dressing for fries was delicious. Again, service attentive and friendly. Second time for dinner. We had the duck wontons( get them!), shrimp and grits( delish, and the pound of snow crab with butter, nicely steamed read more

Excellent food! I had the crab cake sandwich and husband had fish and chips. Only in OBX a few days but considering a second visit!

We had a great lunch here and the staff weng out of their way to help us with our dog. My wife really loved the pesto, tomato and mozzarella sandwich. She was jonzing for it the rest of our stay. I had the barbecue pork sandwich which was good but not spectacular. I think there are better choices. The service here was wonderful. It was crowded outside and a storm had broken some of the umbrellas. (They moved us once a shader table came open.) They brought water to our dog who was camped out underneath the table and kept the human drinks coming in the heat of the day Everything was as promised and tasty. Note that they have a completely different menu at night, so if you go back looking for the same casual sandwich menu it will be different. We did not try the dinner menu. Can't miss lunch place and I bet the dinner is good too. read more