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    Fish Heads Bar and Grill

    4.2 (583 reviews)
    ModerateAmerican, Bars
    Closed Closed

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    Recommended Reviews - Fish Heads Bar and Grill

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    Salad with tuna steak
    Ilene S.

    If you want music and either wine or a beer this is the place to go. Right on the ocean with a cool breeze and even cooler sounds. Our waitress was friendly and able to split the bill into 4 different checks. I shared the burger and load fries which both were good. I did have a bite of the tuna which wasn't bad but not good either.

    Peter P.

    This was a great spot on the pier to eat and drink with our dogs, who are allowed in the outdoor seating area. It is literally right above the beach with great views of the ocean. The food was also incredible. Servers were amazing (several of them stopped by our table to say hi to our huge dogs).

    Derrick S.

    This is definitely one of the more happening locations in OBX. Always high energy, the staff are all very friendly and talkative. The food is also great all around. Highly recommend if you're looking for a good drink on the pier as well. You can go from the beach to the restaurant easily too! Parking is a bit rough but somehow everyone makes do!

    Fried fish meal

    The atmosphere is a 10/10. One of the biggest perks is being able to eat your meal out on the pier. They also have live music and a very family-friendly environment. We waited about 40 minutes on a Friday evening during a holiday weekend, which I thought was completely reasonable. While you wait, there's an outdoor bar where you can grab a drink, along with plenty of outdoor seating. We started with a half-pound of steamed shrimp as an appetizer. They were fresh and well-seasoned, but they were slightly overcooked, which made them a little harder to peel. For my entrée, I ordered the fried fish platter. The fish itself was good, but the breading was much thicker than I expected almost like a hush puppy batter. It also had a noticeably almost overwhelming sweet flavor than any other fried fish I've had, which wasn't my preference and brought my rating down to a 3/5. My fiancée ordered the coconut shrimp platter and rated it a 6/10. She felt the shrimp didn't taste as fresh as the rest of the food. Overall, if you're looking for a great place to spend time with family or friends, this is definitely worth visiting. The atmosphere alone makes it an enjoyable experience. If you're searching for the best seafood in the area, though, this may not be your top choice. It's possible I ordered the wrong item, or the holiday weekend affected the food quality. Still, I think fried fish should be one of the safest menu items at any seafood restaurant, so take that for what it's worth.

    Outdoor space
    Sarah K. P.

    This place was nearby Jeanette's pier (which was our next stop) so we stopped by for a bite to eat. We were seated right away and the service was good. It was too windy for me... but that's not a fault of the establishment... the food came out super fast and was tasty. The fries here are bombbbbb (they get cold fast cause of the wind so gobble them up quick!) our server was so thoughtful she brought a tasty of their new sour since most people didn't like it... and she was right it wasn't our jam so we opted for a different drink! Talk about great service! The views from the seat and pier were great! We saw some surfers, families along the beach, and some people fishing! There's also merch inside for sale and bait/fishing equipment. Bathrooms are in the teal building on the right (as you walk up from the parking lot)

    Beach area out front of the restaurant
    Jack T.

    Definitely a place for the locals but if you are able to journey out to this hidden gem you're in luck! Such a fun and unique waterfront spot in southern nags head. While you wait for your table there's a bar and patio with picnic benches at the front you can sit and wait at with a drink. Once you're brought back, you enter this pier space with dining tables and a large bar along with flags, koozies, street signs, and funny license plates on the ceiling. Pretty large menu with lots of seafood offerings and drinks. Definitely more of a fun atmosphere to grab drinks and maybe some apps and sit on the pier and watch the ocean. Good for large groups and casual dinners with friends.

    Shrimp Basket.
    MeeMaw V.

    This was our first and most certainly not our last time eating at Fish Heads. We got our food to go but had to go inside to pick it up, and wow! This place has an incredible vibe and even better view of the water. It was very busy and you could tell it is loved by both tourists and locals. Despite how busy they were, the staff were very friendly and attentive. We got an order of coconut shrimp, fish tacos, shrimp basket (with sweet potato fries), and fish basket (with sweet potato fries). It was all delicious!!! Firstly, they do not skimp on portion size. The fish and shrimp were all fresh and full of flavor. The coconut shrimp was the best I've had, and I love that they have sweet potato fries as an option. The tartar sauce and remoulade were very flavorful, and complimented the seafood perfectly. I highly recommend to anyone who is looking for a place to eat in Nags Head!

    Peel and eat shrimp- yummy!
    Caroline J.

    Excellent: Vibe, the shrimp happy hour special, view and location right on the beach! Not so great: The nachos! Not enough cheese and the pico tasted off! Would come back for the shrimp and the overall vibe!

    Teresa W.

    So beautiful! Only reason for three stars is because the restaurant is closed on Monday and Tuesdays. After I apologized to my stomach for hyping her up to be let down but I will be back on a Wednesday next time. Water is so pretty and everyone that worked was really nice definitely coming back!

    Shrimp tacos
    Maggie M.

    This place is so fun! If the weather is nice, it's awesome big getting to sit overlooking the ocean (but it's all outdoors, so skip it if the weather isn't cooperating). I got the shrimp tacos, which were huge and really delicious. My mom's crab cake was almost 100% crab. Service was really efficient. I can tell why this place is so popular! Casual beach vibes, great food, fun atmosphere.

    Taco over rice and sweet potato fries
    Jillian S.

    TLDR: Beautiful view, decent food, and okay service. Be weary of upcharges. Often busy so arrive early. We arrived around 4:30 pm and a table for 8 took about 20 min. Food: Okay food. Side salad, taco bowl, and happy hour shrimp were the best items. Fried fish was too sweet, sweet potato fries were overcooked, and the crab cake lacked flavor. The crab cake did have the perfect texture and ample salad to accompany it. Drinks: good flavor, limited options, mainly beer. I liked the agave margarita and pain killuh. We ordered drinks at the outdoor bar while waiting for our table. The bartender was efficient. Prices: reasonable prices for a seafood restaurant in OBX, but with lots of upcharges. Most of the upcharges are listed on the menu. Some we did not realize until paying the check. For instance, one member of our party is gluten free. Fish heads only has a couple gluten free items and use flour tortillas for the tacos. Therefore, we ordered the tacos over rice, blackened, and with guacamole. The upcharges for blackened and guacamole were expected. Then the rice was $2 (even though it replaced the tortillas). Plus remoulade sauce was an extra charge. One of our party didn't receive the toppings that originally came with the item, but was charged extra for asking for remoulade sauce. Location: excellent, you dine right on the pier with beautiful views of the ocean. Plan to bring sunscreen or cover up since you may be seated in the sun. Also some of the benches open up to the water so made sure phones, purses, and other items are secure. Service: okay, they are usually busy so you may need to ask for water refills and forgotten items. Our waitress was nice and our food came out quickly. Parking: deep, thin parking lot located in front of the restaurant. This lot fills up quickly and is challenging to turn around in. Public beach access parking lot adjacent is also usually full. Street parking is available nearby.

    Fish tacos

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    23 hours ago

    Great food, nice staff, amazing view and live music. Lots of tables all the way out on the pier. Overall we will come again.

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    2 months ago

    Amazing food and service! Great prices! Can't recommend this place enough!! Perfect for a beach day!

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    2 months ago

    The service was great, we went during their happy hour shrimp which is 4pm-6pm. The shrimp was well flavored and cooked very well!

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    Page 1 of 15

    Ask the Community - Fish Heads Bar and Grill

    Is this a good spot to watch college football?

    There are TV's to be able to watch sports but if it's busy and you don't get seated by the bar it would be hard to see the tv's.

    Do you need reservations during July?

    No reservations available FCFS

    Do they make conch salad?

    No. I didn't see this on the menu.

    Are well behaved dogs allowed on the pier during March?

    No doggies.

    View All 5 Questions

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    Miller's Waterfront Restaurant

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    Excellent food and great service in a casual atmosphere and great views of the sunset…read more Be aware that they do not take reservations but they have a bar area and a deck in the nice weather where you can wait. The menu has a good amount of variety and everything was fresh and prepared just as we ordered. Our server Morgan was very friendly and took great care of us. The Oregon inlet tuna was excellent blackened and prepared perfectly medium. My wife had the Trawl Boat combo and everything was great but, everything was swimming in butter. The shrimp and scallops are locally sourced. A little less butter and the dish would have been better. The special blackberry bourbon bread pudding with vanilla ice cream was killer. So delicious. Can't wait to go back. Oh and get the hush puppies!!

    I was so excited to try Miller's Waterfront Restaurant after reading such positive reviews. As it…read moreturns out after many trip to OBX, this is one of the worst restaurants I've experienced. My wife and I brought family from Europe thinking that we would have delicious NC seafood. Instead we had food that was only ok in taste and portions that were laughable. When the server handed my wife a 1/4 glass of wine, I laughed out loud. My $32 dollar dish looked like an appetizer and was less filling. We were 4 pretty small adults who all left hungry after spending more than $125 for our meal. The food was not the only issue. The place feels more like a cafeteria. The service was also terrible. Our waiter had a pretty nasty attitude and either was having a bad day or just hated his job. My advice? Go for the view. Standing outside during sundown was spectacular. Then get in your car and eat somewhere else.

    Photos
    Downstairs bar
    Downstairs bar
    Coconut Shrimp
    Coconut Shrimp
    Outside seating

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    Outside seating
    Blue Moon Beach Grill

    Blue Moon Beach Grill

    4.5
    (1.8k reviews)
    4.8 mi
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    Lunch on Wednesday and it was crowded! We waited and it was worth the wait…read more Grilled chicken Caesar - light and really tasty with bacon and onions. Hubs had the burger and demolished it.

    It seems like a normal thing for some of these places, I don't know if it's the rush or amount of…read morepeople trying to eat but the hostess lady was so rude to our group. I went in to get the reservation (expecting a long wait due to the crowd) she told me it was an hour and a half. We were totally fine with that, they have a great area to wait in the rear with corn hole, chairs, and a bar. But she made sure to tell me several times about the wait and asked me multiple times if I really wanted to wait that long. It felt like I was being pushed into not dining there. The wait ended up being a little over an hour. We got seated outside and it was beautiful and not too hot. Now let's get to the food. Our group ordered the buffalo shrimp as an appetizer and it was phenomenal!! We got the crab cake dinner, crab cakes sandwiches, and fish and chips for the entrees. They were all delicious as well. Our waitress was super nice to us and made sure we had a great time. So to end it, the food, waitress, and building/grounds was excellent and highly recommend (5/5 stars). The angry hostess that seemed like she didn't want anyone dining there because the wait time somehow bothered her, would not recommend (0/5 stars).

    Photos
    Inside bar..
    Inside bar..
    Cheesesteak sandwich
    Cheesesteak sandwich
    In house hot sauce

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    In house hot sauce

    Fish Heads Bar and Grill - tradamerican - Updated August 2026

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