Come for the oysters and beer. The oysters were very clean and big. The craft beer selection is good. I ordered the taco salad with chicken and it was too salty. The atmosphere was decent. The service was okay, read more

Arrived at 8:50 on Tuesday. Website said Fishbones closed at 10pm. Wasn't allowed in. Host told us manager doesn't update website and closed restaurant at 9pm. WTH!!! read more

We went for a quick lunch and was so delighted to have had such excellent service and excellent food! On a Monday no less! Our server, Amerikan, was extremely attentive, polite, and efficient! Looking forward to returning to this place to try out more items on the menu! read more

Stopped in for lunch on a Friday afternoon. Our group of 3 sat at the bar, and we were surprised by the slow service with only 1 other group in the restaurant. Cocktails were just OK. Not well balanced and overly sugary. The real problem was with the food. I ordered the soft shelled crab sandwich special. Once ordered, it took around 30 minutes for our group to get our meals. I took 1 bite of the sandwich and noticed an off flavor, so I dissected the sandwich and found that they hadn't at all cleaned the crab. The face, gills and apron were all intact. Made me think that they don't properly know how to handle seafood (which is really concerning for a raw bar). This suspicion was confirmed when the bartender later opened the "steamer refrigerator" to prepare shrimp for steaming. I could smell the rancid, raw shrimp 20 ft away. As icing on the cake I used the bathroom on the way out and found the soap dispenser for the men's bathroom lying on the floor. You literally had to pick it up off the floor to get soap to wash your hands. Insane! read more

Sunday evening Oct 10th 2021, we enjoyed excellent meals of the Shrimp Dinner, appetizer of fresh house made Bruschetta, wine, Blackened Mahi Mahi, and Key Lime Pie. Everything was Hot, fresh & delicious. Dan was personable, professional , courteous. & provided excellent service. Thank you so very much for an enjoyable dinner & pleasant evening. We will see you mid-June 2022. Regards from Damon & Cindy Gates read more

Place isn't fancy but the food is great! Great place to go and have a good meal. Really enjoyed the oysters and the crab dip read more

Crab legs were REALLY small - $11 for one cluster... as seen in the photo, a "cluster" was smaller than the regular sized shell bowl. Total rip off. The fresh raw oysters were great, and the fried flounder special was good as well - which is what earned the few star rating. Get anything but the crab legs! read more

Fishbones Raw Bar And Restaurant - Crab legs - Seafood Near Me - Duck, North Carolina

Terrible service. Hostess was super rude and told us she would put us on the wait- but we probably wouldn't get a table because they closed at 9. This was my first time at this place and I will NeVER come back. Bartender also super Rude. read more

We are only doing takeout during the pandemic, and the staff here was really friendly and accommodating on the phone. Our food was tasty and ready quickly. We'll be back! read more

This is the perfect place to grab lunch near the duck beach area. The service is super fast and the staff is very friendly. Everything was delicious - especially the grilled shrimp salad. 5/5! Plus if you want to go to the beach after, it's right down the street. read more

To the foh management, service from the server was perfect, establishment was clean and we'll maintained. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of drinking the iced tap water. Aside from the fowl oder coming from the water; I didn't notice it until after I took a gulp. I immediately threw up. When the foh manager found out about my situation, she was not empathetic towards me. instead, she turned around and walked away. (No follow up from manager) I came to spend time with my family. Instead I'll be feeling sick for the rest of the day. read more

Service was exceptional and the food was also excellent! The crab dip comes with the worlds best pita chips! The mahi mahi blt and the blackened tuna sandwich were tasty as well :) read more

My wife and I are on vacation in Duck North Carolina. Yesterday was Valentines Day and we wanted to go out to dinner. Like most vacationer's we went on line to check out the 10 best restaurants...we narrowed it down and decided to take a ride to find what we hoped would be a nice dinner and evening. One place we went seemed nice but, the were only offering a chefs board with much too much food and many items we were not looking for and it was $60.00 each. So, out the door we we went. Across the street was Fishbones. We went I and we were the only one's there?!. We ordered a drink and a valentines toast. Our waitress was very sweet and attentive. We ordered calamari which was delicious. We had fish n chips and fish tacos both were excellent. The chef came out to check to see how we liked our dinner which, was a pleasant surprise. We talked a bit and found out she attended the culinary arts institute. I highly recommend this restaurant for vacationers and locals alike. We will return on our next trip. read more

There are many places to eat in Duck but Fishbones is well worth a visit or two. The menu is typical of beach food ; seafood, sandwiches etc. But Fishbones is in a category of its own. They take typical food and elevate it to a whole new experience. Vegetables are transformed by addition of herbs and garlic, for example. Scallops were delicately breaded and fried without being greasy. The coconut shrimp were similarly prepared, basically: perfect. Conch chowder was simply amazing. One of the best parts of dining at Fishbones is the staff. Jess and Lindsay waited on us with warm, friendly, attentive service. Doug, the bartender , knows everyone, is quick to engage guests in conversation. There is a difference between service and hospiy. Fishbones exemplifies both. Please go once, you'll be a fan for life! read more

So good!! We got the buffalo wings as an appetizer. They were crispy and delicious. Best wings I've had so far in Duck. Then I had the blackened mahi-mahi sandwich with pasta salad. The fish was so fresh and the pasta salad was pretty good too. Although it could have definitely used some spice. For dessert we had a key lime pie. Everything was great and not expensive at all! read more

Fishbones Raw Bar And Restaurant - Mahi sandwich and pasta salad - Seafood Near Me - Duck, North Carolina

Hilarious this place still is in business. The staff is absolutely horrid, dirty dirty shirts and aprons, plates, silverware and tables were all nasty and sticky. We are in once and had to go once both failures. The kitchen can be seen from several areas of the restaurant and yuck what we saw. A dirty lady cooking and trash everywhere. Bartender was rude and maybe too old to handle the crowd. Take out another disaster. Order was wrong, no sauces, no flatware and the lady literally asked for a tip from us. Staff is really rode hard, not a clean looking bunch. Oysters were warm!! Warm oysters at a raw bar, wow. Bathroom is FILTHY. This entire place needs a major overhaul and staff that doesn't look like prison escapees. AVOID read more

Decided on this place because of close proximity to our timeshare. So glad we did! Our server, Doug, greeted us right as we came in the door and was just the right kind of attentive and helpful! Tried the "Somm kind of Titanic" specialty drink. Love at first sip! Dinner was amazing! We had the Backfin crab dip, wedge salad, steamed oysters & the Blackened Redfish Enchilada! Nice, fun atmosphere! Definitely will be back! read more

See all

We come to this restaurant for a few reasons - it is close to our rental, it's much better than it's counterpart (the Sunset Grille), and it has some of the cheapest crab legs around. We never have to wait very long, and if there is a wait you are able to walk around the shops and your name is called over the loud speaker when it's ready. It can get pretty busy and seating is limited, but we always eat here for lunch and it's great. We always get the crab legs. They're always delicious. Their fries are good and I have also had their hamburger which was also surprisingly good. The ceasar salad is huge - I was impressed. Friendly staff, good food, good prices, great location. read more

Fishbones Raw Bar And Restaurant - Crab legs - Seafood Near Me - Duck, North Carolina

Loved visiting Fishbones this past weekend! The Martini's were wonderful. My wife and I enjoyed conversation with the friendly bartender. The peal and eat shrimp was fantastic as well as the raw oysters! We also enjoyed Wedge salads. read more

See all

Service was super friendly and accommodating, the beer was cold and the cocktails were delicious. The Ahi Nachos came with a generous portion of tuna and they added extra wings to my daughter's order since they ran out of her 1st entree choice. The shrimp and grits were also very good. The shrimp were plentiful and I'm no expert on grits, but these were the best I've had yet. Buttery and delicious. I'd come back with no reservations. read more

My friends and I came here for dinner while visiting OBX for spring break. It was very busy and they were obviously short staffed. From the second we sat down, our waitress Jess took SUCH great care of us!!! She went above and beyond to make sure we had what we needed even though she was juggling a ton of tables both inside and outside. We enjoyed the great view, drinks, apps, and our meal. Jess is the best!!! read more

Great local spot. Excellent service by Amerika and yummy food. Best clam chowder ever!

Great food! Service was good, our waitress was sweet and definitely trying her best to bring out the food quicker which I appreciate! It's hard since she seems like 1 out of 2 waitresses working during this pandemic but she did a great job. I would recommend! read more

We went to Fishbones because it was the only decent looking place in the shopping center. Nonsandwich or pizza wize. I ordered the scallops cause they have to be fresh across the street from the ocean. Right? Anyway, my husband got upset since all I would say to him were yummy noises. Didn't even offer him a bite of bread. Normally he gets it all. I've been looking for a recipe since getting home. Wonder if they deliver to Charlotte area? read more

Fishbones Raw Bar And Restaurant - best Scallops I've ever had. - Seafood Near Me - Duck, North Carolina

Average to below average. Their fries were really good, the ahí tuna sandwich was amazing, the calamari was terrible (not fried all the way), and the coleslaw tasted really bad. The fried shrimp was good. The AC was freeing and the light wasn't the best inside. Great service though. read more

Quite possibly the most horrendous dining experience ever at the outer banks. My family and I have been traveling to the OBX for 17 years now, and this restaurant is one of worst. I ordered a burger medium, only to have it cooked well done with a leathery consistency like a shoe. The bread to meat ratio was terrible, as the burger was more than 2/3 bread. The meat tasted like dirt. Let's move on to the watered down soda. The soda tasted disgusting, and I wouldn't serve it in a prison. The waiter had no expression, and the service was very slow. My overall experience is extremely unsatisfactory. -1/10. I will be on Facebook to warn others! read more

We stopped at Fishbones while we were out shopping during our vacation. The best part of our lunch was the crab-filled mushrooms appetizer (called "Surf & Earth"). The conch chowder was okay. The Gouda pork belly burger and the mahi BLT were good. But the mushrooms appetizer was really great! The service was good, too! read more

Stopped here for lunch and had Jess serve us. She was delightful and so was the food. We will definitely be back. We had the crab dip with pita points that were fresh and delicious. We also tried the truffle fries per our amazing server's recommendation and they were so so good sports were on and there was a great vibe. They had Orange Ave Wit from Coronado Brewing that is one of my California faves so that was nice to see. I opted for the hoppyum IPA which never disappoints. read more

We went to Fishbones after a day of shopping in Duck. We were seated at the bar after the delightful hostess / server directed us there. Upon being seated, a total smug and uninterested bartender / steam thing operator put down two menus in front of us and then proceeded to ignore us for literally 16-18 minutes. We finally just got up and walked out as clearly we had become invisible. We are REALLY good tippers and were looking forward to Fishbones after seeing the menu online. Just wish they had better staffing at the bar. Again the two girls we talked to in the dining room / hostess stand were super polite. Bartender was a total disappointment. Adios. read more

The food was excellent! Highly recommend the crab cake sandwich! Super fresh crab with the perfectly paired sauce. Take out was ready very quickly. Friendly staff. Would definitely go back! read more

Stopped first time yesterday for lunch. They nailed everything! Service, cocktails, food, cleanliness, atmosphere. All the staff was extremely friendly and helpful. Catfish and fried oysters were outstanding. The chef clearly has high standards and knows her food stuff. I have 40+ years in food biz and my expectations are extremely high. They exceeded all around! read more

Definitely call ahead before eating here! We were really hoping for a nice dinner but there was a 2-hour wait for a table for 2. The server decided to seat us anyways but we were seated between 2 families and it was extremely tight and awkward. I would have rather gotten a "come back later" than that experience. We basically were connected to one families table, with a super small table; no room at all. We ended up leaving before we ordered. All in all, definitely call ahead don't just show up! read more

Our server Jess was fantastic tonight! It was a busy night at Fishbones but she was still very attentive! our food was great and the view was super! Thank you Jess! read more

Arrived at 3:15 and it took almost 10 minutes to get seated with open tables. Hostess was no where to be found and servers and management would not seat us Our server took our order and the next tables order at the the same time even though we were seated first. A no no in the rest bus. Oh well, won't be back!! read more

Okay.....look folks....your at the beach....that does not mean your getting haute cuisine, nor should you expect it.....in fact, you should expect 'island time' and just good basic eats. We went there on a wed evening for dinner. Our waiter was a guy named Ken (who by the way was awesome and totally should be running his own joint...he knows what is what). So five stars for Ken! Ambience...beach pub...enough said....relaxed...not many tables. Food...okay let's start with the local raw oysters ....ordered a dozen and was given 13-14.....and they were AMAZING...sweet, just a hint of salty....just fabulously fresh! Beer, drinks...good Tuna Avocado.....so I ordered it as rare as possible and it was medium well....and was not really seasoned....plus barely 1/8 of an avocado...seriously? Here is where I gotta knock down to three stars....I have NO IDEA who taught these folks to make roasted Brussel sprouts ...but whoever did needs to give up cooking forever...because they were AWFUL. Roasted brussel sprouts are about as difficult to make as toast....pretty hard to screw them up...but my God, these were awful. Tasted like someone boiled them first, then half -a$$ed put them in a broiler for 30 seconds, then marinated them for 24 hours in balsamic vinegar....they were the soggiest, over cooked things I have ever put in my mouth.....truly horrid....perhaps the cook marinated them in the sound? So if you want a bar with raw oysters and good beer, go here......other than that, beat feet down the road.....and Ken, you are too good for that place bro! Go open yourself a new place...you can do it! read more

Called to order dinner for pick-up/take-out and I was told they were not doing take-out or delivery. What? Isn't there a pandemic going on? Ridiculous! read more

Called from the parking lot to see how long of a wait and was told 5-10 mins if I came right then. We walked in right away and was ignored for about 10 minutes then told it was 1-1.5 hours wait. Avoid since it's an overpriced dump anyways!!!! read more

We visited this restaurant twice in fall 2021 and once in April 2022. The quality of both the food and service is inconsistent. When the food is served hot and fresh, it is good; but, sometimes the food is only lukewarm. Although the service is never great, it is sometimes worse in that much of the staff has a 'don't care/take it or leave it attitude.' read more

So my pasta came out as SOUP. I spent $20 on this "pasta" and only got 2 shrimps. The chicken has been soaking in this strange pasta-sauce-soup and tastes like chicken noodle soup chicken. Who makes pasta into soup? Wish the waitress told me this wasn't normal pasta before I spent $20 on this. The chicken isn't seasoned at all; just plain chicken tossed in broth. I also just found a fly on one of the napkins. Yuck. read more

Fishbones Raw Bar And Restaurant - after I ate - seriously, why is this pasta soup??? - Seafood Near Me - Duck, North Carolina

So many levels of wrong! This was a horrible experience! The service was not great. I asked for a soup and had to remind the waitress multiple times to bring the soup. The crab cakes were frozen not fresh! It's giving morning star! The worst part was the chef/I think the manager would not validate/adamantly denied a substitution for fries (I mean it was only fries) after I ordered a pasta salad that I didn't not enjoy after one bite. I'm an African American women and the worst part is a white lady next to me asked for her shrimp to be substituted with another shrimp option and it was substituted with no problems, so I believe it was rooted in racism. If you are looking for seafood runway! Will never go again! read more