Overpriced food that's mediocre for the price. The service was exceptional though and we appreciated her attention to us!

The multiple reviews citing poor service are right! We are staying at the hotel. The website for the restaurant states they are open until 10pm, but when I called to get takeout (COVID tines) they said they close at 9pm. A different day we tried calling for a breakfast takeout order for 30 minutes in the middle of breakfast hours. After several calls, no one answered and the phone just cut off. read more

Absolutely couldn't have asked for better management & table service. Food was on par to the level expected for a resort style dining experience. Simple but so diverse with it's menu options. We challenged them with a seventeen party last minute reservation to celebrate our special rehearsal dinner night. Within a couple of Hours. The Management team & staff adjusted to accommodate. They had us seated outside but with the unpredictable weather made the last second change to seat in the upstairs private dinning area. This plan was put in motion within a matter of minutes and we were all seated within about 30 mins. My only complaint was the attitude of the bar service which didn't adjust to the large party & the last min seating change. Overall my wife & I walk away blown away by the kindness shown to us particularly by upper management. We couldn't thank them enough for making this a special night. Highly recommend you stop by and visit these folks they will not disappoint. read more

I ate here pre covid and everyone I was with enjoyed their dinner. To start it's super convenient to head here if you are staying at the Sanderling. It's nice to have a solid option right on site and not have to deal with driving anywhere. We all went with the fresh catch of the day which was rockfish. The fish itself was seasoned and cooked perfectly. It was served on a huge salad. The salad was tasty, but I think if they added a carb to the dish it would have been perfect. It was just a lot of lettuce!!! Service was friendly and it was pretty busy in there, but he stayed on top of things. If I were to stay at the Sanderling again would definitely make a dinner reservation here again! read more

Update to original post (3 stars): We were offered a complimentary breakfast to encourage our return to the restaurant. We sadly did not have time for a leisurely breakfast, but we were able to order takeout. The food was very good. The smoked salmon platter was actually amazing. We did appreciate their offering and readily admit their food is very good based on a few meals from previous stays there. The lack of service our first night was terrible but I do hope it was just a result of these crazy days we are all having. I would recommend giving them a try, but maybe have snacks available just in case. Very disappointing (1 star). Staying at the hotel, few restaurants open in the area at our check in around 7pm and they refused to take us even with reservations available.The staff was rude, complaining about how overworked they were - even threatened to quit. We tried to explain that we were in no hurry and that there were no other food options, but to no avail. Front desk staff offered no support - not even sorry you are hungry, how about free breakfast in the morning. read more

We stayed at the resort and had several meals here. They are excellent. Everyone is very attentive and the food was very good. Breakfast was our favorite. read more

Caesar salad says it has WHITE anchovies on the menu. I was excited about this and ordered extra white anchovies with my Caesar salad. They are definitely NOT white anchovies. Got charged for them too. So disappointing. Covid or not there's no excuse for false advertisement. Update your menu chef, and please educate your team If certain items aren't available. read more

Had 2 amazing Chai old fashions here, and the service was incredibly friendly. And then we had dinner - There's a lot of potential, but two major problems: 1) The serving sizes are minuscule. I've eaten at nice restaurants with amazing food, this is not _that_ good that you charge $30 for a single chicken cutlet that barely saw the underside of a salt shaker. 2) We ordered a Mac and cheese. For $12, it was Kraft noodles made with margarine. I know it's the off season, but this was what I would expect from a really good (and significantly less expensive) Chili's. The Tavern Pub & Grill just down the road had amazing food that we would have expected here, and also significantly less expensive. read more

We came for breakfast with a large group in August so called ahead to ensure they could fit our group of 12. They could and we were seated right away when we arrived. The restaurant being mostly empty on a Tuesday morning at 9 AM in a busy beach town during high season should have been a clue of the service we would receive. Service was slow, extremely slow. It took 20+ minutes to get our beverages and they came in waves so some had drinks while others had to wait another 10 minutes for theirs. They never refilled our water glasses. We finally got our food over an hour after ordering and nearly every dish was cooked incorrectly. It's standard breakfast fare, eggs, bacon, pancakes, grits, etc. Eggs ordered over easy had very very runny whites. Poached eggs were cooked completely solid so they were hard and rubbery. One member of our party had an orange slice garnish on her plate that had clearly been crushed and used to squeeze juice on another plate before being reused as a garnish on her plate. We mentioned this to the server and she took the orange slice to the kitchen. The server returned and said that the kitchen would give her a free smoothie as an apology... no one at our table had ordered a smoothie at any point and this person was drinking coffee. She was not interested in a smoothie but said she guessed she would take an orange banana one. The server returned with some kind of dark purple berry smoothie... not anything that she ordered. The dishes that were cooked accurately were rated as just okay and not worth the price. I am giving it 2 stars because though the food/drinks/service were very disappointing, they could accommodate our group. The view from the upstairs of the restaurant was beautiful and the interior is decorated well are the only reason they get any stars. read more

Lifesaving Station - Runny whites on my eggs - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Duck, North Carolina

See all

Stopped here for lunch on Easter Sunday, unaware it was part of the resort next door. Gorgeous little colonial-style place that wasn't crowded and had very decent service and excellent food. Pretty expensive, even for OBX, but the food wasn't bad. read more

Lifesaving Station - NC Lump Crab Cake, Sanderling Blue Crab and Corn Chowder - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Duck, North Carolina

This review practically wrote itself.. If this is the best the Sanderling Resort/ The Lifesaving Station can do then they have a serious problem. Let's start with the fact that we had to wait to be seated, despite having a reservation. What is the point of making a res if you still have to wait?! And don't get me started on the service. We waited an HOUR AND A HALF to get our food. I repeat: AN HOUR AND A HALF! At that point, it didn't matter how good it may or may not have been.. we're starving and we're pissed. Oh, and if that wasn't bad enough, one of their patrons insisted upon having an entire telephone conversation ON SPEAKER, in the dining room. How rude can you be??? Why did none of the staff ask him to step outside? Why did my uncle have to speak up? Is this what we're paying for?? YIKES! Do better. Much better. SAVE YOUR MONEY! read more

See all

Beautiful restaurant in an old lifesaving station. The food was amazing. We had a party of 10 and everyone had different entries. Our server seemed rushed and made some errors but we got everything within 10 minutes of each other. I loved the specialty drinks. Had a good n drink with elderflower. Yum. My brother had some drink with a pecan bourbon also amazing. Be advised there no elevator. Someone in our party had a hard time with the stairs. The views of the sound were lovely and gives the diners a beautiful sunset view over the sound. read more

See all

Went here for breakfast. Service was verrrrrrry slow. Waited for 50+ mins for food without much attentiveness by the wait staff. When food came out half of it was cold and others weren't cooked to specifications (eggs easy vs hard). Took another 10 mins to talk to the manager. Then we got lots excuses about why it took so long... two large groups (which we didn't see) understaffed (plenty of wait staff, so perhaps she meant cooks?) and apparently pancakes take way longer to cook than eggs. Was told to get the hotel continental breakfast if we're in a hurry next time. I asked, "What's a hurry?" (wanted to know how long they expect people to wait on average for food). She said, "Just go." We did. read more

Went for breakfast. Sat outside. Had to open my Own umbrella, and get up to find sugar for the coffee. 25 min wait for food, server no where to be found need ketchup. Eggs over cooked still no server. Food was ok read more

Large portions and perfectly cooked fluffy pancakes with a little crisp along the edges. Everyone enjoyed their breakfasts. Clean and great service. read more

Way over priced for the food. The service was barely available. We weren't even asked how our food was until we were practically done. I wouldn't recommend for breakfast at all. Coffee also came out cold! read more

Food was great. Just not that much of a selection .. also it wasn't busy at all and the waitress got my salad wrong ... but it was fineeee... read more

Seriously difficult to get food here. Highly advise going to a grocery store instead. 1hr from the time we sat down until food was delivered. Not because of effort from the front line staff, seems mismanaged is the problem. Forget about all entrees are $50 plus. read more

Was greeted by a manager at the door.... Seated shortly after. We were one of two tables sat no one else in the restaurant. Not one server came up to us in 15 mins. There were 5 servers on the floor making eye contact and no one thought to bring us water. I go up to a server "excuse me, do we have a server?" To response "I'm so sorry I will get them for you" wait another 5 mins....workers making eye contact....no one coming over. Finally someone approaches us "do you have a server?", "no we do not" and they all just are talking amongst each other and not one effort to come over for a drink after about 20-25 mins. We left...manager at the door gave an insincere apology and didn't offer to rectify. Again.... WE WERE two people and one of two tables in the restaurant and about 5 workers made eye contact with us. Will never be back. read more

Kid Hamburger had no taste- they should not be selling that type of meat. Tuna and scallops were decent read more

We were greeted warmly and were seated right away. Our waiter, Travis, said he'd be right with us. We don't drink and got water. He came with bread and to take our order. I asked about ingredients of a dish and he said he'd ask the chef. He then took another tables order, brought them water, bread, something from the bar, then popped back over and said the same thing he said about the dish when he left. Not a good start. I had Rockfish with asparagus, butternut squash and sun-dried tomatoes. The Rock fish was very small on top of a lot of butternut squash mash, sundried tomato's, and asparagus stacked & covered with arugula. I would not do it again. The Rock fish was great, but small ($34) and the other things I did not like all mixed together. The side of Mac n cheese was good, but came after dinner. I think he forgot to order it or something with the kitchen. My husband had the fried chicken, biscuits, potato's with goat cheese and okra. He loved it. He also had the keylime tart. He was over the moon happy. read more

Lifesaving Station - Rockfish - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Duck, North Carolina

See all

Dined here several times while staying at the sanderling. It is a bit expensive but everything we ate was delicious. The crab cake Benedict is amaaazing, I got it twice. The best hollandaise sauce I think I've ever had. The home fries were nice and crispy. For dinner I had the scallops which were perfectly cooked. They served delicious warm bread and butter. Service was excellent. read more

Lifesaving Station - Delicious crab cake Benedict with a tangy mustardy hollandaise - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Duck, North Carolina

This place should have great service .. sadly I think they are suffering From lack of work force.. took way too long to get a server to pay attention and then drinks.. etc. Once we got food, the food was good! read more

Nice, upscale place in Duck for a good meal. Had the Caesar salad which was tossed with just enough dressing and came with anchovies. The short ribs were really good, melt-in-your-mouth tender and comes with a great sauce over mashed potatoes and vegetables. For dessert, we shared the key lime tart; was just OK (crust not that great). Service was prompt and on-point; would come back again. read more

Been coming here for years, and it's good. The strictness of the breakfast-lunch menu timing is a problem though that would be easily solved by having a *brunch* menu. No one wants to eat lunch in a Saturday at 11:30am at a resort. Someone has clearly yelled (looking at you, chef) at the wait staff about this as they were quite adamant about it to the point of being fearful. read more

Wonderful, caring staff members (Courtney!), and delicious food, including NY Strip Streak, shrimp scampi special (absolutely delish), scallops, and other well prepared hot mains. read more

This was a nice place to have breakfast. Our waitress Lisa was very nice and friendly and we appreciated that. The prices were reasonable I had fruit yogurt and granola and it hit the spot. My husband had an omelette with shrimp and he said it was quite good. The coffee is on the strong side so be prepared. I would definitely recommend for breakfast. read more

Waited at the hostess station for 10 minutes. Initially several servers walked back and forth without even looking in our direction. One finally stopped and said she had to find get her manager for us. Several came and went again without any acknowledgment. A gentleman from the kitchen said someone would be with us shortly. No one ever came. We walked out. read more

On a Friday evening we came here for dinner, as a couple. We were quickly greeted and seated in a beautifully decorated dining room. The sun light coming in really does a nice job of lighting up the vibrant blue and white colors on the shiplap walls and the beautiful American flag hanging above the fire place. The menu has a nice assortment of uniquely-prepared entrées and salads. They also have a decent wine list. We have mixed reviews when it comes to the food we ordered: - Shrimp Cocktail came to the table within a few minutes of us ordering it and it appeared to all be the exact same temperature, telling us it came from a cooler after being pre-prepared and the shrimp definitely tasted that way. Rather than being fresh, the shrimp tasted rubbery and flavorless. Actually, the sauce tasted nice and it was the only flavor we could taste when eating the shrimp, lobster or crab that came with this cocktail. We were pretty disappointed in it. - Local Greens Salad with lemon sorbet and balsamic drizzle was pretty fresh and enjoyable. - Blue Crab and Corn Chowder was really good. It had a nice flavor from the smoke imparted by meat cooked in it. - Prosciutto Crusted Pork Loin was very nicely prepared and loaded with flavor. - Braised Short Ribs were very filling and tasty. Mirepoix added a very nice touch. We enjoyed the majority of our food, but were not happy at all with the timing of the meal. It all came at a very fast pace, not giving us time to relax and enjoy the bottle of wine we ordered. At the end of the meal, we ordered a couple more glasses of wine (as we finished the bottle) and the bill came soon after we given these glasses of wine. Again, poor timing and it resulted in us feeling rushed throughout, which didn't make sense, as we went during off-season and the restaurant was not busy on this particular evening. Not sure if service is always like this or if the server needs better training, but with other options close-by, which we enjoyed more, we'll probably go elsewhere next time. read more

See all

I came here with my family for dinner after shopping downtown. Wow the food is fancy and pricey I was worried that I might not like it. But as soon as our order came out, my jaw dropped. Oh my gosh, the presentation is just outstanding! So good!!! We all shared and tasted our food and we were delighted with the very flavorful seafood. I tried the filet and shrimp with crabmeat. So so delish and too pretty to eat! This is our new favorite restaurant in Duck for sure! I can't get over it! read more

See all

Colleen! Yes, I was on a first name basis with the woman at the front of this restaurant. My wife and I stayed at the sanderling for a couple days and we're just feeling really lazy to go anywhere else for breakfast a couple mornings. The life saving station was literally 25ft away from the door step of our building. The breakfast food at this place was amazing! My personal favorite had to have been the duck hash. The country fries were also delicious! Colleen got to know me because I wasn't too lazy enough to walk down there and get our food myself. She was a very gracious hostess and accommodated us without hesitation. My only gripe was that every once in a while when I called, no one would answer. But I understand because they're on a skeleton staff during the off-season. We hope to be back to the sanderling resort some day and will most definitely get food from this place again. read more

Food was excellent. Wonderful fireplace in main dinning room. Request a table beside on a cool day. I had the duck. Medium rare as recommended. Scary because I have had it underdone places before. It was perfect here. Calamari good (light). Truffle fries great excellent brussel sproughts Good drink and bottled beers. Rockfish good. Scallops great. Kids meals were all good. Great big grilled cheese. Son didn't like that popcorn shrimp was not feud but gave grilled shrimp. Would come back to excellent restaurant. Pricier probably than some other palaces around though. read more

We went this restaurant because we were looking for a nice "date night" place. We made reservations and saw that they had a deck with tables. We asked to sit outside and they said they do not do outdoor seating. Not sure why. Our waiter was very nice and attentive. The place was practically empty though...only four other small groups were near us. I got the pork and my fiance got the braised short ribs. I thought the pork was delicious! Lots of flavors. My fiance also enjoyed his short ribs. The plates were small....we ate everything and weren't stuffed, but satisfied. I'm giving it 3 stars overall because I did think, even though everything was delicious, it was overpriced for what you got. It was also a bit awkward in the restaurant. Little talking and there was no music for half our meal...then it turned on. Wouldn't recommend for children. read more

Lifesaving Station - Pork with prosciutto, polenta and peppers - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Duck, North Carolina

See all

Delicious dinner. Caesar salad, and the appetizer crab cake was so good - no filler, just a great crab cake! The crab soup was flavorful and not too thick. We wanted to try dessert but we were too full. Our only negative was the loud large group in the upstairs dining area... we should have moved to another table. Other than that everything was great and our server, Tony, was friendly and attentive. Would definitely recommend this place. read more

Lifesaving Station - Crab cake with thinly sliced apple! Very good. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Duck, North Carolina

First time in this restaurant. The restaurant is extremely cool all the artifacts on the walls are really cool especially the beer tap at the bar. The bartender was awesome. She recommended few drinks and they were delicious. Dinner itself was good but over priced for what it is... i guess you are paying for the enviroment. I do recommend this place but i do not recommend if you have small kids. Simply bc of the food prices...i got the fried chicken with biscuit but i should of went for the lamb meal instead. Wife got the shrimp and grits which looked and smelled delicious but it had an oddly sweet taste but the bread before the meal was ooohhhh sooo good. :) read more

See all

We had the crab hush puppies for an app. Very good. Wished they'd come with some sort of dipping sauce. Dinner was fried chicken, mashed potatoes and carrots for dinner. Good also. A bit pricey though. read more

Nice place but as with all the other restaurants at the beach they are so short on staff that the service is not what it should be for an upscale establishment. The waitress was sure to tell us at the outset that she was the only server working. We have eaten here in years past and enjoyed it but tonite was a disappointment. The filet I had was excellent but the broccolini was so salty that I poured my water on it in order to eat it. The meal was to come with potatoes but we were informed when the meal was served that their fine dining restaurant had taken all their potatoes. ?? Just what I want to hear. Just not a good experience overall tonite. read more

Went last night and we had the crab soup, scallops and mushroom ravioli. The soup and scallops were very good, but the mushroom ravioli was too salty and inedible; we could not finish the ravioli. The place was pleasant, but the menu seemed a little pricey for the quality of the food. read more

Disappointing and S-L-O-W. Appetizers arrived in a timely manner; terrific mussels and rich crab and corn chowder, but our main entrees (2 rockfish, a tuna, a filet mignon, kids chicken tenders, and a massive PB & J) took an hour and 15 minutes to arrive (strike 1). Annoying when tables who've ordered after you get served before you, you know!?! Anyhoo, tuna and filet are tasty but both orders of rockfish, each with 2 pieces, has one piece that tastes fishy (aka not fresh, as though they've been around too long); probably from the same fish and both husband and MIL got a piece of it (strike 2). Here's another point where the restaurant fails; they tell our server and all he says is "Oh, that's strange." He doesn't offer to take the foul ones away and bring fresh ones; his tone is more like "What do you want me to do about it?" (strike 3). So husband requests that he take the foul ones and bring fresh ones. Server proceeds to reach for both husband and MILs plates, husband requests that just the foul filets go, so they can start eating with the rest of us, server looks at us as though we're trying to pull a fast one or something. 20 minutes later; we're all done eating, rockfish arrives. They end up boxing it up, per our request. Perhaps our server thought we were concocting a grievance to have the orders comped, not so, we expected LS to just replace the foul pieces and apologize (and to have brought the replacement fish in a more timely manner). We're usually in and out from any restaurant in about an hour and 15 minutes. This meal was 2 hours long and not because we were enjoying a leisurely meal. This dinner was a celebratory birthday dinner for my twins and LS struck out. Oh, with tip the total was over $225. The Lifesaving Station could be a 4 star restaurant if not for the slow service and poor handling of the fish issue. 5 Star if they also upped the quality of their fish from acceptable to exceptional and became more adventurous with their menu. Also, host and our server, I don't buy that the fan speed can't be adjusted since it's on the same switch as the lights (every woman, literally, and several men were wearing either a sweater or their jacket in our section due to the chilly downdraft from the fans). I've been dining here for the past 30 years and every year we visit LS less and less. read more

Lifesaving Station - Last year's renovation brought The Sanderling's Life Saving Station up to date; unfortunately the food and service isn't up to par. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Duck, North Carolina

**Fast forward a day and a half and we discovered that despite tendering 3 credit cards and receiving 3 credit card slips that were filled out that only 2 cards were run. The restaurant's solution - tack another 1/6 of the bill on to each of the credit cards despite having no authorization to do so. The manager alleged this was done so someone would call and resolve the issue. To me it's credit card fraud. Very shady. The manager says the amounts will be corrected Monday; I'm hoping she's more competent than the other people we have interacted with at this restaurant. The food was hit or miss; the calamari was awful but the goat cheese hushpuppies were good. The chips were overloaded with old bay and the crab cake was fried in oil that seemed like it needed to be changed. Service was slow, forgetful, and barely competent. The space was attractive and airy but warmer than ideal and the ceiling fans that dotted the ceiling were covered in cobwebs such that even if the waitress knew how to turn them on the dirt and grime that would come off them would have been worse than the stagnant warm air. read more