We had an excellent meal and service at Rusty Hooks last week (2x). Zach was our server and did a great job with our family in providing a pleasant dinner. We look forward to visiting again next year. The crab soup and crab dip is the best ! Thank you to all. read more

The steamed clams were AMAZING. my friend got the crab cakes and she said they were very good as well. The view and atmosphere are great and service was super quick. Our server Rachel S was super friendly and personable as well! I would recommend this place to anyone in the area. read more

Very tasty! Staff was attentive and food tasted great. The Bloody Mary was a great size

Having heard rumors about how great this place is and the "crab cake to kill for" we were definitely disappointed. $33.95 for a two inch square, average tasting crab cake made us wonder if it came from Ruth Chris. Aside from that we were told it came with two sides....until the bill came. They tried charging us $6.00 more for the side salad and rice pilaf. Enough is enough and after I complained they reduced the bill by that amount. The one saving grace is that for those who care about the sanitation rating of restaurants they frequent, they achieved a 100 score. Kudos for that but for the most part prices are extraordinarily high for the so-so ambience and decor. $19.00 for a hamburger? $25.00 for fish & chips? $18.00 chicken tender meal. Sorry but we'll dine elsewhere in the future. read more

I had lunch on a Saturday at around 1:30pm. I had the blackened mahi-mahi tacos and they were probably the best fish tacos I have ever had. They were among the best for sure. I had the Land Shark draft beer and it went great with the tacos. They had a good selection of draft beers and other adult beverages. My wife had the fresh fish of the day which was flounder and she really liked it. The final bwas very reasonable also. We will be back. FYI -They do not open until 11:30am and not 11am as indicated on Yelp. read more

Currently here waiting on food at 9:45pm with a 6 year old when we put our name on the list at 6:45 for a party of five. Sat at the back bar for 2 hours and were Told we couldn't order more than apps. Very frustrating. Food and service were good. Just miserable wait. read more

I was hoping what locals were saying wasn't true. But they were spot on. Food was just ok, but over priced worse than most restaurants around the area. Our server was not very friendly, did her job, but no more. I had the lemon caper salmon, no lemon and not a caper to be found, bed of rice was the same as you get at a Chinese take out. My husband had the fish special. I think it was Mahi Mahi, it was so thin and such a small piece of fish! Not to mention the poor guy was perspiring through the entire meal it was so warm on the porch. The air conditioning wasn't on. We weren't offered any other seating. We're locals, 1st time we've been there and it's crossed off the list. Absolutely no ambiance, unless you call servers, and staff running back and forth ambiance. We were seated before a bunch of people that were there ahead of us because we were only a 2 top, whatever that meant. Don't waste your time and money here. read more

Sat at the bar on a rainy Saturday for lunch. Bartender was everything you want in a bartender;great guy with every customer. Bloody Mary and crab claw app were excellent read more

Just ate here. Was amazing. Good good scenery amazing service excellent can't wait to go back

Let's talk about food- the sign getting here may say "dead end" but the flavors in the Fish Tacos certainly are not . Extra napkins are needed when devouring the old bay wings - and then they go and top it off with great service- ask for Ben! Did I mention they have boat parking? read more

Rusty Hooks Dockside Grill - Menu - Seafood Near Me - Southport, North Carolina

Love the view our service was good cocktails spot on and the food was good. Made for a nice night out.

Meal was ok, crab soup very good, but over $7.00 for a sliver of cheesecake.....really? Over $65.00 for 2, for bar food. with only 1 beer.

Great staff and food. Love you can get a drink at the bar and enjoy the views outside while waiting for a table. Yummy tacos and crab cakes. All the apps are delicious too. Always our go to when qe come to visit. read more

This is quickly becoming our favorite regular place. We've had almost everything on the menu and everything is good. Shrimp is always cooked perfect, both fried and steamed. Seafood fritters are a perfect start. They also now have fried oysters, which are as good as you can get. I sure hope they keep this momentum. read more

We got there early on a Saturday night , waited for 1 hour while we watched parties of 2 to 4 being seated before us !! After complaining then they offered seats in the oyster bar , well why the heck didn't u offer to us to begin with !! Now we wait after being seated for another 20 minutes and still haven't seen a waiter !!! Worst Birthday ever read more

Our first time there and everything was wonderful. Friendly staff, service was great. The food was absolutely delicious, beautiful presentation. I would definitely go back when we visit and recommend this restaurant to everyone. Thank you Robert for the great experience, tell your mom we love her infectious laugh. read more

Great food and service!!! I was worried after reading some of the reviews since there were 10 of us. Everyone enjoyed their meals and our waiter was great! Everyone was friendly. Our food took a while but nothing crazy. They brought out the kids' meals early which was much appreciated. We were able to sit outside so we got to enjoy the view too. read more

Rusty Hooks Dockside Grill - Seafood Near Me - Southport, North Carolina

Excellent meal and view. Crab soup is outstanding as was the crab cake and Mahi special. Good portions. Our waitress Alexa was very efficient and pleasant. We were there last year and they definitely did not disappoint!! read more

Best restaurant in OKI and Southport. Family owned and run. Love the bartender Brian. Can't say enough good things about this great place! read more

Seating was ridiculous. 6:20 pm on a Thursday night 2 separate tables of 6 walked in and couldn't get seated for a full hour. Was it because not a single chair was open? No. Because a) the layout of the place really just accommodates 2 and 4 tops only and b) their policy is to have no more than 2 empty seats at a table (but 12 people waiting an hour in their foyer on a week night is perfectly acceptable). The poor girls at the hostess stand we're just in over their heads, a a female manager coming by occasionally with fried pickles as a peace offering wasn't the least bit effective in remedying or placating the situation. The excuse was that people were lingering because a storm was passing through, but once we were finally seated 60+ minutes later, it was evident that the layout in the back of the restaurant featured maddening empty chunks of space that, more efficiently laid out in the first place, could have accommodated at least one of those 2 groups of 6 way sooner. the waitress had a professional veneer but seemed to be at the end of her rope by that time in her shift (as were we after an unnecessary hour wait) and seemed annoyed by any "special" request like ice water for the table, then lemons for the ice water, plain butter for vegetables -- stuff that should have been a given. Which, if you're wondering, bread is not. Bread is actually listed as a side dish! Yikes! Ultimately, the food was just ok. I'd be generous to give that 3 stars especially considering the amount you pay for an entree. I got their special (tile fish) and for that price honestly expected a whole lot more food on the plate and a piece of fish that actually tasted like something other than just bleh. My husband's rib eye looked like it came from Sizzler. Dead End used to be such a reliably great place -- always went with groups of 6 or more (sometimes 12-20!) and they always accommodated us quickly, food was predictable and perfectly good for the price and service seamless. There may be a lot of mitigating reasons why they screwed up so badly actually getting us seated, but bottom line is the food is pretty inferior for what it costs. Really the extra star is because the fries and coleslaw were particularly good. Maybe going at 5pm is the trick, certainly going with a group of no more than 4 is helpful, but there are too many restaurants in Southport to waste my time at this one again. Really disappointed. I miss Dead End. read more

The hostess/owner went above and beyond with her service and kindness. The staff were slammed and trying very hard to keep up. She made sure we had drinks and that food was delivered, under stressful conditions. Our waitress did a fabulous job juggling 8-10 tables, all with a smile. read more

Very overpriced. Kids meals were 8.95 and portions were very small. My daughter ordered chicken tenders and got two tenders and a handful of fries. She ended up eating some of my food because she was still hungry. Adult menu chicken tenders were $15 bucks. Pretty much everything on the menu was $15-25. I had high hopes for this place as we used to go all the time when it was dead inn saloon. It was pricey then but at least we got decent portions. Family of 4= $100 and we did not order steak or seafood. Very disappointed. read more

I rarely write reviews, but we were so blown away by the service we received at rusty hooks last night, everyone in our party agreed we needed to! When we arrived, the staff was very kind and pleasant. They let us know there were 7 parties ahead of us, but our party of 6 agreed to wait. The area to hangout was beautiful and the spicy margaritas were delicious! When we got in, our server was kind and helpful. We ordered our dinner, but about 10 minutes later the server and owner came up and very apologetically told us there was an issue in the kitchen and they weren't able to cook what we ordered. The owner was INCREDIBLY apologetic and lovely. They made an unfortunate situation honestly an even better one. She told us what she could make us, and it was by no means an upset as it was their delicious Maryland crabcakes. We are from Baltimore, Maryland and I told her how hesitant we were to ever order them outside of md. We heard of the great lengths she took to make sure she had one of the best recipes that originated in baltimore. And BOY was she right, they were authentic delicious no filler md crabcakes. So delicious, and exciting to have this option when we're in OKI! She also overheard how upset my 7 year old daughter was about not getting the steamed shrimp she was so excited for, so without even telling us she found a way to cook them for her using what she had, and they were truly DELICIOUS. The owner and server checked in periodically and remained wonderful to us all. They made the bill right in many ways as well, which was very appreciated and not even necessary. We were beyond blown away by everything they did to make up for an unfortunate circumstance that was out of their control. We had an amazing night with friends we haven't seen in 5 years, and much of that was because of the wonderfully kind and helpful staff and owner at rusty hooks. We were happy to see when we were leaving around 9:30 that they already had a company there fixing the issue! Thank you, thank you for taking such great care of us and for the spectacular dinner and drinks! We will be back every year when we visit oki that is for sure! read more

We had a great experience at Rusty Hooks on Wednesday night. I tried to get the fried flounder fillet and they had sold out for the day but I got the full flounder and it was terrific. My wife got the Blackened Mahi-Mahi and absolutely loved it. read more

Great service with a great atmosphere over looking the inlet waterway. Brought a party of 6 and was not disappointed. Plenty of food, and the crab dip was the bomb. Great place for seafood and nice views. read more

Waited 2hrs to sit. Told an hour. Nice people. They have no idea how to run a restaurant. I would avoid this place at all cost. They lied to us about the wait and we are just sitting here at the bar will they will serve us food. Avoid. Avoid. Avoid!!!!!! read more

As a group of three, we got there for lunch around 11:15 and were seated promptly. I got the fried shrimp platter, my companions both ordered fish and chips. The food was prepared very quickly and all was delicious. The prices are about on par with similar restaurants in the area. I recommend eating here and will return myself when visiting the area again. read more

Stopped by for a late lunch today. The rib eye steak sandwich was awesome and the mahi fish tacos were great. Waitstaff was very attentive. An enjoyable experience (usually is!!) read more

The food and service was excellent! We got the Mahi-mahi blackened tacos and they were very good. The crab cakes were also delicious! Great beer selections and nice, knowledgeable bartender. True Maryland Style Crab Cakes are impossible to find away from the Chesapeake Bay but they have them here! Will definitely go again read more

Not impressed. We went last weekend and had an hour wait (not holding that against them). They only had a limited menu and everything seemed expensive for what we got. The food was good, not exceptional. Service was very slow. Maybe just newly opened issues that need to be worked out? I don't think we'll be back again anytime soon. No major complaints, it was just average and we love other places better. read more

We came in for dinner at 6:40 and were told it would be "probably less then an hour" it has been over two hours and we still have not been seated. We ordered appetizers 30 minutes ago and have not received them yet. If we had been given a wait time that was even close to accurate we could have made an educated decision on what to do but here we are with no food 2.5 hours later. We got there at 6:40 and left at 10:15. Not once did anyone apologize. read more

Scheduled a charter through the owner's son's fishing charter, Reelin' Pelican, for their Hook and Cook dining experience they advertise on their website; however, the restaurant couldn't guarantee that we would have a seat to actually eat. Very poor execution. I called and the manager wouldn't speak to me and then the next day the charter cancelled our booking when I expressed my concern...VERY UNPROFESSIONAL. read more

First time eating here and it was pretty good. The food was cooked perfect and portions were good for the money. The crab dip was pretty good and I really enjoyed my blackened grouper and grilled shrimp. Will definitely be going back again. read more

Terrible, bland blackened mahi tacos and shrimp tacos. Mahi was barely peppered, nothing close to blackened and had no taste. No tang in the mango, no use of any spice. Tortillas cold, right out of package. Entire taco was cold by the time I got it. Shrimp tacos skimpy, small shrimp, also cold. Texas caviar just as bland, no spices of any kind, including no salt. Chunk of tomato core in Texas caviar. To be fair, crab dip, seafood fritters were good which made the fact that tacos were terrible that much more disappointing. Owner argued with us when we commented on the tacos, thus the one star. Finally, this place is overpriced. If the marina wasn't here, not sure this place would make it. Do not recommend. read more

I have to share as we had a horrible experience last night at Rusty Hooks. We arrived and were told the wait would be an hour. We were seated after an hour and 20 minutes. Our waitress forgot our drink order. They were out of the one special on the menu, which we were told after it was read to us. We waited 45 more minutes after ordering our appetizers and then, two hours into our experience with no food, gave up. We asked for a manager to talk to and no one could find one. On our way out the hostess told us the kitchen was "a mess." Shamefully they were not upfront about this and instead ruined our evening. I'm not sure if Rusty Hooks is suffering from a lack of staff or if this is their normal operating process but it was a nightmare experience. read more

Based on other reviews about great crab cakes my husband and I went last night. After 15mins waiting outside getting bit by bugs we went inside to wait in a small waiting area where we could see 8-10 tables. There was a group of 6 beside us who were loud and obnoxious. Over next hour and a half we watched as only one of the tables we could see got served their meal. We were then finally told we were next on list to be seated but after waiting longer we decided even If we ever got a table it could be another hour and forty-five before we might get our food so we left. Guess I'll never find out if the crab cakes were any good. read more

You can't beat their view and their warm friendly clean atmosphere! I absolutely loved this hidden gem!

Wow! This place is a keeper! Fabulous fried oysters... very little batter/breading and not at all greasy. Shrimp and grits are awesome. Friendly, capable waitstaff, tables and menus sanitized, great view with a lovely sea breeze. Yes! to this restaurant! Rusty Hooks, you are on our "A" list. read more

I really wanted to like this place. The atmosphere was great with a view of the water and a nice breeze coming in. We waited at least fifty minutes for our food and the ice in our drinks had completely melted by the time we got our food. We were a party of four and two people thought their was satisfactory. My husband thought he was getting grouper but he said it was not grouper and there was a thick fat on his fish. I ordered a fish wrap and there was bone in my fish. It was definitely over priced for average food! read more

A better version of the Dead End Saloon has finally arrived. The new owners have really done a nice job of fixing the place up. On the right day, they open up the windows to really enjoy the breezes that Southport offers. The wrap around windows offer one of the best views of the salt marsh in the area, and the sunsets are great too. Great for a lunch date or a family dinner, or just a quick stop at the bar. As far as the food is concerned, my favorites are the blackened mahi tacos (always a solid choice) and the crab cake (which is gluten-free and almost 100% lump crab meat!) It gets busy from time to time, so I recommend calling ahead to make sure they can accommodate, especially for larger parties. read more