1st Dinner out ,it was our 2nd night on the island. The meal was absolutely delicious! We were going to stop at another place but decided to turn around and pull into Rusty's. The best decision we could have made. We were asked if we had reservations and did not but they asked if we could wait a few minutes people were leaving and they will accommodate us. They did not turn us away! The rybeye steak was marinated perfectly and my husband's fish cooked perfectly . They also have the best homemade key lime Pie ever! Definitely returning when we visit again! Thank you for the great service! read more

My husband and I ate here for our first anniversary. Stacy was our server, she was fantastic. We were seated immediately, everyone had masks on, and the tables were very well spaced out. Out of all the places we've eaten at in the Hatteras area this weekend, Rusty's felt the safest/cleanest. On top of that the drinks were good, and the food was AMAZING. Best meal we had here by far!! If we are ever back this way we will be coming back to Rusty's, will also be recommending it. Thanks for a great experience!!! read more

This is a fine restaurant that I really can't say anything bad about. The staff is amazing, from Debbie our waitress, to the sweet hostess, even the girl bussing tables was on top of things! Interior of Rusty's is very inviting. Fried green tomatoes alone will bring us back! Best ever. Seared tuna perfect! Dessert! Salted caramel Crunch cake! Outstanding!!! A little pricey; but lots of value for the money! We look forward to next trip to OBX. We will see you again! D&D read more

On our third visit tonight we were impressed with everything. Crabcakes and oysters were perfect. Appetizer of Hushpuppy crusted oyster on Johnny Cakes was amazing. The desserts alone are enough to come back. The Banana Fosters cake was plate licking good. This place is a must on the outer banks. Clearly they have a chef that puts care and attention in every plate. read more

Went there for something different. Boy did I get it. Ordered the Smoked brisket tacos. OMG...amazing! See for yourself..... read more

Rusty's Surf & Turf - Smoked brisket tacos - Seafood Near Me - Buxton, North Carolina

We visited here twice this week and both times have hit the mark. The service and food here are top notch. We had the chips and dip and hushpuppies for both starters, both very good. We have had triggerfish, drum, shrimp fettuccine, ribeye steak, and scallops and shrimp. We treated ourselves to dessert tonight, AMAZING!, chocolate cake, caramel crunch cake, and a pineapple paradise cake. We met Rusty the owner, and our waitpersons, Hannah and Nichole were very attentive to our needs. We were then treated to some porch music by Keith, which we thoroughly enjoyed. We will most definitely be back on our next visit. read more

$16 scotch. Wow. Food was good. Service was marginal. Food was a decent value but the alcohol prices were ridiculous. The shrimp and wahoo very good. One of the better places in Buxton, I suppose. But overall underwhelmed by Buxton. read more

Easily one of the best restaurants on the island! Rusty's is the perfect spot for flavorful seafood. And the people who work there are SO friendly, patient, and accommodating. Some of my personal favorites from the menu are the Sweet & Spicy Wings, and the Caribbean Drum. A lovely atmosphere and refreshing takes on the classic seafoods. read more

Rusty's Surf & Turf - Seafood Near Me - Buxton, North Carolina

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I cannot rave enough about Rusty's Surf & Turf. Fun, relaxed atmosphere, the food is top-notch, and the cocktails are wonderful! The staff is friendly and knowledgeable, and I love that local artists are promoted, with their beautiful art always displayed (and for sale) on the walls. When I'm on vacation, I don't want chain food or kitschy places, serving fried everything. I want fresh, flavorful seafood; and given the superb quality of Rusty's food, I felt the prices were extremely fair. Looking forward to my next experience at Rusty's! read more

Rusty's Surf & Turf - The fish tacos were incredible! - Seafood Near Me - Buxton, North Carolina

This was one of the better restaurants I had eaten at in quite some time. I ate the surf and turf with the pork and ground shrimp. Both tasted awesome! My kids had the half rack of ribs which are also very good! If I'm ever back in the area I would definitely go back! read more

I'm giving them only one star due to the service we got. Not the greatest the food was amazing they said a waitress walked out. Maybe with a smaller crowd would be better. read more

After a day at beach we were hungry and found this place. Every single dish was well balanced and delicious. Calamari must do. Philly Cheese steak empanadas yum. The roasted Brussels sprouts w balsamic vinegar and Parmesan beyond awesome. Shrimp and grits were seasoned perfectly and not too cheesy. My scallop carbonara pasta was one of the best I have ever had. Lots of scallops and the country ham in the dish leant a Smokey taste that was delectable. The dish wasn't too heavy and rich and loved the bucatini pasta perfectly cooked. Too full for dessert maybe next time one of the appetizers is dessert. read more

Unbelievably great cooking and pairing. Our server was great, the owner stopped by the table to say hi and chat. I had the Mahi with an amazing Asian style sweet glaze with a hint of spice, served with some sticky rice and really well done garlic and buttered green beans. My wife had the grits and shrimp with a bacon jam that was crazy good. I was expecting some good beach style grub, but this was a different level. Something that I would expect at a fine restaurant in a big city. Well done! read more

Had the best dinner tonight and the dessert was amazing! The food was delicious and our server was second to none. We highly recommend!

Rusty's is a nice surprise of a dining establishment in the Outer Banks. A group of 8 of us had no trouble getting a table on a Sunday night. We shared some appetizers - chips and salsa - good, artichoke dip - ok but a bit bland, fried calamari - good and nicely spicy, steamed shrimp - fine. I had the fish tacos as an entree. All the ingredients are separate and you construct them yourself. The fish came in little fried nuggets which was a bit off-putting - but tasted fine. You get three tortillas and lots of fish but only enough pico de gallo and cabbage for two tacos. In general pretty good though. Others had the seafood stew which was a special that night and found it very good and flavorful - not quite a stew, but lots of seafood in a tasty broth. The Sicilian-style mahi mahi was pronounced bland by one person and good by another. The desserts were a surprising treat. I love key lime pie and this was a good version of it. Almost cheesecake-y and very delicious. I also got a bite of my husbands lemon and berry mascarpone cake and it was wonderful. So save room for dessert for sure. read more

WOW, WOW, WOW. We've had great meals here before. We just returned from our annual 2 week jaunt to Hatt Vill. We waited until our last full night to come to Rusty's. BIG MISTAKE. We should have come more than once. Oh well, next time we will know better. For me, the "Big 3" restaurants are Rusty's, Dinky's, and Mack Daddy's, not necessarily in that order but they are all superb. I want to applaud our waitress, Dawn. She was amazing. She was always in the right place at the right time. She was friendly, gave good advice, and knew her stuff. She had a very even keel demeanor, even when the restaurant became very busy. My wife and I started with a special appetizer, the Duck Enchilada. This is served with a black bean puree and avocado creme fraiche. Are you kidding me? It is a toss-up between Dinky's Tuna Tartarre and Rusty's Duck Enchilada as to which app is the best. This enchilada was flat out amazing. I should have ordered 4 of them as my meal and been done with it. But we wanted to try some other things. Based on Dawn's recommendation, we ordered the Calamari appetizer. Very nice. For entrees, I ordered the Shrimp and Grits. Before this vacation, I hated grits. In fact, I loathe them. Not anymore. I was converted when I had them at Mack Daddy's. After having them at Rusty's, I'm hooked. You receive a huge bowl of creamy gouda grits with shrimp and andouille sausage. It is creamy and smoky and delicious and fattening as heck and I love it. My wife ordered the Beach Bum Scallops with mashed potatoes and veggies. She was not crazy about the sauce on the scallops but the scallops themselves were great. She really loved the mashed and when I tasted them, I could see why. They were superb. We both split the Berry Lemon Mascarpone cake. Wow. This moist, decadent, delicious piece of heaven was the perfect end to a perfect meal. Added note, Rusty was waiting tables that evening. He was also bussing tables. He was hosting. He was schmoozing and checking on the quality of the dishes. He poured a glass of my wine. We talked about the Duck Enchilada. When we arrived at the restaurant, he was outside on the porch having a conversation with some friends. Rusty's attention to detail is what makes this place super. Can't wait to go next year!!!! read more

We arrived to Rusty's with high expectations. But I became suspicious as soon as we were seated. It seems every restaurant between Salvo and Hatteras has poor taste in interior design. The dining rooms always feel a little like someone's house. Our waitress was very friendly and helpful and the hushpuppies she brought out were delicious. I ordered the wahoo special. Sadly, it was very bland and the curry panko crust was that was promised on the menu was just a thin coating of tasteless bread crumbs. The side of rice was so undercooked it was inedible and the black beans on top had that day-old dry look. On the bright side, my wife's fried flounder and shrimp were done nicely, and my son reports that his chicken nuggets were great. One other note, and this is for all OBX restaurants. Please get some drafts other than Carolina Brewery. They are great, but NC has an awesome craft beer scene and you all seem to serve the same two or three beers over and over again. read more

I have never reviewed a place as I was sitting here. Please keep driving. So far we had appetizers which came out in piece meal. And we are deciding whether we should stay for dinner. Stay tuned.....dinner coming now. AVOID!!! I asked for dressing SOS the waiter decided he wanted to tell me I didn't then I got my salad and the bacon was not only cold but when a restaurant cooks bacon off for dinner they have it on paper then cook it for the dish this bacon came off the dish. I got very upset asked them to take it off the bill and walked out. read more

Rusty's was exactly what we needed. After a week on Ocracoke we needed a substantial meal for the long ride home to Chicago. First we tried some giant restaurant on the sound side just south, an hour wait we were told, well actually no one would even look at us and we over heard the manager say, "holy shit where did all these people come from?" So we left. Enter Rusty's. Nicely decorated in a Caribbean theme, not overboard, just festive. According to my 7 year old son, our server was the cutest we had all vacation, he even called mom to tell her. She was also very attentive and took very good care of us. We started with a She Crab soup, it was very good, maybe a touch thick, but it was close to closing. I decided to get a big platter of fried stuff, it did not disappoint. Scallops, shrimp, blue fish, squid rings and legs as my boy would say. This was substantial and would keep me going til well past sunrise. We also had the kids clam strips, they were fine. The special of the evening was six very big scallops, seared and served with veggies mashed potatoes and a sweet beer reduction. The sauce was cloyingly sweet, I think the dish would have held up without it. The restaurant has a very comfortable feel, the staff is gracious and I would love to go there again. Just have to figure out how????????????? read more

After a few mediocre meals during our family's vacation this past summer, we ended up at Rusty's on our last night and still, about four months later, we cannot forget the amazing meal we had there. Rusty's is a refreshing addition to the Outer Banks restaurant industry. Living in the Bay Area of CA, I'm often exposed to high quality restaurants that use local ingredients and strive to provide top notch service. It's not something I've come to expect in the Outer Banks, but Rusty's certainly fits the bill. I was impressed by the menu, the friendly service (we gave the biggest tip of the week because she was just so darn nice and accommodating - wish I had her name!) and of course, the fresh tasting food. I'm not a seafood fan by any means, but it might be safe to say that Rusty's has me changing my tune. All seven members of our party enjoyed their meals (ranging from sandwiches, seafood, and pasta dishes), which is a lot to say if you know our family and their picky tastes. Tips: + best hushpuppies on the island. Hands down. + come on the early side of dinner just before 5pm, not wait whatsoever + fish tacos - you won't regret it What also stood out was the ambience - a very nice restaurant that looks modern, yet has a casual feel to it. Definitely a step up from some of the run down restaurants on the island that need a good deep clean, again, it made Rusty's feel like a breathe of fresh air. Our June 2013 vacation cannot come soon enough! read more

The place its self is very fun. Bright colors cool decor. Inviting, friendly staff what you would expect. The good: food, Really well put together, fish was cooked just right. Deep fried fish sandwich was a safe pick but not greasy. The only down side was my wife's shrimp scampi, shrimp and pasta with grilled veggies...o, and the pile of capers that put in the dish. Would of sent it back but if you have seen "waiting" you would not send it back either. read more

This place is very nasty flies everywhere and they don't care! We couldn't even eat or drink our drinks because the flies were landing on everything we tried putting napkins over our drinks and the waitress said well once they start bothering you they don't stop!!! I can only imagine what the kitchen looks like!!! The food was by far the worst we've had since we've been here! Another table was sending their crab cakes back also!!! The waitress was nice and efficient, although no help with the flies!!! High priced under par food!!! read more

Very nice restaurant for the shore. Great ambience and good food. 5 stars for atmosphere, 3.5 stars for the food. The clam chowder and fried oysters were terrific. The rib eye was fairly mediocre. We liked the veggie spring rolls and the home made hummous. read more

We were visiting the outer banks and found this wonderful place. The Wahoo was wonderful. It was easy to find and worth the 20 minute drive from Rodanthe. Debbie was a great server read more

Food is easily 4 stars. Very good. Calamari was excellent as a starter. The shrimp and grits were excellent. Service was 2 stars. We waited an hour and a half and one of the entree salad's pears had the label with a barcode still on it. Little ridiculous. Average it out and I'll give them 3. I'd go back. read more

I find it very suspicious that Yelp has filtered out 40 reviews, most of which are very highly-rated...while some of the lower star reviews remain in the overall rating. I've eaten at Rusty's 2x while vacationing on Hatteras Island, and I plan on going back again in 2 weeks. Both of my experiences were fantastic, we've always had great waiters...the restaurant has a cool feel, and Rusty even came out to our table to check on our experience. This is one of the better finds on Hatteras Island, and I'm confused about the negativity. read more

We decided to try Rusty's after being underwhelmed by the dining choices on Hatteras. Everything was really good, fresh and flavorful. We tried mahi mahi, steak, ribs and quesadillas. Our waiter Tom was a doll, even when answering all of our weird questions. Nice selection of food and beer, only wish that they had drafts. It will be one of our picks when we return to the outer banks. read more

I have been to Rusty's a few times and last night was their weakest meal. Started with the duck enchiladas, which sounded great and had some good call-outs on Yelp. Mine had nice flavor but virtually no duck. I had fried blue fish as my main course. Very solid, nice batter but not too heavy or greasy. The highlight was actually sweet potato fries, which had a nice brown sugar flavor. The reason I downgraded to 3 was my wife's soft shell crabs, which were greasy and tasteless, and my daughter's kids butter with pasta, which was the smallest portion (even for a kids portion) that I ever saw. Overall, I enjoyed my meal but not as great as Rusty's had been in the past. read more

So if I could give 6 or even 10 stars, I would. This is by far the best place I've ever eaten in the OBX, and my family has been coming on vacations and dining out 4-5 times a week for years. My boyfriend and I came here for our date night of the week, and felt welcomed from the moment we stepped in and the hostess said to seat this "beautiful couple" at table 14. The kind service continued throughout the entire dining experience, which is sometimes lacking at these busy vacation restaurants full of tourists and fast paced servers. To start, we had a bottle of moscato with our appetizers, fried green tomatoes and a bowl of the She Crab soup. The soup--oh my goodness. So. Delicious. Perfect smoothness, no shells, and spiced to perfection. We literally almost returned the next day just for soup for lunch, until we realized it's not open for lunch. That's how good it was. Fried green tomatoes were also wonderful, drizzled with balsamic and sprinkled with pork belly. For entrees, I got the special mahi mahi and my boyfriend got the shrimp and seafood pasta. My mahi came with fresh mixed vegis and polenta, but I really wanted the redskin mashed potatoes and was able to substitute the polenta for them with ease. Everything was SO GOOD. I seriously don't have words. The fish was a big piece and seasoned perfectly, with a lemon to squeeze over top to balance it out plus capers, which I've never eaten but complimented the fish great. Redskin mashed were underneath my fish and also delectably creamy. Summer vegis were fresh and crisp and sautéed to perfection. My boyfriend also loved his pasta dish, said it had a nice spiciness to it that he wasn't expecting, he loves hot food. Truly, our only regret is not having room to try what I'm sure is superb dessert. We also got a second bottle of wine we didn't want to finish there, so the waitress recorked it. I had already put the cork in my purse because I make crafts with them and told the waitress so when she asked where it went. When I told her I use them for crafts, she got a big smile and said to hold on. She came back a few moments later with a gallon bag of all the corks they had behind the bar and said they save them for who knows what so if I could use them for something cool, go for it! I just thought that was such a nice, simple gesture to complete our excellent dining experience. Again, the atmosphere inside was cute and beachy and the staff was great, we felt welcomed and happy for our little romantic night out. Couldn't have asked for more! read more

Rusty's Surf & Turf - Fried green tomatoes at the top and she crab soup below. Look at that Old Bay ready to stir in, yum! - Seafood Near Me - Buxton, North Carolina

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We tried Rusty's yesterday and had a mixed experience. The setting is quaint and the decor is bright and festive. The staff was very friendly, especially our server Ashley who was very attentive and cheerful. Service was very quick. As for the food, we have a mixed experience. We had the Scorpion Bay Calamari as an appetizer, which was excellent. My wife had the shrimp tacos and my son had fish tacos, and they both loved them. I had the Pamlico Broiled combo which included shrimp, scallops, fish and a crab cake. The meal shrimp and scallops were undercooked and had to be sent back, and the crab cake was flavourless. The fish was the one pleasant aspect of the meal. However, all of the seafood had an excessive amount of the Old Bay spice (which is typical of the Calabash entrees). The spicing had an overpowering amount of celery seed which detracted from the entire meal. Even after scraping off all of the spice, I could still taste the celery seed. Overall, I'm giving this a 3 star, since my wife and sons enjoyed their meals. Although the atmosphere and service were great, we won't be back since there are so many other places of better quality food. read more

I really enjoyed Rusty's. Its a great meal with a little class, but a relaxed atmosphere. Its the type of place where you can get a hamburger for your kids, or have an upscale entree with some creativity. Our waitress was great, made everyone comfortable, the food was delicious, and we enjoyed dessert too. This is a great pick, for those looking for something nicer on the OBX, without feeling like you need to pack extra clothes for an upscale dinner. read more

You will get a very good meal here. For the region I would say this food is good but Rustys promises more than it delivers. The calabsh food here is great and I highly recommend it but good calabah food is minimum wage for a restaurant in this part of the world. We also had the seared yellowfin tuna which was tough and perhaps not quite as fresh as advertised. The catch of the day fried flounder was great and very fresh Sides are good but flavor could be more subtle. Veggies seemed very fresh. Rusty's seems to be a work in progress. If he can up his/game he will compete regionally. For now he's a good local find. read more

Rustys is an uninspired food joint. I got the pork scallopini and my travel buddy the ribs. The pork dish had a gummy texture. I tried my friends fries and found them to have a stale cardboard taste. The ambiance was decent. Rusty if you are reading this, please revisit your menu. read more

I'm really surprised how bad our experience was. First, service was incredibly slow. We got here at 6 pm on a Friday and didn't get out till nearly 8. It was not at all busy when we arrived - there was no line, nor wait - maybe half full. By 7 pm it was packed. Our food took forever - getting our checks too forever. The husband's scallops were horrible. Tasteless - poorly cooked (some over cooked - some barely cooked) - it came out dead last of 7 meals. His fries were very good - slaw was lacking seasoning. Brisket tacos were decent. Nice smoke flavor. The sautéed veg were totally unrelated to the dish and tasteless - but I suppose if you're charging 22 bucks you need to fill the plate. Same with the mahi, veg was bland and to fill the plate. Fish was good - but not worth the cost. Mac and cheese (for the kiddo) was meh and needed salt and pepper to edible, like the slaw. Pecan pie was ruined by copious amounts of Hershey' syrup. Seriously who puts chocolate syrup all over pecan pie? Empanadas and shrimp and grits were very good though, which is they are getting 2 not 1 star. All and all, I wouldn't go here again. read more

This place was delicious! The bright exterior drew me in and the food didn't disappoint either. The red drum special was delicious and I definitely recommend the creme brûlée as a dessert. The staff was friendly and very helpful as well. read more

Another year. Another trip to Rusty's. It's nice getting the little extra presentation that you deserve with your food orders (food isn't just slapped on the plate). Make sure you say "Hi" to Brenda and Debbie--two of the top waitresses in all of the Outer Banks! If only the restaurant had the "views" of the ocean or the sound. read more

Excellent very fast service. The Fish tacos were amazing with a big side of rice and beans. The fish was crispy and fresh and the tacos were loaded. Shrimp and grits were very good as well with a big serving. read more

Delicious food & excellent service!!! Our server, Liza was awesome & very friendly. The salted caramel crunch cake was the most unique & fabulous dessert...a must have! Definitely coming back in the future. read more

Food was pretty good, that was the best part (and I guess the most important part). 8 of us went and we all liked our meals. Seafood tasted fresh and was excellent. Staff was a little off. Our waiter was nice enough, but we had to repeat our orders a few times, and remind him that we were waiting on things. Only "big" issue was the bartender. We had to wait a bit for our table, they have a nice deck with chairs where you can hang out. I went inside to get some drinks for the adults in the group, and the woman bartender seemed like she wanted to be anywhere but where she was. I got 3 beers, one of them being an IPA, one which I've had 1000 times before. The IPA came out looking like a Coors light, tasted like Coors light, definitely not an IPA. I simply asked if they had the taps correct, that it didn't look/taste like an IPA. She gave me a dirty look and said "Listen, you can see what it says on the tap handle, i gave you the right beer". I didn't pay for it, nor tipped her. Not sure why I didn't go to the manager, I usually would in a case like that... read more

First things first, I left my *wallet* here one night, and got it back the next afternoon (when I finally figured out it was really missing)..I called them, they said they had it, and everything was there when I picked it up.The hostess actually saw me pull in to the driveway and brought it out to me. Really CLASSY! Anyway, this place is very good. It appears that others think so too, as we were there at 7 on a Tues night and they were rocking! I had the fish tacos, and wow!, excellent with the slaw and the remoulade. Others had the tuna rare and the shrimp tacos..all were VERY pleased. Waitress was efficient and service was tight considering the number of large parties to be served. This would be a good restaurant virtually anywhere you put it..so it's a wonderful bonus to the Hatteras area. One for Restaurant Reminder! read more