We went here on our way home for Breakfast, not really happy with the buffet, they had a difficult time keeping the items on the bar stocked, and the buffet was not a very bit thing. The Eggs were cooked and brought to yoru table, and they were not cooked, very runny Scrambled eggs, and they only brought one serving. We were not satisifed at all with the service or the buffet, will not be returning here ever, beware read more

We dined here for dinner and breakfast during our vacation and cannot sing their praises enough! The staff was attentive and friendly. Our waitress for dinner, Vanessa, was concerned we didn't like the ribs and sent the management over to ensure everything was great. The food was delicious, we were just full! The service and food was so good, we came back for breakfast. Our server, Mackenzie, was just as friendly and provided great service! The breakfast bar offers a delicious selection for breakfast; the kielbasa, hash browns, and quiche were especially yummy. We will be coming back on our future vacations!! read more

Wonderful experience!! The food was absolutely delicious!! The hush puppies and sweet butter were divine!! I ordered the wrong kind of shrimp (spicy) and when our delightful waiter, Martin, found out he immediately told the manager, Patrick, about my dilemma and Patrick insisted it be replaced. It was totally my fault but they were so insistent that I get what I wanted!! What awesome customer service!! My friends truly enjoyed their meals and we left pleasantly stuffed!! The restaurant was clean and had a great little gift shop and the food was worth every penny!! My friends and I HIGHLY recommend this restaurant!! read more

The food was 'ok.' Portions very small, no flair to the plating. Ratty plastic cups for drinks, plates and such were "diner" quality. The hand breaded fried chicken was very tasty, but only a few bites of chicken. It came with a baked potato, an individual wrapped butter packet, and a small plastic cup of sour cream. The "seasonal vegetables" were nothing but zucchini and squash. C'mon people, it's August. We arrived on a Friday night at 8 pm and were told there was a 25 minute wait (when according to the website they close at 9). We could easily see SEVERAL tables open and cleared. We were given a pager, which went off 5 minutes later, only to be shown to a 10-top table which was obviously meant for the large family who was waiting outside. The hostess (who was very sweet, it wasn't her fault but the young girls at the front desk) showed us to another table when we pointed out the error. The table was half booth and apparently meant for only 90 lb people because we could not sit comfortably in the booth at all, and the table is bolted to the floor. Our server was very sweet and did his best, it was his first night. Everything HE was in charge of went well, our food was correct and brought out hot and quickly. We ate in about 5 minutes. Then we noticed the tables to our right had been cleared and set, but there was visible mess: food, napkins, straw wrappers on the floor. One table had a huge puddle of water under it which I nearly stepped in, and a chicken bone. The whole experience smacked of a place just "phoning it in." Almost like, some 20 year olds inherited the business from their parents who retired, and they are barely keeping it together. However, the front lobby was quiite decked out with boutique-y things, jewelry, art, and such to buy. If they put 1/4th as much effort into the restaurant part, it'd be a really nice place. Great location in a busy area, too. A real shame. OH, the hush puppies they boasted were their "famous" were mediocre. We had hush puppies at nearly every place we ate this week, these were more like donut holes, not very corn flavored at all. read more

My family and I chose to eat here on a whim, not realizing that the price is really not represented properly. This place was way over priced and the food was tasteless. Our meal was around $75 dollars and we did not have alcohol nor dessert. We had one kids meal and two seafood plates. The service was decent and the food came out pretty quick, but it was no where near worth the money. You did not get a lot of food, nor did it have any real flavor. The hushpuppies (which had an onion flavor) were served with honey butter... gross. Next instead of putting mustard on the hamburger my son ordered, they gave him honey mustard and then a few minutes later brought out a bottle of yellow mustard. Too late. My husband ordered a combination fried plate of flounder and shrimp. He received one piece of flounder and it was full of bones. I ordered the large shrimp with the seasonal veggies and they were not chopped uniformly so some were more cooked than others and again the shrimp batter had no flavor. Save your money and go somewhere else for dinner. They may have a great breakfast, but their dinner food sucks. read more

We've been to several restaurants this week at the OBX and Dune was one of them. The restaurant is beautiful and we appreciated the magician that came to our table. We ordered sandwiches which were good (crab cake and flounder, but not fabulous. The shrimp pasta was food, but again nothing super amazing. And they were probably a better value somewhere else. The crab dip was good, but I actually preferred the crab dip at the pier. There were several very large parties and so it was very large group friendly. I think this is very good "risk" when you're flying blind on vacation restaurants, but pricier than other places. read more

From my two trips to the Outer Banks, I was pretty convinced that there were only tacky tourist trap restaurants with pretty good seafood. And as much as that works for me, it leaves any non-seafood lovers and vegetarians ( like my friends) in a lurch. Also, the restaurants are usually staffed by apatehtic Eastern European teenagers who do their job but don't seem all that passionate about it (who could blame them though?) BUT at The Dunes I had THE most eager waiter possibly ever. He just couldn't leap into the kitchen fast enough to ask the cook about accomodating my friend (she wanted a fettuce alfredo without the seafood and with a lower price tag.) AND THE HUSHPUPPIES. They were more like savory donut holes of magic with honey butter to dip them in. They were ridiculous is the best possible way. Everyone had something they liked. my vegetarian friends enjoyed their pastas and my boyfriend enjoyed his steak and I enjoyed the Seafood Trio thing. Somone else commented that the crab was just thrown in there, which is was, but it didn't bother me. The spoonbread was delicious as was the spinach. The sauce was very mild and minimal while the scallops and the shrimp stood out. We also all appreciated the little blurb on the menu about how they support local vendors and give shouts outs to the NC establishments they get their food from. The place was maybe a little more expensive than the tourist trap spots but so worth it. read more

We arrived in Nags Head with 18 people....called The Dunes and the gentleman who answered the phone asked for 10 minutes and he would gladly get a table ready for us. We arrived, were happily greeted. The food was delicious and very prompt. Waitress was kind and very patient! We were greeted during our meal and asked how everything was....and thanked for coming in. A great experience for all! Keep up the great work! We'll be back! read more

I went for dinner and was really pleased. Very friendly staff, great food, great service. I highly recommend coming here. I will definitely be back every time I'm in the area. read more

From the look of this place in their commercials and ads, I wasn't sure that I would like this place. Our family went for dinner as a large group. Our server was very accommodating and wonderful. The food varied from good to fantastic depending on what was ordered. The ginger mojitos were a nice spin on a classic. I wouldn't classify this as a fine dining place, but it makes a good family restaurant. Overall, I would recommend this place. read more

Stopped here on a whim for breakfast before our long drive home. The food was delicious, fresh, and very reasonably priced. They gave wiki stix to kids to play with. The coffee was good. Bathrooms were very clean. Cute gift shop too! read more

We skipped the breakfast buffet because I was buffet-ed out from Jimmy's the night before (another story for another review). It did look fresh with a decent selection, but I was after scrapple which isn't on menus at home in western PA. Huge portions. Eggs were cooked correctly, scrapple was thinly sliced, which I'm not used to, I like it thick, but it was great flavor. My husband got the crab and Jack cheese omelette and really enjoyed it. You can choose hotcakes, toast, or biscuits with the platters. He got hotcakes which were yummy, thin yet spongy enough to soak up the syrup. I couldn't resist a side of the country ham--ended up being both of our favorite bites of the morning. read more

Nice inside since they remodeled , had the crab cake & flounder sandwiches which were really good, a little pricey, but good service and food. read more

I ate at the Dunes on prom night, and while the food wasn't out of this world, the service and overall experience definitely was! The restaurant is beautiful, our server was extremely sweet, and we had no issues whatsoever with service/logistics, despite our large size (16 people!). They even gave us some starters on the house! As I said, the food could use some improvement (my shrimp was a tad bland, the baked potato came totally bare without sour cream or butter, and the cheese on one chicken dish was unevenly melted), but the experience itself couldn't have been better. And after all, it's prom - I'll remember the great ambience and wonderful environment in which I spent my time more so than the food I ate. read more

Our group ate at the Dunes several times during our week at the beach. The food was great. Service was excellent. Everyone was so courteous and polite. read more

Wonderful wait staff. Very accommodating for a larger party with one vegetarian diner. Created a dish not on the menu. Dishes beautifully served. read more

Everything felt greasy and undercooked. The buffet was gross and unkept, while the food felt cheap and rushed.

I came to The Dunes on a school trip. I'm very disappointed in their setup for us. Very unstocked amounts of food long wait times, for frozen fries, hush puppies and the tea is terrible. read more

Went here for breakfast with the family while on vacation. Our server was nice, but only in the sense that she was neither terrible nor fantastic, the latter of which would have helped bump this score up a bit. There was a gift area with cute knick-knacks, but nothing particularly different from the standard beachside fare, and, no bones about it, the place is fantastically decorated; in particular, there is a mixed media map of Nag's Head and the surrounding area, including photos of area landmarks. The quality of the dining experience, however, leaves quite a bit to be desired, since this review must eventually discuss the food. The breakfast buffet was expansive, and I made sure to take a pass before deciding whether to order from the menu or not. Having already taken a look at our hotel's continental breakfast that morning, my standards for fine dining had lowered, but, unfortunately for this review, not enough. The buffet, despite appearing quite large, had a rather limited selection, not nearly enough to earn the (contextually) hefty price of $9.99. I decided to pass, and opted for pancakes instead. This was, perhaps, an unwise decision, as they were tough and cold. My grandparents ordered from the menu as well, and were less than pleased. I had never, in my life, seen my grandfather, who lived through the Depression, leave food on his plate at a restaurant (his philosophy being that if you pay for it, you better eat it) until we ate here. I consider myself strongly anti-corporate, but grab a grease soaked sausage biscuit at McDonalds. You'll be glad you skipped this place. read more

Went here because 2 of our family met a waiter at the beach and he recommended we try it, I wanted to go to another restaurant rated very highly on yelp-wish we had. The hush puppies-by all 9 in the party were deemed meh. Weird the honey butter with hush puppies that clearly had a good bit of onion. Oh wait I used no butter on the other places hush puppies. That would be because The Dunes' were dry. I got southern fried chix and did not care for it, my father-in-law also had it and thought it was good, but he likes his a little on the dry side. My dark meat pieces were dry enough that I gave the breast away. However, that gave me room enough to get an amazing piece of chocolate cake. read more

Great breakfast buffet! Especially loved the fresh tasty fruit that is included.

Restaurants come and restaurants go on the OBX but this family owned and operated favorite has stood the test of time! Because of it's proximity to our summer home, I have practically grown up on The Dunes food. The lunch and dinner menus offer local seafood ( I love their oysters and flounder), beef and plenty of family friendly favorites. They have the best breakfast on the beach. Diners can choose from a delicious breakfast buffet or order from the menu. The staff is friendly. The dining rooms can accommodate large groups, and recent renovations, including The R Bar, provide a very nice setting. read more

The wife and I had breakfast there this morning. We found the food to be excellent, the portions huge, and the service very attentive. The price was on the high side, but we would not hesitate to return. read more

Excellent! Brand new this year after fire last year. Food is incredible and staff is friendly. Will definitely go back for lunch and dinner, didn't try breakfast, yet. read more

So glad they are re opened! Best breakfast buffet I've ever had! We have been coming here for years

Visited The Dunes for the first time in a very long time. Have seen great reviews about the buffet so we decided to give it a try again. It was good but nothing spectacular. Eggs are not on the buffet but brought out hot. Reason they are not in the buffet is so they don't get dried out, okay but I don't want them runny. You really can't do special order on the eggs. They don't want the eggs dried out but they don't mind serving other items dried out on the buffet. Biscuits are mini and crispy crunchy on the bottom. The gravy tasted like it was from a package and not freshly made. Great sweetbreads and a great variety of fruit. A little pricey for the buffet. read more

My family of 4 had the breakfast buffet. There's not much to choose from. Scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, bacon, sausage, and fruit. No omelets or pancakes. Scrambled eggs were just OK. Biscuits and gravy were also just OK. The majority of the buffet is fruit. The buffet at Shoney's is much better and much cheaper. I was expecting it to be much better based on the crowds. Very disappointing and the price is outrageous. Ordering from the menu may be a better experience, but don't waste your time or money with the buffet. read more

Our party of 9 had a terrible experience at the Dunes. We waited over 40 minutes for our food after it was ordered. Then the 3 steaks we ordered medium came out rare. They went back and came back still rare. My soft shells came out colder than the cole slaw that came with it. When we spoke to the manager she did credit us for the steaks but her overall attitude was poor and made it seem like we did something wrong. To wrap it up the waiter never came back after redelivering the rare steaks. We had to seek out the manager to get our check. I am usually easy going but this was a bad experience and can't recommend it to anyone. read more

Wonderful service and delicious food! The seafood scampi is fabulous. Also had fried clam plate, fried fish, oyster and shrimp plate. Everything was delicious and we will be coming back every time we visit OBX!!!! read more

Britt M was our server she did an amazing job taking care of my family of 11. Very attentive, very nice smile. Our food was amazing 2 rare steaks both came out perfect, every course was on time which I appreciate. We will be back in the morning for breakfast. Thanks for the fantastic service! read more

After vacationing in the Outer Banks for years we finally made our way to this gem of a restaurant on the last night of our most recent trip. What a pleasant surprise. Our dinner was delicious and the service was excellent. Without question one of the cleanest restaurants we have visited. This restaurant has made it to our "must visit" list for all of our return trips to the Outer Banks. read more

The Dunes has suddenly become my favorite restaurant at the OBX, for many reasons. Tonight was our first experience at The Dunes, but won't be our last. The hush puppies were the best ever. We each ordered from the "pick 2" portion of the menu, choosing shrimp & crab cake, flounder & crab cake, and shrimp & flounder. All were prepared perfectly and came with 2 sides. The creamy cheese grits were straight out of grandma's kitchen and the vegetables were seasoned perfectly. We couldn't have asked for better service. Patrick was attentive, friendly, and a native who loves the Outer Banks. We felt as though we were sitting at a friend's kitchen table! We plan to return many more times this week and on future trips! read more

This is my "go to" place if I want a guaranteed good meal. I have been here many, many times over the years and have never been disappointed. read more

When we went here for breakfast, it was amazing. You got lots of food that was very good and afforable. However, when we went there for dinner there was less food and our waitress was very forgetful so we had to remind her three times to get napkins. read more

I've always enjoyed the Dunes when I bring my family to the Outer Banks, and was very impressed with their new look. The renovation looks fantastic, but they haven't lost the great food and many of the same faces that still welcome and serve you. The menu still had all of our favorites but it is evident they have a new chef and have added items accordingly. Really like the new bar/lounge area. Great addition to the beach night scene and a nice way to make for a diner and social evening. read more

For close to 20 years I have been going to Nags Head and for most of those years The Dunes was my family's favorite restaurant. NOT ANYMORE. The Dune has had dramatic change going from a nice traditional Nags Head restaurant to just another tacky over priced place to eat. Gone are the Nags Head traditional seafood dishes. These have been rplaced with A Down South EGG ROLL!! Yuck! Black Eyed Pea Cakes!! But wait...We do the the Nags Head Seafood Sensation. Sauteed shrimp,scallops, crabmeat, (sounds good) with spoon bread, and SPINACH AND TOMATO TARRAGON SAUCE! OMG. So long Dunes! My family will never come back this mess of a place. read more

Nice atmosphere and place however the food was overpriced and not very good. I got crab cakes for I believe $24 and they tasted like crab from a can grounded up and fried. No big hunks of crab at all. Not impressed. The hush puppies were the best part. We ordered chicken strips for my son off of the kids menu they were good but almost 8 bucks for 3 kids chicken fingers. My husband had jumbo lump crab and shrimp. Very small portion and he is usually pleased with everything however he thought it was too buttery and definitely not very tasty. Awful Arthur's has much better crab in our opinion. read more

I ate there with my family. I told them upon walking in have gluten allergies and they said they could accomendate that. My family got hush puppies, two baskets and both were cold and the worst hush puppies they've ever had. I ordered the combo and asked for broiled flounder and steamed shrimp but everything came out fried. when I inquired as to why it was fried, the waitress informed me everything come fried in he platter if you order one thing fried. I decided to not complain but share with my husband and try it. We both everything on my plate was discusting. My family has owned at the beach for over 30 years and I grew up every summer at the beach and was married there. We have had so much seafood on the outer banks and is was the worse. It isn't local or fresh but it looks like it is repackaged frozen and then friend in grease. Everything we got was also incredibly greasy. Very big disappointment. It is highly priced for quality and is in the same price range as OBX finest seafood resturants. So please go somewhere else. You might almost cry at the table of disappointment like I did. read more

We have a vacation home in Duck and in the off season I like to try restaurants that I would not drive to in the summer traffic. First time at Dunes. Very good traditional food. Nothing on the menu that I couldn't pronounce or had to Google. (Probably why the dinner crowd tonight was a little on the "older" side.) Started with a nice glass of red wine $7, and the complimentary hush puppies (very dense, like a donut, served with honey butter. Yes, I ate all of them.) Cup of she crap soup. Very thick and yummy. $6. Had the one crab cake with two sides, cheese grits and cole slaw ($19). The crab cake was a little small, but it was almost all big lumps of white crab meat with very little filler or mayo. The grits were yummy and the cole slaw was good. I took a piece of key lime pie home and that was very good ($5). Good consistency and nice lime flavor. Bottom line, not some new-age eatery with craft beers and "foofy" food, but a good solid meal at reasonable prices. Service was very good. read more

Just returned from our annual OBX getaway and decided to let the world know about our experience at The Dunes. As a party of twelve I must say it was a welcome change to hear that we were able to reserve a table in advance! From the minute we walked into the lobby no one could stop commenting on the upscale decor throughout the restaurant. We were seated immediately and the waiter was great (can't remember his name, staying in the OBX for the surfing if that helps). A few of our party took advantage of the Mai Tai drink special while the rest ordered the usual, which all came in speedy fashion. From the hush puppies to the entrees everything turned out great and with no complaints (tough with 12 picky eaters and one with a seafood allergy to boot which the staff was extremely helpful in accomodating). After our meal the manager made sure we enjoyed everything which added a nice personal touch to the evening. I would recommend The Dunes to anyone heading to the OBX, by far our best night out since we have been coming (5 years). Oh and by the way, $22 for basically the most expensive meal on the menu seemed very reasonable to me considering the average prices at other area restaurants. On a sidenote, how can you complain about getting french fries and coleslaw as a side when it clearly states on the menu that that is what the dish comes with?? Thanks for a great night out guys! read more