Love coming here! The food is great. However they are busy so I wouldn't come with a group larger than 4 or else you may be waiting a while. However it's definitely worth the wait. read more

Our family ate here during our beach trip. Wait time is 30-40 min. Parking lot is small so you will have to park across the street. You can't park at the colors store next to restaurant or your car will be towed. We got lucky & were able to get a good parking space. The food was okay. I got the fried shrimp dinner. I have had better living near the coast all my life. The shrimp was good size and serving however they were very salty. My daughter got the blackened shrimp & that was better in my opinion. My husband got the grilled chicken which I do not suggest. It was super dry. read more

The atmosphere of the restaurant was clean and welcoming. It wasn't a busy restaurant, but staff was somewhat friendly. I tried the green tomato sandwich and it was okay. I can't say I would go there again. read more

We did not enjoy it. The food was good besides the biscuits and gravy; which tasted AWFUL, the undercooked eggs, and the grits; they were the worst we have ever had, although they were not as bad as the service. Our waitress, with the very short, blonde hair, was MIA the whole time and we never got so much as a refill, nevermind the condiments etc. we asked for many times. When we were ready to leave, we were waiting for around 20 minutes, with a completely empty table, but still had to go ask for her to bring the check. We would not return based on this experience. The restaurant itself was very dirty with dust and mold from water leaks all over the ceiling, and tons of dust on the fans and on the lighting fixtures; hanging directly above the table and above YOUR FOOD! It seems like more effort goes into decorating the place than cleaning it. read more

The shrimp & grits were amazing! Our server Miki was excellent. This is a great spot for breakfast. I would return again. Update: We returned for dessert. The key lime pie & turtle cheesecake were delicious. read more

Breakfast is overpriced & over cooked. On the other hand, Server was attentive and pleasant... party of 6 charged gratuity automatically.

We came here for our first brunch on the island. We already talked about coming back this week trying other things on the menu. We started w fried pickles and peppers. It was really tasty w home made ranch, and not too greasy. I never had fried banana pepper and that was a good addition. Hubby had the shrimp burger - it was simple and good but not amazing. The fries were okay. I had the shrimp and grits which is what a lot of Yelpers' fav. We really enjoyed this dish- had a lot of flavor, very generous portion w a lot of shrimp. I would recommend this to others. The price was very reasonable. And the service was great- attentive, friendly, and quick. The waiting area on the patio was very nice. read more

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Service and quality has been inconsistent. We've ordered takeout and dined in. Sometimes awesome. Sometimes average at best.

We enjoyed a great late lunch here. Our server, Sage, was amazing! Food was delicious and service was fast. We wanted to eat breakfast the next day but got there later than we expected and the wait was too long for our schedule. Will definitely be back on our next visit to EI. read more

Nice place right by the entrance of Emerald Isle. The spinach and artichoke dip was probably my favorite. I wouldn't say it's super special but the staff are very friendly. read more

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Great food, family atmosphere & I can't wait to go back! The servers were friendly & easy going!

My family and I have come here for years, super cool environment and I love that there is a nice yard out in the back. I ordered the Shrimp and Flounder platter w Mac n Cheese, which I liked! However, the shrimp was a little too oily, and the flounder was way too salty on the outside but other than that had a great time! Love you all read more

The Trading Post - Shrimp flounder platter with MacnCheesd - Southern Near Me - Emerald Isle, North Carolina

Breakfast was 5 star and no complaints. Dinner was a one star and One of the worsts steaks I've ever had. It looked like they were under staffed and the manager was pulling cooking duty. I imagine that this not the norm. read more

The Trading Post - supposed to be rare - Southern Near Me - Emerald Isle, North Carolina

We've eaten breakfast here twice now this week! Being from out of town, we were a bit nervous about dining out during COVID, but the staff were very diligent about masks and keeping everything clean! Everyone was very friendly and service was great! I definitely recommend the chicken and waffles, and my husband was a big fan of both the chicken and biscuit bowl and the steak and eggs! Don't sleep on the fall mimosa! We'll probably be back before we head out of town read more

The Trading Post - Chicken and waffles - Southern Near Me - Emerald Isle, North Carolina

Overall terrible experience on the Fourth of July. Food took 90 minutes to arrive, orders were wrong, flies everywhere, horrible garbage smell while sitting outside, and the food was basic at best. Definitely not worth the money or time. read more

The Trading post was a favorite of ours until recently. Whoever they have cooking for them needs to go family or not. The food has been okay at best. The chicken and waffles which is easy to make was over cooked the chicken was so hard and over cooked I could barely eat it. My daughter got a BLT and it had one slice of lettuce two pieces of bacon and no tomato. My wife got a sandwich and fries and the fries had so much salt on them it could have melted the North Pole. The quality has gone way down. Won't go back until they get a new cook and add to the menu. read more

Was there for lunch today! Drinks were really good n on time but the food was late coming out people after us got served the same time as we did! Gave the waitress a cash tip n paid with my card n she forgot to give it back had to ask for it!! Excuse was we were slow so we sent someone home!! Maybe she had 5 tables!! Second time I have been here will not go back!! read more

My wife and I were trying to find a place to eat and read good things about the TP and decided to give it a try. I had the burger and my wife had the a pork chop with a sweet potato and both were fantastic. Our server was really good also, I think his name was Anthony? He was a bald guy with a beard and was really good and attentive, he made some great recommendations as well. Don't hesitate to visit the Trading Post if you are on Emerald Isle. read more

First time at the trading Post and it won't be the last! I think we found our new go to place on the island. Mother's Day breakfast and everything was great. First of all the wait staff are the friendliest and most helpful. Even though they were busy they took the time to answer questions and make us feel right at home. We had breakfast food which was really good. The portions are quite large but not ridiculous. The prices are very reasonable especially for on the island. We looked over the lunch and dinner menus and I can hardly wait to go back! If you don't try this place you will be missing a great restaurant read more

No Heinz Ketchup! automatic .5 deduction. Nice crab ball appetizer. Nice hush puppies. Very very hot wings. Bad Mac n cheese. Great taco slaw and chicken tacos. County fried chicken was spot on. Nice decor. Loud! Did I mention the ketchup? Step up your ketchup game! read more

The Trading Post - WTF - Southern Near Me - Emerald Isle, North Carolina

We went there for dinner and it was a hour wait but we decided to hang. It was not worth the wait. The food was not anything like we expected and we waited for another hour to be served. The shrimp was tiny tiny and didn't taste like anything at all, the portions were small. The apples out of a can and the beans tasted like bacon. My advice-- keep driving read more

The place looks nice and has distanced the tables. While the staff were wearing mask. They were mostly wearing them improperly just covering the mouth. Later our server came around with no mask at all. I also saw people coming out of the kitchen with no mask. The food was ok. The service was painfully slow. We had finished our meals before she even checked to see how we were doing. Then we had to wait and wait for her to bring our bill. We just felt ignored the whole time I am willing to give another chance once this pandemic is over simply because it looks like a cool place to hangs outside on a cool evening. read more

This restaurant was not bad at first but my friend has an extremely intense allergy to shellfish and we was assured they could provide food that was not contaminated or cooked on a surface that seafood had been cooked. They lied about their ability to provide this and my friend got sick from cross contamination from shellfish. It definitely was upsetting after being told specifically that they would be able to give her safe food. If they had been honest and realistic about their ability to provide this, it wouldn't have been as bad. Anyway, be very careful if you have an allergy and try to come here because they may not be honest about how much they can ensure lack of cross contamination! read more

Food was great and drinks were even better! Went with two of our kids and no one was disappointed! Lots of flavor and good size portions

I called to place a pickup order. They put me on hold and did not come back after 4+ mins. When I called back, their answering service was on for no pick up orders. We drove over and let us place order in restaurant. GM was very nice and apologized. She explained they were extremely short staffed and they were. Only her and one other person working. We got their special shrimp and chicken carbonara we saw on their FB page and was it was very good. read more

We ate here twice while at the beach. We did dinner one night. We were told the wait would be 40 minutes but it ended up being only 20. The service was great. Our waiter, Ryan, busted it all night. Mixed reviews on the food. I got the Fried Chicken. Not great. The chicken was really small for the price. The grits and corn on the cob were great though. My wife loved the shrimp and grits. My mother got the fried shrimp and it was good. My kids got burgers, blackened flounder and peel and eat shrimp. They all loved their dishes. We went back for breakfast a day later. We were not disappointed. The chicken bowl is perfect as are the waffles. My wife got the huevos rancheros and she loved it. We will definitely go back. read more

The Trading Post - Fried Shrimp - Southern Near Me - Emerald Isle, North Carolina

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Great place. The low country boil for two was 60 dollars but was more than we could eat. great variety. Very tasty. Great service. Give it a try. read more

OMG...we are northerners and truly didn't understand the shrimp and grits thing until we ate them at the Trading Post! I ordered grouper tacos which were fabulous but ended up scarfing up half of my husband's plate of shrimp and grits....we shared it cause it was such a big helping! Took the tacos home. Oh Lordy...go there and try it! Insanely good! read more

All around great experience! First time there and the atmosphere was good. 30-40 minutes wait on a Saturday early afternoon but that's to be expected. Dog-friendly outdoor patio (and play area) out back. Multiple servers came to check on us through out our dining to keep our drinks full and ensure we were satisfied. Food was awesome! Great place! read more

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I've only had one dish here - the southern omelette - and it is simply my amazing. I'd never even considered the possibility of such deliciousness. A beautiful omelette with collard greens, black eyed peas and country ham. I can't get over it. I am in love. The ambience is nice, especially the patio out back. The only problem really is the wait. Be prepared for it. This establishment is small, and we've had 45 minute (or longer) waits each time we've come. The wait staff is friendly, but we have gone long periods of time without seeing them. But, honestly, the food is amazing. I've sampled some of my wife's dishes as well, and I've never had anything at the Trading Post that wasn't delicious! read more

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Great service! Deli style place with great menu choices. Everything is fresh. I like the dining outside option.

We were looking for a good lunch while we waited for our rental to be available. My in-laws and my husband and I sat at the bar. We ordered Local beers which the bartender recommended and they were delicious. My husband had the oysters with pimento cheese grits, I had the fried shrimp and my In-laws had the fish Rubin sandwich and everyone was happy. Interesting southern food in a fun environment. Would come back and sit on there nice patio area. read more

The Trading Post - Fried oyster with pimento grits - Southern Near Me - Emerald Isle, North Carolina

Just good food, good service, very comfortable place to hangout, have some good food and beverage.

We had a nice visit to the trading post. Our food was pretty good, nothing to rave about but we were satisfied. The service really made our night though. Our waitress, Sarah, was amazing! She was so sweet and personable, she really made it a fun night. We'll be back--they have comfort food and a good bar! Nice outdoor dining spot as well and dog friendly. read more

That was nasty... i got what tbey called meatloaf eww. The green beans was so salty the mac cheese was plane no taste funny thing was the plate was hot but food was room temp....never again read more

The Trading Post - Southern Near Me - Emerald Isle, North Carolina

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The food was ok, thought the shrimp and grits was the best thing our table got. I think this place is understaffed, it took a very long time for our food and drinks to come out. The dining room is also very loud despite not being very big - something wrong with the acoustics. They said the wait time was 40 min-50 mins so we went to the grocery store and came back 40 minutes later and the lady was annoyed with us and said she called our name 30 mins ago, anyway, hope your wait time is that short! read more

Awesome customer service and the food was great! I had the chicken and waffles and the ONLY negative was that it could have had more heat. It was pretty sweet. Can't wait to go back! read more

And to think we were going to a souvenir shop, Colors but they were closed so we ventured in here. Great place! We were greeted from the parking lot by a young man telling us Colors was closed. He had a huge smile on his and apologized. Everyone has been so nice and helpful. Our waiter suggested his favorite fried green tomatoes. Ok y'all, don't harp on me but I've never had fried green tomatoes and I've lived down south for 20 years. These are delicious especially with the pepper jelly. I ordered the southerner salad. Delicious! I left there with a food baby. My boys both ordered chicken and waffles. Excellent. The waffles were fluffy and the chicken pieces were huge! (I deleted the picture by accent, sorry y'all) read more

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Heard this was a good place, so we headed over on over. We arrived just at 5pm and the crowds hadn't descended yet, so we were quickly seated. By the time we left around 630 the line was considerable, but not daunting. All I wanted was shrimp, which I got with cole slaw, hushpuppies, and a side of fries. It was all delicious, and reasonably priced for the large portions. The real star of the show was, surprisingly, the fried green tomatoes with house-made pimento cheese and an exceptional hot pepper jam. Perfect with the hushpuppies, too. My wife got the burger, and at half a pound was a bit more than she could be handle. She said that it, too, was super. The third member of our party ordered a special: grilled wahoo with a crab cake topper that was absolutely massive, and--she said--equally delicious. Our young waitress was friendly and attentive. We'll be back next year! read more

Great space, indoor and outside seating & decor were chic and funny. Fried chicken sandwich salad was delicious, ranch is very good. Pot roast not good. Mac and Cheese was cold. Slow-ish waitress and wait for food was moderate. dogs at surrounding tables outside which was fun. Price reasonable. read more

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