Our Airbnb host recommended this place, and a quick yelp check solidified our plans. We got there a few minutes before the opened. It was about 90 degrees out and we were hot and tired. Chelsea greeted us and welcomed us in. Full disclosure. I had a cold, and was not feeling my best. Somehow, Chelsea made me feel like she would make sure I got what I needed. From bringing extra wasabi, to creating an appetizer that wasn't on the menu, she and the kitchen staff made us feel special. Hubby had the steak, 10/10. Same with the fried oysters. I had the tuna tataki, and with the extra wasabi I could finally breathe lol. My daughter had the chowder and a crab cake. She wasn't feeling well either but the chowder was so good she took it to go. Highly recommend if you're near Oriental NC. read more

Popped in Labor Day weekend for dinner and was greeted with a wait time of 30 minutes but they made some adjustments and sat the three of us down at a high top table. I ordered a clam chowder and a burger w/ sweet potato fries. As someone who lives in New England I am happy to say this is a delicious chowder. To my liking; a thick broth and the right amount of fixings of clams, potatoes, and other ingredients. I would recommend not using the saltine crackers, not needed. Ordered my burger rare and it came out as I ordered it. Sweet potato fries were good too. We ordered a key lime pie for the table and was very good! For one of two restaurants in town I would recommend making reservations to be on the safe side. read more

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Food and drinks are good here. If Chelsea is working be sure to sit at the bar. She is the absolute best bartender. Burgers are good. The habanero burger is not that hot so enjoy. Great place to spend an evening. read more

Toucan Grill & Fresh Bar - Bar area - American Near Me - Oriental, North Carolina

The service can be slow depending on who is working the food is alright depending on what you are wanting!

Nice marina view from deck BUT...Over priced, limited menu, surly service and definitely not welcoming. Uncrowded, sat outside, took a good 10 minutes for a server to appear, ordered drinks, another 1o minutes and one of the drinks was wrong. No apology, Server "I'll be back". Placed orders and another 20 minutes later the food arrived, poor presentation all around and the burgers obviously were sitting under a heat lamp for too long. Had to ask for utensils and ketchup! Will not be back. read more

Good food, good service, and love the rustic feel, water views and can park at the docks.

We absolutely adore Toucan and their staff. Most bad reviews here of our favorite Oriental restaurant note the elevated prices and availability during peak times and seasons. The reality is food prices everywhere have risen 30-40% in the last 2 years, especially seafood at waterfront restaurants. Their website menu is outdated, so don't expect the same menu options or prices. The prices are indeed high for several menu items but many locals, us included, are thankful for this restaurant and it's not uncommon for it to close in the winter due to lack of profits, so we consider it a convenience tax to not always feel like we need to drive to New Bern. If you are simply concerned about prices, Brantley's would be a better choice for you. Just like many waterfront restaurants and charming towns, there are times where there may be events or they may be understaffed. To give an entire business and their staff 1 star because you couldn't get the table you wanted and prompt service during an event seems ridiculous. Call ahead and check availability during festivals, events, and peak tourism seasons. And have a bit of patience. This is a small town, and a friendly and lovely one at that. The lovely people that work here really make the difference for us, and the bar is always a great time! Our favorite items there are the crab dip, which you can order with pita or fresh chips, the burgers, salads, chowder, wings, and pick 2-3 seafood (albeit pricey). Great side items include the loaded baked potato, fries, sweet potato fries, and side salad. They can add additional toppings to your side salad like cheese or red onion if you ask. Several desserts are locally made, while the rest are frozen, so simply ask what was locally made that's available and you'll have a very decadent end to your meal! A great place to visit! And their porch is also dog friendly! read more

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The flounder basket was absolutely delicious!! The mahi mahi bites were also top notch as well as the crab dip! The pita for the crab dip are so crispy and yummy! read more

Fabulous fresh fish bites, and had the mahi salad too! All locally caught fish! The server was very helpful and friendly. And we sat outside right by the water watching the boats in port. Lovely! Will definitely be back! read more

I've heard many opinions about Toucan grill, some good some not so great. Figure I'll find out my own this time while I was in Oriental. One of the few places open on a Monday night , toucan is a pretty casual place, bar with a couple of tvs. This happens to be off season, so as we got seated our server, Chelsea, told us they had a limited menu right now, but it had a little of everything and the bar had a decent amount of liquor. We got the bottle of Cava, which was a great price, less than $20 for the bottle. Surprisingly pretty good too! All 3 of us got 2 glasses each, not a bad deal! Ordered the tuna tatakappetizer, served with a seaweed salad, soy and wasabi. Loved the seaweed salad, something different . The tuna was cooked nice and rare, and the wasabi! Wow. Perfect app! My friends ordered the hamburger, no bun, keto ! With the California veggies as a side. Said it was cooked perfectly, and she loved the veggies, and the burger looked fantastic. Had lots of cheese, onions and mushrooms. Also the Mahi Mahi bites also, nicely battered and not greasy, nice big pieces of fish. She also loved the veggies. I had the peel and eat shrimp, loved the seasoning, and the spicy cocktail sauce, opened up my nasal passages well! The hot chips, also great, crunchy, not greasy and plentiful. Everyone loved those! The key lime pie rounded us out, nice tart, great crust. Perfect meal ender. I have to say my first experience here was really good. It was a smaller menu, for the season, but still enough options. I would return here for sure. They have a great view of the water, and a covered patio too, which I'm sure opens up in the warmer months. I can see why it's a staple here, and shockingly open 7 days a week, a rare find in the restaurant world these days. read more

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Oriental is a quaint little town with limited eating options. Out of those options I would recommend the Toucan Grill. It took forever to get our food and the burger was clearly a frozen patty. The menu also said house made pimento cheese. That was definitely not the case. We were not very impressed. Especially for how long we waited and the price. read more

Toucan Grill & Fresh Bar - American Near Me - Oriental, North Carolina

Came here for cocktail and appetizer. Absolutely charming bartenders, strong drinks and the shrimp were absolutely the best I've ever had in my life. Like not kidding, and I'm married to a southern man that LOVES shrimp and we both agreed these were the best, cooked to perfection, super fresh, nicely seasoned, they were almost sweet tasting! This is the spot to chat with locals and learn about the amazing town of Oriental. read more

Toucan Grill & Fresh Bar - Peel and eat shrimp 1/2 lb. - American Near Me - Oriental, North Carolina

Soup cold when it arrived. Seriously??? How hard is it to serve a hot cup of clam chowder? Here's your hint wait staff...if you don't need to say "careful that cup is hot" perhaps you should pay closer attention. Bartender was awesome. Waitress? Not so much. If I want to be cried at, I will go visit my mother in law. I'm here for food and drink, not a counseling session. read more

Amazing key lime pie and everything was perfect. Personally I think this might just be the best restaurant I've been to in a while

The food is very good when Shante makes it. The bartender Chelsea is top tier and amazing. She makes the best drinks! The ambiance is welcoming and everyone is so nice. I will definitely be back! read more

Amazing restaurant!!! Great food and fabulous service. Thank you Ashley for fabulous service every Friday night. Try their crab dip and fried green beans!! read more

Food was good but 19$ for 6 little pc's of Maui Maui app was way way over priced. The home made chips were good and the burgers tge guys said we're good as well! read more

The location of the Toucan Grill is perfect! It is right in the heart of Oriental and right on the water. We were able to sit on the lawn at a picnic table away from people and enjoy the view of the boats. The servers all wore masks and followed COVID requirements. They do have patio seating and dine in seating available. Our server was friendly, but did seem a little overwhelmed. We did not see much of her. I ordered the fish tacos and my friend ordered the shrimp and grits. I thought both were meh. The fish tacos came out with what looked like stewed tomato salsa - which I thought was bizarre but I was starving so I ate them. They were edible, but I felt like I was eating a $15 salsa taco, not a fish taco. I could barely find the fish. I told the server that they were barely ok, and she didn't seem to hear me. I tried my friend's shrimp and grits. Her entree was definitely better than mine, but it was still just okay. I don't know if it was an off night, or that I should have ordered anything but the fish tacos, but I was not impressed with The Toucan Grill. read more

Toucan Grill & Fresh Bar - Fish tacos - American Near Me - Oriental, North Carolina

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Great service. The bartenders are awesome. They give a generous pour. The wings and home chips are delicious.

Don't go. This is by far the worst seafood I've had . The wait staff inattentive and distracted. Undercooked and over priced.

Food and service were excellent. best clam chowder and wings weve had anywhere. Scrumptious crab dip. we sat on the deck and enjoyed the sea breeze. read more

Slow service with a lack of attention to the patrons. The Little engine that could was disappointed at this snails paced staff. No refills on beverages. Ice what a luxury for your beverages but available upon request. The burger patties are so well shaped for a place with fresh in the name. Could it have been frozen we will never know. It was such along wait we named the flies read more

Got the chicken tenders and buffalo wings. The tenders were ok but the wings were just plain not good. They also were in the middle of defrosting a dessert, which I got to-go and was also not very impressed by. Their explanation was that someone had forgotten to defrost it earlier. However, I was most annoyed by the fact that they serve styrofoam cups (un-recyclable), which just left a bad taste in my mouth after everything else that was subpar. Note: review written during Covid-19. read more

The Tuscan grill has been a good place for lunch. The salads was good size. The crab cake was pretty good. The service was great.My only complaint was the draft beer not working and pretty limited bottle selection. read more

Had hamburgers , we requested medium and both burgers were over cooked and dried up , Service was great but food was lousy read more

Whenever we are in Oriental, we go to the Toucan. It never lets us down. The seafood is always fresh and delicious. We love to sit out on the veranda and look at the water. The service is terrific, too. Give it a try. You won't be sorry. read more

We keep coming back to Toucan whenever we pass through Oriental. There's no reason to go anywhere else. The food and service are consistently excellent, with very reasonable prices. One of the few places where you can get gluten free fried seafood! I was tempted to try other menu items, but that's my go-to at this place. My partner had the tuna tataki and it was also delicious. The veggies were not on par with the rest of our food, but the high quality of everything else, coupled with the extremely friendly and attentive staff and decent prices more than made up for it. You'll find locals at the bar - and outside at the tiki bar is like a local Cheers (we were outsiders) - and there's a good selection of drinks and food. You can watch your favorite game on one of their TVs. Outdoor seating is available. Right on the water where the shrimp boats come in. read more

Have tried to eat here 4 times over the last month..each time been turned away. Not adding names to the list...tried to get take out..oh we are not taking orders because we have a wait to sit and eat. Have eaten there many times and food is good..but over priced. The drive is not worth it..especially when you are tuned away when you get there. And you can't even order take out! Done with this restaurant! read more

If you are looking to eat anywhere on a Sunday stay away from oriental!! Nothing is ever open! Went there during the week, place has a menu with outrageous prices for what they serve. Labor Day weekend what a disappointment 6:30pm arrive after calling to be told they aren't seating anyone because their cook went home early??? This is why places fail, take the drive to newbern so you don't have to deal with the night of the living dead fossils in that area as well. read more

Recommended by a local. It took 15 minutes from seating to have someone take our order. He brought half full cups of coffee after another ten minutes. There was another waitperson working the deck who walked by us four times without speaking to us. Later arrivals who were seated in her area were served before we were. Two of us, four of them. Food was good but pricey. Absolutely appalling service. It should not take more than an hour to get two sandwich orders. Avoid unless you are prepared to wait. And wait some more read more

I called in a takeout order for two Toucan burgers. I mentioned that the menu on the web shows they are $10 each and the lady on the phone said the burgers are $16. She only mentioned the price because I mentioned it first. When I went to pickup the burgers I paid with a credit card and she said the cost was $38. I had already signed the slip and looked over her shoulder to see she charged me $4 for a to go order. The website doesn't mention any of these hidden fees. Based on the web menu my cost should be a little more than $20 yet my total was $38. The burgers were good but that's the last time I'll get scammed by them. read more

Was at the Oriental Marina Hotel during my four days, rooms were overpriced for their rundown condition. Filthy coffee pot, door and screen door to deck very difficult to open no useable internet, cheap uncomfortable furniture Visited the Tucan grill twice. First visit shrimp scampi and pasta, very good but overpriced. Second visit just wanted pie for the two of us, the hostess actually rolled her eyes and reluctantly sat us at a table in a corner at the entrance behind her station. I looked at the menu and saw they had prime rib and informed the same hostess that was standing near by that I changed my mind and would also we would also be having dinner. After another eye roll she latterly huffed off. More time passed and no service so we got up to leave and endured more rudeness. Very disappointed in the service and my stay at Oriental Marina. First class prices with third class service. I will choose other options for my future visits to the wonderful Village of Oriental, NC. read more

A disappointing experience no doubt. I want to give them a bit of slack because of how busy they were on July 4th weekend, but I can't, because the problems I have are things that I think would be evident even on a normal day. I'll ignore the fact that our meal took almost 2 hours in total because of the crazy volume they dealt with (by their standards), but at the same time... why have so many tables if you can't handle them on a weekend you know you'll be slammed? As with other places in Oriental, the sweet tea does not taste fresh brewed. I believe it is the instant stuff that comes on fountain machines. To me, this is not acceptable in the southern US, especially in an area where it is hot so often. Our meal came with bread, which was good since it took so long to get our food, but the bread did not taste particularly fresh. The butter was infused with some key lime however, which offered a unique taste. Once the meal came, I was incredibly let down by the portion size on the "Seafood Platter" which was exactly 6 pinky finger sized shrimp, and 5 quarter sized scallops for 24 dollars. Yeah it came with two sides... onion rings that were just bad, and cole slaw that was just ok. The waitress was incredibly overburdened, but even that considered... there were a lot of screw ups. One person at our table didn't get their salad until just before the food came. There were no condiments on the table, and clearly many people would need ketchup, cocktail sauce, tartar sauce, etc. We asked for these things, and she brought us 2 side cups of each for a table of 8. So we asked again for more. Drinks didn't get filled often and were occasionally filled incorrectly. Beyond all of this, you could hear the waitresses complaining aloud about the kitchen quote "Sh***** the Bed tonight", one of the biggest no-nos you possibly can have at a restaurant. No compensation for anything was offered on our bill. It is likely we will not be back. read more

I went here for dinner on Friday night and I liked it a lot. The menu was very much a variety and the food was good. I got the Toucan burger with homemade chips and Brussels sprouts. Everything was great! I loaded up on the beer too lol. The service was great and my waitress was helpful. She recommended the crab dip which was to die for! The only thing was that the mosquitos were really bad out there so we had to go inside eventually. The one thing I do like about this place is that most nights as kin as there is business they will stay open. It's a nice, quiet place they you can stay and drink and look at the water all night long! I would definitely recommend this place to anyone looking to get a nice meal and relax. Note, I was going to get prime rib by they ran out when we got there so get there early if you have a craving for steak! read more

Toucan Grill & Fresh Bar - Toucan burger with homemade chips and Brussels sprouts! - American Near Me - Oriental, North Carolina

Great coastal bar. Its not fancy just good food in a great location. Shrimp cocktail was good and drinks were cold, also had crabcake outside deck seating was nice read more

I loved my experience there! Their was this nice young lady I believe her name was carrie and she was the sweetest person.

My favorite sea food spot in the area. Best deal going is the shrimp or fish basket! The fried flounder is fresh and delicious. Order the home made chips instead of fries. Nice bar. Weather permitting (and if the flies aren't too bad!) sit outside and watch the boats come and go. The heart of Oriental. Don't expect five star service (especially outside) at this or any joint in this area. It's the beach, man. Not city service. If you are prepared for that you will thoroughly enjoy yourself.? read more

I've been here several times and always 5 stars. Saturday was a different experience but our server Rhonda saved the day. I give her 5 stars!!! Three people in my group and we wanted to sit at same waterfront table that we sat at on Wed. Had great time Wed. On Saturday the hostess completely ignored people waiting to be seated. She was on phone and after hanging up, picked up menus to place on table, still not acknowledging anyone's presence. After she seated couple, I asked for menus for our group. She told me we could not sit at that table, mumbled something about 3 people could not sit at table for 2 but she gave me menus. After sitting at table for awhile no one came to serve. My friend went in to bar to inquire and was rudely told by bartender that no one would serve us at that table. Instead of walking out we moved around the corner to another table. Let me just say, no other tables were occupied on outside patio..this is when Rhonda became our server and even inquired to hostess why we could not sit at high top table. Rhonda had same confused look we did, but she made our time there fun after a rough start. Actually made great new friends that were placed at outside table that had requested an inside table. Guess hostess wasn't listening to customers. In my heart I wanted to give more stars..the wings we had were tasty and cooked exactly how we requested. I will give it another try when back in Oriental just hope for a little politeness from the first person you encounter. Again Rhonda made the difference with a smile! read more

Fantastic food and GREAT staff!!! Gotta get the Bread pudding. BEST I ever had. It's a must

I was very disappointed with the dinner. I had the Tuna Tataki plate. I know that the tuna was not fresh, they just thawed it out. It had no flavor and was tuff to cut. The price tag was around $23.00. Too much for frozen tuna!!! The Green Dragon was good and the waitress was very pleasant. Maybe the burgers are better. Will not go back... read more