Aqua Restaurant

Waterfront restaurant in Duck, and certainly one of the nicest restaurants in the area. Certainly decent views of the sound coast, and at times, even some wildlife. Parking can be a bit tough, but there's a small auxiliary lot directly across the street.Wine and cocktails at this place are pretty decent. Their wine list is quite good, and they have some wonderful selections available. Appetizer menu is also quite good. For us, we had the bangin' shrimp and the whipped goat cheese dip. The goat cheese was tremendous, and a huge portion to boot. The bangin' shrimp was also very good. I wouldn't say it was spicy at all, but the sauce was quite good, and the shrimp was perfectly cooked. the batter wasn't too heavy, and the result was a nice light crisp. I think it might be a rice flour batter.For dinner, we had the NY Strip and the saffron seafood pasta. The pasta was absolutely tremendous! Sometimes you get a seafood pasta with an almost fishy taste, but not this at all. The homemade pasta was delicious and the sauce fabulous. The steak was a bit of a different story. The sauce was pretty good, but despite ordering it medium, i received well done. Dinner took a bit of time and i was really hungry, so i didn't send it back, but honestly, for the price they charge, that's unacceptable. A well done steak is a travesty; tough, dry, and tasteless. I really do expect better from this place.Service at this place was quite good as well. Friendly staff throughout, and easy to work with for reserving an eight person table.The completely ruined steak not withstanding, this place was pretty great! It's expensive, but you get some pretty great food, and I have to assume they know how to make a proper steak and just had a moment. In fairness, this is more of a seafood restaurant, and i had considered the shrimp and grits, so perhaps i should've gone with that instead. Anyway, this place is certainly worth a shot.

This place has the best espresso martini in all of OBX, IMHO. Their bloody marys are also pretty solid. If you're craving seafood, their oysters on the half shell will also make you pretty happy. I mostly come to Aqua to grab a drink, sit outside and enjoy the view, which really can't be beat. They have a full bar with a robust drink selection plus plenty of beer and wine options. Service is usually pretty good, though there's one guy bartender here who's always in a bad mood, but he makes a good drink so you know, trade offs.They have live music here during the summer and a fire pit. The boardwalk outside leads to the shops and restaurants in Duck, so this is a great place to either start or end your night. The spa here is also top notch. If you have back pain a massage and a cocktail at Aqua is the remedy you need.

I am a big fan of the food here. It is also very celiac friendly with lots of GF gluten free options. I got the shrimp and grits and was a fan. The grits came on - a squash sauce maybe? - it was an u usual combination but it worked well together. The scallop ceviche was also good but was not really a soup. We came with a 12 person group and they were able to handle us easily. The staff was cool and took my allergy seriously. I liked the place. Two thumbs up for Aqua.Side note: I swear someone handed me a large print menu but no, that is how they look here. So to all the people who wear cheaters, you are welcome at Aqua. Ha ha.

Party of 3 for a 5-star family dinner!If you're looking for a high season experience in the off season, Aqua is the place to find it. In addition to a full menu, they also offer live music and after spending 2 days scouring Duck for another dinner venue with live music, I can honestly say Aqua is doing something right. The locals don't settle for the cheap seats so get there first, make reservations or get there early if you want a dinner view. I'm a sucker for a good steak, but this time I think I found something better, SWEET AND SMOKEY FRENCH CUT CHICKEN BREAST. Brown sugar and smoked paprika is an excellent pairing to the white cheddar and chive glazed potato gnocchi. Having the arugula emulsion, and crème fraîche served on the side was a good choice, no need mess with a good thing. Live music, a perfectly paired dinner with family and personable staff, they are doing it right here! Cheers!!

One of my faves in OBX! The service, food, ambiance (live music with adirondack chairs - swoon!) are all great. My most recent visit I had the bangin shrimp and salmon. Both were excellent! They have great outdoor seating overlooking the water and live music, and afterwards, or even while I'm waiting for the food, I like to go downstairs and listen to the music. Also very kid friendly! Highly recommend.

The perfect fine dining experience in Duck, NC. Our waiter was prompt and kind and the food was outstanding. We chose Aqua to celebrate a 32nd birthday and were very happy that we did. To start, we had the goat cheese dip and shrimp. Both were fantastic. I ordered the French cut chicken, which was very juicy and flavorful. We made reservations well in advance and are very happy we did.Looking forward to coming back next year!

Great place, stellar service. Amazing food. The soup was phenomenal! Loved the ceviche! Only gripe I had was the restaurant allowing a large party to take up the entire bar area. There should be a maximum of 2-4 people per party to sit at the bar, not a large family of 9 with a young child.

We LOVE Aqua. This time we arrived an hour early (oops, I mixed up our reservation time). They were able to seat us 30 minutes early which was great! We waited outside by the live music and had a drink. The mixed drinks were delicious. The staff was attentive made sure our evening was delightful from start to finish. Filet was cooked perfectly.

We came here for Easter brunch! We each chose a lobster roll with different options. One chose a side salad and the others chose french fries. For dessert there was chocolate ganache and raspberry sorbet.We really enjoyed our lobster roll, because it is slightly different than the New England style you would find on Cape Cod, etc. The waitress was very attentive and the ambience was springy. They were walking around the Easter bunny and giving out Easter eggs! The girls loved it.

Seriously the most horrible restaurant get a new hostess. You just lost over a $1000 due to your incompetent employee. I have never seen anything quite like this. Stay away from this restaurant.We tried to sit with a large party of 12 and they couldn't put two tables together.#obx #northcarolina #visitnc#outerbanks #outerbanksnc #obxlife #outerbanksedit #nagshead #beach #nc #visitnc #kittyhawk #beachlife #obxvacation #obxlocal #impossibletraveler #usatravel #usaroadtrip #adventuresofMMROBX #adventuresofMMR #ducknc #staysaltyobx#obxeats #obxfoodie #obxhiddengems