Coastal Cravings

Could have sworn I'd left a review before, but if not here it is (or an update at least)-Coastal Cravings is a required stop on our annual OBX trips, usually at least twice haha We like getting the steamer pots to make a dinner back at the house and when we come back to return the pots, we stay for lunch :)There are 2 variety of steamer pots, both come with corn, sausage, and potato in the mix, so you simply choose which seafood combination you prefer. The pots are built/priced in individual servings so you can pick and choose how many of which kind you'd like. The instructions (included of course) are straight forward and easy to follow. Just account for some time for the pots to be assembled once you order, and then to get to your kitchen, and then to build up that steam ( 'a watched pot' and all that...) Not a fast meal option, but always a super fresh and satisfying one. That being said, you can pick-up the pots using their drive thru lane window! haha For the dine-in experience, they don't take reservations, so at busier times you may have a little wait. The parking lot is also small, so you might end up across the street, but the speed limit is low in Duck, so crossing shouldn't be too tricky haha There is some patio seating when the weather is accommodating, and inside there are a handful of tables and bar seating. Service is always friendly :)I don't know if it's just my bad luck that none of the seafood restaurants in the DC suburbs seem to have clam strips? They are a favorite of mine at and I guess it's in the name, but Cravings clam stirps always hit the spot for me! Their fried shrimp, fish tacos, and yes even the cheeseburger, are also family favorites. If it floats your boat they have some cute merch options by the door as well. My sister and I couldn't resist the Triple D Guy Fieri t-shirts cause we're fans haha Beach trip isn't complete without a stop here :)

Recommended to us by my father in law, we stopped in on an off time as this place is known to fill up fast. We went for a late lunch and as we were leaving you could see the restaurant starting to fill for the early dinner goers. It's a smallish, hidden place behind a BP station but once you enter, its well lit and very clean/modern. We were seated prompty and our waiter stopped by and took our order. Got the wedge salad, hushpuppies, steamed shrimp and brisket sandwich. Food was delicious, easy to see why it was on the food network. Brisket sandwich was literally slices of brisket between 2 buns, wedge salad was crisp iceburg lettuce with loads of blue cheese and bacon. Only gripe was our waiter tended to forget about us as larger parties entered and didn't really check in. A few staff acted like it was a privilege for us to be served by them which was a bit of a turn off.

This was a small spot with outdoor seating. There also was a bar outside, but not sure if it was part of the establishment. The menu was diverse while the service was friendly. The food also came out very fast.For an appetizer, the hushpuppies ($7) were ordered. They came with whipped butter, but it was in the small packages. There were twelve medium sized balls that were fried appropriately and came out extremely hot. They were very tasty. There was a nice batter to filing ratio with plenty of flavor.I had the fish tacos ($15). There were two large tacos with beer battered rockfish, jicama slaw, chili lime mayo, and Pico de Gallo. They were stuffed appropriately with a lot of slaw. I would have preferred the rockfish to be a little bigger, but it was not a big deal as they were good and fried nicely. The mayo was a nice touch with the rest of the filling. I opted for the potato salad as a side, and it was pleasant. I also tried the fried green tomato sandwich that came with basil goat cheese, roasted red pepper, and a balsamic reduction. This was well put together. Every component of the sandwich complimented each other nicely. Will I go back? Yes.

Nothing like a delicious restaurant attached to a gas station . Despite that oddity, this place has a unique menu and wonderful atmosphere! At one point it was featured on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives, so they have a few things noted as such, but truly this place doesn't need an endorsement to eat there. I'm sure it helped people locate it, but once you get in there, you won't regret it! They've got some unique cocktails, which is always fun, and a menu filled with staples of an Outer Banks place as well as their own spin on favorites. The sauces on the shrimp and grits and scallops were rich and perfect for the dishes! Awesome service and very clean! I can't say enough nice things about this place.

We came here for breakfast on the last day of our trip. The restaurant is clean and comfortable. The employees were very friendly and attentive. We had the Baby Brie LT, Breakfast Plate (grits, bacon, english muffin, and add on of scrambled eggs), Mark's Big Breakfast (scrambled eggs, bacon, hash brown, pancake, and add on of biscuit). It was delicious and totally worth every penny. The pancake was the real highlight. It was thick, fluffy, and the size of a plate. The bacon was also really good, thick cut and crispy. The coffee was delicious and not bitter. The biscuit was moist and buttery. Overall, a great place to stop in for breakfast. We will definitely come back.

What's not to love about Coastal Cravings? Food is delicious, vibes are good, there's live music, hula hoops and games for the kiddos. Service can be slow at times but that's to be expected. There's a full bar with plenty of on tap options and a few fun mixed drink concoctions if you're in need of some stronger stuff. The hush puppies, mahi bites and crab cake sandwich are all stand outs here. I haven't had anything from Coastal Cravings that I truly didn't like. If you're not in the mood for fancy food, they do have a grill with hot dogs, hamburgers and other finger food options available on certain nights outdoors. I'd recommend bringing some strong bug spray if you're hanging out at their outdoor area, especially if you're the type to get bit. Bug bites are pretty much the only downside to this place and a small price to pay for a fun night out, really.

We wanted to walk around Duck and we decided to eat lunch here. I had the Espresso Martini and it was outstanding. For appetizer we had the Fried Green tomatoes and they were the best I've ever had; the feta, roasted peppers and balsamic glaze made it so interesting to the palate. For entrees we both had the Lobster Roll served on a delicious potato roll with coleslaw. These rolls were great portions with large pieces of lobster. Service was great, the place was nice and clean.

Well how can you visit the OBX and not try a place that has been featured on the Food Network? We stayed right down the street from CC and had never tried their breakfast, so we got up early and phoned in our orders. We arrived 10 minutes later and the order was ready. The pancakes were ginormous and light and fluffy. Flavor was buttery. The crab cake breakfast sandwich was on point as well. My daughter really enjoyed the sausage one day and the bacon the second day. We had done dinner there before and breakfast did. It disappoint. Seems you can get exceptional quality food both at breakfast and dinner. A great experience with no negatives. Staff was friendly as well. We'll be repeat patrons on our next visit to the OBX.

We ordered take out from Coastal Cravings, and it was delicious! We were not sure if they would have seats around 6 pm on a Friday because they had live music at that time, so we called in a take out order. We actually could have eaten there, as they had a couple of available tables both inside and outside. The inside is cute with a few tables. There are more places to eat and drink outside, as well as bar outside too. Our order was ready when we arrived, and the staff were cheerful and friendly. Our dinners were the fish and chips, which came with four pieces of fish, lots of thin French fries, and a tasty mayo-based dip. We also ordered the hush puppies appetizer, which came with 12 for $7. They were excellent and came with whipped butter. We also ordered the jerk chicken with rice and zucchini as the vegetable. It was spiced as expected--meaning we occasionally hit a hot pepper. Just the way we like it!Both meals were reasonably priced with large servings, providing us with enough to enjoy at lunch the next day too. We'll definitely return!

Disappointed in our to-go order. We ordered our food early in the evening, around 5pm. They were not busy. Ordered mahi bites, potato skins, wedge salad, & hushpuppies. Hushpuppies were very good, but the "whipped butter" is literally packets of butter. Mahi bites were dry & also supposed to come with blue cheese dipping sauce (we didn't receive), potato skins were OK (didn't get the sour cream that was supposed to come with), wedge salad was ehh...very basic & not worth $12. Be wary if you order to-go from this location.