Tale of the Whale

A very popular place even in the off season or so we thought. We visited recently and was told it would be an hour wait but it ended up being 30 minutes which was great.We sat in the bar area which was great and our server quickly came over and took drink and appetizer orders.The hush puppies we ordered were good and large. We definitely ordered too many. We placed our dinner orders and were very pleased with the speed they came and quality of the meal.I had steak and shrimp in lemon butter sauce. I requested the stark medium rare and it was perfectly cooked. Good steak and well cooked you can't go wrong. This an always a go to place when we visit the OBX. Great service, good and ambiance.

We had a fantastic experience here on the last night of our vacation. We can never seem to make reservations in advance and prefer to just play it by ear as to which day we want to eat out. Sometimes this does not work out in our favor, because some restaurants only take a certain number of reservations and then after that they say wait in the standby line. This place does not take reservations unless maybe you have a very large party. That kind of worked out for us this time because we got here early and were able to get seated quickly. I honestly wouldn't bother coming after say 6PM, for me personally the wait would be too long and I don't like to eat dinner super late. Anyway, our server was amazing, so attentive. I love how they explain everything to you, the server goes through the menu page by page and highlights different things so that you understand all the options. The menu is huge! We got fried oysters as an appetizer and they were fantastic, melt in your mouth good. My 1 year old daughter even liked them. We got a variety of seafood. I personally got the surf and turf, medium-rare steak. Everything was cooked to perfection. It came with sides of smashed potatoes and green beans which were both great. The steak was juicy, and the stuffed lobster was such a treat.For us, the price was worth the experience, but definitely a special-occasion vacation meal. Not in the budget to go to a place like this every night of vacation, so when we do, we really look forward to it being a good experience. Next time we are in OBX we would definitely return.

First restaurant stop on my vacation. I wish I could give more stars but alas I can't. So I had to wait over an hour and half, and I was a party of 1! Absolutely insane! These people don't take reservations, which is ridiculous. The sassy guy behind the front desk, who was sassier than me if that's to be believed, lol, told me that I'd have to wait an additional 10-15 minutes for a water front table. This in addition to the 1.5 hours I was gonna be waiting....lordt. I simply accepted it because I was starving and knew it was gonna be like this anywhere I went.Thank gawd they had a bar behind the restaurant. So I ordered a few drinks while I waited. Finally I got seated to a great table but unfortunately, it was dark, so hard to see out past their pier. Anyway, my server was very kind and professional. She made some great suggestions from the menu. I decided to get one of their appetizer specials, light fried tuna bites with a honey sriracha sauce on top. Unfortunately, the appetizer fell flat on taste and texture. Poorly seasoned and rubbery. Also the sauce was very light, if nonexistent on the sriracha. The main course made up for it though. I got fried shrimp with a delicious crab cake. It came with mashed potatoes and broccoli cooked to perfection. Oh and the hush puppies were to die for! All in all, a great meal aside from the appetizer. So why only 3 stars? Well aside from unnecessarily having to wait nearly 2 hours for a table for one, the most obnoxious server was working near my server's section. Talk about putting it on thick, this guy was like a grinning, loud mouthed idiot the entire time I was there. Almost completely ruined my dining experience. I get it, I've been in the industry over 21 years, as a server you got to do different things to stand out, and make sure your customers are happy. But this guy was trying WAAAAYYY to hard. At one point I wanted to be like "Hey buddy, take a bus to NYC if you wana be on Broadway or do stand up, but please STFU if you gonna stay here!"In the end, I'll probably give these guys another chance, but if they saddle me with that loud, obnoxious server...all bets are off!

If you're in outer banks you should take time to come here. Much better than many of the restaurants that have a view and it ends there. This place has great service, nice live music, and food is good. Todd our waiter was incredible. A true professional who was prompt in service as well as effective throughout the entire dinner. I love the endless options on the menu. Everyone was happy with what they got. I would love to come back when I return.

This has to be one of the best service experiences I've had. We had a party of 28(!) and were sat within 20 minutes. There are multiple rooms that comfortably seat large parties.I've never seen a waiting area like this, which really kept everyone happy while waiting( those summer beach waits can be killer) a huge waiting area outside along the sound. Complete with an outdoor bar, gazebo area and live music. They've put a lot of thought on how to efficiently run a restaurant down to the waiting and it shows. The service was outstanding. They were concise with letting us know the specials and answering our questions. They were rapid with cleaning the tables that were no longer occupied and getting the next family in. I truly was in awe with the execution of the dinner rush down to their amazing attitudes. The food was wonderful. The appetizers we had were ceviche, hush puppies, and crab dip. My favorite was the ceviche- super fresh and plentiful! I had the filet mignon with blackened shrimp and baked potato. It came with broccoli and pineapple salsa on the side. My meal was delicious. I will 100% come back here. If concerned with the wait, which we were- get there early make sure your entire party is there. The hosts start taking names at 3:30. When they're ready for your party is not all there- it forfeits your reservation. They are very particular, but they are so efficient and have a wonderful set up and even if your wait time is an hour + you have a beautiful view and a bar while you wait.

This restaurant attracted my family because of the 20% off discount on your order between 5-6pm. If you don't want to have a long wait, I would get to the restaurant at least 15 minutes before they open.The food we ordered was not good at all. I ordered the grilled halibut. The fish had zero seasoning and was so dry! It was inedible. The mashed potatoes and broccoli the fish came with were very flavorful. The fried shrimp and fries were basic but at least good. We ordered dessert and the carrot cake was stale so we took it back. The key lime pie was slimy and the peanut butter cheesecake was still frozen.The ambiance was great. The restaurant was spacious and part of it overlooks the water. It's definitely a family oriented restaurant.

So this place is open at four till I believe 9 PM. And it is always crazy busy. Good for them. . The wife and I were able to find two seats at the bar and we were able to order and have a few drinks., Thank You Uber. The drink selection is real good, i had an old fashion(double oak woodford) and the wife had chardonnay. Both were wonderful! My wife had the, pick a pasta pick a sauce, pick a protein and she had the penne with alfredo and crab. Huge portions, but lacked flavor and seasoning. I had the boiled selection of scallops and lump crab. Again, the portions were huge however it was lacking flavor and seasoning I guess. The crusty bread was amazing. Still warm out of the oven. The service was spectacular. The young lady behind the bar catered to our every need and was very pleasant and polite. Thank You so much.

Our third visit to OBX and this remains our favorite restaurant. We went three times on our 6 day visit :p the only problem is that the place is so good that people start lining up at 4 or 4:15 (off season, 3-3:15 high season of summer). They hand out pagers starting at 3:30/4:30, respectively. We arrived one of the days at 4:45 for the 5pm opening time and still had a 30 minute wait to be seated at 5:30. We think it's worth it though. Amazing food, huge portions, good service. If you snag a water view, even better. The 20% off early bird special is also great! You grab a drink on the dock while you wait to be called. Pina colada and lemon drop martini were good.

We ended up heading here on a Friday evening as a group of eight & to our surprise we were one of the smaller groups, it seemed. This place seemed like a favorite amongst both the tourists and the locals. The bar on the dock out back is the perfect place to wait for your table to be ready. We all got to sit and watch the sunset while sipping on various cocktails. The watermelon cooler was perfect for a sunset drink pre-dinner.Our server was great and she clearly had her hands full. The crab cakes were top notch, the hush puppies + whipped butter were tasty but dangerously filling, the snow crab legs were meh, crab dip was odd in that it had Parmesan, and the prime rib was plentiful. The odds were in our favor and multiple people at our table were able to get prime rib - some had been previously for prime rib only to find out they'd run out, so this was a win. This was a very pleasant dining experience as a group and for a Friday evening.

We come to Tale of the Whale every time we go to the outer Banks. My favorite restaurant at OBX. Service is always great, views are amazing, and the food is delicious.