Blue Bay Seafood of Albemarle

Was in Albemarle this past Saturday and my wife wanted seafood. Found this place right on the main street. We were seated promptly and waitress brought some nice, crispy, hot hush puppies and took our drink order. In a few minutes returned with drinks and took the food order. My wife had a combination plate… I know there was shrimp (which I tasted and were very good), scallops and an order of fish. Knowing her, it was probably Flounder. She said it was all good. I’m not a big fan of seafood so I had the spaghetti bake. It was very good. It came with bread. With tea and soda it was about $ 25. Great service, friendly staff and good food. What more can you ask for from a family type restaurant.

Thought I would try this place instead of the chains. Server was very nice and served a bowl of hush puppies. These would have been really good if served piping hot. They had a good flavor though. I order salt & pepper catfish and shrimp. Shrimp was OK but the catfish was just not clean at all and really tasted bad. It’s a shame that restaurants cannot trim a piece of fish and would think that customers would be please with what is served. I left the chunks on the plate.

I’ve been eating at Blue Bay in Albemarle at the corner of Main at NC 740 Bypass since before the tornado damage shut this Blue Bay location down for about 2 years and continued to eat at their other location on US 52 North during that closure. The one on US 52 North closed after this one reopened.
I will continue to eat at Blue Bay when I have time to dine in only. Their takeout is frequently a disaster as 2 out of the last 3 times I ordered takeout they totally botched my takeout order.
Time before last my to go order was grilled tuna but the kitchen prepared grilled chicken. This error was caught by the lady at the takeout window but I didn’t have time to wait for them to fix it as I was in a hurry to get to work. So I settled for it even though it wasn’t what I wanted.
The next time they got my order right, a small fried whitefish plate.
Then, this past Friday night January 16^th. 2015 was the most remarkable takeout epic fail ever! I ordered a large salt & pepper fried whitefish with fried oysters combo plate. I had a car full of groceries so I was in a rush and didn’t check what was in the tray before leaving the take out area. When I got home and opened the tray there were two very large and thick pieces of salt and pepper whitefish, but no oysters. Granted they were nice pieces of fish, but not what I ordered or paid for. I paid extra for a large 2 way combo and even more extra for oysters. So I phoned them, explained what happened and they offered oysters if I’d come back so I agreed to come back and pick up oysters.
So I drive back to Blue Bay, show them the entire untouched tray contents and waited at least 10 minutes. I then asked how much longer for my oysters and they said they’d check. Then the lady returned and asked for my plate back and said they were going to fix up the entire plate fresh for me. In a minute they were back with what should have been my salt and pepper whitefish and oysters. I didn’t check the contents again (stupid me) assuming they would get it right the second time. When I got home this time and opened the new tray it was not salt and pepper whitefish but one tiny and thin piece of regular whitefish with shrimp!
I was so upset that I couldn’t eat it and threw it away. I could not call them back for fear of making a blubbering idiot out of myself, or worse. There is no excuse for failing to correct a takeout order the second time. No excuse at all. I must have said oysters at least five times during this failed transaction.
It was only when I took my plate back to get it corrected that I noticed a small sign to the left of the takeout window that says to check your plate before you go because they aren’t going to correct their mistakes after you depart. I must agree that they certainly aren’t! I was cheated TWICE!
The man who runs this is a nice Greek man but I am not ordering Blue Bay takeout ever again and will instead go to Jay’s Downtowner for their drive through takeout. Jay’s has never ever mixed up my order! Jay’s oysters are bigger and better anyway, but I like the whitefish at Blue Bay better than Jay’s whitefish. It is a bit odd to me that Blue Bay never mixes my order up when I eat in but only when I order takeout. I’m not putting myself through that stress again.
Blue Bay’s food is good and the portions usually are generous. Their Monday through Thursday specials are real values and I’m fond of the hamburger steak special. They offer a 10% senior discount for dine in customers over age 60 anytime. There is a child’s menu when you dine in also. The atmosphere is among the best in town. The multiple dining areas are extra spacious, the seating and especially the booth seating is comfortable and you never feel crowded here. It is well lit and a good place all around. The waterfall entryway is impressive and the wall murals relaxing. Blue Bay is always super clean. There is this one waiter at Blue Bay who is the best waiter in town and he can practically read your mind about what you want before you ask for it! Their steaks are even good for a seafood place and their chicken tenders are extra good. The dinner salads are fresh and crunchy. The tea is southern sweet and lemons are available on request. Extra ice and a tea pitcher will be placed on your table.
Blue Bay has very recently increased their prices again. So just be aware it is a bit more expensive now than a few weeks ago, but still moderately priced.
I recommend dining in at Blue Bay of Albemarle, but I can not in good conscious recommend Blue Bay’s takeout unless you ask the take out window lady to actually show you the contents before you pay for it!

As a traveling man, I get tired of the same old food chains… Applebee’s, Sagebrush and the likes. So when I can find a local place with good food, I hop all over it! Such is the case with Blue Bay.
How did I know the food was good? I went on Wednesday night only after observing packed parking lot on Monday and Tuesday nights. That’s all the sign I needed. And my sign was SPOT ON!
I ordered a combination plate with fried shrimp, oysters, fish, devil crab, and clams. All were cooked to perfection. I ordered it to go and by the time I got back to my hotel room, it was still piping hot. The food was tasty and very affordable. The only reason it wasn’t 5 stars was because I didn’t eat in and I like to judge the service quality. The atmosphere harkened back to my childhood with a local chain but its very quaint and beach seafood restaurant-​esque. Enjoy your meal!

I’ve eaten here a couple times, having gotten both their fried and broiled fare, both dining in and take out.
My dining in experience I was somewhat impressed, because we got a large tossed salad with our entrees. The baked potato was also quite large.
But the fish and seafood (both broiled and fried) were all overcooked. I thought my catfish was a little bland, so I asked our server for some cayenne. «Some what?» she replied. Yeah, there ya go.
I might come back, but, like the two stars say, «Meh. I’ve experienced better.»

If you like fried food, you came the the right place.
The hushpuppie’s they put on the table are SO GOOD. very dangerous that you could fill up on these before you even order.
I don’t want to be too misleading, They do have some grilled and baked options. My co-​worker got the salmon and said it was good, obviously frozen, but they did it up right for what it was.
I had the baby halibut and something else. It came with fried okra which was great… but WAY too much of it. The fish was good but I overdosed myself with fried food, partially my fault but there aren’t a lot of non-​fried options.
the staff is friendly but they don’t know too much about the food. They keep refills coming and are always making sure you have what you need.

OKay food, about average. Real good service though. Good place to go with kids.

Great restaurant! Went here for valentines day and it was fantastic!

Not a bad fish style seafood place. It is what it is. Nothin fancy

Blue Bay Seafood caught my eye, you know when you are driving and you are starving and you keep driving past every fast food chain thinking, no, no, no, no. Finally you see a locally owned restaurant. Skeeeeeeeert! Into the parking lot. Sweet tea, hushpuppies and tartar sauce. I dig.
It was Sunday afternoon around 3p, the restaurant had a few tables. The server greeted me with hot hushpuppies, wow, isn’t that how every greeting should be? I ordered fried snapper & popcorn shrimp with fries & slaw. YUM, my french fry barometer registered a ZOWIE for the crunch. Yay.
One of my favorite restaurant tips, industrial horesradish is always hotter than grocery store. I asked for a side of horseradish and it was muy caliente. YUM! And the 80s music made me happy too. I heard the Pina Colada Song, Hot Child in the City & YMCA. Before I left the table behind me and the server were singing… some people call me Maurice… WAT WOW. Teehee.