Coastal Cravings

Ever eaten at a fine dining establishment that was located at a gas station?
Well here is your chance to get a relaxing wonderful meal in the heart of Duck, NC.
GREAT Food & Fun!

I ate here on January 11^th, 2016. It was off season and this was one of the only places open to eat. This restaurant came highly recommended from the hotel staff where I was staying.
I went to dinner just as they were switching to dinner mode and I was their first guest of the evening. Therefore I had the whole place to myself and they let me choose any table I wanted. The owner was there and was very engaging. My server was also very friendly.
I had the cheeseburger. It was a standard restaurant type cheeseburger — quite thick. Very good.
The best part of this place is that the staff and owner are so engaging. I think it helped that there was nobody else there and we were able to have a conversation. The owner, learning that I was on my way down to the Florida Keys, gave me some recommendations for eating places in the Keys. I will be reviewing one of his recommendations, Blue Heaven, in another review.
Coastal Cravings is a small restaurant. It was clean, smelled good (cooking smells) and had a helpful and engaging staff. I would eat here again.

Hot damn!!! Out at the outer banks during the off season, high today 51degrees and going to see the wild horses. Left to find something to eat haven’t found anything! Stopped to get some gas in duck and low and behold there is a nice hole in the wall dive, that is open for breakfast. Stopped in after filling up and filled up ourselves. Had the crab cake sunrise sandwich which was AMAZING! going to try and get the wife to come back for tomorrow! Sorry no picture I was starving.

We were sat very quickly, the staff was welcoming and helpful. All of our food was delicious and it came out quickly. We will definitely be back next time we visit OBX.

Their fish and chips is delicious and their desserts are to die for. Casual but great ambiance (especially given that they’re attached to a gas station).

This is an amazing place in Duck, NC. There are few places that have fabulous wine (including Alberino!), awesome food, super live music, and gas for the car! We enjoyed fresh fish, a filet and the portions were generous. Weather permitting the music is outside where you can eat or simply have a cocktail. The restaurant is always a part of our beach-​trip agenda!
Pam n Jay from UpNorth Chgo

Really good! Don’t miss it! Open in off season (Oct) for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Five of us had dinner here, and everyone was happy. We were seated in a large booth, and we were promptly greeted by our server. She was friendly and courteous. Our drinks were brought quickly along with water for all of us. The wings here are perfectly cooked. Crispy outside and juicy inside. My caprese salad was huge and delish, their pesto is very good on this salad. Normally, I am not a pesto person.
We ordered everything from beef to fried shrimp, and no one had a single complaint. Everything was hot and nicely presented.
This is a very lively restaurant/​bar. They had outdoor seating and entertainment that was awesome, even in off season, weather permitting. My husband and I were dancing in the parking lot and having a great time after dinner.
I would highly recommend this place to anyone who is looking for a nice place to eat and even hang out, and have a couple drinks in Duck

Soooooo good if you near here you gotta try it !!!
Great place very nice people !
The tomato and motz sandwich was great fresh and homemade motz what’s not to love my husband had the fried clams they were amazing! Will be back!

Yes, it is attached to a gas station… Yes, it is the best steak you will find on the OBX. I stopped in twice this week and had the Ribeye both times. Cooked exactly as I ordered it each time. I added a lobster tail the second visit, well worth it., Shannon took care of us both times and did a great job, the pace of the meal was just right, never rushed and never wanting for anything. We took home some desserts and enjoyed both.
We will be back, great job.

Enjoyed a great dinner at Coastal Cravings with family. They have a nice little local craft beer selection on tap along with an also good wine menu. We shared several of the appetizers including the hush puppies, oysters, mussels, and fried clam strips. All were excellent and a good value for the area. The service was friendly and efficient. We ate outdoors and enjoyed a nice evening meal, highly recommend this place for dinner in Duck.

We love this place! This is an annual stop for us ever since the first time we brought our dogs to the beach. They have a great patio for eating outside and are so accommodating by providing water and lots of petting for the pups. The food selection is delicious! My husband usually gets their fish & chips and is never disappointed. As a vegetarian I was happy with the Tomato Moz sandwich and salad options. The hush puppies were delicious as well! Definitely recommend stopping by!

Love this place! Our first night in the OBX looking for ‘our kind of place’ for a really yummy, not chain or touristy, comfortable place. This is it! And seriously don’t let the fact that it’s attached to a gas station convenience store scare you off. Oysters Rockefeller (made extra special with just a touch of blue geese sauce), spiced started shrimp (best I’ve had in years), fried clams (described accurately as «voluptuous» to the delight of my hubby) — all out of this world. We’ll be here a few more days and I’ll guessing we’ll be back. Fabulous!
Oh forgot the homemade bread. Wow!

Coastal Cravings has great food, and can be a lot of fun if you go into it with the right mindset.
1) It’s attached to a gas station. Bear that in mind when it comes to ambiance. If you sit outside, like we did, you’re basically in a parking lot. If you’re in a relaxed mood, enjoy some people-​watching and live music, you’ll be golden. An extra bonus for me was a local cat who wandered onto the patio looking for seafoody handouts – which she got, because I am a sucker. But if a meandering feline turns you off, this isn’t the place for you. The bathroom for the restaurant is IN the gas station and has all the usual «charm» of a gas station bathroom, and finding parking in the lot can be a little challenging when they’re busy.
2) Don’t be in a hurry. I mean, REALLY don’t be in a hurry. Odds are, especially in high season, you’ll be waiting for a table. Then, once you are seated, don’t expect the dinner to be a fast-​paced event. You might have to remind your server to bring you things: bread, extra plates to share an appetizer, some more water, etc. Would I prefer this were not the case? Yes, hence the 4 stars instead of 5.
3) The food makes up for any of those previous imperfections. The mini-​crab cake appetizer was insanely good. There’s zero breadcrumb filler in the cakes themselves, just crab and some mayo/​mustard and seasonings. Then they roll them in a coating of breadcrumbs and fry them, almost more like a fritter. I could have eaten like 95 of them. For entrees my husband had an enormous quantity of snow crab and I had the scallops with lobster sauce, both of which were excellent. My scallops were cooked perfectly, the lobster sauce was rich and flavorful, and the rice and veggies that accompanied it were cooked perfectly.
In summation, if you’re looking for a fine dining atmosphere, this may not be your jam. There are plenty of those types of places in Duck and surrounding environs. But if you want to just relax and enjoy really good food at a relaxed pace in a quirky setting, Coastal Cravings is the way to go.

We have been coming to Duck for years and have always enjoyed our stay and dining experiences. We finally decided to try Cravings after the national exposure and good reviews. Unfortunately we were very disappointed. I suspect our experience would have been slightly better if we had been able to get a table inside. However it was a cool, breezy evening and seemed nice for dining outside so we accepted the outside table. To start, they could at least put up a fence so you are not staring at gas pumps the entire meal. Plus an 18 wheeler arrived to make a delivery just as we sat down and it idled through our entire stay. We were assaulted by flies the entire time and therefore rushed through our meal to get it over with and away from the gas smell, the idling truck and the flies. The food was fine but certainly not as good as we expected based on the reviews and the prices. The service was the only great thing. Our server was pleasant, attentive and got everything right.
You are better off at just about any of the alternative restaurants in Duck.

I’m not a breakfast sandwich person and was a bit leery of the options they’ve got here. However, I was wowed by the Crab remoulade sandwich; really scrumptious! Crabcake with ham and fried egg and cheese! I know! Yet, it’s not heavy. It’s delicious, I kept checking with each bite as if the goodness was a fluke. My sis in law ordered ham and brie in a soft roll and she said it was also very good. And I love their coffee combie of Columbian/​Mocha Java and Venezuelan so much that I find myself singing along to Men At Work’s Overkill that was playing in the background.

A place to eat and get gas… Wait, that can’t be right.
We stopped here twice this trip. Once for lunch, once for dinner. Both times were terrific. I’d count this place among the gems we found while in Duck.
Décor
Despite being attached to a gas station this place is really charming. There is a nice patio area, cozy bar and ample booths for dining. Don’t feel like staying? It seems that there is some sort of a drive thru (I’m not kidding). You can also get low country boil pots to go as well. It’s a mish-​mash of stuff, but remarkably it works.
Food
There are a number of Carolina standards on the menu here. In my two visits I had the Carolina style pulled pork sandwich and their signature dish, pan seared scallops. If Carolina style, vinegar based BBQ is an acquired taste, then I acquired the hell out of it! Juicy, flavorful pork with their creamy slaw made my mouth sing. Pair that with hand cut fries and you have made me an incredibly happy guy. The scallops were to die for! Perfectly cooked, plump, sweet little nuggets of ocean goodness. They were paired with some seasonal veggies, but honestly I don’t really recall what. The scallops were that good that I suffer from amnesia on what else I ate.
Service
We spoke with the chef/​owner of Cravings about our son’s food allergies. He was very helpful in making sure our little dude did no go hungry. Also, both servers we had were super friendly. If I have one gripe its that we did not have our drinks refilled without an ask. But then again, we are eating in a place attached to a gas station… Can’t gripe to loudly.
Overall
A funky place that makes a great lunch, dinner or whatever. Wonderful food and warm service. This place is a hit.

My family has been going to the Outer Banks every summer since I was little. We rarely go out to eat while we’re there but it was the last night of our trip and we were already shopping at Scarborough so we decided to stop in to Coastal Cravings. We got seated right away, which is a miracle on a Friday night. The restaurant is very small and easy to miss — we passed by twice trying to find it.
One thing that really bugged me was that there are no shades on the windows so around 6−7PM when the bright sun is setting and in your face there’s no hiding from it. I eventually had to switch places with my Dad because he had sunglasses — and had to wear them for the majority of the meal! If there’s one easy thing a restaurant can invest in — it’s window blinds.
We ordered two appetizers that were good — the crab dip and oysters rockefeller. These two items turned out to be the highlight of the entire meal. Collectively, we ordered the sea scallops, fried clam strips, fish & chips and fried shrimp. Out of all these meals, the fried shrimp was probably the best. The rest were just so bland, lacking any seasoning or flavor which was really disappointing. Needless to say, we will not be returning to Coastal Cravings on our next trip.

This is a surprisingly good place to grab a lunch while in the OBX. Don’t let the fact that it is in a gas station keep you from grabbing a seat and chowing down on some pretty solid sandwiches.
My DH and I were here in January. During the off-​season it can be difficult to even find a place that’s open, let alone one with a decent lobster roll. That’s right people, a lobster roll! We rolled in for lunch on a Friday and were able to grab a booth. There is a small bar right in front as you walk in, a counter for take out steamer buckets to the left, and a small number of booths and tables to the right. It is by no means a large place.
We grabbed a booth and were handed menus. Tip for the restaurant: add a few starters. We would’ve ordered something to start and our sandwiches which would’ve been a bigger ticket. We were completely confused by the beer selection. There are a bunch of taps on the wall next to the booths, but they have ZERO to do with what is currently on tap. Your girl here looked like a dummy when she ordered something that wasn’t available. Don’t be me — ask your server 1^st.
I ordered the lobster roll and DH had the Salumeria. My lobster roll was terrific with big lumps of lobster. I understand people thinking that the roll is on the small side, especially when compared to the size of the other sandwiches, however for $ 17.99 vs. Market Price (at least $ 25 in my experience) I think it is a fair value. DH consumed his Salumeria with all the different meats and a slightly spicy vinaigrette. The fries were OK, certainly nothing to waste calories on.
We were pleased with our food and will probably be back in July!

I knew this place was going to be good as soon as I tried the bread… INCREDIBLE!
Don’t let the fact that it’s attached to a gas station fool you, Coastal Cravings has got it going on!
They have indoor and outdoor seating. We wanted to sit outside, but we came a little too late.
Let’s get to it. My wife ordered the Lobster Fettuccini, and it was awesome! Loads of lobster, the sauce was perfect, not too creamy, not too dry. And the flavor? Whoa baby!
I ordered the Seafood Platter. It was a special tonight. This platter came broiled, with lots of butter and garlic. I had shrimp, dolphin, lobster, and scallops all cooked to perfection! Everything was better than I hoped.
I highly recommend this great little find.
One little tip– the restroom is in the gas station, but it was spotless.