Awful Arthur’s Oyster Bar

Came in here for dinner on a Wednesday. A nice young woman told me the wait would be close to 2 hours. Then we went to the beach and talked about life and I walked in the water. I caught up with my family then took pictures of the sunset. We went back to the restaurant and waited another hour. I figured that I wouldn’t be able to give a review higher than 2 stars. Finally we get served by a teeny tiny nice lady. She was so sweet and humble to deal with our table of 8. We put in our appetizers. They came back ten minutes later. Lobster bisque, clam chowder, crab dip, crab balls. All made my mouth buds full and complete. The crab dip made me cry. This review immediately jumped up to 5 stars.
Then they brought the entrees. I’ve posted the pictures for you of these sorry I couldn’t get you pictures of the appetizers we ate them so fast. The server brought out a big tray on her shoulder. She gets a fifteen percent tip just for carrying it out. I’ve lived and died and gone to heaven I’m dizzy I’m rambling I’m going to bed come here Andy eat here soon

If you come here, just get oysters. It’s a raw seafood bar, so it’s silly to come here for anything but that.
I was pretty disappointed in our experience here. Our server wasn’t great at listening and took forever– However it seemed that most people there had good service. My father’s teriyaki tuna was overcooked (how, at a seafood place) but sending it back would have taken more time and we were waiting a while. I had the fried scalloped sandwich, which I enjoyed. The prices on the crab leg clusters were good, and we enjoyed those. We also go the clams casino appetizer, but there was so much bacon you couldn’t taste the clams– although some people would be fine with that. My sister got a chicken salad, aka lettuce with a boiled egg and chicken, for $ 10, and was not happy.
Great location by the beach!

We went for lunch on Wednesday. It was horrible. My son ordered lobster bisque and they had put so much hot spice in it to make it virtually not edible. He ordered the fish and chips. The fish was flounder. It had the worse taste, like it was fried in very old oil.
I had soft shells, deep fried in the same horrible oil. It ruined them.
I fished for a full season. I know fish and how to cook it. I found this place to be less than a one star. Save your money. Go elsewhere.

This place is great! Kristen, was a phenomenal server and made a special sauce to go for our shrimp. She is one of a kind and took the time to make us a batch of her sauce to go… She is truly a one of a kind. The staff is very friendly and the food is awesome! We will definitely be regulars from now on.

Other than feeling a little too dark and dingy (think grandpa’s basement circa 1982), I wouldn’t hesitate to give this place 5 stars, or more. Our server was chipper and helpful, and since I was a newbie to oysters, all the better that she didn’t roll her eyes like «who’s this tourist who doesn’t know anything about oysters?» She was amused at my Unilocaling (yes) reaction to the wiggling apricot-​colored crab that was still alive in the bottom of the oyster shell.
My entrée was the combo — grilled wahoo and grilled shrimp, w/​ (thanks for the suggestion from the waitress too!) salad in place of the fries/​cole slaw. My plate did still come w/​hush puppies and DAAAAAMN they were good dragged thru the pool of shrimpy butter on my plate. Our lunch was a little on the expensive side, but totally worth it for fresh fish which was what I was craving during recent OBX vacation. If I came back, I’d probably request to sit upstairs b/​c it was just too dim in the downstairs part of the restaurant.

They should leave out the word Arthur’s and just call it Awful! It appeared that shrimp was either frozen or from bottom of other shrimp. Almost impossible to peel. Waitress was like a robot and said the same thing with the same tone to each table. They should stick with just oysters.

Seem dedicated to fresh seafood. Exactly what you want in a casual beach town grill.
Whitefish, mahi mahi, wahoo, and crab cakes were all fresh and delicious.
Average buns, toppings, and sauces that you would expect at a bar restaurant.
Will return.

We come here every time we come to the outer banks. Favorite restaurant for seafood. Oysters are amazing. Love the soft shell crab sandwich and hush puppies.

Weekday lunch and first trip here. My Mahi sandwich was a good piece of grilled fish but served on a stale bun. The French fries were greasy and not real hot and the ice tea tasted old. They offer several different catches of the day and the menu is varied but the service was indifferent.
Don’t plan on returning although since it is an oyster bar I may have just ordered the wrong things.

Was told to visit here by the hotel I was staying at. The service was great, but the food was decent. I def. feel like there are better options in the area, but it was an okay meal. The hushpuppies were over cooked and the sides lacked flavor.

Delicious! Got the crab balls and seafood combo 2. All perfect. Also had awful arthur adult beverage… quote good. So happy with our choice with all of the other choices. We went in the off season in spring break 2016. Mac and cheese lacking and cole slaw pretty generic, but seafood was awesome. Did not disappoint

I come here every single time I come to the OBX. Just love the oysters, reasonably priced. If you come here on Friday night, get the prime rib (got that suggestion from a local the first time here) and it was fantastically delicious. The prime rib sells out fast. The sides were definitely above average, loved the hush puppies. I kept telling myself I should try other joints, but why mess w/​something that’s tried and true and keeps the taste buds satisfied.

Had lunch here today upstairs, beautiful view of the ocean going crazy due to the residual effects of Joaquin. We all ordered the crab bisque, great flavor but Luke warm at best, I need hot soup! Also ordered the steamed shrimp and clams. They don’t clean the shrimp, not a big deal to me but it does make them super difficult to peel. I would suggest cutting the backs. Otherwise great!

Great service and great food. Arthur’s is a little divey but for us was a welcome change from all the other family-​oriented places on the outer banks. Our waitress was great. We had delicious cocktails. We tried the crab balls which were excellent. I had the fried scallops which were a bit overdone but otherwise good. They have amazing home-​made tartar sauce! Hush puppies are amazing but they serve them with margarine which I don’t understand. Boyfriend had surf and turf which was also great. We tried the crème brûlée which I thought was just ok. Overall good experience and will be back on my next OBX trip.

We came here for lunch and it didn’t disappoint. We ordered the special of the day, scallop cake sandwich on pretzel roll and soft shell crab sandwich. We also ordered two beers. The oysters were divine and not fishy. For the price, can’t be beat. The soft shell crab was tasty and the special of the day was even better. Yum.
We came on a Friday morning and was seated right away. Good service, food, and beer. This is a pretty solid place right near the beach, would def come back.

This place never disappoints! We have always been seated quickly, customer service from the door to the table is a hit!!! Kudos!
Don’t expect fancy here just good people, great food, and plenty of seating. However parking is limited so walk or car pool if you can
we started out with the delicious, golden perfection, crab balls. I just wished they came with more OR were ½ the price… but so YUMMY!
I chose the 3 item platter with scallops, fried oysters, and local fried trout (fish of day). This came with potatoes, hush puppies, and green beans. The scallops couldn’t have been any fresher!!! I loved the local trout as it was seasoned and fried to perfection as was the local oysters.
The green beans and potatoes were a little cold but I contribute that to being one of the last few late customers of the night.
Odd/​Cool Tip — check out the blade less ceiling fans pretty cool !!!
Always be sure to check out their fresh selections of the day

Visited here with my son on a rainy day — I was craving a fish sandwich and he just wanted to escape the soggy beach.
While the décor is a combo of a 70’s basement and some sort of nautical theme, overall it’s cozy and very comfortable. We sat at the bar and were served promptly. I had the grilled tuna sandwich and my son the burger, both were exceptional — fresh, tasty and generous portions. We also had cups of the clam chowder, which was so good we ordered a frozen pint to take home.
Overall a very good experience — we will be back!

We were expecting a generic seafood place, and AA definitely is that, but it’s a bit more than that as well, and that is what makes the difference.
It has the standard fried fish and seafood stuff you’d remember, but they also had a «fresh catch, ask us» section. I did and had a grilled wahoo sandwich that had been caught that morning. Very, very tasty.
My wife got the soft shell crab sandwich which is actually one crab per half of the sandwich. A much better deal than you find elsewhere. Their hush puppies were piping hot and freshly made, which is not what we’ve found at other locations in Kill Devil Hills that will remain nameless.
We really enjoyed our lunch there and look forward to visiting again on our next trip.

Here in the outer banks there are planes flying ads that say happy hour 3 – 6 or 3 – 5 or whatever. I’ve heard good things about this place so we decided to give it a try. We first asked where the happy hour was offered because they had a bar upstairs. A random woman, who ended up being the owner, told us with a snide tone that happy hour isn’t offered in North Carolina. Specials are only offered if they’re offered all day. I know that law and I get it but she was rude. We didn’t even know at first who she was. The only reason we knew that is because our hostess told us so. And she was rude too. I was close to leaving just because first impressions are hard to shake.
However, the lobster and crab bisque was good and so are the oysters. The oysters were a play on Rockefeller oysters with their own little twist and they were very good. I also got crab legs which were very good. Our waitress, Lydia, was sweet, funny, and attentive.
Let me talk about attentive. They must be really big about clearing whatever plate you finish. Immediately. Because I felt like the bus boys were staring at me while I ate. As soon as I was done he would walk… nay…speed walk to my table. Very nice of him but kind of annoying.
Normal fishing décor and beach themed. Kind of pricey. But this is the OBX so you have to expect to pay a little more than normal.

This restaurant came highly recommended from a friend who’s spent a lot of time in the area… and he was right.
There was a half an hour wait for a table, and so we headed upstairs to the lounge to wait. The special that night was the banana daiquiri — they NAILED it, and I don’t even like fruity drinks. The shrimp cocktail was good but the portion was too small to share, while the stuffed potato skins were appropriately rich and delectable.
I highly recommend the oysters here. So fresh, so delicious. I split a dozen with another person, but I could’ve eaten a dozen more by myself.
For our meal, we all chose the market catch: grilled wahoo. This fish could not have been more perfectly cut and prepared, and there was so, so much served. I chose cole slaw and red potatoes as my sides, and it was the perfect dinner after a day on the dunes.