Sandbars Raw Bar & Grill

We were tourists looking for oysters and just happened to stop here. It doesn’t look like much from the front and we were hesitant to go in but the food was amazingly fresh, especially the raw oysters. The crab bisque was flavorful and had more crab meat than we get in our Maryland crab soup back at home. Even the kids meal popcorn shrimp was freshly battered and well seasoned, not like the overly breaded popcorn shrimp that we often find on kids’ menus. The lunch special, soft shell crab tacos were perfect. The soft shell crab was lightly breaded and crispy, as it should be. The service was attentive and the prices were good. Even better at happy hour. Best seafood we have had in this area so far! We will definitely be back!

Stopped in after a morning of shopping in the rain, you gotta love a local little place ! Cooked to order Mahi tacos we got grilled and fried, both were delicious. The purple slaw that comes on top is definitely different kinda sautéed with lil soy and some spice good but different. My grandson got fried shrimp basket good portion of fried shrimp and nice portion of fries ! My son in law got the crab cake sandwich he said was Great! Big portion on a bun with lettuce and tomato! The star was the remoulade sauce ! We also got potato skins and crab ball appetizers. The potato skins honestly were just ok lil cheese lil bacon could have come with scallions and sour cream or Pico de gallo. The crab balls were good but kinda small and only got 5 of them either need to. Be bigger or give at least 6 – 8 in an order. YES I WOULD GO BACK ! Definitely! Nice waiter/​bartender and food came quick!

Our group of 8 came after happy hour sadly, just missing a couple of great deals. I thought the interior is very cute but also very cold. The appetizers came out pretty fast but the food was slow extremely slow. The coquina beach dish was decent, but the oysters were overly fried and the vegetables overcooked as well. My oyster po-​boy came super late and was an uninspired, average sandwich.
Would not recommend coming here.

Picked Sandbar’s based on Unilocal and it was great. I had Hatteras Clam Chowder, steamed Janes River Oysters and seared, blackened yellowfin tuna and all were great. The chowder was packed full of clams, the oysters perfect and tuna excellent.

My wife and I own a house in Kill Devil Hills. We have been to Sandbars three times and have enjoyed every visit. Food is excellent, service is attentive but relaxed.
It’s obvious a lot of positive attention goes into this operation.
Happy hour deals are outstanding and the food is high quality and inexpensive.
Sandbars, along with Goombays are now our «joints». We couldn’t be happier!

Great little local place in the OBX! We caught happy hour and took advantage of half off pull and peel shrimp — really good! Also, the oysters were delicious. The only reason I couldn’t give this place was due to the slow service (only 1 waitress and all tables were packed full) and dirty bathroom. Just make sure you have some time when you enjoy this little spot.

This was by far my favorite find while on vacation in the area. The food was full of flavor, prepared well and the service was excellent. The fish tacos were meaty with a wonderfully flavorful sauce. The fried shrimp basket was a classic, lightly breaded shrimp with a delicious sauce. The crab balls were the star for my mea; these mini crab cakes were fried to perfection and also paired with the perfect sauce. The hint of lime and texture of the crab cake were fantastic!

Always come here when the wife and I come down. We visit a few times a year and the food is always good. I love getting the mozzarella chicken with Alfredo sauce… It’s so freaking good. Even turned my wife onto it. The service is pretty good, the price isn’t too bad, the atmosphere is good, and the view of the sound is awesome. Don’t think I’ve ever had a bad experience here. We will continue to be patrons of this establishment for as long as we come down. Good job guys, keep up the good work.

Went to the OBX to look at rentals for a destination wedding. Found this little gem along the way. Everything was fresh, and it was the tastiest shrimp i’ve ever had. The owner waited on us, and he was very helpful and knowledgable about the area. We ended up getting his business card, and I am sure that we will see him again in October of 2017. Maybe he could do a seafood boil for our rehearsal dinner! Great place. Good people. Good food. Cold beer.

Usually a 4 – 5 but tonight ordered steamer bucket to go. One would think the seafood would be in the bucket with Ice etc. like you have been getting up and down the banks for twenty years AND Sand Bars. Unfortunately my order was all in separate containers no bucket. When I asked for a bucket the first one had insects in it. Soup was in a styrofoam cup spilled in the ‘bag’ and all over car loose lids. I was also told the restaurant does not put uncooked seafood in buckets to steam and when advised I am not making my request up was politely advised they do not do it. Since when? For a $ 100 bill not good at all. Please get it together you Guys usually you rock! Next Time Jimmy’s and Sugar Shack for our Togo buckets. Also in Season Jimmy’s delivers buckets cooked and not cooked.

My husband and I came in for happy hour! It’s in a strip mall, but it was perfect for us-​very clean, six beers on tap, and yummy happy hour food specials!

The Happy Hour Specials lured me in & they did not disappoint! The steamed shrimps hit the spot & the beer was cold. Wings were mediocre — would not recommend. Friendly service though it was a bit slow, but not a big deal as we were just hanging out & kids were enjoying the free WiFi. Kids menu available. Small place with a decent size bar & few tables.

I went for dinner outside of happy hour (though I want to go). So this review is for traditional dinner.
The place was pretty small and not that many people, which was a good thing since everyone else had a 2 hour wait for our party of 8 and they could seat is right away.
I got the seafood platter w flounder, shrimp, and soft shell crab– it was really good. Also had he shecrab soup, which was amazing.
Best part and why it gets 5 stars is its drink prices outside of happy hour — $ 2 draft pbr and bud lights, $ 5 draft craft beers.
I will definitely be back for happy hour soon!

Came in last night for dinner with a group of six. Someone suggested this place as local option for oysters. Although they advertised three different types, they only had one type (of course the most expensive kind). After paying $ 24 for a dozen (they were tasty and are responsible for one star in this review) we proceed to sit at the table for ten minutes ignored and not able to place a food order. Two other parties come in during that time and are seated and waited on. Then a friend of an employee came in and sat at the bar and started a conversation.
Finally my dad got up to say something to the waiter who finally came over to take the order; by that time we were over it, got the check and went home to cook dinner.
The other star is for the menu which indeed looked good but the stoner kids working there made this place just unacceptable. Is there any good restaurants in the OBX these days???

The Mahi tacos are to die for. The crab cakes are fantastic as well. I like the drink selections and the very cold beer. My least favorite item was the red cabbage cold slaw. It was flavorful but I just don’t like red cabbage. Highly recommend you try this place.

We are locals and have eaten here about a dozen times. Food and service have always been very good in the past. I guess tonight was an off night for them —a really off night.
We should have left when we entered and saw someone setting up a projector and powerpoint briefing for some pyramid scheme beauty product. That took up half of the few tables. Next about a dozen women came in and milled around, raising the noise level to just under that of a jet engine.
We ordered the usual type fare. French fries were nasty; greasy and significantly under cooked. French dip sandwich was just bad. Service was disjointed due to the crowd of people there for the sale briefing.
Will we go back again? Yes. We have had good meals there in the past. If we see another out of the ordinary promotion we definitely won’t go in.

Almost everything is made from scratch and each of the staff has a hand in taking the ordinary to a higher level. A very friendly waitstaff even though they had just got done with tending to the Happy Hour crowd. Seems like the right place to be for Happy Hour appetizers and cold beer. I had a dozen steamed clams that were perfectly steamed, not rubbery in the least bit, they tasted sweet and fresh. I washed those down with a Sweetwater 420 Extra Pale Ale on tap. I had a fried shrimp Po Boy sandwich that came with fries and coleslaw. The shrimp were hand breaded, came piled on a grilled hoagie roll with lettuce, tomato, and jalapeño tarter sauce on the side. Excellent food and people, we will be coming back!

The walls are filled with pictures of surf, sunsets, and various beach scenes. Island music fills in the background.
Our family came in for lunch mid-​April before the summer crowds. The staff is super friendly. Our food was delicious. The kids got popcorn shrimp and a shrimp po boy sandwich, which they devoured.
My wife got the Tuna sandwich, cooked rare – and it came out that way. I got the Mahi sandwich, it was cooked wonderfully, not over cooked and just juicy enough.
They have six beers on tap (lucky for us, they had at least one craft beer, Sweetwater 420). I personally would like to see a few NC beers on the menu. Keep it local.
The rest of the menu looks really good, I can’t wait to explore more of Sandbars over the summer. Don’t let the location deter you, this place is a hidden OBX gem.

Friendly staff, good beer selection, awesome happy hour! Give this place a chance, you won’t regret it!

This is a really nice place that Unilocal misplaces it in the map. Can’t you really fix it Unilocal?They are in Mall Strip by the FoodLion.
The staff was very nice. I asked the nice tattooed manager if she was the owner since she was Soo good and cared so much and well about customers. The young photograper waitress was Also very nice though she mistakenly charged us 30 cents per clam instead of 25…
The clams, oysters, shrimps and beer were very good and I would return anytime
Maybe the james river oysters were not as good as the clams but fine.