Ocean Boulevard Bistro & Martini Bar

Made reservations on a Friday night and thankfully we did as the restaurant was packed all night. Initial impression was an old-​school vibe with an open kitchen that had 4 barstool seating in front of it. Not any views of the beach inside, but they did have some outside seating.
We had a snarky, tough-​as-​nails waitress that we loved. She had a great sense of humor and made for a good evening. Only real issue is their red bench seats that fill half the restaurant, very uncomfortable for me, especially for a long dinner.
My wife went with the scallop and risotto meal which were rich and buttery as expected. We started with a shrimp fettuccine appetizer that was absolutely light and delicious. Also we tried the beet salad that had a good mustard vinaigrette dressing even though it overall fell a little flat.
I had the lamb rack and shoulder meal which was perfectly cooked. It was served with some crispy pommes frites that were good but hard to eat with the asparagus (custard?) and the mushrooms.
Overall everyone seemed to enjoy their meals and all agreed it was reasonably priced. No pressure from our waitress to order multiple drinks or to have dessert as we were stuffed.

We go here several times a year since it is just a couple miles from our house. The food is always super fresh and top quality. Last night was no exception, the food was perfect. I had Mahi and the others had scallops and Salmon. All were cooked perfectly and we almost licked the plates. If there was a down side it was the service which is usually top shelf. Our server forgot the salad two people would share. She also left us with empty wine glasses much often. But she made amends when she brought us a chocolate desert that was decadent to say the least. I can ignore the service when the food was that good!

–Excellent meal starting with the bread and then my scallop with risotto was excellent. My husband had the flounder had a wonderful delicate taste that you could enjoy and remember all day. My husband had an ice cream sandwich of raspberry sauce and cookies. Would high recommend this restaurant and I suggest the chef’s wife stay in the kitchen and not be a server,

I’m sorry we found this place 2 days before we had to go home! Heather & Chelsea are awesome! Not to mention the food was amazing! Sorry we didn’t get to stop by on our last night to say goodbye:(- Raffaele & Melinda (from NY)

Wow. Extraordinary… and I never use that word. I had the lamb shoulder special and my wife had the flounder special. Both amazing… and I don’t even like fish!!!
Also…you need to eat the baguette they serve when you get here. It’s baked fresh at noon and it shows.
Expect this type of cuisine in a big city (we are from the the DC area), and so happy we stopped in.
You might get turned off by the outside of the building (or maybe the inside), but trust me… it’s awesome.

What a beautiful setting for our last night on the outer banks. When we walked in we knew that the night was going to be great. The bistro setting has an open kitchen with a chic décor. Greeted and welcomed by the hostess as well as the chef/​owner and shown to a little booth, we had our minds made up that we were getting small plates and having a lite meal. Once we were presented menus however the plan went out the window. The waitress, Annette, was a gem. She told us about the specials and helped to narrow our choices. My friend had the chef’s menu strip steak, which was tender and wonderfully cooked with some veggies, greens and a potato… she raved about all, but mostly about the flavor of the sauce. I was enticed by the chef’s fish of the day… puppy drum. It was set on a bed of bacon potato purée and beautifully sauteed asparagus, red onion and mushrooms and accompanied by ricotta gnocchi. I was truly impressed by the depth of flavor and how harmonious the flavors combined. We had some wonderful martinis with our meals, but I was enticed by the espresso martini and the chef’s ice cream sandwich, which was a raspberry torte with a vanilla ice cream with white chocolate bites. Decadently delicious. My friend couldn’t resist the white chocolate crème brûlée, even though she tried.
Our waitress was wonderful and made us feel like we were VIPs. She answered questions as we had them and provided suggestions.
There was a band setting up as we left, apparently doing 70s British rock, had we not been leaving in the morning, we probably would have stayed and tried a few more cocktails.
Wow, what a great way to end the vacation, can’t wait to visit again.

Great service, excellent menu and food was prepared exactly as asked. Had a delicious NY strip and French onion soup. Atmosphere is welcoming and relaxed. My favorite restaurant since I moved to OBX

Very classy restaurant! The manager was very nice and would check on us throughout the service. We asked for glasses of champagne to be at the table when we got there and were not disappointed. They even gave us free dessert, we were on our honeymoon, which was very kind. We got the Mac and cheese appetizer (ugh so good), the salmon fillet with bacon, cauliflower and mushroom risotto and duck breast with green, dried cherries and a Gorgonzola cake, and white chocolate crème brûlée for dessert. I would absolutely recommend this place to come eat when you’re feeling fancy.

Def an upscale restaurant, but you can come casual. I had the best shrimp and grits I ever ate… good wine list too. AND our server was just great. Super professional! Sorry, I wish I remembered her name…

Seating is tight– recommend making a reservation
Service– Our waitress seemed less than enthused to be working, wasn’t very efficient in checking on us/​refilling drinks
Food– make sure you have plenty of time set aside because we ended up waiting from front to back 2 hours for dinner (appetizers were ordered as well as drinks from the bar)
Atmosphere– COLD! FREEZING! ladies, bundle up because it is extremely uncomfortable. Seating is pretty tight, but the décor was appealing. Loud! Hard to entertain any conversation because it’s so loud you can’t hear yourself talk

Rudest host ever we have ever come across. Server was terrible. Food is horrible. Dry and flavorless. Good drinks but expensive for what you get. Would never come back to this place. Maybe our expectations are too high considering the reviews. Bypass this place. Over rated!

We went with the Unilocal recommendations and we were disappointed. The soup was cold, the salad was wilted, the dishes were confusing, one bite was warm and one bite cold. The shrimp tasted like it was made two weeks ago. The worst part was that the waiter was extremely rude about it and made me feel like it was my problem. We will never go back.

We have been coming to the Outer Banks for 10 years and this was our first time here. What an incredible surprise! The food was fantastic! There was a lbroad selection of different options and the flavors were combined and layered perfectly! Everything from the incredible tuna appetizer, to the fish dishes to the chocolate dessert was fantastic! The service was prompt and attentive without being overbearing. We will be back every year that we come to the Outer Banks from now on!

My husband and I ate here on our honeymoon and we had such a fantastic meal. We are planning another trip to kitty hawk for our anniversary and will definitely be coming back to ocean boulevard next time we visit. Everything was amazing!

Music by The Wilders on the deck was worth braving the heat and only outmatched by the Apps we had… the Chicken Livers should be a signature for this house with local b&b pickles and homemade brioche! Mussels with pesto and shrimp with fire roasted peppers and sweet corn is worthy companions.
John & Kim M.

I was visiting OBX last week, as my sister lives there. She loves this martini bar, so we came here for after-​dinner drinks. We sat at the bar and were immediately greeted by the friendly bar tender. She helped make some customized martinis that weren’t on the cocktail menu. They were delicious! I had a gin martini with ginger liquor, my sister had a grey goose martini, and some of the guys ordered beers. The beer menu is pretty good, although $ 10.50 for a Delirium Tremmens is pretty steep. I know its an expense imported beer, but I live in Philly and Delirium’s don’t cost more than $ 8-​$ 9 a bottle. Well, I ordered one for my second round drink anyway!
After sitting at the bar for a tad, we migrated outside on the patio where there was a young solo guitarist playing music and singing. He was really good! My group was giving the poor guy a hard time because he didn’t know some songs we were requesting, but he was a great sport and played some awesome tunes. Thanks guy for the entertainment!
Overall, a great time for fancy drinks and live music outside. We didn’t order food, so I can’t comment there. Thanks!

This restaurant came highly recommended and the food was amazing. However, the whole experience was ruin by our waiter’s terrible attitude. He could have cared less about us and was so put out by any request we had, from more water to a dietary request for a family member that has celiac disease. I’m not sure if he was just too busy or just didn’t like our family, whatever the reason we were there celebrating my parents 40^th wedding anniversary and his attitude cast a cloud over our dinner. He was lucky the 20% gratuity was included in our large party. Maybe that’s why he didn’t care. The name of our server was listed as John B on our receipt so if you go make sure you don’t get him as your server.

The food was delicious and the atmosphere was nice. My friend who sat opposite me got a lovey ocean view which was also nice. The menu is pricey and the portions are small so expect to drop a lot of money. My friend and both enjoyed a glass of wine from their large selection of wines. We had calamari as an appetizer which was absolutely delicious and both of us had fish as our entrée. We ordered dessert to go which completed a nearly perfect meal. I say nearly because it wasn’t cheap. Be prepared to spend some money when you eat here and also dress nice most of the people there were wearing dresses or nice polos.
The only reason I’m not giving it 4 stars is because I believe the food/​portions didn’t seem fair with the price and the servers all seemed overwhelmed. Perhaps the guys constantly refilling water could also just check in with tables if the servers aren’t able to.

Amazing dinner. This classy establishment has a separate vegetarian menu with four starters, two salads, and four entrees. Not only is finding this many vegetarian options a rare find, but each of the options was creative and thoughtful. You won’t find your standard overdone pasta primavera here. Instead you’ll find amazing fresh options like housemade olive linguine with capers and cherry bread pudding with grilled portabellas and asparagus. Finding vegetarian options in the Outer Banks can be difficult, but this was easily one of the most delicious vegetarian meals I’ve ever eaten. Oh, and the martinis were also delicious. Try the Rosy Cheeks; its great.

The place was very clean. We came here to celebrate our 1^st wedding anniversary and the food was amazing. I did ask for a window seat and we got it but I was hoping for an ocean view but got a view looking out at a road and a house… I guess I should be more clear that or I think the upstairs are private rooms, it’s ok as they did accommodate what I asked for.
Our waiter was very friendly and he commented on how calm and cute our kid was. He also said happy anniversary to us which was awesome. We got served bread which was amazing and ordered a cheese dish for our appetizer.
Wife ordered the beef tenderloin and I ordered their pork special. Can I say the pork special with some crust was just AMAZING! My wife’s beef tenderloins was good too but damn that pork special was great! Add the Carolina sausages and boom I was a full and happy camper.
Finally, to top off our dinner we ordered the ice cream sandwich. When it came out, they covered it around the plate «Happy anniversary» in chocolate which was very thoughtful. The ice cream sandwich was TO DIE FOR!!! OMG the butterscotch cracker (not sure what to call it) with their homemade icecream was amazing and add the caramel mixture on the side. HELLO!
We would definitly come back to this location but do remember it is a bit pricey but you are paying for great food so I really can’t complain.