Big Nell’s Pit Stop

Just a local restaurant. Not fancy. Coffee is good. Grits are good. Bacon is good. Eggs cooked right. Country sausage is different, I was expecting patty, but this is a Italian sausage. Good and I got two in an order. Lots of good-​old-​boys to add atmosphere to the place. Waitress is excellent. On day two, She had me setup with coffee and water before I even got inside the restaurant.

Don’t waste your money and time! We went for breakfast at @ 10:00 and at 11:00 had to ask waitress if our food was ever coming out. Took literally 1 hour to get one bowl of oatmeal (should have been ready) and one cheese omelette. Looking at cook thru window where we sat, you could easily see he fixes one ticket at a time and apparently can’t do two things at once. Horrible service and food was not good. It was cold when we finally got it.

In a time when dining options, and things in general, seem to be getting fancy and expensive, sometimes you just want a simple, inexpensive, well-​made breakfast served to you by genuine people. Big Nell’s is exactly that. It’s a true diner experience that seems to lost in a gourmet society. Nothing too fancy, just amazing food and a humble atmosphere that hasn’t changed in the 15 years I’ve been coming down to Ocean Isle. And I wouldn’t want it to.

Was at Ocean Isle Beach, this past week, and of course, had to have my breakfast at Big Nell’s. Food is always Amazing! Service don’t get any better. We went Wednesday Morning and Thursday Morning, Was So good to see Miss Etta. Every time we visit OIB, Bryan and or I go to Big Nell’s pretty much everyday, we are there, just to see Etta. This place is THE BEST for Southern Breakfast all served with Good Old Southern Down Home Hospitality. We Love it, and can’t wait till our next Breakfast at Big Nell’s
BTW, Bryan says OMG Liver Mush «puddin» is To Die For

Been here many times and service is never quick, but this time we were virtually ignored for 20 minutes until a very pleasant young lady took our coffee orders. I have to admit they were VERY busy.
Food was terrific, as always. Huge cat head biscuits (first place I ever heard this term,) country ham, cheese and grits were all good.

Third Time Definitely Not the Charm!
I’ve wanted to try Big Nell’s for forever and a day.
FIRST TRIP: So, my wife and I stopped in one morning back in August, 2015 (after all the tourist left)! We waited forever on someone to bring us our coffee. Then, the gal we had was full of attitude, not social at all. We finally ordered and it took forever to bring us our meal. It wasn’t crowded and it doesn’t take long to cook eggs, grits, hash browns and toast. Hash browns were too crispy (almost burnt) and the eggs were cooked like I like them. The grits were good. My coffee cup suffered during the course of the meal. I chalked the experience up to just a bad day for Big Nell’s.
SECOND TRIP: Our sons got mad because we went to Big Nell’s w/​out them because they wanted to try it too. So, I took them back the next day. My wife didn’t go because she had enough the day before. Again, slow service, not crowded, same gal with horrible attitude, and suffering beverages. I didn’t order the hash browns again to avoid disappointment. My youngest son got pancakes and bacon. They were good, so he says. My food was the average breakfast food. The grits were good, again. 2 bad days in a row?!?
THIRD TRIP: My in-​laws came to visit for the Oyster Festival. So, Saturday morning, we got up and went to eat breakfast at Big Nell’s. We beat the rush of the Oyster festival crowd, we got really slow service, and the gal with non-​social skill attitude as our waitress. MY COFFEE CUP ACTUALLY DRIED UP BEFORE I GOT MORE COFFEE! It took forever to get our food, slower than the 2 previous trips. Nothing out of the ordinary was ordered, just your standard issue breakfast. Grits were good again, though. My mother-​in-​law ordered hash browns and they were mushy, whereas mine were burnt to a crisp before. So, no consistency on those.
A BIG DISAPPOINTMENT at BIG NELL’S.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, I’m just an idiot! :)

Sat for ten minutes before we got our drink ordered. Could hear the staff yelling and arguing and the owner was loudly walking through the restaurant making a food order… service was not good at all. I can’t post about the food cause they won’t take my order… THE HEALTH SCORE IS AN 88… THATS NOT A SAFE SCORE AT ALL

Labor Day. I think they should have stayed closed for breakfast. Service was awful. 15 minutes to get a menu. After 40 minutes no coffee or order taken. See you later I’m outta here! Come on you had all season to get it together.

Absolute awesome
Love the everything and the little dude with the cheerful tude that waited on us. He was cracking me up with the sleepy face.
Food is great and I ate way too much of it. Down home, done right breakfasts of all kinds. Even liver pudding baby!
Only did breakfast but I hear they have a mean roadkill Brunswick Stew.
Be there every time I’m in town

Big Mel’s is a classic southern locals spot. We hit it up on vacation in ocean isle. The place is a bit dirty, there is plywood patching up the dirty drop ceiling and the bathrooms are deplorable. All that being said, the food and the customer service was excellent! True southern hospitality and delicious grits and biscuits n gravy. The décor is 80’s NASCAR Hoosier but still charming in a stereotypical way. Bottom line. Go there. It’s delish. Just avoid bathrooms.

Fair. Takes forever to get food in our situation that was a party of 12. The kitchen didn’t seem to be able to handle the volume. And then the waitresses are understaffed as compared to the tables the my have and size of restaurant zoo they are always running behind on everything. Food was good but average fire that neutrality cabby beer screwed up. Eggs bacon home fries etc

It’s something I look forward to on every trip back to Ocean Isle. The prices are low, portions large, and the food and environment are just what you’d expect from a beach-​side restaurant.
The employees are so kind and are quick to offer up suggestions to out-​of-​towners, from both what items to order on the menu and where they should hit up on their vacation. Honestly, the people keep me coming back. It always feels like visiting grandma’s house to me.
I typically stick to burgers, but I’ve also gotten chicken in the past — both were great. My husband is working his way through the seafood portion of the menu and has been a big fan of everything he’s tried.
Like Carla’s review mentioned, I agree that eating at Big Nell’s is like a step back to a much simpler time. It’s a nice spot for a quick lunch between trips to the beach.

Always wanted to try this place as it’s always busy. It must have been a bad day or different cook. We were a party of 5. Over easy eggs were overdone, corned beef hash was cold, and home fries were undercooked. It was 615am so maybe it was too early? The waitress was very kind and took off two juices and 10% off without me even fussing. She felt bad and agreed with the feedback.

I was not impressed with this establishment at all. First of all, we were sitting at our table for 30 minutes before the waitress finally asked if we had menus. She walks off and after 10 additional minutes, I finally got up and retrieved the menus myself. Second, it took almost 40 minutes before we received our drinks, then our order was finally taken. After being there for over an hour we finally receive our food (except for our biscuits, which came 15 minutes later) and we were disappointed because after all that time it wasn’t even hot! Third, during all of this we watched at least 4 – 5 tables of new customers come in/​out with fast and convenient service. Finally, when we finally finished and went to pay, we had to wait again for service. If you have at a minimum of 2 hours to spare, then this is the place for you. I’m always excited to try new places on vacation, so I can go again when I go back, but I was greatly disappointed.

This mom and pop shop is a true gem! You step back into time when entering this place. The staff was extremely friendly upon entering, the tables were clean, service was fast for made from scratch food, and the prices were perfect! The restrooms were clean but in need of structural updates as some stall doors didn’t close.
While sitting there, the place filled up quickly with plenty of locals, golfers and the Calabash EMS crew too. Seeing that many locals in a restaurant tells us this is a true gem in the community!

Rest in peace Nell.

I’ve read the mixed reviews. This is a down home local place with good home cooked food. It is crowded for breakfast but it’s what you would expect at the beach. Our server hustled to make sure we all were happy. Admittedly there was a wait but when a restaurant fills up at the same time, you’re going to wait a bit. No big problem. Relax and enjoy. Best biscuits in town!

Big Nell’s Pit Stop is definitely «old school», and a throw-​back to simpler times. Heck if you stepped in there and didn’t know any better you might think it was the mid 1980’s (I don’t think they have re-​decorated since then). Actually they probably don’t have to. Their customer base seems to be mostly locals, and although me and my friends were tourist visiting for the weekend, we were recommended this somewhat out of the way whole in the whole restaurant for breakfast.
First off, fare warning, service is good but slow. They are limited in staff and even have a large sign up front when you walk in asking for patience since they make their food from scratch. I didn’t mind the wait for food, but there was also a pretty long wait for coffee and juice which was kind of annoying. Once the waitress did bring our drinks, we did have no wait a while longer for the food, but when it finally came out all was good in the world. I had a biscuit with country ham and egg, and it was very delicious and fresh. Quite large too and a good deal. I think the biscuit, coffee and juice was around $ 5, (also a throw-​back to simpler times is their prices),
Over-​all a nice find and glad to support a local business. Just be prepared up front to spend a bit of time there. Also if you are a NASCAR fan and in particular worship Dale Earnhardt you will love looking at all of the wall decorations.

Authentic, comfort food cooked –to-​order. Nothing fancy here, but it’s just what you want in a local diner type establishment. Nell’s is old school, true Southern fare. I love the fact you can order breakfast anytime of day. Their cathead biscuits are perfectly hand-​made pillows of buttery deliciousness. The wait staff is super, too. Always pleasant and kind. Nell’s is the type of place where you can roll in with ease and roll out filled and happy. Come as you are! So glad they are part of the OIB culture.

Big NELLS Pit Stop is an experience everyone should enjoy. A homey NASCAR motif from days gone by. A varied menu but breakfast here is my favorite, killer tenderloin. A favorite stop for all the locals and the locals always pick the right place.
The staff is great, Etta and Linda are treasures and make the place. Large crowds sometimes slow things a bit but its part of what is expected by those of us regulars. So if a casual and tattered atmosphere with local color and good food are your thing, don’t miss it.