Ocracoke Restaurants

This is a laid-back pub right on the harbour in the centre of the village, where we had lunch on our first day on the island. It’s a very unpretentious place (with wooden tables, paper plates and plastic cutlery) but the service was good and the food tasty – and the view of the harbour is one of the best you’ll find in the village.

We ate crab-cake sandwiches out on the deck and watched a dark and threatening-looking storm roll towards us. When the storm broke the waiting staff were very quick to ensure the plastic blinds were pulled down so that diners could finish their meals without being disturbed, and it proved to be a great place to relax and see out the storm!

We didn’t come here at all in the evenings (as we got charmed by the atmosphere and great food of the Back Porch) but if you’d like somewhere more casual this would be a good choice, with the bonus of live music most evenings.

The lovely restaurant is located just across the road from Edwards of Ocracoke where we stayed, so we ate here on a couple of evenings and loved it both times. The restaurant is in a pretty and traditional island house, with a wide porch used for outside dining and a cosy interior. The menu is adventurous, with a strong emphasis on seafood and an oriental slant to many dishes. Meals I enjoyed here included a shrimp and scallop Thai-style curry and fish served with a Vietnamese lime sauce – plus an excellent ginger ice cream. But if you don’t like seafood you’ll also find chicken and steak on the menu. There’s an extensive wine list too – and if you really enjoy the food you can buy a copy of the Back Porch Cookbook and try copying some of them when you get back home. Prices are relatively high for Ocracoke, but we thought it was definitely worth it.

Just one note of caution though – in researching this tip I’ve read a couple of online reviews which suggest its gone downhill in the past couple of years, though others still rate it highly. If I were to visit Ocracoke again I’d certainly give it the benefit of the doubt and go back – please let me know what you think if you do the same!

Cozy, unique. All the locals hang out here. It's your typical java joint and they sell their own hand crafted clay mugs with the ocracoke coffee house logo on them. You can pick up a local newspaper and sit down with an espresso inside or outside. Just a laid back islander atmosphere. The patio is very nice. I recommend sitting in one of the Adirondack chairs and people watching. In the back is a book store called Java books through which you can meander as well.

Favorite Dish: They have smoothies as well. Try anything, I'm sure it'll be good.

The four restaurants that the lady at the Pony Island Motel said would be open were

1) Jason's (where we ended up),

2) Howard's Pub & Raw Bar Restaurant Highway 12, Ocracoke Village, 252-928-4441, "Always a fun and friendly place to go for a meal," this restaurant and pub offers a unique and diverse menu of traditional American favorites, as well as a selection of more than 200 imported, domestic, and microbrewed beers. Features of the restaurant include a wraparound bar, a game area, and a large screened porch with Adirondack style rockers. AAA gives this a two diamond rating. Dinners from $10-20.

3) Pelican Restaurant, The Highway 12, Ocracoke Village, 252-928-7431, Located within an old home tucked under a grove of trees in the heart of the village, this restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily and features a great patio area where you can enjoy your favorite beers, shrimp, and live entertainment five nights a week in the summer. The menu includes fresh seafood entrees, hand-cut prime steaks, and a seafood pasta swimming in a light lemon-butter broth. Sushi is served on Thursday nights.

Favorite Dish: and this new place called the

4) Flying Melon Cafe Brunch and dinner. Southern Regional cuisine and our favorites from around the world. Two experienced and talented cooks have combined forces to open The Flying Melon, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner daily in a comfortable, casual dining room. A variety of local seafood, prepared both traditionally and with a touch of flash, shares menu space with fresh and flavorful pasta dishes and sandwiches. Beer and wine are available. 9:00am - 2:00pm & 5:00 - 9:00pm

We judged that Jasons would be the least expensive choice so that's where we went. We haven't eaten here.

Serving breakfast & dinner since 1959, but was not open in December when we were there. I'm told it is Southern cooking - seafood, steak and pasta. Beer and wine only.

Favorite Dish: The webpage on Ocracoke restaurants says:

"Enjoy this casual, homey restaurant that features large breakfasts including biscuits, hotcakes, omelets, and their famous "Pony Potatoes", hash browns covered with cheese, sour cream, and salsa. Dinner entrees include a variety fresh local seafood, pastas, steaks, and salads. A great beer and wine list is available to complement your meal. The restaurant closes during lunchtime then reopens nightly for dinner from late March through November."

They have a Pony Room, dedicated to the wild ponies.

This is another place which we only saw from the outside.

Favorite Dish: Enjoy the raw bar serving fresh local seafood, including oysters, clams, and shrimp. Tasty burgers are also available. Lunch and dinner are served daily in the warm season through November.

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Jason's Restaurant has a lot of loyal local customers because it serves good, reasonably priced food in a casual atmosphere. In the summer, you can dine outside on the spacious screened porch or hang out at the bar and watch the chefs at work while at this unique restaurant

Favorite Dish: There were four restuarants open offseason. Some of them seemed expensive, so we decided to go to Jason's which is apparently a pizza place.

I thought it was 6 o'clock but my computer was still on Bermuda time, so it was only 5. So we set off to eat at 5:30 which was a bit early.

We had a nice meal. I had the soup of the day (tomato cheddar) and quesidillas (an appetizer), and Bob had spaghetti and meatballs. Then we both had dessert - Bob had the brownie and ice cream and I had lemon cake. The bill was under $35 before tip.

A lot of locals came in to eat and to pick up pizza. Everyone knew each other

Downstairs is an ice cream shop and upstairs is an open-air restaurant. They can close the windows in colder weather. You can eat while watching the harbor, what a great view. I cannot remember what we ate (almost 1 year ago) however I remember us both being very satisfied. Here is a link to an Ocracoke website that has their menu on it. http://www.ocracokeisland.com/creekside_cafe.htm. we ended up eating lunch here everyday of the vacation.