Beck's Restaurant — Restaurant in Calabash

This is a very busy and popular restaurant! Lots of shopping nearby so you can walk around after or before you eat. When we arrived there were so many people hanging out everywhere waiting to be called. I just knew it would be hours before we ate, but to my surprise it was only about 20 minutes, if that. The staff is very energetic and friendly. Tables were all full and pretty close together making it a loud environment (if noise bothers you stay away) but it was happy sounds of people enjoying themselves. We were quickly served our drinks and ordered the special, the Captain's Seafood Platter which we shared. It came with only one side, and we chose french fries. I would have liked to have 2 sides and was surprised it was only one. The platter had a medium piece of flounder, about 6 oysters, multiple shrimp (small), some clam strips, and about 6 large scallops (some cut in halves). Plenty for two people; so much food that we actually took some home. If you're a big eater or a man you will eat this as your meal. I know our son would! While waiting for our meal, we were surprised by the free basket of "hush puppies" which were absolutely delicious! Longer and thinner than the traditional round ones, these were more of a dessert- sweet pieces of fried bread along with some honey butter!! Oh my, they were so good I could have just eaten the whole basket for dinner! 🤣 Warning: you can fill up on these yummy things! Service was perfect. The price was great especially since we shared the meal. The only reason I gave it 4 stars is the shrimp were very disappointing. Being on the coast of South Carolina, I expected much better quality shrimp, especially in size. These were almost what I'd call popcorn shrimp. I'm a shrimp snob, so overlook my 4 stars if that doesn't bother you. Having been a Florida girl all my life, raised on the river, shrimping, fishing and crabbing with my granddaddy, AND recently enjoyed those big beautiful pink Gulf shrimp...well I admit I expected more. Final answer: Good food, Good prices, especially for a tourist area, Good service. I...

Plenty of Fried Calabash Style Seafood to Go Around

I definitely need to learn more about the history of Calabash style seafood, because here just about everything comes fried (though there are plenty of nonfried options too). The décor is fun, the volume was perfect for a date night, and the energy in the room was shared. Everyone was having a great time.

Like most spots in the area, the meal started with hush puppies.. huge, golden, and delicious. The honey butter makes them special, and I liked that they came complimentary. The lemon pepper calamari was more complicated and confusing, it had a burnt like flavor at first, but after a few bites and plenty of lemon juice, it started to work. You just need to take some time to figure where the flavors are coming from. (You need to ask for lemons, they don’t come with it) Still, the oil pooling in the basket turned me off, and I wouldn’t order it again.

The “stuffed” flounder was tasty, though a bit misleading? It’s more of a fillet split down the middle with filling in between. I enjoyed the full shrimp and crab tucked inside, but the skin left under the fish made me pause for a second (maybe that’s normal?). On the sides, the coleslaw was sweet and refreshing vs a more vinegar approach, while my fries were disappointing lacking crispness, salt, and flavor. I’d go for the baked potato next time.

We also tried the Calabash shrimp and deviled crab combo plate. The shrimp missed the crunch and seasoning I was hoping for, but the deviled crab was unique. Not necessarily my favorite but it was somewhere between a crab pot pie and a sweet hush puppy flavor. Meanwhile, my 1 year old happily worked through her spaghetti, so at least it passed that test.

Overall, the atmosphere here had a good weekend energy and was overall enjoyable, but the food missed the mark in several places for me. Not sure I’d rush back. I’m going with four stars because I’m not the best fish food critic, but if you’re into fried fish you should try it out. It seems like a calabash staple and the staff was extremely...

I do not recommend this place for seafood. Our food was so greasy that we sent it back for a reorder and the reorder was greasy as well. We asked for the manager, who was polite, but oblivious as to how seafood should be cooked and thought the grease was fine. We got the platter and everything on it was greasy, mushy and not eatable. She offered to light fry it, however it was light fried and frying it longer actually makes it more crisp. We paid for my house salad and my husband's clam chowder, which tasted like campbell's can soup. I had to wash my hands before leaving due to the grease of just checking the food. While in the bathroom, another customer was washing her hands due to the seafood feeling sticky due to grease.

Edit: The flounder, the shrimp, the oysters, the scallops and the clam strips, and crab cake were all greasy. The owner never offered to refry it again herself, she stood there saying nothing, so we said to take it off our bill, we weren't eating it.

We didn't leave a tip because I usually leave a cash tip and had to go wash my hands before I could do anything. I had to also go to the bathroom. After waiting outside the bathroom for a few minutes, my husband walked outside to wait for me. Upon entering the bathroom, I got to wash my hands and then left because water was all over the floor from one of the stalls. So I just left to go elsewhere to use the restroom and eat dinner. Had the food been properly cooked, and we actually got to eat a complete meal there, she would have gotten her tip. Sadly, things didn't go as they should have, due to the poor quality of the food. No worries, we have no plans to...