Calabash Seafood Hut — Restaurant in Calabash

We had heard so many great things about Calabash Seafood Hut and were eager to finally give it a try. After our visit, we found the experience to be decidedly mixed. While the service was genuinely wonderful, the food unfortunately fell short of the reputation, leading to a 3-star rating for an experience that felt average overall.

Service and Atmosphere The bright spot of our meal was definitely the friendly service. Our server was attentive, checking on our table several times, which always makes a difference.

The atmosphere, however, felt a bit like a time capsule. The décor, walls, and tables are quite outdated. It’s not necessarily a bad thing if you’re looking for a retro, no-frills seaside feel, but be prepared for a setting that definitely needs some refreshing. A small detail, but you wrap up your experience by paying at a small window near the entrance, which is an unusual touch.

The Food: A Series of Misses The food was the main letdown. I ordered the clam strips and fries, and the clams were very inconsistent—some were pale yellow and seemingly undercooked, while others were overly browned. The breading was bland, and the mix of undercooked and overcooked textures made for a poor taste.

My wife's experience with the coconut shrimp and fries was similar. She found the batter to be excessively sweet, with an unexpected hint of spice, perhaps even cinnamon. She didn't enjoy the shrimp, suggesting the flavor profile was off-balance and confusing.

We also tried the hush puppies, which were spindle-shaped, dense, and had a consistency like an unsweetened cake. Served only with plain butter, they were heavy and didn't seem properly prepared. It was our first time trying this style, but they were so dense and lacking in flavor that we couldn't enjoy them.

Final Verdict Ultimately, while the staff was fantastic, nothing about the meal itself—from the inconsistent clam strips to the confusingly spiced shrimp and heavy hush puppies—felt worth a second visit. Our initial high expectations were unmet, and we won't...

Zero sense of urgency at the Seafood Hut. We have been coming here for years , and it will be a VERY long time before returning. We park and sit out front on the bench to wait for a table , as we always have, to find out it is cash only due to the card machine being down. Okay, things happen. We go in to sit down, and notice there are 4/5 tables dirty around us. It took almost 10 minutes for anyone to come out to clean the tables while there was a long line still waiting outside. I saw someone that looked to be a dishwasher assist only once and pick up about 5 plates the entire time we were there. It was left up to the waitresses to flip their tables. A server then seats all 5 tables all at once( one was a large party), servers didn’t move any faster. The whole room was hot , hungry, and getting impatient. We ordered a large and small seafood plate , both of ours come out small.Our waitress agreed. We ask can we just get charged for 2 smalls seeing that we got 2 smalls. She gave a little huff, side eye roll and walked away. She came back and said she ordered more for us. In the meantime another group of tables are clearing out and it’s a repeat of the same lack of urgency as before. We finish our meal and head to the counter to pay , EVERYONE including our server walked by us multiple times and looked directly at us standing at the window. There were two girls chatting in the kitchen rolling silverware and also looked directly at us. No one came to assist. Finally I said Hello are you going to help me? They looked right at me and said “ sir we’re busy”. Our time is just as valuable as theirs and they are choosing to work harder not smarter. This restaurant...

Despite great expectations, we were sorely disappointed. We've wanted to stop here for years now since we moved here especially given the number of reccommendations we've received. We finally got there last night and it really couldn't have been much worse unfortunately...and I hate to say that about a little, family, local place here. We ordered take out so that we could sit at the park and have a quiet waterside dinner. First thing I noticed when I opened my dinner was that something was missing. No crab in my seafood platter. NBD. It happens. The good news...I tried the slaw first and it was outstanding but I should have stopped there. Now mind you...we're a couple hundred feet from a fleet of shrimp boats, but the shrimp they served were mush, bland, imported popcorn shrimp. Seriously? Fries should not be the focal point of the meal but...limp IGA crinkle cut fries. No thank you. The fish (flounder) was barely palateable. Dry, bland and very possibly thawed from frozen. I was ready to stop when I got to the oysters and I did after I got into them. Bland, tasteless very un-local oysters, quite likely from the southern gulf, Texas or Louisiana. Ugh. My wife had scallops. She reported very bland as well. I tried them and sadly had to agree. Hard to believe that perhaps for the very first time we ended up throwing seafood away. That about sums it up. Maybe they mean to cater to tourist first timers and that's ok. Obviously a ton of people like (love!) this place. I was so hoping we'd be able to make the hut a regular...