Sugar Shack Jamaican Restaurant — Restaurant in Shallotte

Sugar Shack is not open year-round. So if you're at or near OIB when it's open, this is a MUST GO place at least once !

We tend to find favorites at restaurants we frequent and then order the same items on "most" visits. Because why risk getting something new when you can get something you KNOW you love ?! (esp. when it's a kinda pricey place, so we don't get to go every week or anything like that) One of our favorites at Sugar Shack, and what they are famous for is the RIBS!! These ribs are delicious and are literally fall off the bone tender. We normally order a full rack to split, or to have leftovers.

Another favorite is the wings. Sometimes we get to go orders of nothing but the wing appetizers. Or wings with sides of rice'n'beans and slaw. And the jerk sauce in the bottle on the table to dip the wings in, yummmm (it's good on everything!). We always get wings for the table when we eat in the restaurant. (note: these are not Buffalo hot wings, they are Jamaican flavored)

Other notable menu items are the coconut shrimp, jerk chicken, and 18oz NY Strip (split among 2-3 people!), along with the Johnny bread you get when you're seated which has a taste similar to spice cake. For sides, try the rice'n'beans and cole slaw. The other sides are pretty good too, but you can only pick two. : )

The food is all nicely seasoned. The jerk spice is not overly hot like some places, just a really nice flavor with a slight undertone of kick. Hot sauces are available if you want to spice yours up. You cannot go wrong with Sugar Shack. Try it !

The restaurant is not all that large, and there's bound to be a wait that can sometimes be long, so plan to go earlier and have a beer or two while you wait on their outdoor patio. They do take reservations as well. The restaurant is mostly hard surfaces inside, so it's pretty loud (with all the folks talking so excitedly about their delicious meals!). On the weekend they usually have live music which makes it even more noisy.

Usual hours are Tues-Sat 5pm; approximately March/April...

A lot of dissonance here, just very conflicting. I want to give 5 stars for the food, but 1 star for the actual experience because of outdoor dining.

We got there right when they opened, 3rd table to be sat, there were only two of us. We waited outside for over an hour for our food in the direct sunlight (no indoor seating). In this time, MANY people with takeout orders left the restaurant. People could come in and order and they’d be gone within 5 minutes. Then, other tables with larger parties who came after us were brought their food long before us. One of the tables had left before we even got our food, and they arrived a while after us. It was so hot outside, it made it hard to even want to eat hot food after the wait. And they were out of a decent amount of food. When we received our food, flies immediately swarmed us. Not a few: a disgusting amount everywhere. At this point, I was so frustrated that I just closed my container and put my head in my hands. My husband and I just decided after the entire wait, to just take it home and eat it, because it was a miserable experience. The waiter was as accommodating as possible, and you can tell he’s frustrated because everyone sitting and waiting for food is miserable and upset and it’s out of his control. He was extremely kind & did what he could. The food is excellent: the meat literally falls off the bone. Still, we paid over $100 after tip for probably the worst dining experience I’ve ever had. We’ve gotten Sugar Shack in the past but this put a sour taste in my mouth. Overall, the experience is why I rated so low. If you get their food as takeout, you’ll be fine. Just, after this experience, I’m finding it hard to convince myself to ever...

Had read a lot of good things about this place online and decided to give it a try. Made reservations for 7:30 by calling them in the early afternoon and left a message with our request. They called back with our confirmation a couple hours later. We arrived promptly at 7:30, was given a buzzer and ended up waiting 45 minutes for a table. So basically, even if you have a reservation, you can and will still wait quite a bit, so be prepared. But without reservations, you pretty much have no chance at even getting in. They had a nice outdoor waiting area (complete with shade and ceiling fans), though, with lots of benches and seats and frequent/friendly while-you-wait bar-service.

The food really was outstanding and worth the wait. The service was stellar - quick, efficient and friendly. Our table ordered ribs, coconut shrimp, curry chicken, tag-and-go cod fritters and 3 kids' meals (hot dog, grilled cheese and chicken tenders). All were well-received but the ribs were simply amazing. They weren't your standard bbq sauce soaked ribs, but rather wet-rubbed and cooked to perfection, ie fall off the bone.

There was live music, ie a guy and his guitar who sang lots of favorites, which made for a lively, fun atmosphere.

Pros: Reaaaaally good food. The ribs were some of the best we've ever had and the coconut shrimp was delicious as well. The staff, from the hostess to the servers were outstanding. Lively, fun atmosphere

Cons: Long wait, even with a reservation, relatively expensive and though this place is listed as a Jamaican Restaurant, it really wasn't all...