Upside Restaurant — Restaurant in Corolla

On our weekend getaway we stopped in for dinner service and took an outdoor table on the upper deck. What's nice is when getting seating they tell you the open table and where it's located and ask if you want it. We opted for it so we could see the views. Isn't that why we visit the OBX? If you go as soon as they open for dinner you won't wait long for a table, however, if you wait until later, the wait time stacks up. Our family of four ordered the hush puppies and fried green tomatoes for appetizers. The hush puppies weren't spicy but pleasant heat and flavor. They were cooked well but very dense and a bit dry. The cinnamon butter, I say cinnamon since it was the dominant flavor, was interesting with the peppered hush puppies. We just opted to eat the puppies without the butter. They tomatoes were well coated. And the coating was crisp fried. This have the outside a nice crunch. The tomatoes inside were soft and on the squishy side. I prefer my fried tomatoes on the firm side. The pimento cheese spread had a nice heat to it for pimento spread but it was a bit thick so it lended to the tomato feeling squishier. I wouldn't order either appetizer again. They weren't awful but they just didn't appeal texturally and nothing absolutely standout to just make your mouth water so you dream about and make you want to come back. It was the end of a warm day so most of us got salads. I got the berry pecan salad. I skipped the pecans. The Dijon vinaigrette was a standout dressing. Just enough to dress the salad without making anything swim. The fruit was fresh and popped in your mouth. The cheese was the perfect touch. There was enough to have a bit in every bite. Daughter got the chop salad and added chicken with the dressing on the side. And hubs got the upside salad with shrimp. The chicken and shrimp were perfectly done and full of flavor. These were excellent salads as well. You can order half or whole portions. We also got a kids chicken basket. They don't have fries but chips. They're chips are nice and crisp. Excellent crunch and will seasoned. But if you're looking for fries, not going to happen. For us not a deal breaker, we're an equal opportunity potato eater but I know for some fries are a must. I also got a raspberry lemonade margarita. I love a good drink and for someone I think this would be. I found it a bit too tart. Maybe a bit too lemonade like and less margarita like. Now service here was super. They put a water carafe on your table for you to keep your glasses full, which makes perfect sense when you have a multi level building. But despite all the running our server had to do we were never neglected. Our did came out quickly and our meal was well paced. We had time to eat our appetizers without feeling rushed, yet we didn't have to wait for the dinner plates after finishing the apps. So the kitchen staff obviously works well with the wait staff. That shows they have some good management getting everyone on the same page. I appreciate that. There were some other menu others that we want to try so this is on the...

We arrived right at the beginning of dinner & they seemed to be a bit slow. First, the hostess asked if we'd like to look at the menu before being seated. I was sort of insulted, we'd already looked at the menu online, obviously, before coming. Later, I did read that they encourage the hostess to ask because people have complained of the prices before. I'm not sure if his solution was the best. He should probably just post a menu out front, instead of asking the staff to semi-insult people before they even sit down by implying they may not have enough money to pay or something.

Anyways, we got in and I asked to be seated outside, but the only seating for 2 did not have any shade. I asked if we could move to a shaded table for 4, as there were no other patrons inside or outside. The hostess said no, this was impossible. Fine, we sat inside. Super awesome atmosphere, as the wait staff or hostesses half flirted, half argued with cooks and they all shuffled back and fourth between to kitchen type rooms behind us.

Our waitress was wonderful. Friendly, knowledgable. Nearly the part about the experience. The food was also quite good, but ironically, I could see why people would say it's overpriced. I liked the portions (not huge for the sake of being huge, but enough to be quite filling) and loved the taste of the food... But something said "short order cook" to me with the meal. Maybe it was the pre-sliced steak strips and chicken strips, or the overly creamed grits, but the meal was very nearly a home run, because the flavors were on point.

In the end, we did enjoy the food and the waitress, but when we walked out, the place was JUST starting to pick up and 0 people were sitting outside. Would've given 5 stars if the atmosphere weren't so weird and if they would have considered seating is outside as...

The idea of a rooftop restaurant is always a positive; and from my time in OBX - I can definitely say that this feels more upscale/fancy than some of the other spots in Corolla. The view is really nice; unless you are looking into the building, but no fault at them - that isn't really something that is controllable.

The issue for the low review has to be that this place, or at least the chef made my feel unwelcome with the incident that happened. For people with allergies, I may suggest just not attending the restaurant and looking elsewhere.

It comes down to the fact that I have very severe and selective food allergies. I was informed the fish of the day was halibut, and that while they had seared tuna - they prepared the tuna in the same boil that had my allergen in it; making that impossible to have. I requested a safe bet - salad with the fish of the day. Ordered and waited. When the food came out it was Tuna, I could not have that and requested the food be remade and with the halibut. According to our waitress, the chef said the fish of the day is only for that meal; could not be put on the salad. Even for an allergy and willing to pay extra, chef said no.

I have never been told at a restaurant, especially from the chef, that they cannot work around my allergy. Making a separate piece of fish shouldn't be an issue; but it was.

The place does get packed fast as well. More a heads up to fellow potential guest - we got there about 5 minutes after opening and it was packed.

The rest of my family seemed to enjoy their meal to an extent; it was definitely ruined by all them eating while I had to wait for a salad to be...