I Got Your Crabs Shellfish Market and Oyster Bar — Restaurant in Kitty Hawk

We had high hopes for this spot and honestly hate to write a negative review, but I think this place could use some feedback. We decided on two stars sadly, because we did inform the waitress about the oysters as we were leaving and one of the waiters about the flounder, but we were not given the option to order fresher options as a replacement nor did anyone follow up after leaving huge portions of uneaten food on the table. We are not picky eaters by any means - we do however know good food. Let’s start with the positives. The wait staff is very nice. The catfish taco was good although the portions are enormous “American” sized and there was nothing authentic about the fish tacos. We loved the diner vibe inside (please clean the blinds, they are caked with dead bugs and dust). My boyfriends Mom liked her shrimp taco. My boyfriend said the crab cake sandwich was tasty and I liked the catfish taco. Moving on - let’s talk about what is not working. Neither myself or my boyfriends Mom could eat the flounder taco, it was rancid and not fresh at all. It was so fishy it was offensive. The raw oysters were probably the worst we have ever had. We LOVE oysters, but whoever shucked these had no idea what they were doing. They were not cut away properly from the muscle so you had to try and relieve them from the shell with a plastic knife. They were extremely dirty and were not cooled on a bed of ice the way they should be served, which is cold - not room temperature. Every oyster left pieces of shell and mud sludge in your mouth. My boyfriend and I can eat 2 dozen good oysters, chilled on a bed of ice, cleaned well with a good mignonette, lemon, horseradish, hot sauce or straight up. These were beyond disappointing. I think we had 4 out of a dozen and still paid for every one. We kept hoping the next one would be better! We are happy to support small locally owned businesses, but the fish should be extremely fresh and the oysters should be shucked like you know what you’re doing. It’s the beach! Lastly, the oysters came out last after all the hot fried food, which shows that whomever was shucking and serving them isn’t really familiar with how oysters should be served. We really wish the oyster situation was refreshing, ice-y cold and shucked like they should be. We were informed that was the way it was normally served (not on a bed of ice), so we can only imagine that all the reviews about great oysters come from ppl who have never had anything truly delicious and properly shucked and served. We hope this review helps button up the freshness of the seafood as well as serving more impressive oysters in the beautiful Outer...

Awesome little place for several dishes that we love!! It's that kind of place where the people are as real as the food they serve. Love the tacos, crab cake platter, and crab bisque!!! Still more things to order yet so we will be back. People are warm, welcoming, and take care of your order and requests. Go give them a try! UPDATE: Same great place as ever. Great service and super friendly people!! Got into some of the tacos again...YUMMY!! Make your menu choice look like mine!!

UPDATE: 17 SEP 2021 What can I say. It's an addictive place with a great staff serving excellent food. Took on the Crab bisque, Dozen raw oysters, and Blue Crab meat Tacos. GOOOONNNNNNEEEE. We will be back!!!! If you haven't been you better go at least once.

Another update: FEB 2022 Eat your oysters raw or Rockefeller, by the dozen or half. Crab bisque in a bowl, or by the cup you just can't pass this place up. What else can I say...a great staff, awesome atmosphere, we will keep coming here!!

BACK again!! : SEP 2024 Short version : Stop reading and go EAT!! No disappointments. So I got go to to my favorite place to eat. We all have a few, sometimes just one. Never a disappointment here with my selections. Tacos : This time around I had the Crab Cake version and BlueCrab Meat version (you can mix-n-match). OH...HELLO...where have you been?!?!? The BlueCrab Meat was out of this world!! I could have surrendered my life savings for a tub of that crab meat. Just incredible on the Taco. LOVED the Crab Cake version Taco as well. SO goood, almost ordered a to-go pair for the next day. Crab bisque : WOW....talk about a rich, deep flavor with this bisque. I should have brought my own gallon container to get more for home. Fried Shrimp: Such a great mainstay to eat. Always so fresh tasting and easy to eat. Be careful, you don't want too many to spoil the rest of your dinner! Steamed Shrimp : Another easy win with shrimp that are jumping out the shell ans ready to be eaten. Perfect flavoring of course, just like Goldilocks would have them. Oyster Rockefeller : Damn these were so easy to eat! Just the way they taste will make you order another 6 or 12 !!

If you aren't hungry by now....that's just that much more for me to eat!!! ...

Arrived at 8:08 pm on 6/22/19. First impressions of the place were bad from the start. As soon as I arrive the people in front of me were irritated as they were trying to figure if they could split the check and was about to leave. There is a sign on the right of the building says they couldn't split checks if the party if over 6. After all that another waiter comes by and says that they can. So the people in front of me decided to stay. Not a good first impression. That same waiter took my order and I asked if he had a recommendation for the oyster but he didn't have any idea of what to recommend. He said that the oyster Rockefeller was popular so I got that and the soft shell crab plate. He took my order and I paid, which I thought was weird as you normally pay after eating in most restaurants. Not a big deal so I just went to the restroom, which they only have one, but since their restaurant is small it doesn't seem like a big deal. It has a toilet and a stall for ladies and gentlemen. Went to sit down to wait for my food to come out. Another couple sits next to me and the waiter that took my order offered them drinks but not me. Thought it was strange as well as them not covering my table with a sheet of paper like the others. 8:28 pm my name is called but it's in a to go box. The waiter didn't ask if I was going to be eating in or not and the waitress at the cashier was starting to give me an attitude because I wanted to eat in not out. So she takes everything out of the bags and puts the food in trays then bringing my food out to me. You can see the food in the pictures. The oysters were ok but I've had better. Some of the oysters had shells in them. Soft shell crab I've never had so I can't compare but it wasn't bad. Another waitress comes by to offer me water and checks up on me once in a while, while the other two didn't bother. The waiter that took my order didn't apologize for the mix-up or anything. I left right after finishing my meal and will...