Tale of the Whale — Restaurant in Nags Head

Very good food! What a difference!! A couple of days ago, a friend and I started out trying to go to Tale of the Whale for dinner. Unfortunately it was closed so we went next-door (see my review of Basnights). Tonight we tried again. We saw that they had a 20% early bird special (call for details as their times change). We arrived about a half hour early and got a beeper. We looked at the jewelry set up in the lobby and spoke with the charming young man who was selling it. He was very knowledgeable about each and every stone and sat carefully polishing each piece. My friend even bought a ring. We were seated right as they opened at five. We first ordered the crab dip. My friend is gluten-free so they gave her corn chips and I had the best “fry bread“ pita I’ve ever had. It was served warm and topped with shredded Parmesan. The dip itself was incredible. Then we split a she-crab soup. The “other” place’s soup did not have lumps of crab meat, but it was obvious that the Whale used real lump crab meat, and lots of it! The first bite was very “sherry,” but in a great way. The flavor blended perfectly with the crab and wasn’t overpowering. The texture was perfect as well. My friend ordered filet mignon and coconut shrimp which was served with creamy mashed potatoes and green beans. The mashed potatoes were awesome. Little bits of potato, with a creamy texture and cream which gave it the best hint of sweetness. The coconut shrimp was a little bit overdone and the fillet wasn’t as tender as she would’ve liked, but the flavor was great. I chose the Cajun plate. It had a filet mignon, my choice of grilled Cajun fish, two large, fried grits cakes, topped with a Cajun andouille sausage gravy and served with green beans. I did ask for the gravy on the side because I wanted the pure taste of the fillet. I have to say that was a good choice because even though I was going to use it on the grits, it was a little bit too sweet for me. The green beans were amazing; very fresh, as long as my hand and almost as thick as my pinky! The grits cakes were fantastic. They formed cheesy, creamy grits into triangles and fried them! I have been accused in a review response by the other restaurant of needing to have creamy sauces or salt laden spices to be able to enjoy a meal, but the exact opposite is true. The swordfish I got was delicately flavored with a blend of spices which allowed the flavor of the fish to come through. It also had a perfect grilled flavor and was cooked to perfection. It was very tender. Again, the fillet wasn’t as tender as I would’ve liked, but it was cooked perfectly to my taste and the flavor was excellent. The young man (Tyler) serving us was very attentive and friendly, taking time, despite his busy section, to make us feel like we were important customers. The owner, Kathy, came through the bustling dining room and asked, very sincerely, how we were enjoying our meal, and if everything was to our satisfaction. We had enjoyed our meal so much that we decided to splurge on dessert. My friend had a gluten-free vanilla cake with a creamy mascarpone cheese and raspberry filling. She said it was the best gluten-free dessert she had had. After debating for a while over the desserts (they had a beautiful tiramisu, orange cake with buttercream frosting, crème brûlée, New York cheesecake, the gluten-free dessert, and a double chocolate cake) I ordered the chocolate cake. After the first bite I could tell that it was freshly made and not mass produced with a lot of preservatives like in some places. I even asked Tyler if it was in-house made. He said that they use a local baker. The cake was moist and chocolatey, the frosting had the right level of sweetness and there was a layer of ganache that was just barely warm and tasted like the inside of a chocolate lava cake. Overall, we were very satisfied with our meal, the service, and the atmosphere, and would...

First restaurant stop on my vacation. I wish I could give more stars but alas I can't.

So I had to wait over an hour and half, and I was a party of 1! Absolutely insane! These people don't take reservations, which is ridiculous. The sassy guy behind the front desk, who was sassier than me if that's to be believed, lol, told me that I'd have to wait an additional 10-15 minutes for a water front table. This in addition to the 1.5 hours I was gonna be waiting....lordt. I simply accepted it because I was starving and knew it was gonna be like this anywhere I went.

Thank gawd they had a bar behind the restaurant. So I ordered a few drinks while I waited. Finally I got seated to a great table but unfortunately, it was dark, so hard to see out past their pier. Anyway, my server was very kind and professional. She made some great suggestions from the menu. I decided to get one of their appetizer specials, light fried tuna bites with a honey sriracha sauce on top.

Unfortunately, the appetizer fell flat on taste and texture. Poorly seasoned and rubbery. Also the sauce was very light, if nonexistent on the sriracha. The main course made up for it though. I got fried shrimp with a delicious crab cake. It came with mashed potatoes and broccoli cooked to perfection. Oh and the hush puppies were to die for! All in all, a great meal aside from the appetizer.

So why only 3 stars? Well aside from unnecessarily having to wait nearly 2 hours for a table for one, the most obnoxious server was working near my server's section. Talk about putting it on thick, this guy was like a grinning, loud mouthed idiot the entire time I was there. Almost completely ruined my dining experience. I get it, I've been in the industry over 21 years, as a server you've got to do different things to stand out, and make sure your customers are happy. But this guy was trying WAAAAYYY too hard. At one point I wanted to be like "Hey buddy, take a bus to NYC if you wana be on Broadway or do stand up, but please STFU if you gonna stay here!"

In the end, I'll probably give these guys another chance, but if they saddle me with that loud, obnoxious server...all...

Oh how I wish 10 stars were available!!! This place is incredible - seriously, one of the best in the OBX. If you want to eat here, I highly recommend being at the restaurant at 4:30p to put your name in. The restaurant doesn’t open until 5p, but it will immediately fill up and result in an hour+ wait.

The views here are really beautiful and they have taken full advantage of this by having large picture windows on the sound side of the restaurant. (They also have an area with decking, pier, gazebo and bar on the water where you can wait for your table.) Fresh baked bread/butter is provided when you are seated. The servers here do a really good job and are clearly experienced at what they do.

The menu is large and even includes several pasta dishes and steak options for those who don’t like seafood. The crab dip appetizer with fried pita is LOADED with crab meat and is delicious. Definitely a must for us. And, don’t forget the hush puppies!

The entrees are large, arrive hot to your table and, again, are delicious. My husband and I like this place so much that we drove two hours (from home) just to have dinner on each of our birthdays.

It is a white table restaurant, but don’t feel like you need to dress up - it is the beach after all! There is a small jewelry stand in the lobby that has silver and gold jewelry available at very reasonable prices. I’ve been known to find a little something just about every time we are there. They have rings, bracelets, earrings, necklaces, charms, etc.

Oh…one last thing! Don’t skip dessert!!! When your server brings out the dessert tray, you will see why I am saying this. But, if you’re too full - which is most likely the case - you can get it to go!!

Highly recommend Tale if the Whale and encourage those reading...