The Dunes Restaurant — Restaurant in Nags Head

Best dining experience of my entire vacation!! Excellent food and excellent service!!

I’d like to give a special shout out to the amazing Ms. Chasity who made our experience excellent! This amazing young waitress was so kind to us and made a point to talk to us and treat us as friends and not just some customers. When learning we were from the same part of the country she grew up in, she made it a point to explain to us all of the items that were unfamiliar to people from our area and provided explanations of what each dish was and provided us with comparisons to things we like from our area! She also took the time to give us recommendations and was just super kind and accommodating. 1000/10 for her! Give that sweet girl a raise!!

Next thing I’d like to say is that the food is phenomenal!!! As someone who doesn’t particularly care for hush puppies, I can confirm that theirs are the best. I have never enjoyed hush puppies until I tried the ones from the dunes! They were so good, cooked to perfection, sweet and served with honey butter. Best hush puppies I have ever eaten and would eat again in a heartbeat. I also had the pleasure of enjoying the Seven Sisters platter, served with cheesy grits and a baked potato. Their fried chicken is so flavorful and juicy, and when topped with the cheese and onion it tastes like paradise. Everything on my plate had exceptional flavor and texture, which is important as a texture sensitive person myself.

Overall, this was the best dining experience I had while at OBX and I have already recommended and will continue to recommend to my friends making trips to the beach! I have no complaints for this restaurant at all, but I would love to see them offer gluten free options in the future so I could share the wonderful dining experience with my mom. I’ll definitely be sure to stop in any time I’m in the area, hopefully able to bring my mom...

Walked into restaurant at about 11am on New Year’s Day. Didn’t see Host or Hostess, but myself and my husband noticed an older Caucasian male cashier checking a customer out at the cash register, so we approached that area. Once he finished assisting the lady, my husband approached him and said, “Excuse me, we need to check in”. The older Caucasian male responded, “Ok” and immediately turned away from us to check in a Caucasian Female and we overheard him tell her that there was about a 20-25 minute wait. A female waitress/hostess approached the older Caucasian male. We waited patiently expecting that the older Caucasian male would turn around to assist us. But to our dismay, the older Caucasian male called two other guest parties to inform them that their tables were ready. We stood waiting for the cashier to turn around to acknowledge us but he NEVER did. This was so very embarrassing as others looked on. He actually totally ignored us and proceeded to check in another Caucasian guest. As an African American, it was so very obvious that African Americans are not welcomed at this establishment. We were unfairly treated as we arrived before the Caucasian party. The older Caucasian male’s actions made it very clear that we African Americans were second to the Caucasian Guests, despite arriving before them. It’s 2024, and the older Caucasian male made it very clear that African Americans are not welcomed at the Dunes Restaurant. I rarely do reviews but this one was needed to WARN other African Americans and any other people of color to take your money elsewhere. It’s a shameful disgrace to be treated this way in 2024!!! And it was extremely embarrassing as other guests witnessed this disgusting and disheartening interaction. WARNING - PEOPLE OF COLOR - YOU ARE NOT WELCOMED AT THIS PREJUDICE AND...

The food was wonderful! I had the crab cakes, which were absolutely delicious, and the hush puppies here are fantastic. Unfortunately, I can only give 3 stars because the service left a bad taste in my mouth.

While we were looking around the gift shop, I noticed some cute little mason jars labeled “Outer Banks” that you can fill with sand. I mentioned to my aunt and cousin how adorable they were, and my younger cousin decided she wanted one for herself and a friend. We set two aside for her, and since my hands were full, I tucked the one I wanted into the crook of my arm for just a moment while I was picking hers out because we wanted to continue browsing…. The gentleman behind the register, however, immediately made an unnecessary comment “don’t forget about the one in your arm,” in a tone that only implied I was trying to sneak it out. I was taken aback; I was clearly still shopping and had every intention of paying!! I can’t believe I have to justify this right now.

When I went up to the register to purchase all three jars, he made another offhand comment: “Just these three, right? Just wanted to make sure it wasn’t four…” Seriously? That’s incredibly rude and insulting. If he genuinely thought I was stealing, he should have come right out and addressed it properly.. not drop snide remarks that treat paying customers like they’re thieves over a $5 trinket.

Because of that experience, I felt embarrassed and out of place there. It really soured what could have been a great visit. I’m giving 3 stars solely because the food was excellent, but the service and attitude were disappointing and...