Boardwalk Billy's — Restaurant in North Myrtle Beach

I've been to this place numerous times, it can be really great but unfortunately the last two times I've been there we had negative experience with seating. Both times we asked for outdoor seating, both times we were seated under the bar/happy hour area that I guess is technically partially outside but not the outdoor deck seating. The first time this happened we noticed there was a table open on the deck and I asked if we could move to that table as we couldn't even hear ourselves talk, I was told that if there was a wait for outdoor seating they couldn't do it. The waitress went to check and came back and said there was a wait so our options were to stay where we were or be put on the waiting list for outdoor seating??? I was thoroughly confused as we had asked for outdoor seating to begin with and was seated in that section, and 2 - we were a party of 4, the table we wanted to leave was a 4 top and the table was asked to move to was a 4 top, it was net zero, they could have moved us and seated the next party who was waiting at the table we would be leaving. Instead I was told we could be put on a waiting list for the same "outdoor seating" we had already asked for (after we had already ordered food no less). The next visit when this same scenario happened, I was told all they could do was put us on the outdoor seating waiting list (the one we were already been on, waited 30 mins on and had received the seat we were in on) and I was told we'd have to wait an additional hour? I don't understand how they could know it would be an extra hour, we could have just waited for the next table on the deck, to me it seemed like they were putting us at the end of the list as if we just got there. The other issue being every single time I asked for outdoor seating and was placed in the area under the large roof so they apparently consider that outdoor so what good would being put back on a list get me? The area under the large roof is extremely loud. Both times we couldn't even have a conversation at the table and it was pretty miserable. I'm not looking to rain on anyones happy hour parade, but there should be a seating option for people who are there are to enjoy dinner and music and actually hear the people they are with. It's a totally different experience when your in that area from when your seated in actual outdoor deck. My suggestion would be to designate the outdoor, open air deck seating as a different seating option than the covered area where all the happy hour bar goers stand. There needs to be options for everyone that are clear when you put yourself on the list, I'd gladly wait extra to be on the deck where I can hear the people I'm with and...

While on our beach getaway, we decided to check out Boardwalk Billy’s in North Myrtle Beach to see how it stacked up against our familiar stomping grounds at their Charlotte "step-sister" location. (Long story short—they used to be partner locations, but now run separately. Still some menu overlap though!)

Our plan was simple: grab drinks, enjoy the live music, and chill for a couple hours. That plan shifted rather quickly. The place was absolutely slammed and it was so loud within the restaurant we couldn’t hear the music inside at the open bar area (even though the band was playing right there). Fun energy, but definitely not the laid-back vibe we were going for.

We put our name on the list for a table (quoted an hour wait) and elbowed our way to the bar area to grab a drink while we waited. No luck at first, it was just as packed. Luckily after about 20 minutes a couple seats opened up and we claimed them. Funny enough, our buzzer went off 10 minutes later, but we were already happily sipping.

I tried the Salty Golfer Pineapple Blonde from Grand Strand Brewing and it was way better than expected. Light, crisp, and super refreshing—basically summer in a glass.

For food, we went all-appetizer mode to sample a little of everything:

🥇 Wings (Caribbean flavor) – Still the MVP, just like in Charlotte (if in CLT, recommend the jerk wings). Big, tender, juicy, and packed with flavor. If you love wings, don't skip these.

🥈 Lobster Roll – Buttery, meaty, and full of rich lobster flavor. Could’ve eaten two.

🥉 Coconut Shrimp – Crispy batter on the outside and breezy flavor on the inside with solid vacation vibes. While these were good, they did fall just a tad flat from others I’ve had.

🏅 Oysters Rockefeller – My least favorite. I was craving oysters and made the wrong call. The breadcrumb topping was bland and just made me wish I had ordered them on the half shell with cocktail sauce and horseradish.

Despite how busy it was, the staff moved things along quickly. We were glad we stayed, even if the live music didn’t quite deliver on what we’d hoped. The food was solid, but I still prefer the Charlotte location. Though I will say, the NMB spot has sushi, which Charlotte doesn’t.

There’s plenty of parking, but it gets busy with neighboring restaurants all clustered around the same stretch along the Intracoastal. Overall it’s worth a try if you’re nearby. But for me, CLT Billy’s still holds the crown...

I come here with my family every time we come down to Myrtle. The food is good and the buckets are delicious. However, I had not been here since COVID started and I was very disappointed in their enforcement of masks and social distancing. Out of the ~12 employees I saw working that night, 1 of them was properly wearing a mask the entire night. All others either weren’t wearing one or had them on their neck. There was good social distancing outside when waiting for our table, but once we got inside the restaurant and I looked at both their indoor and outdoor bars, they clearly had not made effort to move tables around or remove any to reduce the capacity inside. They do have a "no standing sign" of some sort by the indoor bar but were not enforcing it, as while I was eating multiple groups of 2-4 people would be waiting around standing at the bar. What was also unfortunate was about half of the guests that came in were not wearing masks or were wearing them improperly. I asked an employee why she and her coworkers are not enforced to wear masks correctly and she shrugged and told me since most of the people coming to her restaurant don’t wear them correctly their manager doesn’t feel the need to enforce his employees to. I don't know the specific South Carolina COVID rules this restaurant is supposed to be following, but I do know that they should all be, at the very least, wearing masks properly reguardless of what their customers are doing. Yes I chose to stay here and eat, but I wanted to share this for others to see so they are more aware of what is going on and hopefully a change will be made. For reference, we went on the Friday night of Labor Day Weekend. Screen shots of the video I took while I was there are below since I can’t post the video itself. It is of the indoor bar across from our table. Both girls behind the bar were not wearing their masks at all and there is a full set of chairs around the entire bar with zero distancing...