High Waters Bar And Grill — Restaurant in Surf City

I’ve been dining here since 2015, first as a tourist (2015–2017), then as a local, and now as an occasional visitor. That’s ten years of meals here. This spot was once Gallagher’s, I believe the owner rebranded after Hurricane Florence.

At first, the rebrand was little more than a name and logo change, but over time the menu has shrunk, the team has turned over, and the quality and service have noticeably declined. Back when we lived on the island and later in Hampstead, this was the first place we’d bring visiting family and friends. Out of all the dining options between Wilmington and Jacksonville, this was our go-to because the burgers were that good. Honestly, they were once in my top three burgers in the country, even better than Gordon Ramsay’s spot in Vegas!

Sadly, not anymore.

I ordered my usual Shark’s Breath burger (which used to be on the menu). In the past, even after the menu changed, the staff always knew how to make it. This time, no one had a clue. I pulled up an old menu online and they assured me they had the ingredients, but what came out was nothing like it used to be. The beef quality has definitely changed, it no longer tastes like fresh, juicy, cooked-to-order beef. My burger was dry, chalky, and flavorless. The lettuce was limp, the brioche bun was too sweet , nothing like the amazing pretzel bun they once used, and there was no sauce to balance the dryness. What used to be a messy, flavorful burger dripping with juice and piled high with toppings has been reduced to something I wouldn’t order again.

The fries had great seasoning but were limp and undercooked, not crispy, just limp oil soaked potato. The pretzel bites came out over-fried, rock-hard and tasting of old oil, though the beer cheese was solid. The ranch dressing for my salad was thin and watery, like someone stretched out the last of a bottle with some tap water and a shake.

On the plus side, my wife’s shrimp salad was excellent, exactly as she expected, and our daughter had no complaints about her chicken tenders and onion rings (though the onion rings looked dark and over-fried like the pretzels).

Service deserves a separate note. Our waiter was working hard! He was taking orders, cooking, serving, refilling, cleaning - all on his own. He did everything he could to keep things running and deserves all the credit. Meanwhile, the “host” (a younger guy who seemed more like an owner’s son than an employee) stood around doing absolutely nothing to help. It was painful to watch one person hustle while another just coasted.

Yes, they were understaffed, and I can forgive some missteps because of that. But there’s no excuse for a dry, flavorless burger. To me, that’s the heart of the menu, and they’ve lost what once made this place special for me.

I’ll probably give them one more chance, but next time it’ll be for fish and chips, not a burger. It’s ironic, you’d think quality and service would improve after tourist season, not hit a new low.

I’ve attached a photo of the old menu for reference, and my receipt. I would not pay $15 for a burger here again, and I recommend you...

Had a real bad experience last week. I'm a regular who visits most Sundays for football. Last week was New Years Day, and they were understaffed (understandable), and there was a morning rush due to the Dolphin Dip that morning. When I got there, they couldn't handle demand, so wouldn't let anyone sit, even though half the restaurant had available seating (again, they were short staffed, so they were trying to control the demand). In the dining half of the restaurant, all the TV's were on, but half the TV's were not on NFL games. My team was not being shown. I ended up missing the first quarter of my game because they wouldn't turn one of the TV's onto my game, and wouldn't let me sit in the half empty room. I would have been content watching my game without service, and walking up to the bar to get my own drinks and waiting until they caught up before they came to the table to service me, rather than waiting until mid-second quarter to see my game. Disappointing. I'll be watching the next few weeks from a different restaurant/bar and see if they know how to service a regular patron any better. They deserved zero stars for this visit...as someone who owned restaurants in the past, I don't like to overrate, one way or the other, so I gave them 2 stars as a little recognition that they served a need for me the past 3 years.

Decided to give them.a chance again this year. Equally disappointing. As an Eagles fan, I was hoping to have a TV to watch. The only screen with the Eagles was the one by the ladies bathroom/kitchen, a table of 2 which was occupied. Half the restaurant had other TV's with games playing and nobody watching. The Colts had zero people on that TV (with multiple empty tables around it. It's not like the Eagles aren't one of the more attended teams, is it? SMH.

If you're an Eagles fan, go to Cowfin. ...

As a local, we have dined here quite a few times. Last two visits we brushed off the little inconveniences of lack of good service and food quality. High waters is one of our daughters favorite restaurants and she chose this place to dine for her birthday dinner.

Last Friday night the restaurant was less than crowded and we were seated right away. After waiting over an hour for our food we were served and it was far from par! My son’s Chicken Alfredo consisted of a handfull of cut up chicken pieces swimming in cream sauce with a side of noodles. I ordered the Lime Cilantro Shrimp Bowl….The bowl was missing, lime, cilantro, corn Pico de Gallo, and Mango Salsa. However, it was served with a visible shrimp shell, what tasted like frozen corn and spinach, topped with mushed salsa. My husband's shrimp basket was an embarrassment to this establishment. Once he pulled off the pound of fried batter, he found a small shrimp that was so overcooked a raccoon wouldn't eat it. Thankfully, since we were celebrating our daughter, her butter noodles were on point minus the restaurant not having parmesan cheese.

Our server gave us just enough time to express our complaints of my husband’s dish and she did comp that meal. Clearly, she was embarrassed. Assuming the manager was there because he addressed tables around us asking about their experience. However, we never were able to make eye contact with him to express our experience.

We are NOT the family to make a scene in a restaurant. However, I did email with zero response.

With all that being said, save your $90 and just go straight to Bojangles… bc that's where we ended up.

Hopefully, this isn't a new trend for...