Shark Bar and Kitchen — Restaurant in Wrightsville Beach

4.5 Stars: Hidden Culinary Gem Masquerading as a Sports Bar! 🦈 Shark Bar & Kitchen at 13 East Salisbury Street, Wrightsville NC 28480

When we walked into Shark Bar & Kitchen, the atmosphere was classic, cool neighborhood bar—perfect for watching the Carolina Panthers game. But let me tell you, the moment we caught the scent of seriously good seasoning, everything changed. When a sports bar menu starts dropping high-end ingredients like “Duck Fat” and “Caviar,” you know you’re in for a surprise, and this spot absolutely delivered!

We ordered a few things just to test the waters, and the results were jaw-dropping:

The WOW Factor Dishes

• Duck Fat Kettle Chips w/ Whipped Crème Fraîche + Caviar: UNBELIEVABLE. I've had caviar on my travels to Brazil, but this was a revelation. The chips were crisp, the crème fraîche was smooth and creamy, and the caviar was fresh and perfectly salty. The combination is a textural and flavor masterpiece—a truly elevated bar snack that you must try.

• Grilled Oysters (topped with Parmesan cheese): Forget a 10/10; these were a 15/10! Perfectly grilled, smoky, and topped with a savory, melted Parmesan finish. A must-order.

• Market Fish Sandwich (Blackened Flounder): Top notch! The flounder was seasoned brilliantly and cooked perfectly. The balance of the blackened fish with the slaw, sliced jalapeño, and tartar sauce created a flavor explosion that was out of this world.

The Service That Earned the Stars⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

We had one initial hiccup with the Crab Fingers (hand-tossed, fried crab claws)—the first batch wasn't as fresh as the other food. However, our waitress was a superstar! We let her know, and without hesitation, she had the chef prepare a brand-new order from the crabs delivered that day. The fresh batch was a HOMERUN. This is the kind of service that shows they truly care about quality and customer experience.

Final Verdict Shark Bar & Kitchen is now our W.O.W. Location: Wrightsville Outstanding Win! It’s a spectacular spot that deserves recognition not just as a great bar, but as a serious foodie destination. Easily a 4.5-star experience and now in my top 5 places to eat in Wrightsville Beach. I only hope I can get a table every time we return!

Review by: Creating Exposure…...

A 2 star restaurant rating is rare for me, so let me clarify, the parking was not a factor in my rating. This small restaurant is very rigid and doesn’t even allow what is noted on the menu.

My friend wanted a dozen of the oysters on the half shell - slightly steamed. The waitress said they are raw only. The bottom of the menu shows that they will cook to order. She said, “sorry, raw only”. So, my friend changed to the fried oyster platter. There were literally only 4 fried oysters on the plate and it cost $20.00. The dozen raw were only $22.00.

I wanted two tacos, one blackened mahi-mahi and one Baja shrimp. She told me I had to get both the same. I pointed out the menu said “your choice of..”. She held firm and said they don’t mix and match. She also said the side of chips and salsa is the only choice, no substitutions. Each taco had 4 shrimp but they had been sliced lengthwise, so I think they split 2 shrimp in half to look like 4. You can see from the picture that the majority of the filling was cabbage. The chips and salsa were not house-made. $17.00.

As soon as we sat down, they told us they had no crab cakes and no lobster rolls. I’m wondering if they were stingy with the shrimp and fried oysters because they were running low on those items too.

In these times, most restaurants are so happy to see you walk thru the door but that was not the case here and I won’t come to Shark Bar again.

NOTE: They do not have a parking lot, but there is street parking with parking meter kiosks at each end. The city of Wrightsville Beach charges $5.00 an hour. Since most restaurants had been very busy, I paid $10 for 2 hours of parking. Shark Bar was practically empty and we were done within an hour. Since you put in your license plate number, no one else can use your leftover time because each space is not metered. Quite the money making scheme...

Edit: August 11, 2020 (21 hours later after reply from “Owner”):

I love the attempt to save face in a public review forum. But, please look at your own take out menu on your own website. Note that never does it discourage patrons from ordering fries. Why would you discourage your own food, right? The only disclosures are consuming raw seafood, eggs, etc. and refusing requests for substitutions. Secondly, you say are having supply chain issues after a “tiny little hurricane” which is completely understandable. But, for the past few months you have been operating in a post-COVID business climate where the vast majority of orders have been takeout orders, which normally includes cutlery. Furthermore, you’ve been dealing with takeout orders, I’m sure for much longer, though, as you are literally a beach restaurant with beach goers taking their food back to the beach (hence your eco friendly packaging). This is nothing new to you. Now, less than a day later you have gone from completely out of cutlery to stocked up. Though, yesterday for lunch you definitely had fresh oysters. That’s an at least nearly daily delivery, right? The truth I believe is a bit more simple than suppliers and disclosures. The fries just weren’t freshly fried. And the cutlery was forgotten to be placed in the bag by the staff, and I wrongly assumed that you would have included it. Take ownership of the shortcomings, “Owner”. Please don’t make excuses.

Original:

Had a take out order for lunch after 2pm. Didn’t require a name for pick up as she said they weren’t that busy. Food was very lackluster (dry burger, floppy and old fries) and staff was anything but friendly. Very expensive for quality. Heading back to beach chairs, one of us had a salad, no cutlery and no napkins on a take out order! Are they running a restaurant or what?! Do...