Awful Arthur's Oyster Bar

Reviews

• TV

  Tom Vasale

  1 day ago
  5.0
  We had a great time at Awful Arthur's. We went for the raw oysters and stayed for dinner. The half peck of Chesapeake Bay oysters was 37 oysters. They were fresh (opened right in front of us at the bar) briney, and filled their shells. Paired with ice cold vodka on the rocks, they were devoured in record time. I followed mine with a bowl of thick, rich, crab and shrimp bisque while my partner had more clam strips and french fries than he could eat. The leftovers came home with us. The bartenders and the customers were all super friendly. Many customers were greeted by name when they walked in. Awful Arthur's has that corner bar vibe that makes everyone feel welcome.
• SP

  s pants

  3 days ago
  5.0
  We go here every time we visit Outer Banks. The service is always great and the seafood is fresh and seems to be local. Large parking lot for the area, but the restaurant isn’t very large so there can be a long wait for a table during peak tourist season. We ate at the bar twice and it was still good.
• BW

  Billy Woolridge

  6 days ago
  5.0
  The food and service are always great. The dining room includes the bar and it gets a little loud for me sometimes.
• BP

  Brenden Porter

  Sep 19, 2026
  5.0
  This was a more, stomach-taking experience than a breathtaking one. I had the Backfin Burger for my main and it came out perfect. Great medium rare, still juicy and savory, crispy lettuce, everything was great even if I couldn't finish it fully. And the server, Libbie, was quite the same, very helpful with picking from the menu, being my first time at this restaurant and had a flying personality while taking care of hs Overall, I would recommend AAO for anyone moving to or vacationing at OBX.
• CW

  cedric white

  Sep 1, 2026
  2.0
  DO NOT GO HERE IF YOU ARE A DISABLED VETERAN WITH A SERVICE DOG. Now my service dog is a great dane so she is very long. We went in and sat at a table and as usual she goes under my legs under the table. Because she was as long as the table we were sat at here feet stuck out some. The manager came over and asked to scoot her fully under the table which we complied with. While speaking to her we somehow go to the point where she informed me that she had had others come in with small dogs and claim they were service animals and they clearly weren't. Not really sure why I needed to know this information. I proceeded to inform her that my service dog had been trained since birth for this reason. She let me know with the arrogance of someone who knew her shit didn't stink that I could in fact be lying and she could refuse service. To which I replied that my service dog (for the most part) had the same rights to be there as anyone else in the restaurant. At this point she huffed away. The owner arrived a short time later and by God I see where the arrogance and entitlement started. I walked up and asked if the manager that spoke to me was the owner because I did not know at that time. She said no but the actual owner spoke up very disrespectfully "I am the owner". I proceeded to ask if I could speak with her and I started to let her know what my issue was. She kept trying to speak so I stopped talking and asked her to go ahead with what she needed to say. She stated that the manager had already started filling her in and she had rights just like I did. Not sure why that was said because I hadn't mentioned anything to her abouts rights, actually I hadn't had a chance to say a full sentence before she was chomping at the bits to speak. I asked her if she was going to give me a chance to speak before assuming the worst and she let me know very loudly when she finished speaking. So I waited. When it was finally my turn I proceeded to let her know my problem was not the manager saying she was to far out from the table but the assumption that my dog might not be a service dog and that I could be lying. The manager proceeded once again to inform me she had rights and that I could handle the situation however I saw fit and she would do the same. At that point I realized there was no speaking calmly to either of them so I turn to leave and she in her true to childish nature says bye bye. I have never in all the times we have gone out had an experience like this. Most managers/owners speak politely to customers until they have a reason not to. This is the very 1st time I have ever had management act like children over their perceived knowledge of the situation. For reference my great dane was trained by Pawsitive for Pets out of Buffalo New York. So as I stated from the beginning, if you are a disabled vet with a service animal THIS IS NOT the place you should patronize. You'd be better off going to Got Your Crabs.