Awful Arthur's Oyster Bar

Reviews

• TB

  Tamara Klinefelter Bane

  May 10, 2026
  3.0
  We have been visiting Awfuls for 38 years and this is the first time we have had bad service. Our waitress was clearly having a bad day. She was surly, refused to come by our table, and while our food was some of the best we’ve had, it was kind of ruined by her attitude. The bartender had to give us condiments for our oysters and hostess had to get our check. They were NOT crowded when we arrived. Needless to say we will most likely not be back this week.
• RR

  ryan

  May 7, 2026
  2.0
  Was there as a party of four. Ordered 2 burgers, 1 lb of crab, and oysters. Both burgers were over done and dry, crab was very salty, and the oysters were very poorly shucked. I can understand a couple shells having grit, but not every single one. Not to mention the fact that I've never eaten oysters in any of the 26 states or 28 countries I've been to where the oyster was not shucked completely from the shell. I will not be back, and I will not recommend. I should have paid more attention to the faces I got when I mentioned the place to locals.
• TB

  Thomas Boswell

  May 6, 2026
  5.0
  This is our favorite seafood place in the Outer Banks. The food portions are very generous and seasoned perfectly. Best tasting and flavored crabs and seafood in town. Pricing about average with the rest of the restaurants in town. Not the cheapest, not the highest priced. The staff is very friendly and the atmosphere is wonderful in side. Feels casual yet elegant. There is also a shop next door with a plentiful of OBX merch worth checking out!
• CC

  CLSH91

  May 1, 2026
  1.0
  we were going to order from here to go. but as I looked at the online website menu it is from 2025. this is 2026. one review mentioned the price you actually pay is higher than that on the menu. also a charge of %15 gratuity is automatically added to the price of a to go order? that's ridiculous! we're the ones picking it up and doing all the work. charging extra to put the food in a bag to go? I don't think so. I'll go somewhere else. *****edit to mention don't forget to be aware of the %4 percent charge for using a debit card.
• JS

  John Stoiber

  Apr 19, 2026
  5.0
  Kind of a dive bar with awesome food! Food and drink prices in line or less than other spots along the beach road. Spiced peel and eat shrimp second to none (as are the hush puppies). Service only got 4 stars because of policy of requiring full party to be there before seating. We make this our first stop upon arriving from different states so getting everybody there at the same time is impossible. Waitress was fabulous and provided great service. Person seating people was not so gracious. Since there were only 3 of us that arrived first we could only sit at a 4 top or wait for the rest of our party to arrive to get a larger table. More than half the restaurant was empty. We took the small table, but the waitress allowed us to move to the next table that had room for 6-8. If the full party seating thing were to cause a problem, we would find somewhere else. Too bad, we have been coming to Awful Arthur's since our honeymoon in 1996.