Manteo, NC, Restaurants

This Outer Banks landmark restaurant is where you’ll find many a local eating every night, so you know the food must be really good. This restaurant is, in fact, at the top of the list of many locals’ favorite spots. The service is genuinely friendly, and the portions are more than generous. You’ll enjoy the vast views of the sound on both sides, especially the sunsets over Roanoke Sound. Basnight’s serves Sunday brunch and dinner seven nights a week most the year (call ahead during the off-season to be sure they're open). They feature only local, fresh North Carolina seafood that comes in whole and is cleaned in their state-certified fish cleaning house, located onsite, and additionally served with vegetarian dishes, pasta and USDA Angus steaks. Their dedication to freshness includes their own massive herb and vegetable garden, which is a beautiful sight to behold, as well as their own crab shedders. They also serve local produce and all-natural chicken. And you will marvel at their incredible wine cellar (well, it’s a room, really) featuring thousands of bottles of wine. This accompanies a roomy bar area where you can pick from a bar menu full of tasty offerings, a tapas menu or order right from the full restaurant menu. They also have live music in the bar area on most Friday and Saturday nights, and a sushi and jazz evening every Sunday night. Their special occasion buffets – Easter, Thanksgiving, Mother's Day, Father's Day – are hugely popular and for good reason. Each year, they close after New Year's Eve and re-open right before Valentine’s Day. Basnight’s also offers on- and off-premise catering for any size or type of event. 

For a tasty treat, head to Big Buck’s Homemade Ice Cream. Choose from more than 50 flavors of made-from-scratch ice cream plus sherbet, sorbet and soft serve. You can get any flavor made into a shake, split, sundae or float, even a brownie sundae – yum! Big Buck’s has an espresso bar and all the espresso-based coffee drinks you need to pick up your day. Handmade Belgian chocolate and fudge are made fresh daily, and they also accept custom orders for wedding favors, baby showers and other events. And don't forget the ice cream cake! They have a flavor for every occasion.

Darrell’s is a family-style seafood restaurant that’s a locals' favorite and has been operated by the Daniels family for more than five decades. It dates back to 1960 when Darrell Daniels started the Polar Bear Drive-In. When the second generation came on board in 1972, the family changed the focus to a seafood restaurant and renamed it Darrell's Seafood Restaurant. Now the third generation is working here. Seafood is still the specialty, and locals know that Darrell’s does seafood right. The fried oysters, served with the traditional fixings of coleslaw, French fries and hush puppies, are widely touted as the best anywhere. The blackened tuna over black beans and rice is both healthy and delicious. Land food, children’s fare and light dishes are also available. Darrell's also has a wood-fired grill for barbecue. Helpings are heaping, and the desserts are delicious, if you have room. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served Monday through Saturday, and onsite and off-site catering for groups and events of 20 people or more are available. 

Poor Richard's is the local meet-and-greet neighborhood sandwich shop by day and bar by night. It has two doors, one leading from the Manteo boardwalk and another off Queen Elizabeth Avenue. You can eat inside at a booth or table or sit outside on the patio right next to the water. You order at the counter, get your drink and your number then wait for your meal to be delivered to your table. Breakfast starts at 8 a.m. with homemade breakfast biscuits, including their famous sweet potato biscuits, and other morning favorites. Poor Richard's is a Boar's Head deli serving hot and cold sandwiches made to order and served with chips and a pickle. You can also get burgers, hot dogs, soup, chili, salads, fries and onion rings. Lunch is served every day of the week. In summer, they also offer dinner most nights until 9 p.m. In the evenings, Poor Richard’s After Hours, a pub in the front of the restaurant, is open and serves wine, beer and a full range of bar drinks. The pub opens at 5 p.m. every night. Year round, the pub hosts Trivia Night on Wednesday and live music on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. In the summer there's music on Thursday nights as well.