The Pier House Restaurant - Nags Head, NC

The Pier House Restaurant
Nags Head Pier MP 11.5
Nags Head, NC

While traveling in the Outer Banks we had breakfast at the Pier House Restaurant. The restaurant sits right at the end of the Nags Head Pier and you can walk on the pier to sightsee for $1.50 or fish off it for $10.00. If you like, once you catch your fish, the Pier House Restaurant will clean it and cook it right there for you. Prefer to just sightsee? The view is spectacular and in addition to watching the waves crash into the sand, you can watch the surfers and the fishermen bring in their catch.

Beautiful view from the restaurant

The restaurant has a bait and tackle shop at the entrance way where you can also purchase t-shirts and some small food items, ice cream, snacks, and drinks. Once you enter the restaurant, there are two rooms – one inside and one on the patio where you can sit right over the beach and watch the shore. The rooms are small and on weekends if you want breakfast you need to go early to get a seat or you’ll be waiting for a while. The floors and tables are made of wood, there are beer signs on the ceiling, there’s a long bar area, and the atmosphere is noisy, casual, and comfortable -- a typical diner. 

The menu has lots of basic diner fare with some interesting exceptions, but don’t try to create a plate yourself or remove an ingredient you don’t like or are allergic to. The menu states clearly, “No Substitutions or Deletions, please do not ask.”

For breakfast we ordered the Seafood Omelet, Scrambled Eggs and Grits, Blueberry Pancakes, Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Eggs and Cheese “McMuffin,” Oatmeal with chocolate chips and a side order of the Home Fries.

The Seafood Omelet came and we were told it was the only one the cook was making that day. They only make this item when they have sufficient fresh shrimp, crab, and scallops. It was served with grits and wheat toast. The omelet was delicious, the seafood perfectly cooked and the texture was creamy and light. It was unusual to have seafood with eggs, but it was delicious. The grits were not the instant variety, but were flavorless despite the pool of melted butter sitting on top. Lots of salt and pepper helped. The toast was so lightly toasted it was really like warm bread and it came without butter on it or on the side, but we enjoyed it with jam from the big basket of packaged jams on the table. We would definitely order the omelet again, but not the grits or the toast.

Seafood Omelet, Wheat Toast, and Grits

 The Scrambled Eggs were good, but a little dry. The side of Blueberry Pancakes were cooked perfectly. They were loaded with blueberries, crisp around the edges, and soft and tender in the middle. We loved these! With just a drizzle of maple syrup they were delightful.

Scrambled Eggs, Grits, and Blueberry Panckaes

The Chocolate Chip Pancakes were as good as the blueberry ones, lots of chocolate chips and two huge cakes to keep us busy. They offer several types of pancakes and they all looked good.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

The Egg and Cheese “McMuffin” was plain, but okay.  The egg was well cooked and the muffin was toasted, but the cheese was the American “peel and stick” variety that we really don’t like – especially since it wasn’t melted. Still it was as expected and because of the simplicity we may order it again.  We were a little confused as to why they called it a "McMuffin" when that's a McDonald's trademark, but ultimately shrugged it off as Nags Head being a small tourist town.

The Oatmeal with chocolate chips was completely flavorless. The oatmeal was thick, but even after stirring in the melted chocolate chips it lacked flavor. It was bland and unappealing.

Oatmeal with Chocolate Chips and Egg & Cheese "McMuffin"

The side of Home Fries was spectacular! We loved these. Potatoes cut in cubes and fried, served crispy and hot, they shared the spotlight with the seafood omelet for the best thing on the table. We would return just to get these again! We put some ketchup on the plate from the bottle on the table, and were disappointed. The ketchup was a generic brand, too sweet, and the bottle on our table was dirty from leaking ketchup. But the potatoes were so good, we devoured them anyway! Definitely order these.

Home Fries

In addition to these items we had coffee, which was good and the waiter kept our cups full. The service was quick and nice, but not exceptionally friendly. We went at about 8:45 a.m. on a Wednesday and it was busy, but we didn’t have to wait for a table. Overall, it was a good experience. The food was good and the atmosphere was welcoming, but the view was incredible and if you get the chance while visiting Nags Head, be sure to stop in.