Ocracoke Island

Jason's Restaurant $
NC 12, Ocracoke Village
(252) 928-3434

On the north end of the village, Jason's has a casual, come-as-you-are atmosphere that welcomes islanders and vacationers alike. You can sit outside on the spacious screened porch or hang at the bar and watch the chefs at work. Standouts on the menu are pizzas and Italian specialties, including lasagna and vegetarian lasagna, spaghetti with meatballs, chicken parmagiana, and fettuccine Alfredo. Salads, sandwiches, and subs, plus dinner entrees such as New York strip steak, Jamaican jerk chicken, and seafood add to the list of goods. If you just want a few munchies to get you by, try an appetizer. We liked the spinach and artichoke dip and shrimp quesadillas. To wash it down, choose from a wide variety of beers, including several on tap, and wines. Carryout is available for all menu items. Lunch and dinner are served daily year- round 11:30 A.M. until 10:00 P.M.

sMacNally's Raw Bar and Grill $-$$
On Silver Lake, NC 12, Ocracoke Village
(252) 928-9999

sMacNally's is smack in the middle of the village action, at the Anchorage Inn Marina and is a popular gathering spot on the island. It's an outdoor establishment, on the docks, with the smell of salt and fresh- caught fish coming off the water and charter boats tied up practically to the bar. Fishermen walk off the boats and have a beer in their hand before they can say "Budwei . . . ." sMacNally's claims to serve the coldest beer on the island. Patrons hang around the raw bar and at tables on the dock. The raw bar serves fresh local seafood, including oysters, clams, and shrimp. A grill cooks burgers and the like. Lunch and dinner are served daily in the warm season, through November. The bar stays open until midnight. It's closed in the colder months. Steamed seafood buckets and boxed lunches are sold to go.

Sargasso Grill $$
NC 12, Ocracoke Village
(252) 928-2874

Sargasso is becoming a favorite spot to dine in Ocracoke. For an appetizer, try the tequila shrimp or something from the steamer menu. Entrees include veal, rack of lamb, and locally caught fresh seafood; all are served with fresh bread and a salad. Several delicious vegetarian entrees are also on the menu. Indulge in Sargasso's outstanding desserts, including pecan pie and tiramisu. Sargasso offers more than 40 wines and a large selection of beer. A children's menu is available. Sargasso is open nightly from 5:00 to 10:00 P.M. in season. Call for off-season hours.

Pony Island Restaurant $$
NC 12, Ocracoke Village
(252) 928-5701

A casual, homey place that people have come back to time and again since 1960, this restaurant features big breakfasts of biscuits, hotcakes, omelets, and the famous Pony Potatoes-hash browns covered with cheese, sour cream, and salsa. Dinner entrees include a variety of interesting fresh local seafood creations, pastas, steaks, and salads. The kitchen will even cook your own catch of the day for you, as long as you've cleaned the fish first. Beer and wine are served, and homemade desserts finish the tasty meal. The Pony Island Restaurant is adjacent to the Pony Island Motel. Breakfast is served from 7:00 to 11:00 A.M.The restaurant closes during lunchtime and reopens nightly for dinner from late March through November. Take-out orders are welcomed.

Flying Melon $$
NC 12, Ocracoke Village
(252) 928-2533

Ocracoke's newest restaurant has a unique decor and yummy food to tempt any palate. Brunch is served from 9:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. and includes fresh fruit, biscuits, and New Orleans-style French toast. On its lunch menu, the Melon has a portobello sandwich, a Philly cheesesteak, hamburgers, and more. The dinner entrees are often Louisiana-inspired dishes. For an appetizer, try the sea scallops over baby greens or the lamb satay. Main courses include the popular shrimp Creole, crawfish cakes, a 16-ounce double-cut pork chop, and the curry-of-the-day dish. The Flying Melon offers imported beer and a full wine list, and there is a menu for the wee ones in your party. Reservations are not necessary. Smoking is allowed on the porch but not within the building. Open year-round, serving Tuesday through Sunday in season and Wednesday through Sunday in the off-season.

The Back Porch Restaurant $$$
1324 Country Road, Ocracoke Village
(252) 928-6401

Whether you dine on the wide screened- in porch or eat in the small nooks or open dining room of this well-respected restaurant, you'll find that dinners at The Back Porch are some of the most pleasant experiences on the Outer Banks. This older building was renovated and refurbished to blend with the many trees on the property. It's off the main road, surrounded by waist-high cacti, and is a quiet place to enjoy appealing entrees and comfortable conversation. Overall, it's one of our favorite restaurants on the 120-mile stretch of barrier islands and well worth the two-hour trip from Nags Head. Advertising "original dishes with a personal touch," the menu is loaded with fresh vegetables and local seafood and changes seasonally to offer the freshest ingredients. All sauces, dressings, breads, and desserts are made in the restaurant's huge kitchen and each piece of meat is hand-cut. The chefs come up with some pretty outrageous taste combinations, and all of them seem to blend perfectly. The crab cakes with red pepper sauce are outstanding. And you won't want to miss the jumbo shrimp rolls with sweet soy sauce or crab beignet appetizers. Non-seafood dishes are a tasty option as well. The Cuban black bean and Monterey jack cheese casserole is a perennial favorite. Reduced prices and smaller portions are available. All the desserts are divine. Freshly ground coffee is served here, and the wine selections and imported beer are as ambitious as the menu. If you get hooked-like we are-you can try your hand at some of the restaurant's recipes at home by buying a copy of Back Porch Cookbook. After reading the recipes you'll be even more impressed with the upscale culinary concoctions served in this laid- back island eatery. Dinner is offered nightly in season. Call for off-season hours. The Back Porch Lunchbox, next to the Pony Island Motel, offers homemade bag lunches or picnics for the beach or ferry. Sandwiches, cold steamed shrimp, baked goods, drinks, and fruit are available. Call (252) 928-3651.

Thai Moon $
Spencer's Market, NC 12
Ocracoke Village
(252) 928-5100

Here's something different on Ocracoke Island: ethnic food, which is a refreshing change of pace on the Outer Banks. Thai Moon offers authentic Thai specialties for takeout only. Whet your appetite with Tom Yum Goong, a hot and sour shrimp soup with lemongrass, straw mushrooms, Thai chili, lime juice, onions, and cilantro. Other appetizers include moon egg rolls, spring rolls with an addictive peanut sauce, and satay. If you love seafood, you'll love it even more prepared with Thai flair: fish fillet crispy fried with mushrooms, carrots, onions, and cashews; crabmeat fried rice with onion and basil; or Thai lo mein with shrimp, cabbage, and scallions. Chicken, pork, beef, and vegetarian options are also available. Pad Thai and fried rice with shrimp, chicken, or bean curd are specialties. Thai Moon is open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday and for dinner only on Sunday and Monday. Call for off-season hours.

Capt. Ben's $$
NC 12, Ocracoke Village
(252) 928-4741

Serving Ocracoke locals and guests since 1970, Capt. Ben's is a casual restaurant. Owner and chef Ben Mugford combines Southern tradition with gourmet foods. Ben is especially revered for his crabmeat, prime rib, and seafood entrees. He also serves a mean Caesar salad and comes up with some good pasta and chicken creations. Sandwiches, crab cakes, and shrimp salad are good for lunch; each comes with chips or fries. Dinners come with soup, baked potato, and salad. And all the desserts are delicious. A large variety of domestic and imported beer is available, and the wine list complements the menu. The decor in this family eatery is nautical and friendly. The lounge and sundeck are comfortable places to relax if you have to wait for a table. Lunch and dinner are served daily from April through mid-November. Call for off-season hours. Children have their own menu at Capt. Ben's.

Howard's Pub & Raw Bar Restaurant $-$$
NC 12, Ocracoke Village
(252) 928-4441
www.howardspub.com

Always a fun, friendly place to go for a meal, Howard's Pub has continued to expand its floor space, seating capacity, and menu diversity. Don't be misled by the selection of more than 200 imported, domestic, and microbrewed beers. The crew at Howard's Pub has established its "little corner of paradise" as the choice hangout for families, couples, and individuals alike. The restaurant's various areas-including the long wraparound bar, the main floor and game area, the large screened porch, and the ocean-to-soundview deck-provide plenty of room for your group. Howard's Pub & Raw Bar Restaurant is the only Outer Banks place we know that can boast that it has opened every day since 1991-including Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and hurricane evacuations! This place has become a must-stop for everyone visiting Ocracoke, with great local flavor and guaranteed good times. (See our Nightlife chapter for more on Howard's Pub.) The restaurant boasts the only year- round raw bar on the island and is home to the spicy Ocracoke Oyster Shooter. We love these raw oyster, hot sauce, pepper, and draught combinations, especially when washed down with an unusual or hard-to-find imported beer. Appetizers range from soups, salads, and snow crab legs to hot wings, Southwestern black bean eggrolls, and Howard's famous peel and-eat steamed shrimp. Entrees include steaks, barbecued ribs, live Maine lobster, and various catch-of-the-day recipes, including blackened tuna, wahoo with tropical salsa, and mahimahi. Wine is available by the bottle. The upstairs deck with observation tower affords breathtaking views of the ocean, sound, salt marshes, and sand dunes. On a clear day, you can even see Portsmouth Island! There are big-screen TVs and many smaller ones for viewing any number of events from just about anywhere in the restaurant. Board games, darts, a pool table in the off-season, and coloring books for the wee ones, plus live music and a 17-speaker sound system, guarantee that you can party to your heart's content. The full menu and drinks are served every day from 11:00 A.M.to 2:00 A.M.

Cafe Atlantic $$
NC 12, Ocracoke Village
(252) 928-4861

Proprietors Bob and Ruth Toth operate Cafe Atlantic in this traditional beach-style building. There's not much that's traditional about their innovative, fantastic food, however. Views from the dining room look out across marsh grass and dunes. The gallery-like effect of the restaurant is created with hand-colored photographs by local writer and artist Ann Ehringhaus and watercolors and oils by Debbie Wells. Dinner is served at this upscale yet casual eatery seven days a week in season. The Sunday brunches are among the best on the Outer Banks. Brunch menus change weekly, but champagne and mimosas are always served. We're partial to the blueberry pecan pancakes, chicken and broccoli crepes, and huevos rancheros served over black beans in a crisp tortilla shell. Hash browns come with almost every entree. The Toths make all their soups, dressings, sauces, and desserts from scratch. Dinner entrees include fresh Atlantic seafood, beef, pastas, and vegetarian entrees. Each meal is served with salad, rice or potato, and steaming rolls just out of the oven. You've got to leave room for dessert here-or take one of their outrageously ornate cakes, pies, or cobblers home. A children's menu is available, and the restaurant has a nice selection of wine and beer. Cafe Atlantic is open from early March through October. Lunch openings may vary off-season, so call for hours. This nonsmoking cafe, though isolated on tiny Ocracoke, is certainly among the best dining experiences the Outer Banks has to offer.

Ocracoke Coffee $
Back Road, Ocracoke Village
(252) 928-7473

The neatest place on the island to take care of caffeine and sugar cravings, Ocracoke Coffee has enjoyed tremendous success since opening in 1995. The aromatic eatery offers bagels, pastries, desserts, brewed coffee drinks, espresso, shakes, whole bean and ground coffees, and loose tea. The shop is nestled under tall pines on Back Road, within an easy walk of almost anything in the village. We know you'll find your way here in the morning (everyone does), but why not walk in after dinner for something sweet as well? The shop's feel is way hip, but it's also cozy and inviting, and the folks frothing your concoctions are friendly as can be. Look for more than 10 varieties of smoothies for a cool respite from the summer heat. Ocracoke Coffee is open daily from 7:00 A.M.to 9:30 P.M., and live music plays during summer evenings on the deck. The shop closes December through March.

Island Inn Restaurant $$
Lighthouse Road, Ocracoke Village
(252) 928-4351

This family-owned and -operated restaurant at the Island Inn is one of the oldest establishments on Ocracoke. Its main dining room and airy porch are furnished in a traditional country style, with blue and white china to dine on and bright, nautical touches throughout. Owners Bob and Cee Touhey welcome everyone; you don't have to be a guest at the inn. Standard breakfast fare, such as pancakes, eggs, and hash browns, is available. The cook also comes up with some unusual creations, such as oyster omelets with spinach and bacon and shrimp omelets loaded with melted jack cheese, green chiles, and salsa. For dinner, locally landed seafood and shellfish entrees are grilled, fried, or broiled to your liking. Beef, pork, lamb, pasta, and stir-fry dishes also are available, as are vegetarian offerings. All the breads and soups are made daily at this restaurant, and homemade pies are perfectly delicious. Beer and a selection of wines are served here, and a children's menu is available. Reservations are needed for large groups; the owners are happy to accommodate private party requests. The Island Inn Restaurant is open for breakfast and dinner daily except in the dead of winter. Call for off-season hours.

Creek Side Cafe $
NC 12, Ocracoke Village
(252) 928-3606

Overlooking Silver Lake Harbor from a second-story vantage point, this restaurant offers wonderful views. A covered porch that wraps around two sides of the wooden building has ceiling fans and breezes to cool afternoon diners. Inside, the eatery is casual and friendly, serving brunch items daily and lunch and dinner from a single menu from April to early November. Soups, salads, seafood, and pasta dishes are the afternoon and evening fare here. The blackened chicken sandwiches are so popular that the owners decided to package and sell the spices. French dips, fresh fish sandwiches, oyster baskets, crab cakes, and Greek- style linguine with feta cheese and black olives all are great choices. For brunch, we recommend the Tex-Mex: scrambled eggs, onions, peppers, tomatoes, and salsa served in a tortilla shell with a dollop of guacamole. Desserts include parfaits, cheesecakes, key lime pie, tollhouse pie, and pecan pie-all homemade. Beer and wine are available, and four champagne drinks offer unusual alcoholic creations.

Jolly Roger Pub & Marina $$
NC 12, Ocracoke Village
(252) 928-3703

Jolly Roger is the perfect place to kick back and relax on Ocracoke Island. Although a roof, canopy, and umbrellas cover many of the dining tables, the entire restaurant is open, with tables on large decks overlooking the harbor. This is one of our favorite places for a casual meal in Ocracoke. There's nothing fancy here-wooden tables, paper plates, and plastic cutlery-but the service is good, the beer is cold, and the food is wonderful. The menu features homemade soups, sandwiches, salad plates, local seafood, and daily specials. Stop in for live entertainment at sunset; you'll hear the music wafting down the street as you stroll through the village. Beer and wine are served, and there's a good-size bar on premises. Jolly Roger serves lunch and dinner daily in season.

The Pelican Restaurant $$
NC 12, Ocracoke Village
(252) 928-7431

In an old home tucked under a grove of trees in the heart of the village, the Pelican serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There's a great patio where you can enjoy beer and 15-cent shrimp from 3:00 to 5:00 P.M. and live entertainment five nights a week in summer from 6:00 to 10:00 P.M. Outside is lively, inside is romantic and softly lit. Meals include seafood entrees, hand-cut prime steaks, and a wonderful seafood pasta swimming in a light lemon- butter broth. A good wine list is available. Sushi is served here one night a week. The Pelican Restaurant is open daily from 7:00 A.M.to 10:00 P.M. in season; call for off-season hours.