I was just tired. Tired, Tired, Tired of seafood after being in OBX for a few days. I was turned on to this place by the hotel and if that hot Puerto Rican would let me I would kiss her. This place has some of the best takes on Mexicali you can find. Their homemade salsa is the best and the service was on point. I had the shredder and it was a feast for men so no women allowed. The guacamole was fresh and on point and the margarita tasted homemade without any store bought mix. Don't decide to come to this place. Understand that you need to taste this place with every molecule of your soul. That's right fellow humans I've brought metaphysics into this experience. read more

Awesome TexMex. New location is not as cool. Kinda loud. Food is still excellent. Staff is attentive. Shrimp taco was fresh and salsa was homemade. Nachos were well balanced w good seasoning. Highly recommended. Need to address the loudness though. read more

Delicious food but not taking Covid seriously. Staff would move their masks on and off throughout the time we were there. When our food and drinks were delivered, neither person had a mask over their mouth or nose at that point. Great food but please follow CDC guidelines so people stay healthy. read more

We went here for my daughter's high school graduation lunch. The wait wasn't long, the food was absolutely delicious, our waitress was just the sweetest person. One of the guests in our party is a picky eater and wanted to leave off a few items from her meal. The waitress was super accommodating. I have the feeling I'll be a regular here from now on. Yum!!! read more

This place is wonderful! Friendly waitress! The fish tacos are the best, fresh tasting with the pico and hot Mahi. The mushroom goat cheese quesadilla was phenomenal! Great place, friendly staff and great food! read more

The food is fantastic. We had the sampler salsa and chips along with wings as an app. Then fish taco and a chicken wrap. The flavors are enhanced with fresh spices like cilantro. Everything has a great flavor. This was our second time eating there. Service could not have been better. They will be closing after the weekend but back on feb 1 I think. read more

The food was great and right out of the kitchen about 3 minutes after I arrived for my takeout order. Very friendly staff and the food was great. Not a bad bean in site...The burrito was fabulous... read more

John our bartender was great bartender server and concierge of local bars, restaurants, farmers mkt tips, and where to find recycling! The FOOD was local and fresh and seasoned to perfection. We had pork taco shredded and beef brisket tender quesadilla and super flavorful.Guacamole was superb. All in all a GEM. Coming back soon!! read more

As a Texas girl, this is the closest to quality Mexican food I have found north of Texas. It was SO amazing and had amazing service (our waitress' name was Jessica, you should ask for her). You should get the starter platter with the verde salsa and the hottest salsa if you love Mexican food. I got a burrito bowl and it was so flavorful and awesome. Get yourself a T-shirt or a sticker while you're here. Iconic. read more

Bad Bean is our favorite restaurant to go to when we're out on OBX. Our family was in town in the middle of May and we ended up going twice during our week-long visit. There was no option we wanted more. I am currently sitting at work craving their salsa verde. I live in Texas, and I've NEVER had better salsa verde than from Bad Bean. The tacos, salads and margaritas are also amazing! read more

Yummy. I really wanted the soft shell crab taco,came just for that. Sadly they ran out of soft shells the night before. I had mahi mahi and shrimp tacos,my husband had pork belly tacos. Amazing! They have a great food selection too. read more

This is the best restaurant on the beach in my opinion offers a wide variety of very delicious entrees and just kills it with their business even with an hour wait I'll love to eat at this place can't go wrong here. read more

I just had their Shrimp tacos, and I was pleasantly surprised in how good it all tasted. At first the cilantro was surprising but I love the flavor it added. Always gotta support the local businesses! read more

I have been coming to this restaurant for years. As usual, the food and drinks are awesome. The staff remains friendly and accommodating. However, with that being said, the mask rule there is not being followed. I had dinner at the bar.. Bartender had one around his neck, but wasn't wearing it.. When I requested that he put one on, he did. However the moment he moved away from my party, he took it off again. I spoke to the manager and he said that he would speak to him. I told him I already had and did not want to escalate the situation. My friend who lives in the Outer Banks has said something to the manager several times, and he says that he will take care of the situation,, but unfortunately this is not the case. So my advice is, if you do eat there... Do not sit at the bar. read more

went there with my family for dinner & lunch sometime , love their meals and enjoy. people are friendly and nice .. no problem with my order and looks good. taste is so great. read more

My husband and I stopped in here briefly for drinks and appetizers as soon as we got to the outer banks. I got a mojito- it was fresh and delicious, one of the best I've had. We split the bad bean nachos with chicken. They came with salsa, sour cream, black beans, jalapeños, pickled onions, and an amazing white cheese on top. They were so good! The service was quick and everything we ordered was delicious. Definitely plan on visiting again to order entrees! read more

Bad Bean is really, really good. The mojitos were very reasonably priced, well made and refreshing. Guacamole was delicious. The portobello and goat cheese salad with freshly made grilled shrimp as an add on, was filling, healthy and I loved the dressing. The spicy rice wasn't hot spicy but flavorful. Mellow, pretty and clean restaurant, really good atmosphere. Reasonably priced and a definite place to return for another meal before I head back to NY. read more

Ended up grabbing takeout here on our first night at the beach. Each of us had the giant burrito cali style with chicken. It was pretty good, obviously better than a chipotle burrito but nothing stood out too grand for us. We've been spoiled with taco joints in Texas. The queso on the other hand was wonderful. Let's just say addicting. From the bar menu looks like a good selection of drinks... but no happy hour! read more

Amazing family friendly, and delicious restaurant! As a vegan it's hard to find great places to eat while on vacation but Bad Bean has tons of options for my daughter and I! We will definitely be back soon! read more

Had dinner here. It seemed our waitress was not wanting to be at work. She was polite but you could tell it was forced. Our tacos tasted great though. They really short you on salsa. And the rice reminded me of a sticky rice, not worth getting as a side. read more

This place is a class act! Very hip in every way and they serve a southwestern menu like no other. We try something different time we go for a new taste experience and so far no complaints! read more

Best fresh shrimp tacos at the beach! Steak isn't listed among the taco fillings, but would have made a good companion to the shrimp taco. We couldn't pick just one appetizer so we had chips with medium salsa as well as queso dip and an order of the Pork Belly Jalapeño Popper Egg Rolls. You will miss a real treat if you don't try this unique dish! As much as I enjoyed my tacos and everything else, I would have been happy just having an order of these to myself! read more

Always love my meal amongst a super friendly staff at Bad Bean. Our definite locals go to place to catch up with family and friends. Partial to their salads and fish tacos but honestly everything I've sampled is scrumptious and fresh! Always begging them to add Mexican street corn Without a doubt you will not be disappointed. read more

This restaurant has everything going for it. Original salsa created in their own kitchen. Tacos that are as pretty as they are flavorful. Staff is attentive and even though they are often very busy, they do an excellent job of keeping wait times to a minimum. This is a favorite that we return to every summer and it consistently delivers. read more

We stumbled upon Bad Bean Baja Grill and were not disappointed! The service was great, as our waiter was attentive and accommodating to our dietary needs. Everything was delicious - and the garlic cilantro fries are to die for. Not your typical Mexican fare and definitely worth a stop if you find yourself in the OBX. read more

Delicious tacos! I got the Barbacoa tacos and wow, not only is it loaded with protein but it's a big taco and has delicious ingredients. The chips and guacamole are very good too. I'm definitely going back for round two before my vacation here in duck is up. Highly recommend!! read more

Nice change from the rest of the OBX steak and seafood restaurants. We got the sampler dips with the complimentary chips. Definitely recommend if you want to choose which salsa goes with your burrito. Service was ok but we also got there just as all of the tables were filling up. The place went from most tables being empty to completely full with a waiting list in about 15 minutes. Would definitely come again. read more

A must visit every time we come to the OBX. Outstanding service as usual and the food each time is fabulous!

What a great place! We ordered takeout for our first try. The Bad Bean salad is the best salad we've had so far this summer. The pork belly jalapeño popper egg roll thingies were amazing. The two Cali burritos were delicious. My fish tacos were tasty though there was some sort of gritty thing every other bite (otherwise 5 stars) read more

The fish tacos were amazing and the chips and salsa were great too with some tasty fire to start the meal off right. The chicken quesadilla was pretty good but a little greasy. Finally, the garlic and cilantro fries were yummy with he perfect amount of garlic. read more

Ok, I get it- everything's fresh. Doesn't make it good. Shrimp & grits was inspired. Chicken in nachos was flavorless. Salsa's good. Waitress didn't know how to take a clue- you can clear the table after I'm gone in search of a good margarita. read more

I was really looking forward to eating here after reading the reviews. Unfortunately, I cannot rate this restaurant highly. I ate here on Thursday with my husband, sister, and four kids (two teens and two kids). Three of us got burritos and two of us got tacos. The kids ate kids meals. Right off the bat, we were asked what kind of salsa we wanted for the table (they have four kinds) but were told that only the first salsa was "free". If you wanted additional salsas, you were charged $1.99/salsa. That would have been fine except that they served salsa in individual portions--not nearly enough for a seven top. I had two tacos: shrimp and pork barbacoa. While the pork was tasty, the shrimp had an overly fish-y taste and smell (I did not finish my taco). While the rest of our group ranged from delicious to meh, overall we were not impressed. For my money, I would eat at Chipolte over here. read more

I love Mexican food and this place was really good, very affordable (esp. compared to some of the over-priced places in OBX), and easy to get into! We went here twice during our week long stay in OBX the end of June 2013, I personally could have eaten here more. Let's start with the food, after all that's what you're looking for right?! The chips and salsa were delicious! The salsa was freshly made and they had several different blends. My only gripe was that you had to pay if you wanted more salsa or chips after the first round. I guess that keeps down the free-loaders. I had three tacos: a fish (Mahi Mahi) taco, a shrimp taco, and a steak taco. All three were delicious and perfectly cooked. Each had their own garnishments that were perfectly paired with the proteins. It was like heaven on a plate. I was with a party of 8, not a complaint among them... I heard great reviews about the tortilla wrapped burger and basil garlic fries, the shrimp burrito, the steak burrito (reminiscent of Chipotle or Moe's size), and the pork belly tacos. WOW! It really was amazing. To top it off... it was sooo affordable! I have paid 3 or 4 times the costs at OBX and been much less satisfied. Thumbs up to Chef! The service was excellent! Both of the servers we had were very attentive, knowledgeable about the menu, and able to make adjustments for the kids in our group. The meals came out relatively quick, besides you had delicious salsa and chips to enjoy. The glasses were kept filled and everything flowed smoothly. The second time we were there we hit the regular dinner timeframe and were seated in about 15 minutes for a party of 4. That was a whole lot better than the humungous line around Black Pelican and I was certainly happy with the change. Yeah it's in a strip shopping center, but I didn't come here to look out the window... I came here to eat! Once you're inside you find yourself in the typical cantina style restaurant. It was clean and comfortable. I'd be happy if it was a little bigger, but that's only for my selfish desire to make sure they always have room for me. All in all, I hope to eat here for many years to come when I'm in the outer banks. They also have a Chipotle style version in the Tim Buck II shopping center where I friends ate. Yum! read more

This place was amazing!! To come to the beach and find a good mexican food joint is awesome!! The Albondigas were awesome and cooked perfect!! very moist and very flavorful, the Cali burritos were very filling and packed full of Meat and not just beans and rice. I will be back and encourage you to try!!! read more

Only serves tacos and burritos for main lunch. No entrees. Overhyped in my opinion and rather average food and service.

Walked in and my wife commented that her shoes were sticking to the floor. Needed a good moping. Anyway, the salsa and chips that are usually free are not. $4 or so. I had the pork burrito which was large, heavy and good. My wife enjoyed her meal as well- shrimp burrito. Left with a small dent in the wallet. Probably wouldn't go back as there was nothing that special...but a good basic southwestern restaurant with a limited selection. read more

My favortie lunch spot to hit while on vacation. As was mentioned, the pork belly tacos are awesome as is the Guac. Eaten her 4 times and never had a bad meal. A strip mall jewel. read more

This place is great! Service was good, I had no complains with it. I also liked the complementary chips, very generous. I also thoroughly enjoyed the food. read more

Great atmosphere, friendly staff, and excellent food. We have been coming to OBX for many years and I can't believe this place wasn't on our radar until this year. I would definitely recommend this place to others. read more

Great food, great service, and a unique atmosphere! Get the Giant Cali Burrito - you won't regret it!