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    Dirty Dick's Crab House - Nags Head

    3.2 (636 reviews)
    ModerateSeafood, Salad, Soup
    Open 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
    Updated 1 month ago

    Dirty Dick's Crab House - Nags Head Photos

    Business Info

    DIRTY DICK'S CRAB HOUSE - NAGS HEAD ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Touristy
    Casual
    Good for kids

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    She Crab Soup
    Jon T.

    Friends who stayed at our place in April 2025, told us that they ate at Dirty Dick's four times during their one week stay! They loved the food and especially the shrimp. So, after ten years of being here for 12-14 weeks each year we decided we needed to try it. The goofy motif of the place probably put us off trying it earlier. No joke, it looks like a tourist trap. We went for lunch and found it to be very good. It is not the low-end place that it appears to be. We dropped over $50 for a plate of shrimp and a bowl of soup, never-the-less it was good and after all prices are not what they used to be. Ms T ordered a Fried Shrimp platter with fries. The shrimp are the nicest we have had in a while and that is saying something. They were large, fresh, plump and flavorful. Hopefully it is an anomaly, but the shrimp were not quite done. They were acceptable to me, but just. She definitely wanted them cooked just a bit more. Don't misinterpret this. We know that overcooked shrimp is not what you want, but these were nearly translucent. My bowl of crab soup was interesting and a bit surprising. First, it was thick, but not the pasty construction adhesive goo that we were served the previous week at O'Neal's Sea Harvest in Wanchese. This was a good consistency. The surprising thing was that it was sour. This was not expected. The first bite was,,,,"what is this?". The second was, "maybe this is OK?". After that I warmed up to it and liked it a lot. She did not. I would order it again. It tastes like it has an acidic cheese melted in it. They serve good fries, and the coleslaw is acceptable, with more of a sour cream dressing than I like, but none of it went to waste. All-in-all we had very good food, albeit not the cheapest. You get what you pay for, I guess. We can eat essentially the same meal at Shipwrecks for $15-20 less with quality that is close, but I will not rule out a return visit.

    Crab Melt
    Teresa H.

    Shout out to our wonderful waitress Sabrina! She was absolutely amazing! This spot was perfect for our group of 13 adults and 1 kid. Sabrina was attentive and got all our orders right prefect! Our table shared some apps. The oysters were great. My father in law loved the baked oysters. And the coconut shrimp and calamari and gator was fantastic! My main was okay. I should have gotten a smaller fish. The shrimp and grits was a little too much flavor for me. It said creole but it was giving me salsa vibes I would suggest something simpler for a main. My husband liked his crab melt

    Blackened chicken.
    Shawn F.

    A mainstay in the OBX, we always stop in 1x each trip here. While we usually frequent the DD in Avon, we were staying in kitty hawk so we tried the one here in kitty hawk/nags head. Wife loves the shrimp and grits and says the grits are better than most higher priced restaurants in the area....didnt disappoint. I had the blackened chicken with tricolor pasta....too much to eat!

    *Steak of the Day
    R. H.

    Good, but not excellent quality food. Affordable prices. Good service. Local ambiance. Good price for crab legs. They tasted someone fresh. Hush puppies tasted good. Cheeky language here. Father in law had the steak. Mother in law had the clams. Son had the chicken Alfredo, but he didn't like that too muchz

    Hush puppies plus Aidan!

    Great food! Shout out to my waitress Sheri yo. Her son was also really tuff (he works there too ) Gave us some southern love in the form of free hush puppies, HELL YEAH

    Catch of the Day (GF) - Mahi with rice and zucchini
    Jim K.

    Really good place while visiting. We had a late dinner - around 7:15 - and were seated right away when we arrived. It was still pretty busy and most tables were full. Our waitress, Nina, was awesome. She was really hustling to serve all her tables and was very patient and kind as we were new to the place and asked a lot of questions. The market prices were clear and Nina did a great job explaining to us what she'd prefer. The food was really good. Great, kid friendly place with a lot of families with young ones in attendance.

    Sherri was an amazing server who made our experience amazing. She was fun and it felt like we knew her for years! Food was delicious and hot. We had crab cakes and it was all crab, huge pieces and not a lot of filler. The steamed no crab was also delicious.

    My drink
    Melissa W.

    Fried alligator is excellent I Jewish the batter was lighter so that she could taste more of the alligator the serving size is unreal enough for two. The fried green tomatoes with crab outstanding however the crab and the salad underneath is cold so it kind of cools off the fried green tomatoes immediately flavor unreal. So as I was sitting here I want the general manager and the chef cook come out and show a father and son how to open crabs which was pretty awesome excellent customer service on that end. Little expensive definitely a tourist location for a local once in a blue moon but definitely will be back to try some other things in the future

    A large? crab claw
    Cindy H.

    Ordered 1/2 dozen steamed large blue crabs and 2 ears of corn to go. The corn was 10 out of 10, but the crabs were definitely not all large. They did me dirty. Only 2 were large, 3 medium, and 2 small. (They gave me an extra crab). They tasted fresh and service was quick, but I'm not so sure I would go back.

    Gumbo
    Jo W.

    Amazing food, good portion size and reasonable price. Quick service. Very satisfied and highly recommended

    High Sea Punch
    Grace S.

    Dirty Dick's was AMAZING! Their she crab soup is some of the best I've ever had. Their deal for a pound of crab for 16.99 is awesome (my wife and I killed that). Their drinks are delicious & service is amazing. We had Owen who was so funny and I loved his crab hat. During our vacation we came here twice!! I'd go back to OBX specifically for Dirty Dick's.

    10 oz steak with potatoes
    Carol K.

    Delicious everything from the hush puppies through our. Service was fantastic Kathy was great friendly quick and awesome. Nice quiet with upbeat music but can still talk to one another

    Outside Dirty Dick's
    Jason P.

    Fantastic seafood, great friendly service. Fun and comfortable atmosphere. Had to go back for more!

    Bloody Mary, that shrimp was spicy!

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    1 month ago

    Chef does amazing job. Food was amazing. Soft shell crabs and fresh fish l love special dishes

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    23 days ago

    Stopped at Dirty Dicks in OBX for lunch.... Had a great time and got outstanding service from Owen!

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    2 years ago

    Fun atmosphere and great specials. Scotty our server was great. We got the shrimp and crab pounders.

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    Page 1 of 16

    Ask the Community - Dirty Dick's Crab House - Nags Head

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    Miller's Waterfront Restaurant

    Miller's Waterfront Restaurant

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    Excellent food and great service in a casual atmosphere and great views of the sunset…read more Be aware that they do not take reservations but they have a bar area and a deck in the nice weather where you can wait. The menu has a good amount of variety and everything was fresh and prepared just as we ordered. Our server Morgan was very friendly and took great care of us. The Oregon inlet tuna was excellent blackened and prepared perfectly medium. My wife had the Trawl Boat combo and everything was great but, everything was swimming in butter. The shrimp and scallops are locally sourced. A little less butter and the dish would have been better. The special blackberry bourbon bread pudding with vanilla ice cream was killer. So delicious. Can't wait to go back. Oh and get the hush puppies!!

    I was so excited to try Miller's Waterfront Restaurant after reading such positive reviews. As it…read moreturns out after many trip to OBX, this is one of the worst restaurants I've experienced. My wife and I brought family from Europe thinking that we would have delicious NC seafood. Instead we had food that was only ok in taste and portions that were laughable. When the server handed my wife a 1/4 glass of wine, I laughed out loud. My $32 dollar dish looked like an appetizer and was less filling. We were 4 pretty small adults who all left hungry after spending more than $125 for our meal. The food was not the only issue. The place feels more like a cafeteria. The service was also terrible. Our waiter had a pretty nasty attitude and either was having a bad day or just hated his job. My advice? Go for the view. Standing outside during sundown was spectacular. Then get in your car and eat somewhere else.

    Photos
    Downstairs bar
    Downstairs bar
    Coconut Shrimp
    Coconut Shrimp
    Outside seating

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    Outside seating

    Dirty Dick's Crab House - Nags Head - seafood - Updated June 2026

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