Unpretentious place with great food. Obviously a favorite with locals, as many were greeted by name…read moreas they arrived. Very friendly and attentive staff. Would definitely eat there again. Be aware of their hours; they close before lunch on Mondays as of this review (Jan 2026).

Starting off let me just say my 4 stars are like a lot of people's 5 stars. I try to grade as…read morehonestly as possible. So I'm new to the area here and off the bat there isn't many breakfast spots. My first visit was for breakfast and I ordered the biscuits & gravy with a side of patty sausage. I'm not a huge fan of their biscuits personally but let me just add I am very picky when it comes to biscuits. To most people their biscuits are probably really really good. The gravy was decent white gravy and the patty sausage was to be expected. Service was good. They check on you often and throw in a lil small talk here and there. It was obvious they had normal reoccurring customers in which they staff carried on conversation and joked around a lil with those patrons. I went back another day for lunch. Service was the same. Very nice pleasant staff again. This time I ordered the flounder sandwich and fries. Honestly one of the best fish sandwiches I've had in a long time. Fries were nothing special. Crinkle fries from a freezer bag which hey.... Don't most places? But to keep in the critiquing mind set they were fried perfectly. Place is a lil dated but looks like it's kept clean and in order. Definitely a favored local spot. Many many locals recommended it to me. I would definitely recommend this place to others.

After waiting over an hour at another local seafood restaurant only to leave following a rude…read moreinteraction with the owner/manager, our crew of 19 found ourselves unexpectedly looking for dinner at 8:15 p.m.--just 15 minutes before closing. I don't know many restaurants that would happily take a call saying, "Our night just went sideways and we have 19 people to feed." Honestly, I probably would have been a little annoyed myself. But from the moment we arrived at Mermaids Island Grill, we were met with nothing but kindness and hospitality. The young ladies taking our order were friendly and welcoming, the bartenders kept the drinks flowing, and the servers delivered piping hot food with smiles on their faces. Every single person in our group loved their meal. With 19 people ordering from all over the menu--calamari, fried pickles, crab legs, grouper, fried shrimp, hushpuppies, and more--that's no small feat. What stood out most wasn't just the food (which was excellent), but the service. We were never rushed, despite arriving so close to closing, and the staff continued chatting and smiling with us as we left. Mermaids Island Grill completely turned our evening around. 10/10 for both the food and the hospitality. We'll definitely be back.

Let's start 1 New England chowder 6 out of 10…read more Could have had a little bit more meat in it 2 Grouper bites 10 out of 10 Just perfect in every way 3 popcorn shrimp in firecracker sauce 10 out of 10 Fried just right and the right amount of sauce 4 cheeseburger 7 out of 10 Just a med burger but the fries 9 out of 10 Oysters Rockefeller 0 out of 10 They went bad look so good but from the moment they were put on the table we smelled like I took one for the team but had to spit it out right away they did refund me and were very apologetic, I know it's off season and the season is not as fresh as it can be but as a cook you should be able to tell when something is not right but either way we did enjoy everything else

My friend and I had lunch here last week. I discovered that this place is the same ownership of…read moreOcean Isle Fish Company. While there, I had their ahi tuna appetizer, which was delicious. I decided to try it here. The appetizer had just a little bit of lettuce, so I ordered the small house salad. My friend ordered the 'regular' salad with the tuna. Her salad was huge and she wished she ordered the same small house salad. The tuna was super fresh and seared perfectly. We both ordered it very rare. The menus at both restaurants are different, with a few same items. This place has a long list of wings and a bigger menu. Nice service by our waiter.

Just moved here about 6 months ago and have been wanting to give this restaurant a try had some…read morefamily come and made this our dinner stop lol the restaurant itself has a very good welcome in and stay as long as you want feel to it like come in make friends and forget about home lol the service was great the waitress was making sure we did not go without our drinks 10 out 10 for service Let's start 1 Loaded Chips 3 out 10 To much blue cheese and the chips where overcooked 2 Crab Bites 10 out 10 So delicious and the sauce they came with so good 3 Calamari 8 out 10 fried just right but was on the chewy side 4 Giant Pretzel 8.5 out 10 If it would have came with cheese sauce instead of mustard it would have been a knock out 10 out of 10 5 ten bone in Wingz 8 out 10 Just need to be bigger 6 Lobster Mac & Cheese 7 out 10 Very tasty but had way more shrimp the lobster I found about 4 little pieces of lobster if they called it shrimp Mac and cheese 9 out 10 it was good just not enough lobster to taste it 7 Fish N Chips 9 out 10 Fried just right and the fries was crispy 8 Chicken Avocado wrap 0 out 10 Did not get it they gave me a buffalo chicken wrap instead after I realized they gave me the wrong one I told my server and she said they can give me 50% off of it I told her no need I'll just take the right one instead she said something else I was not paying attention to much but ended up without my wrap and still paying for half of something I did not get lol I'm going to say it's was my fault for not paying attention to what she was saying

Great traditional calabash style seafood, we got ours to go, not much seating but a little. Very…read moregood fried seafood plates.

Best fried scallops we have had in a ling time! Good hush puppies and slaw. Plan on calling in…read moreyour order and pick up the food to go.

Wife and I had a quick trip to Southport. Chose Loco Jo's for our dining experience. It's a nice…read moreplace on the Main Street with its own parking area in a strip mall. Outdoor seating is available. Small tables inside and bar seating that was full. It seems the bar is a big hit. After reviewing the liquor menu, I see why. Some really good ones available. We were seated near the entrance at a small table. The server brought us water and took our orders after a few minutes. We ordered beef dumplings as an appetizer and we both ordered blackened ahi tuna tacos medium rare. The tacos come with chips and salsa. Our appetizer arrived fairly quickly and was great. As we were finishing our appetizer, our tacos arrived. From first glance they looked really good. Then everything kind fell after that. The flour taco shells were cold and looked store bought. The cheese was also similar to the store bought shredded Mexican blend. The sauce tasted like mayonnaise and ketchup mixed together. They use way too much purple cabbage with a nice portion of ahi tuna. The taste was ok. The cold shell and cheese kind of stole the flavor from the tuna. The salsa provided had a strange smoky almost chipotle flavor. I think. It left a strange aftertaste. We wanted to give this place a try. Not sure we'll be back. Our server was good. She was attentive and smiled. We still have her a cash tip that was pretty good. The restaurant has a great vibe and has a lot of regular customers, as evidenced by everyone greeting each other as they entered. Overall, I think three stars is fair. I recommend giving it a try, but not for tacos.

I finally got to eat at Loco Jo's. Three of us had lunch here five days ago…read more It's a small place with several tables and a bar. It's pretty small, so I don't suggest going with a large group of friends. Our waitress, Allison, was friendly and attentive. There's lots to choose from on the menu, including lunch specials. But I ended up ordering the buddha bowl, which had grilled pork. I asked for the Thai peanut dressing on the side. I never know how drenched a dish could be with the dressing. The bowl included rice noodles, cucumbers, other veggies. It also had sliced jalapeno peppers, which added a little kick, but still mild. One friend ordered the dumplings and a Caesar salad, while my other friend ordered the lemongrass curry with chickpeas. She wished she had it with chicken. Everything was delicious and flavorful, although the sliced cucumbers could have been seasoned or pickled. I brought home my leftovers, which I had for dinner. There was plenty of grilled pork, but unfortunately, four pieces were just fat and gristle . The chef needs to trim the pork properly and keep the chunks of fat/gristle out of the dish. That was disappointing. There are other items on the menu I would like to try. Overall, a very good lunch.

Quaint burger restaurant with vintage decor. Inside and outside seating available. I have the…read morecheeseburger all the way ( mustard, homemade chili, slaw and onions) with fried okra( could have deep fried a bit more for the crunch). Super yummy! My hubs got the Carolina Hot dog(slaw, onions, and chili) with the BEST onion rings! Super sweet wait staff! Only complaint-Pepsi and not Coke products Can't wait to come back soon!

This is DUCH A GREAT LITTLE BURGER/HOT DOG JOINT!! I ORDERED A CHEESEBURGER LOADED, A LARGE ORDER…read moreOF ONION RINGS, AND MY HUBBY ORDERED THE GRILLED BOLOGNA SANDWICH WITH PICKLES AND KETCHUP, ALONG WITH A CHEAP WINE WITH UNLIMITED REFILLS!!! When I ask our waitress her name, she said "Sally" and her boss spoke up and said her name is really "Bernice"! I told her my name is Belva and said you should really stick with Bernice it's a much cooler name than Sally and we both laughed!! She was a really good waitress. This place never disappoints if you're looking for a good juicy burger the onion rings are frozen, but delicious. The breading on them is so thin and nice not like those crumbly ones the bologna sandwich my husband loved. We will return again!!

Went there today. The review is much the same as the one from last year. I had eggs over easy…read more(cooked to perfection), sausage, bacon and avocado. The staff were very attentive and pleasant. I have to say that, unlike the first review, the coffee was meh, at best. But then I'm really picky about my coffee. :)

Good service. French toast was okay…read more Waffle was overdone and very dry. Overall not real clean -- table was sticky. Would not go again given the other options in the area. Leaning to 2 stars but went with 3

Very friendly service! We ordered specialty hamburgers and cole slaw, and everything was…read moredelicious!! There are (non-electronic) games to play on each table encouraging a more interpersonal experience. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit here and will definitely visit again!

AWSOME Customer Service Food is amazing…read more Went above and beyond serving our party of 15 people!!