The food was excellent. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. It had some interesting art pieces using mosaic tile.

Group of 5 we were seated in a booth by the bar which was pretty cramped for us. It wasn't super busy, so not really sure why we were seated there except perhaps for convenience for our server? That being said service was kind of lagging. When we needed drink refills we ended up standing up and going to the bar more than once to ask for them as we weren't checked in on after our food was served. The food was good, but also the lunch menu was a little more limited than we were expecting, so next time we'll go back when they are still serving breakfast options as well. We tried their basic burger, the bounty salad, chicken fingers basket, reuben, and BLT. The chicken fingers were the best item, but that is not to say the other food wasn't good, just that the freshly friend chicken kind of stole the show haha We'd definitely give it another try next time we are in town as it's a super convenient location when staying in Corolla, but would hope for a little better of a dining experience to go along with the food. read more

First Light - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Corolla, North Carolina

Easily the WORST meal of a 7 day vacation. I ordered scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes, and a biscuit with black coffee. It was about 9:30 am on Monday the 17th. ALL of the food was bad. The potatoes and biscuit had to be cooked the day before and just reheated. Dry and without taste best describes it. Really tough to screw up scrambled eggs...but they did. Eggs tasted like they were cooked in a pan with yesterday's bacon grease. Only decent thing was the black coffee. Service was disinterred at best. Our male waiter couldn't help but play tickle,tickle with a female employee who seemed to do nothing. If you are hungry, stay hungry and drive further. read more

Came here on a Sunday because we were all craving bloody marys, and First Light did not disappoint. We snagged seats at the bar which was surprisingly empty and ordered a round. Half of us opted for the Zinger bloody mary which is their signature drink, while the other half got brave and decided to try the Chesapeake bloody mary made with Absolut Pepper that had more of a kick. Everyone was happy with their selection, and I appreciated having a variety of bloody mary options to choose from. Ambiance wise this place is giving elevated dive bar but in an approachable way. Our bartender was extremely friendly, by the end of the visit we knew his entire life story as well as his travel plans for the next year. Our bloody marys were fairly priced and we had a great time (but that's more about the good company and less about First Light). Overall, if you're craving bloody marys this is a solid option in the area. read more

TLDR: diner breakfast, nothing to write home about. The restaurant itself is ok. It does need a good deep clean. Even just some dusting and wipe down would go a long way. It is the beach and the end of busy season, so hoping that deep clean is coming. It's a small place with tables inside and outside. They were busy on Wednesday morning around 1030. Service was friendly. Seated quickly and a nice server. The people next to us were unhappy with their food and the manager came over to check and try to make it right. Everyone working there kept a good attitude through dealing with a difficult customer. Food came out very quickly and was hot! I ordered my eggs over medium and they were great!! The potatoes were pretty good and the biscuit was fine. My friend seemed to enjoy her biscuits and gravy just fine. The coffee, while very hot, was very watered down and didn't hit the spot for me. Decent cost compared to other places for what we got. Overall, it's a beach diner. Go in with low expectations and you will be pleased. Go in expecting greatness and you will be disappointed. read more

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Food was quite frankly, bad. Everything tasted like it came out from the freezer and thrown into a fryer. Biscuit tasted old and stale. Potatoes had no flavor. The table we were at was sticky. Just an unpleasant visit all around. The only positive was that the waitress was nice, but we weren't there for small talk unfortunately. read more

I had the Corolla's hangover breakfast and it was very filling. I've been to a couple brunch spots and this one was pretty good. However, specifically for this dish, with the home fry pieces being too big, I felt that it was a bit too much. I could have easily shared this dish with another friend. The outside seating was nice and the weather was great near the beach. Also, note there is a $5 credit card fee. read more

Went in Saturday during middle of the day. The place was very dirty, tables not cleaned off, carpet had dirt and food debris. The employees all seemed miserable. It was not busy but it took forever to get any food or service. We left after 40 minutes after putting our order in. Very disappointed as they are in a nice area, just poorly managed. read more

This place was okay. They didn't really make your order very perfect sometimes they do but some of their food was premade so they can't do much about it. One of the fans looked like they were going to fall down. Only one worker had a smile on their face so it wasn't a very good vibe.over all if you need a brunch this place is okay. read more

The food was good , they were out of some things because it was off season. Like olives for a dirty martini , or margarita mix . It was extremely cold in there , everyone seated had on coats and hats , it was so cold . The Bluetooth speaker kept going in and out and there was a patron who kid was running around . I had the crab Benny , two poached eggs over crab cakes over English muffin . Home fries and a delicious mimosa . My wife had a egg white veggie omelette , home fries and a side of bacon . For her drink she had a custom made Bloddy Mary that was out of this world . read more

First Light - Crab Benny , side of pork sausage veggie omelette and our drinks - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Corolla, North Carolina

I was in town with my bike group and we had breakfast here on Sunday morning. It was 12 of us and we were seated immediately. I ordered crabcakes with poached egg (cooked hard) and homefries. It was ok. The crabcake was flavorful, but I wished it were bigger. The homefries were alright, They were not hot, medium portion. My egg was very good. Some in my group had issues with their pancakes. Some were too thick and bland tasting and some were thin and ok tasting. Our server was pretty nice. Try it for yourself. read more

Basically a small diner kinda place, at least that's the breakfast vibe. Service seems to be a little sub par but the food is good. The breakfast potatoes were delish but they do get extra greasy if you get them as take out. Convenient little spot for a decent breakfast and it's nice that there's a takeout option as well. I enjoyed my breakfast at home a lot more though but that was because of the comfier seating and the view. read more

First Light - Breakfast sandwich biscuit and potatoes - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Corolla, North Carolina

It is a wonderful restaurant to have gf breakfast. I have celiac and have never had a problem. They have a great friendly staff. Nice when the weather is nice and you can eat outside read more

First Light is an Full bar restaurant that serves American fare food located in the Timbuck II Shopping Village. Being the off-season, we were sat and served right away. Our server was awesome and took great care of us. Food was pretty good and drinks were great! Plenty of TVs for sports and western movies as well. Great place to grab some food and drinks for a game or a quick bite to eat. read more

First Light - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Corolla, North Carolina

So nasty. Cups were not clean, and my water had CHUNKS in it. Was looking at our table, and hiding underneath the butters was just opened butters that had mold on them. Absolutely gross. Gum under the table, which J accidents touched, and the water tasted like it came straight from the ocean. We left before we could order food. read more

Hands down worst service I've ever had in my life. Tea was several days old, asked for water instead, waited didn't even listen to the rest of my sentence, just walked away. Brought water about 5 mins later. Coffee tasted like it was filtered through a sock- waiter refused to even look our way after the water trip- had to ask another passing waitress for a cup of orange juice instead 20mins later. Food wait was easily 45 mins ...for breakfast. And it should be no shock that it came out warm bordering on cold. I waited 45 mins for yogurt and fruit! Drinks were refilled at the 59 min mark. Should have just walked out. Wont be back - ever, ever. EVER. read more

10/10!! Came with a largish group (7) for an early morning breakfast. We decided to eat outside and enjoy the fresh air. Service was fantastic and our server was so kind and enjoyable to be around. I ordered the Crab Benny and I cannot recommend this enough. The crab cakes were absolutely delicious and the ratio was just perfect. 2 others in my group also got the Crab Benny and it was a hit all around. Others in my group enjoyed the sausage gravy and biscuits and the Big Meaty. Overall a really great breakfast experience with amazing food and service. read more

Waited over an hour for food when the restaurant was less than half capacity. Overpriced food as well.

Ok so I literally waited two days to indulge in this restaurant. I called to make a to-go order but no one answered so I just drove their to order to-go. I was advised that they do not do to-go orders when there's a wait. Understandable do to a line of 3 ladies were waiting. I waited in the parking lot until we'll after the line was empty. I opted to not sit in because my guest and I wanted to sit in our beach home to eat. I never got to order to-go on my second attempt and was told it was a wait of 30mins (even tho another waiter/hostess stated that a party of 6 all opted to sit at the bar instead of their table) All of that was fine, I just knew I'd try again the next day. So on Sunday, my friend and I finally got to try the breakfast. I will add that we were not offered to sit inside and was seated outside while the party behind us had a preference. We already had in mind that the crab Benny would be one entree due to the reviews. They have a chalk board up front that advertised a shrimp frittata. Both entrees came with home fires. Now on to the food: The frittata was surprisingly bland. I was not impressed because it lacked a lot of flavor. It was just fluffy eggs with shrimp in the middle and goat cheese atop. If it wasn't for the goat cheese, I would t have been able to continue. It needed salt pepper, and maybe some green onions, peppers and garlic. The crab Benny was really good but my friend and I both agreed that the English muffin wasn't the greatest compliment to the dish. It was kinda of stale and added an extra/unwanted "chew" (due to the stale-ness). My friend and I BOTH agreed that the home fries was a hard no due to them being greatly undercooked. The outside had a nice crust to it so our mouths were salivating for a bite; and that's exactly what we got.... a bite! We opted to not return them and to just not eat it due to our time constriction we were trying to abide by. Service was well: our waiter was attentive and friendly. Location was good, not that hard to find. There are flies out but I'm guessing that's the whole island because I've noticed that a lot. Plus we were seated outside with another option. There aren't many breakfast spots in Corolla so by all means try this place out for yourself. read more

First Light - Crab Benny with home fries. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Corolla, North Carolina

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The crab cake Benedict was awesome and so was our waiter. Great experience and we had a pretty big party and nobody complained. In fact everyone praised it! Awesome!!!! Henry is a great waiter read more

First Light - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Corolla, North Carolina

Everything was delicious. Ordered the mahi tacos , oyster tacos, and Korean tacos. The food was so flavorful. You will not be disappointed. Reasonably priced food. The staff is so friendly and accommodating. The restaurant itself has indoor dining and outdoor dining. Nice little restaurant for lunch or dinner. We've already been here twice this week. read more

First Light - Korean tacos, oyster tacos, mahi tacos, slaw - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Corolla, North Carolina

No complaints to be had, ordered the shrimp and fries. Both were good. Speedy pick up service.

Mannnn, it pains me to have to say this because I'm a HUGE supporter of small independent businesses. Down here in the Outer Banks and especially in Corolla, that's pretty much all you're going to find anyway when it comes to places to eat...which is FANTASTIC. Hail all indie establishments! But when I see a place like this not take advantage of what they have and what I think imo they could become with even just a little bit of effort and elbow grease, I smh. Maybe it's just me not "getting it" - maybe what people like about this place is it's divey interior "charm" - ? Maybe it was just that it was a crappy, cold, rainy off-season weekday at lunchtime when we came - ? The place was empty except for us the whole time we were there. It was a little bit weird. In the Timbuck II shopping village centrally located in Corolla, this place is in the PERFECT LOCATION. I mean, certainly during busy season, if you have an eatery in this shopping center, you're raking in the dough. I tried coming here last summer and the wait was insane for a table. But that was pretty much the case for anywhere we went. But this time around, I got to see and experience this place. And I wasn't impressed. In fact I would say I was more disappointed than anything. The place has the potential to be a really cool, trendy spot if it were updated and renovated even a little bit. It wouldn't take much, really. It looks like the inside hasn't been touched in yearssssssss. Maybe that's the charm - ? It's dark and dingy. Also the place is a lot smaller on the inside than it looks from the outside. A big bar area takes up a good part of the back of the place leaving not a ton of table seatiing so, even when crowded, I now understand why the long waits. Truly, this place has dive-bar vibes inside - don't expect anything more. Not that I was expecting Sanderling Inn - but I was hoping for something less....divey. Ok maybe who cares, you say? If the food is to-die-for, right? Agree. Ambience certainly helps but it's not the end-all-be-all. I've given 4 or 5 stars to places that could use a serious facelift. Thing is, the food wasn't to-die-for. At least not what we ordered (bfast biscuit sandwich, chicken salad sandwich and a cheeseburger). I would say a notch below average. Case in point, look at all the food shots posted - anything there look appetizing and delicious? I WILL add in all fairness that the service was good here - our server was super friendly. And prices were decently reasonable and not tourist-gouging. The menu does have a lot of interesting, original options on it including a section of First Light Favorites and all day bfast items. All in all, for us at least, nothing to write home about, I'm afraid. Nothing that can't be fixed though, that's the thing. This place already rocks a great location. Some sprucing up on the inside and kicking the food up a few notches and this place could be a year round winner. As it stands now, I can whip up a better breakfast and burgers back at my rental, save some bucks and dine in better ambience. I'm so sure that, making no improvements at all, this place will still make a killing in the busy season because there just aren't enough eating places in the Corolla area to compete for people's business. But status quo has never really been a smart way to run any kind of business. read more

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This has so much potential. Small in the seating area but nice bar. We had lunch- the burgers were try and lacked flavor. Hand formed Pattie's we were expecting a great burger for the price!! Chips were over cooked. For a niche place we had hoped for better. Wait staff seemed annoyed and were short with us. read more

We got Crab Benny and a veggie omelette with biscuit, coffees and mimosas. All were delicious. It's a busy place and small so expect to wait, we waited 30 min. But it was worth it. Highly recommend read more

First Light - Crab Benny, yummy - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Corolla, North Carolina

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What a great place to have breakfast! I ordered the Crabby Benny and was so glad I did. Melt in your mouth, perfect poached egg over a scrumptious crab cake and a hollandaise sauce that had a little zip to it. Will definitely go back! read more

First Light - Crabby Benny! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Corolla, North Carolina

Nothing special. We went for breakfast and were seated right away. The table and chair stuck out into the walkway by the entrance, so we dealt with a few bumps during our meal. Coffee was super strong and they did not have any oat or almond milk, which is how I take mine, so it was hard to drink. I had the avocado toast and had to send it back because the eggs were over easy and I ordered over medium. Once it was returned, I have to say it was just okay. The potatoes were greasy, but cooked well. My boyfriend had the hash and eggs, which was written on the menu as "homemade " but looked and tasted like it was out of a can. I would not go back. read more

First Light is a wonderful breakfast spot! Cant say too much for their lunch menu, but breakfast is always great. Huge portions and good service! read more

First Light - Cheddar omelette with home fries and biscuit - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Corolla, North Carolina

Eh? Not much to say. We went in for lunch on a hot day and it was equally hot inside. Individual serving us kind of barked at us if we wanted a drink and then took our order. Food was obviously frozen from a bag, fried shrimp and a chicken sandwich. We asked for mayo for the sandwich and Old Bay for the shrimp to make them edible. The food runner looked confused. Our check was kind of thrown at us and then as an afterthought our "waiter" asked if we wanted another beer. No one checked to see if our food was okay or if we wanted anything else. He was obviously more interested in turning the table than for us being there. So many better places with fresher food. Beer was kind of warm and flat. Not a great experience. read more

The food was amazing!! Will definitely be back! Service was fantastic even though the server looked at me strange when I wanted dippie eggs (over medium) lol he was great about and we all laughed!! Highly recommend read more

Excellent breakfast. Party of four. Three orders of eggs Benedict. One meaty omelette. All well prepared. Service was prompt and efficient. Ambiance was quiet, clean, and airy. Ate on the patio. No waiting. Off season. Coffee was perfect and bottomless. read more

The restaurant has new ownership since beginning of 23, fresh paint and with a lot of the same good menu items but now open for dinner. I was able to get by there and tried the wings and Korean Beef tacos. Both were very good. The tacos were fantastic. Almost like a banh mi sandwich on a flour tortilla. Considering the closest you'll get to Korean or Vietnamese is Chesapeake this was a welcome change. Others ordered burgers and sandwiches which looked good and people cleared their plates so tasted good as well. I gotta day some of the hater reviews crack me. A burger didn't come out with mayo do you had to request it... really. Smh I hear Myrtle beach serves mayo on burgers read more

The POTATOES was so delicious! Biscuits were great and the pancakes for my kids too. Very clean and comfortable place to enjoy breakfast.

This place has a weird vibe. First off, there are like 10 employees (hostess, several wait staff, 2 people behind the bar..it's 8 am keep in mind, the cooks keep coming out of the kitchen). There is only us and 2 other people in the restaurant. They are blaring rap/dance/techno something music. It's 8 am. Can we just take it down several notches? Then the employees are being super loud and dancing all around. Echemm. Mmk. We order our food and I swear it wasn't even 10 minutes and here it comes. I am always leary of food when it comes flying out of the kitchen. And yep...this all tasted like it was day old. $42 later...uhhh. no. Save yourself the time & money. Grab a bagel & coffee down the road. read more

My wife and I tried this place for breakfast since it was really the only breakfast spot around us that had alcohol aka Bloody Mary's and opened by 7:30am. Proportions were humongous and the food and Bloody Mary's were very good. Biggest biscuit I ever seen and the only reason I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5 was the biscuits were just too dry! read more

Food was great. Service was great. Place is very busy so have realistic patience. We stopped in and ordered to go about 12 breakfast meals. Told it would take 25-30 minutes so we sat at bar and ordered a couple mimosas. By the time talking and finishing our drinks those 12 meals were done on time. Food did not disappoint. Highly recommend the Crab cake Eggs Benny. Soo good. read more

My first breakfast on vacation and it was here. We arrived around 11am on a Thursday morning, off-season at that (early October). There was barely anyone inside and only another family of four outside enjoying what's left of the beautiful summer. What I swallowed: MIMOSA: This was not your standard champagne and OJ. This was a champagne, pomegranate, stoli and all sorts of goodness in a glass. This DEFINITELY was the way to start our week long vacation! CRAB BENNY: We came here specifically for this and this did NOT disappoint. The crab cakes were perfectly crisp on the outside, moist and crabby on the inside. Topped with the hollandaise sauce.. it was simply perfection! GRITS: The family of four beside us had recommended us getting this as a side instead of the normal side of potatoes. I'm glad they did as I hadn't had grits in awhile and these were very tasty. The server had a very quirky sense of humor. We weren't sure if he was being a smart-@ss or trying to be funny but we shook it off 'cuz we were all in a happy and festive mood. Definitely great food here and the drinks didn't disappoint! read more

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We went to eat breakfast when we were on the outer banks and this place had amazing food. I would recommend eating here when you visit the outer banks. read more

Great Lunch! We were a little skeptical because of the recent reviews but were favorably impressed! My girlfriend had the Reuben, which she said was a little greasy but very tasty. I had the First Light Burger and it was excellent. Fries were shoestring, not my favorite but okay. Overall very good! read more

The staff were gun to banter with. The food was hit or miss. My chicken sandwich was just all right, while appetizers were out of the park good. The pricing was good, at least, and this was the one place that didn't have an hour wait around 1. I think the name implies breakfast food more so people weren't lining up at lunch...which was their loss. They probably got good food, too, but they spent 45-60 minutes waiting to be seated. read more