Walked out. I found the bathroom disgusting. Husband was sat and there is trash on floor. Plenty of workers for this to not be like this. .

What happened to this Southport staple?! As usual the view and service were great, but the new menu and food!. We've been going here for years and tonight's experience was very disappointing and definitely not worth an 1 1/2 wait! The only thing we can imagine is that the restaurant was sold. We won't be returning. read more

Nice, casual place to go out to eat with family and friends. I had the bacon wrapped scallops, roasted potatoes and green beans. They do have alcohol as well. Our waitress was nice and attentive. Our food came out quickly and was delicious. Beautiful view through the huge window wall of the water. I highly recommend. read more

Great seafood. Nothing fancy but a great beach food. The reason for the 4 stars is because the restaurant was extremely hot. Like not because it's august at the beach but I'm talking it was probably cooler outside. We were sat near the kitchen and if I dine here again I'll ask to sit somewhere else. Fried shrimp was on point though. read more

Food and drinks were amazing! On a busy evening our server was on point! Hustled and made sure we had everything we needed, very personable and gave us great recommendations. read more

Delish food, clean restaurant. Food was a bit overpriced thou. We also had to track down our waitress a few times, but it was busy so we understood. read more

Definitely not what it used to be. We were here a few times a couple years ago, but today will be the last time. Pandemic or not, to pay their prices, service was very poor. The food was so so. All the fried food tastes the same. That's fine for a $14-$17 plate, but when you're paying $26+ a plate you expect better. Bottom line; Not worth the money, the food or the service! read more

I had an amazing meal here in September 2021. It's a very nice place with amazing intercoastal views. I started with a beer and some delicious hush puppies. I ordered fried fish and popcorn shrimp with fries. The breading on the seafood was perfect and the portions were twice what I expected. The sweet potato biscuit was devastatingly delicious. I miss it. Seriously, check this place out if you are in Southport. read more

See all

We have always had great meals at The Frying Pan, however recently...not so much. Ordered the Calamari and Crab Cakes. The breading on the calamari was crunchy and the actual squid inside was hard and brittle. The crab cakes made with lump crab...had no lumps in it (primarily filler). One of our dishes had to be sent back, but returned corrected. Our server Mackenzie did a nice job, was pleasant, attentive and apologetic (not her fault). She was rewarded well. read more

Outstanding food and service. Fish, shrimp, and hush puppies all delicious. Look toward to returning there.

The service and food was great and the view is amazing! Only downside is the desk tables were closed.

I really enjoyed my waterfront lunch at Frying Pan! While the waits for the other restaurants were pretty long I had no problem getting a water view table! The hostess was super nice and let me pick a different table to avoid direct sunlight and my server was there right away with hush puppies taking my drink order. I was starving and I love seafood so I ordered the Calamari for an app and the popcorn shrimp. Everything was super fresh and crispy! The only downsides were that the calamari was wayyyy under seasoned.. even with the salt I added just didn't make it taste as good as it looked! The second was the cocktail sauce- it was like a paste. The taste was ok but not easy to dip. I can't wait to visit for dinner! read more

See all

Service and views were outstanding- were able to accommodate our group of 10 at 5:00 with no wait on a Thursday evening. Inside the restaurant was very warm and very loud. The food and drinks were just meh. The hush puppy baskets on the table were good. Most of the food was very greasy- even the non fried stuff was swimming in butter. 5 stars for the service and views, 3 for the food read more

The staff is lovely, prompt and responsive, 5/5 The seafood seems to come frozen, then fried, very little taste. Unrecognizable. 0/5 Overall the food left much to be desired, for a group of 6 - $350 we wish we never spent. Recommend going somewhere else until they revise their food quality/menu read more

I really wanted to love dinner. The service was great, server was kind and ended up compensating us for my meal, however the food was horrible. I got the safe haven with unicorn fish, bacon wrapped scallops, and grilled shrimp with green beans, sautéed spinach, and mashed potatoes. The unicorn fish was salted so heavily it was bitter and inedible. The bacon on the scallops was grey, old, and tasted off. No one at the table ate their scallops. The grilled shrimp was the only thing I ate. The green beans were also so salty, and my spinach was drowning in oil. The sides were served in styrofoam cups (which for $34 is subpar at best). Do not recommend. Go across the street to provisions for peel and eat shrimp if you want local fish. read more

Views are awesome Waited 2 hours for a group of 6 Restaurant was blazing hot with no air even circulating Service very slow and unfriendly Food was average, not worth the money. This was on our must have list based on our 2020 visit. Now it's overpriced and average and will not be on our list next visit. read more

View: 5 Service: 5 Food: 3 Agree with other reviewers. Fried shrimp and fish batter way too salty. Excellent service. Clean. Cole slaw was delicious but you only get about 2 tbsp. serving. FYI: Menu needs updating on Yelp. Prices are now higher and some things are off the menu. read more

The food is awesome especially the grilled fish, battered shrimp, hush puppies and sweetened corn bread. Yea, the fries were hot! This restaurant seriously needs to improve its host station. With two hostess at the landing and outdoor seating level and one at the indoor seating level, they constantly yell at each other to the point of swearing. Quote "do you have your **it together." They use a paper system and take no phone numbers to alert customers that tables are ready. Our table was ready at 25 minutes not the 50 minutes they quoted us. Because of the long wait, my husband decided to make a business call. While I sat there and they called my name, I told them it was only 25 minutes and they said the 50 minutes was only an estimate. I told them to defer us until my husband was ready. They said they couldn't do this. They said when he arrived, we'd be put on the bottom of the list. Luckily, it was early afternoon and we were seated within minutes. Automation would be great - three iPads for three hostess, one at each level. Some older customers don't have the capacity to climb the stairs twice, once to check in and twice to be seated. Also, short shorts don't sell food, service does. More conservative and standardized clothing would be appreciated. read more

I wasn't bad... the price was a little high for the quality of food you got, but the restaurant is located right on the water so that's understandable. Service wasn't to bad, they were extremely busy the day we went. As far as the ambiance is concerned, I loved the timber beam framing and the views of the intercoastal waterway. read more

This place is amazing! Do yourself a favor and go here. The food is amazing with huge portions! The service was great with an awesome view. We came to try it provisions next door and thankfully they had a line and we came here instead. So glad we did!! The Cajun seasoning on the fried fish was amazing and flavorful, and the sweet potato home made biscuits are NOT to be missed! The award winning chowder was good too! Update: 2nd time here and it was just as amazing as the first time!!! Sooo good. Fat and happy now. read more

See all

The Frying Pan is a huge restaurant right on the water in Southport. It's located next to the American Fish Co. and has a beautiful outdoor deck seating area. Inside is a large seating area which also has great views of the waterfront. Last summer I had my rehearsal dinner here. We had a very large party (~60 people). They did a fantastic job serving all of us. The wait staff really went above and beyond. It was extremely noisy (probably because of us) and tight quarters, but overall a very fun evening. This weekend we returned to the Frying Pan with a group of 6. This time (as it wasn't my rehearsal dinner) I was able to enjoy the food and atmosphere with no distractions. Overall, the location is beautiful. It was still packed and noisy but didn't bother us much. The food was very good. My husband and I split the crab cakes and shrimp and grits. The shrimp and grits were fantastic and very filling. The crab cakes were not my favorite. They were some of the saltiest things I've ever eaten. I drank about 3-4 bottles of water when I got home. To start we had the calamari and duck wings (you only get 4) which received praise around the table. Their hush puppies and sweet biscuits were both delicious as well and the gin and tonic I ordered was generous :) read more

See all

Food was delicious. Service was above all standards. Dining area was spectacular with beautiful views.

45 min wait for outside seating so we went inside and such a delight beautiful views since we can over by ferry. This was a nice treat for us on this side of town read more

Frying Pan - Seafood Near Me - Southport, North Carolina

See all

Ate lunch here before we headed home and the service was great. Our waitress was very sweet and even gave us some recommendations. The food was perfect! And to make it better we had a beautiful view of the water! Will be here again!! read more

Came down to oak Island for a long weekend and of course I had to make a trip to Southport to one of my favorite restaurants, The Frying Pan! We walked right in and were seated for only a few seconds before our waitress brought out some hush puppies and got our drink orders. (Btw the hush puppies and spread are spectacular lol) I decided on getting the fried shrimp and fish with french fries, along with a side salad, and boy it did not disappoint!! My side salad came out within a few minutes of ordering and it was great! Fresh and plenty big. No more had I finished it and turned to look out the windows at the beautiful view surrounding The Frying Pan and my main course was coming out. The shrimp and fish were fried perfectly and there was plenty of it along with my fries (yes I know a lot of fried food but I was on vacation so...lol) and sweet potato biscuit. Everything was great! All in all my visit to The Frying Pan was a huge success. The serves was fantastic, food is delicious, and the views of the waterway are incredible! I highly recommend for anyone looking for dinner with a great view in the southport Oak island area! read more

The food was just not very well done. We started with house salads. It was bagged salad that was a little old. I had the beef tips with garlic mashed potatoes. The meat was fine but the vegetables were slop. This included corn on the cob cut 4 ways and deep fried--still on the cob! His meal was some fish, scallops and shrimp. They were terrible looking with very little flavor. We were unpleasantly surprised. read more

I'm so glad I had the opportunity to visit the Frying Pan in late April! This restaurant is very spacious and sleek, the service is excellent, and the view from the dining area is incredible. My mother and I split the "Safe Haven" and could not stop talking about how delicious it was. Before our meal arrived, we fell in love with the hush puppies. Since we hadn't finished all of our hush puppies by the end of the meal, we asked for a to-go box. Jennifer, our waitress, was fantastic. Instead of bringing us a to-go box for our leftovers, she brought us a to-go box full of fresh hush puppies with two small containers of honey butter. We will definitely return to the Frying Pan. P.S. Be sure you order a sweet potato biscuit if your entree doesn't come with one already! read more

Frying Pan - "Safe Haven" - Seafood Near Me - Southport, North Carolina

3 stars for the food/service and 5 stars for the view! The location and view was beautiful, I could sit on that patio for hours, so relaxing and the sun was not in your eyes at all. The food was decent, but nothing special. I got the bacon wrapped scallops, which were a bit chewy but pretty tasty. My family also got the "Safe Haven" which had a little bit of everything- they said it was just okay and pretty average. The food took a little long, but the view made up for it. read more

Frying Pan - Patio at frying pan - Seafood Near Me - Southport, North Carolina

Probably not worth the wait food just fair very noisy fish or appetizers nothing special would go back

Delicious food with an amazing view! Lunch for four. We started the meal with some complimentary hush puppies with butter. YUM!!! I had the oyster po boy which came with fries, slaw, and a sweet potato biscuit. The oyster po boy was very different from ones that I've had before- the oyster was lightly fried and well seasoned. Next time I would skip the bread because it was pretty hard, which made it difficult to eat. The fries were great....but the sweet potato biscuit was to die for!! Our server was great, and joked around with us a bit. The service here was also fast! read more

See all

Nothing special about this place. We ate outside and it was beautiful weather to do so. The food is okay. I don't know that I would come back to eat again. I however did really enjoy the biscuits they serve with your meal. Very good! The staff seemed to be irritated with one another when we ate there. As a first time customer, seeing employees argue in front of each other before you're even seated is a huge turn off. Not a bad place.. Just okay. read more

Meh. Great view. That's about it. Food leaves a lot to be desired. Hush puppies were stale and bland. Coconut shrimp was just awful. Grouper sandwich probably worst I've ever had. Little tiny bits of fried grouper. A shame really. Such a great location. read more

Frying Pan - Seafood Near Me - Southport, North Carolina

I love their crab cakes! HUGE PORTIONS! The view was great. It was nice to feel like I was outside while enjoying the comfort of being in a building but on a deck. Surrounding area is beautiful for a digestive walk. Highly recommend. read more

Frying Pan - Seafood Near Me - Southport, North Carolina

Fried chicken wraps are good so is shrimp po-boy. Love the basket of hush puppies with honey butter. Those sweet potato biscuits are wonderful. Forget about getting fries. They arrived cold. Didn't have a good taste and no ketchup was provided. One of our folks ordered something grilled and it came fried. Staff is very friendly. Great view of the waterway. I would go back. read more

Food is awesome. Salads are best in town. The biscuit is to die for! This is hands down the best restaurant for price, quality of food and quantity. Also has the best view of the harbor. Service is very good. We have never had a bad meal here. read more

Tried twice to be seated after 7 pm in the last week. Both times was turned away being told they were not seating anymore on both occasions. If you post your hours until 8 pm, you typically continue to seat people for dinner until 8 pm, change your hours to 7 pm if you are going to stop seating people. read more

The views were amazing! The service was just okay but the food was delicious! I got the fried shrimp and it was great the person I went with got the safe haven with the unicorn fish and loved it. read more

Great food, service was amazing, and the views are gorgeous. Salad and soup was perfect and the free hushpuppies were hot and so good. Grouper bites were tasty as well. Thanks Princess! read more

Frying Pan - Dinner views - Seafood Near Me - Southport, North Carolina

This place has a great atmosphere, awesome food and very fast, friendly and efficient staff. Have Mr. Peter, the bartender, make your great drinks! It's worth it and you'll thank me! All severs are incredible but if you want a cool server, ask for Kat! She's awesome read more

See all

Our waitress was amazing, she was so helpful and gave some great advice. I do however being a foodie myself think this place is hyped up to much. My food was good don't get me wrong, but for a $34 plate of food (sea bass, grilled shrimp and bacon wrapped scallops) I feel like it was over cooked. The lobster bites were full of grease and couldn't taste the lobster. The view was amazing, but honestly I wouldn't go back or suggest going here unfortunately. read more