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John's Drive In

4.1 (194 reviews)
Closed 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

John's Drive In Photos

Business Info

JOHN'S DRIVE IN ATMOSPHERE

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

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Recommended Reviews - John's Drive In

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Cute cut outs out back
Courtney K.

Bottom Line: An old fashioned drive in serving seafood, burgers and milkshakes. My husband and I decided to give John's Drive In a try after seeing it featured in the July 2022 edition of Our State magazine. John's originally opened in 1977 and in true drive-in fashion you order at a window, food is delivered through a window or door and there is only outdoor seating at picnic tables. After combing through Yelp Reviews my husband and I ordered two of their signature items - fried Dolphin (Mahi) boat (a styrofoam container with big pieces of battered and fried Mahi, hush puppies and a side) and a milkshake. We also ordered the blackened tuna boat. All of our food was very good but I particularly enjoyed the tender blackened tuna. It wasn't too spicy and had the perfect amount of flavor. In hindsight we could have split a basket as they both offered plenty of food. We arrived at John's about 10:45am on a Sunday in August and we were surprised that the line was already forming for the 11am opening time. We were fortunate to get the last legit parking spot; otherwise, I'm not sure what we would have done.

Mahi sandwich
Diana L.

Came here as a quick lunch stop on our way out of OBX. The drive in area was convenient but had only a few parking spots so luckily we didn't come at too busy of a time. We ordered at the window and then went around the back where there were picnic tables and umbrellas to wait for our food. It was really hot out and an employee was so nice and brought our dog a small ice cream cup! Ordered the mahi sandwich and NC bbq sandwich. I liked my mahi sandwich, the white fish was meaty, not too greasy, and sauce was well portioned. My partner said the bbq sandwich was just alright. I don't think we'd go out of our way again but the location is super convenient and walkable from the beach so a great spot to get a quick bite and not have to interrupt your day soaking up the sun!

Art C.

We had a great fish sando here (dolphin fish, AKA mahi-mahi, for the uninitated). We were told this little food stand is reminiscient of how OBX used to be. If that's the case, we're big fans. One minor nit- we wish the fish didn't taste quite as fishy (all in that skin). But the sandwich was still good... And don't sleep on their soft serve either.

Alexandra R.

The food and milkshakes were every bit as good as I had anticipated since I first heard about John's last year. We took advantage of things being slower during COVID and drove down for a day trip from Virginia Beach. I'll be honest, even after visiting, I have no idea what the heck the parking situation is. We parked right next door by a lot of other cars that seemed to be coming and going in front of what I'm assuming was a rental house. Not sure that was legal but we were staying close so I wasn't too concerned. They do ask that you wear masks right now. Everyone was maintaining a safe distance for ordering and waiting for their food, and it seemed many were taking their food to go. Our food was done within 10 minutes and we sat at one of the picnic tables to eat. I ordered the Dolphin Boat (a GENEROUS serving of battered and fried mahi, hushpuppies, and a side: I chose fries. It also comes with your choice of tartar, cocktail sauce, or cajun aioli) and a Chocolate Peanut Butter shake. Everything was WONDERFUL. The milkshakes were perfect- great flavor and thick, but still easily drinkable. The fish breading was really flavorful, and the cajun aioli was good on everything. We'll be back for sure!!!

Root beer float

Tried to stop here for lunch but there are only about six parking spaces and no parking allowed on the road so we struck out despite making two passes by it. It worked out okay, though. They only have outdoor seating and it was blazing hot. We ended up coming back at 4:30 right before they closed at 5 pm and parking was no problem. We got two root beer floats and they hit the spot on the hot day we had. They gave us the cans of root beer along with our floats since there was some soda left. Thought that was a nice bonus. Friendly staff and was served quickly.

J David H.

Forty-three years is a long time, so obviously John's Drive In must be doing something right. The business continues to be family run in its second generation. Expect busy, expect no little to no parking, expect awesome! The location is MM 4.5 at the beach road, the white building with cone on top looks like nothing special. Parking is often extremely challenged with possibly 10 spots at tops. Be very careful backing out with traffic and pedestrian traffic. The area was clean. The exterior offers picnic tables and chairs. Even a small toddle table. On the right of the building and back has nine picnic tables. The area was clean. The walk up has two service windows and a large menu board. Don't let the fact they are known for ice-cream fool ya. They have fresh catch daily. Most everything is made or prepped in house. An example is the tartar sauce which is a 50+ year recipe of the original owners wife. My usual is a chocolate malt which is the best I've ever had, but I decided to change it up for a photo op. I was lucky enough to catch the current owner John Jr. (Little John) and he was gracious enough to provide some background on the family owned drive in. The building is the same as it was when his parents transplants of Pittsburg relocated to Kitty Hawk. His Father had been in the restaurant industry. John Jr. daughter now helps him with several other staff. It's been several years since my last visit and I had to get a John's Famous Seafood Sub. I opted for the fried Dolphin variety with tartar sauce which runs $6.95. They also have shrimp and crab. Prices are very reasonable for the large servings. I also got a large chocolate cone. The woman at the window took my card and no issues with processing. You can tip on the receipt. Everything is sent out in a white to go bag. Sandwiches are wrapped. My order was up in around 10 minutes. The fish was piping hot. The Dolphin huge and first bite was nirvana. The fresh lettuce, tomatoes and tartar sauce accompanied the fish perfectly. The bread was soft and wrapped everything up neatly to consume. My large chocolate soft serve cone was perfect and just as I remembered it. Closed on Wednesday's and off season. Bring your pooch by for a FREE pup cup. When visiting the Outer Banks come enjoy this super dive.

Small dolphin boat. Great lunch portion.
Mads B.

Really enjoyed it. No complaints. The service at the window was very friendly! I got the vanilla milkshake with banana. Oooooh yeah. So yummy. It's thick but not too thick. The other two with me got chocolate shakes. I had the small dolphin boat with had 2 large pieces of fried fish, two hush puppies, fries and a boat of tartar sauce. Everything was great. I don't love fried fish but this wasn't too heavy on the batter or overly greasy. Service was quick. Highly recommend!

Dolphin boat
Daniel P.

Usually id give John's a 5 star review Today though I went and ordered my normal Dolphin boat-fried mahi and fries and hushpuppies Ive been going here since 2013 since i moved to the OVX My fish filets were very tiny and I didnt get my hushpuppies that come with the order. Pretty dissatisfied to be honest Most all my other times ordering have been great!

Dolphin Sub at top, Tuna bowl at bottom.  Fresh veggies and hush puppies.

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1 year ago

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2 years ago

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9 months ago

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7 months ago

Been going to John's forever. Always good. Don't be in a hurry. Be sure to add a milkshake.

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4 years ago

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9 months ago

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4 years ago

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2 years ago

Classic place, used to go here when I was a kid. Glad to see it's still here and thriving.

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3 years ago

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6 years ago

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3 years ago

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7 years ago

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2 years ago

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7 years ago

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5 years ago

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2 years ago

John's has the best chocolate, peanut butter, banana milkshake ever! And their cheeseburger sub is not bad either!

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2 years ago

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3 years ago

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2 years ago

Excellent fried dolphin! Lucked out with parking spot at 2pm! Friendly service! OBX tradition!

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6 years ago

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2 years ago

I have been coming to Johns as long as I can remember. Love the dolphin boat and milk shakes

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3 years ago

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5 years ago

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5 years ago

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3 years ago

Dolphin bites and fried okra are a must. Always slammed so don't get frustrated if you can't find parking. It's worth it.

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5 years ago

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2 years ago

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8 years ago

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8 years ago

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2 years ago

We love John's. It's a family tradition and has been since I was a small child. Great ice cream. Love the tuna sandwich!

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6 years ago

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8 years ago

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3 years ago

Stopped in for a quick bite. Decent burgers, really good fries. Plenty of outdoor seating w umbrellas.

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9 years ago

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Food is consistently good. My first time trying this cheesesteak sandwich. Plenty of fresh cut…read moreribeye. I would have liked a cheese wiz but the provolone was very good. I chose coleslaw as my slaw.z it was fresh but could have used more seasoning. Our server was fantastic. He was constantly checking on us and providing instant soda refills. It's nice coming to a popular place in the off season. It's less noise and always easy to get a table.

I simply cannot believe it has been nine years since we lunched at Two Roads. Since that time they…read moremoved to their new location in the former Longboards. I talked Ms T into trying it again. We just can't handle a big lunch and wanted to avoid leftovers, so decided to split a pickle brined chicken sandwich with fries and an extra side of slaw. The sandwich was OK. To start with it needed more seasoning. How about breaking out the black pepper and garlic powder? The meat was uncharacteristically tough/chewy for chicken breast. I suggest they need to be pounding it to tenderize it and then brine it. It was actually hard for us to cut and eat. It really looked nice, but I think I am done with pickle brined chicken. It just never gets enough brine impact. They make good small caliber fries that were piping hot and the slaw was fine for me. Ms T did not care for it so I got it all. Our food was OK, not stellar. The service was excellent, but I still can't make this better than three stars. I hope to convince her to return for a burger during this trip.

John's Drive In - burgers - Updated May 2026

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