We were doing a hot dog tour down east and Martelle's seemed to be the only option in Hyde County. We pulled in and found the parking lot crowded for obvious reasons. It seemed to be the only place around. The less obvious reason was that the food is pretty good. This is a large establishment with a bar and at least one private room that was dark when we arrived. The first two folks we interacted with were under 14 but they pointed us along the way to an open table. For better or worse, it seemed like one woman was taking care of the whole restaurant, which, during our visit was probably 40 people. They offer a large menu as well as a full buffet with salad bar and soup. We were here for hot dogs so we each got a hot dog and a salad (grilled chicken for Mom. fried chicken for me). As we waited for the food to come out there was a lovely semi-organized chaos. As folks saw friends and caught up on life, the server deftly managing conversations and serving drinks and, occasionally a very young person dropping off menus at tables because she insisted on helping. Our food arrived hot and looked great. The hot dogs were made mostly their house way which was standard Carolina dog style plus ketchup. Mom got corn fritters with her which are always good. The salads were hardy and tasted fresh. I jumped up once to get a bit of extra dressing from the salad bar instead of having the server run back to the kitchen. Overall, this was a great stop and I can see why it's popular. I'd love to try the buffet, but not sure when I'll find myself in these parts again. read more

Martelle's Feed House - Hot Dogs Left: Chili, mustard, ketchup, and onion (w/ and corn nuggets) Right: Chili, mustard, ketchup, and cole slaw - Barbeque Near Me - Engelhard, North Carolina

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Great food with friendly and outstanding service. I liked the rustic atmosphere. I would highly recommend.

Ever since stopping here in 2014, I have wanted to return. We loved the food, notably the fresh fried chicken and the barbecue and the okra. Martelle's is over an hour drive for us, but we planned for it and arrived right at noon. On this day, a Thursday, they had both fried chicken and barbecue on the lunch buffet. This made it an easy choice for me, those were the things that I came for and I was not disappointed. They keep the food on the buffet fresh and hot. The chicken was crispy with a light coating. I will say that on this day it had plenty of salt in the coating. It was very juicy and delicious. I really like Martelle's barbecue. For me it is classic and perfect. It is sauced just right with a very good and well balanced sauce. The meat is clean, chopped fairly fine and has nice mild smoke. I took a pint of the barbecue home along with a jar of the sauce. This is not an enormous buffet (it does not need to be) and we sampled the other items lightly. They had sautéed mixed vegetables, fried chicken livers and gizzards. I had a small bowl of Brunswick Stew as well as a sample of simple cooked Great Northern beans. From the salad bar, I only took their very good slaw to enjoy with my barbecue. That evening I made some of my own slaw and had a perfect barbecue sandwich. I love coming to honest, downhome places like this. We really need to make the drive each time we spend time on the Outer Banks. read more

Martelle's Feed House - Great Buffet - Barbeque Near Me - Engelhard, North Carolina

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Amazing southern comfort food!! Great service always! I love their salad bar and fried chicken! Yum

Quaint country cooking in an attractive setting. Love the salad bar and the post-COVID hand sanitizing rules. read more

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I had fried shrimp and crab cake. They were good. Along with coleslaw and hush puppies. Get friendly service.

There aren't many top notch barbecue joints in Hyde County - actually there aren't many barbecue joints of any description in Hyde County - but Martelle's is a very good barbecue joint, and would be in any county. This place began as a small restaurant and catering business in 1997, and has expanded, including adding an oyster bar which operates evenings during bear and duck hunting season - yet another reason to take up hunting. But the Eastern NC style barbecue was what brought us here - and it was definitely worth the trip, though we almost didn't get a chance to taste it.. They pit cook the pork over charcoal, and only on Wednesdays. They serve a country cooking buffet at lunch, and on this Tuesday, their BBQ was not included. Talk about being crushed - a 4+ hour drive to this point, including sitting east of Raleigh on US Hwy 64 East which had become a parking lot as far you could see. And NO BBQ! We enjoyed the buffet, which is not easy to do when you're pouting. Great Hamburger Steak smothered in real pan gravy, great Fried Chicken Tenders. a very nice Beef & Macaroni casserole, and more. As we paid our bill ($8 for the lunch buffet), the owner came out, and we talked with him for awhile. Really nice guy. Alice just up and ask if we could sample the BBQ, and we were obliged. Really nice pig, this. Smoky, great chopped textured, very well sauced but in no way overdone - just a very, very nice version of real Eastern NC Barbecue. How incredibly nice these folks are for doing this. This is not an easy drive from almost anywhere - 70 or so miles EAST of Washington (Little Washington as we call it in NC). We came through here on our way to Nags Head, and even then, you go off the beaten track. But if you get a chance, if North Carolina barbecue is your thing, and if you need to meet some kind, friendly folks, make this trip! We'll be back, and this time we'll pick the right day read more

Best fried chicken ever! The lunch buffet was definitely worth the drive. This place doesn't look like much, but the food is awesome. read more

Martelle's Feed House - the front of the restaurant - Barbeque Near Me - Engelhard, North Carolina

First of all, I hate buffets. I think they are a health risk and I do not eat at buffets. But I stop and get Martelle's buffet every single time I have the privilege of driving any where near Hyde County! Their buffet is clean, always fresh and absolutely terrific. The salad bar is simple but everything is always fresh. They have a the BEST fried chicken I have ever tasted; in fact I refuse to eat fried chicken from any place else now. Their BBQ is great as well. If you are trying to eat healthy, NO PROBLEM. I get the grilled chicken salad quite often and it is wonderful. In fact after writing this I am considering a road trip east just for the food at Martelles! read more

Probably the best restaurant in all of Eastern NC. Fried chicken and BBQ are awesome read more

Sweet tea was good I get from here at least once a week. Prices suit the quality of the food. Cashiers are pretty good.would recommend.

When I got there, the blonde cashier with pink hair in the front rolled her eyes and stood there for a stock three minutes without a "hello", "can I help you", or anything. I was standing there with my sister and we were floored. Instead of assisting me when I was first in line, three men whom had already eaten walked up and she continued to ignore us. She helps THREE MEN who got there after us while we are watching this. Instead of saying sorry for the wait or what have you, she says in the most unfriendly manner, "Y'ALL READY??". She didn't ask what we were there for, if we wanted to be seated or if we'd called in an order. My sister starts her order and before she's done this hostess or whatever you'd call her doesn't say excuse me or anything but cuts her off and AGAIN stops to help a woman who walked through the door with a cheery hello and takes her order. She turns to us again with a nasty attitude to finish the order and doesn't explain or ask any other questions. We told her we wanted tartar sauce with the order and she didn't acknowledge it. In the meantime, we are sitting waiting. She is rude, attitudinal and seems to care little for the people who are coming there to do business, particularly people of color. One Black gentleman for whom she took an order inquired as to the status of the order. She responded, "I DON'T KNOW, I WILL GO INTO THE BACK AND SEE IF IT'S READY" with a haughty sigh. She put his food on the counter, didn't ask if he needed anything else and turned her back to get back on the phone. She is the face of your restaurant and she presents a terrible face. She should not be dealing with customers as she is snotty, keeps sticking her hands in her hair as she touches customer's plates and is snippy and short. There were two waitresses there that started helping people and were pleasant and professional and took a dessert order for us because this front end hostess was too busy being rude to do her job and they had to pick up the slack. Because she was being rude and not checking for take out orders, when ours came out and we took it back to Lodges less than 3 minutes away, our food was cold and soggy. We will never go back to this establishment based on her disgusting attitude so this will be our first and last time. I would strongly encourage you to put one of your other waitstaff up front to greet your customers because we spent over $80 for cold seafood and warm dessert because of your icy hostess. We will not ever go back to Martelle's again and will carry our business elsewhere. read more

Awesome country sunday lunch. Stumbled upon the restaurant while visiting Mattamuskeet NWR, and left brry happy. Lunch buffet included local shrimp, country ham, pulled pork, brunswick stew, as well as a salad bar, all for a very good price read more

What you see is what you get...rural, down-east NC at its best in terms of hospitality and basic good food, awesome service at a great price. read more

This is the best food served by the nicest people on the east coast. Great salad bar, soup, fabulous buffet, dessert and tea for $7.50! Worth the drive to Hyde County! read more

My husband and I throughly enjoyed our visit to Martelle's. The lunch buffet was delicious and the staff was excellent! We would highly recommend it. read more

ECB has kept this place a secret for all of it's bank employees for years. The buffet is packed with great food that's nicely priced. I don't know why you'd drive two hours into the badlands of eastern nc, but if you find yourself closeby, stopping for food is a great idea. When the state "re"introduced the red wolves who never lived here to begin with, the wolves decided Martelle's was a-ok with them. apparently BBQ at the zoo just isn't that great, but the stuff at Martelle's is worth the drive. read more

We love Martelle's. We probably eat here about once a week. The food is usually pretty good. Staff is also very friendly and are willing to do anything to satisfy the customer. My only complaint would be that when they're busy they get very flustered. They need more wait staff at busier times. I feel bad for the one waitress that gets stuck rushing from table to table because she's the only one there. Expect to wait for at least an hour if the dining room is over half full. As a local, we know when to avoid going in and just call an order to go. Overall I would recommend this restaurant. read more

Martelle's is the Rolls Royce of breakfast buffets. Not to be missed if hunting at Lake Mattamuskeet.

Me and my wife were in NC and passing through Engelhard for the first time in probably 15 years and thought we might try Martelle's. Used to be a great restaurant back in the day. Saw the new building and I was really impressed but like they say beauty's only skin deep. read more

The best are the Ribs on the Friday lunch buffet. Yummy!!! Staff is friendly and food is excellent!!

Martelle's is a go to when I am in Hyde County. They have a wide variety on the menu to choose from. The service is average and could use some refining, and if its hunting season then be prepared to wait sit back relax and have a few cocktails an maybe a trip to their fresh salad bar to hold you over. Once your food arrives you wont be disappointed, the tuna bites are to die for which come as an appetizer by far the best app on the menu. The Martelle's Monster Burger, ribeye sandwich, and cheese steak are amazing options for lunch or if your in the mood for burgers/sandwiches as well as their tuna melt, my absolute favorite OMG so good. For a choice of entree I would suggest the 10oz Ribeye, Cowboy Chop or the Mixed Grill (Tuna, Mahi, and shrimp), I like mine blackened.The only downside to this restaurant is that they close at 9pm and the area has very little to offer as far as bars and late-night hangouts go. The overall experience is great, the food is always delicious. Its nothing fancy but good food shouldn't have to be, its pretty close to a home cooked meal. read more