Love their bbq, hot dogs, chix salad. Everything has been good. Tried the crab bites today. Deviled…read morecrab in hush pup bite sizes. Delicious!

Delicious burger. Quick to go order. Another customer told me everything here is good.read more

I love love loveeee this spot just wish it was open longer and was open more days…read more The owner is soo soo sweet She needs help also !!!!

This is a small Mom & Pop type place. They have great burgers ( so good that I have yet to try…read moreanything different), highly recommend stopping in. Seating is limited so during peak season I go for takeout. Definitely worth giving them a try. Very friendly staff and very clean.

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

Located inside the Lockwood Folly Country Club club house (open to the public) and the first thing…read morethat blows you away are the spectacular views of the Lockwood Folly river. I had the fish and chips. The beer-battered cod was crispy on the outside and moist and flavorful inside. The fries (chips) were crunchy and delicious. Reasonable pricing makes the entree that much better! The full-service bar offers whatever alcoholic drink suits your fancy at a very reasonable price. Service was good (not exemplary). All in all, I can recommend this establishment as a great lunch destination with an awesome view.

Not impressed at the Saturday Prime Rib night. 4 of us got the prime rib. We found it chewy. One…read moreperson wanted it medium-well done. It came out seared, like it was broiled or pan fried. Uh-uh...you don't do that to prime rib...wrong. And... We were told that the dinners came with a "green and yellow squash medley". When I asked if I could get only green squash, no yellow, I was told, No. We asked if there were any other veggies that we could have; we were told, No. Then the meals came out with a yellow squash, bean & broccoli medley...no green squash. We were then told that they DIDN'T have any green squash, but it miraculously came out with some beans and broccoli. HUH??? The draft beer was good, but we felt that we did not have to go back for any reason. Maybe, breakfast or lunch? Could they screw that up?

This is not usually my preferred type of place, but I did enjoy my time here anyway…read more You walk in and order at the counter. Of course, it's mostly fish items, but they do have other options. The special was 1/4 lb shrimp, crab cake, and coleslaw. I wanted to go with a fish option, so I decided the special would be the best choice. The shrimp tasted great, seasoned with Cajun. It was peel and eat, so prepare to get your hands messy and probably smell like shrimp for the rest of the day. The crab cake was honestly a bit disappointing. It seemed like mostly filler/breading, and not much crab. I was hoping for a lot of fresh crab chunks and flavor but it didn't deliver. It was nice to sit by the water and have a view while we ate. Very relaxed and casual vibe.

I've been coming here for 20 years -- from my 20s all the way into my 40s -- so I think I've earned…read morethe right to say: what happened? The atmosphere is still great, which is apparently where all the effort now goes, because the food has clearly been left unsupervised. We placed a to-go order because we had our dog with us and were sitting downstairs. Simple enough, right? Not exactly. We spent the next hour and a half playing a fun little game called "Where Is Our Food?" Downstairs told us to check upstairs. Upstairs told us to check downstairs. Very efficient system if the goal is confusion and hunger. When the food finally arrived, we had seafood chowder, onion rings, a hot dog, and hamburgers. The seafood chowder was still good, so congratulations to the chowder for surviving whatever has happened here. The onion rings were cold, the hot dog bun had a green mold spot on it -- always a nice surprise -- and the hamburger was honestly impressive in the worst possible way. I've had better burgers from fast-food chains that at least admit they're serving frozen patties. This used to be a staple. Now it feels like one of those places that got popular enough to stop trying. I won't be back for the food. Maybe drinks, because thankfully no one had to cook those.

My husband and I are new homeowners on Holden Beach. One of the first things we wanted to discover…read morewas a local place with great seafood. We were thrilled to find this place! My husband ordered the special Trio: grouper (blackened) with shrimp (fried) and scallops (blackened). It was served with mashed potatoes. The portion was huge! He said it was the best mashed potatoes he's ever had. I ordered the seafood linguini, scampi style - it was delicious with a generous amount of mussels, clams, shrimp, and scallops. There was an option to have the dish "fra diavolo" (spicy red sauce) which I may try next time. My husband shared his giant side-salad with me. It was an extra $2 for the salad that could have been a meal for me. Complimentary bread is served with olive oil and freshly cracked pepper and with single serving pats of butter. For dessert, we shared the housemade brownie with ice cream. It was recommended by our wonderful server, Bailey! It was a great first meal for us in Holden Beach as locals and no longer just visitors!

Bottom line: I liked my first visit to The Cove Restaurant near Holden Beach. Their Fish & Chips…read morewas satisfying and just what I needed that night. Service was good as well. This farm-to-table restaurant supporting local farmers and fishermen is worth a try if in the area with a little something for everyone on their menu. The Deets: A friend of mine drove down from Wilmington while I was vacationing in Holden Beach recently and we decided to get dinner to catch up. Looking at options on the trusty Yelp app, we decided upon trying The Cove Restaurant for dining. It is located just a bit out from Holden Beach, along Hwy 130 going towards Shallotte. It has pretty good parking that was almost full when we arrived. When we went in to place our name on the waiting list, we were told it would be about 30 minutes wait (we were actually seated around 15-20 minutes) and so we used the table and chairs outside the door to relax and talk. When seated at a booth inside, we perused their menu and they have plenty of different selections (not just limited to seafood). The cover of the menu describes The Cove as a restaurant "...featuring all natural ingredients supporting local farmers and fishermen." This farm-to-table format is good to know going in and I'm glad they share that on the menu. We were given bread service to start with (loved the bread!) and my friend got their Homemade Crab Soup to start with, and he liked it a lot. I went for Fish & Chips for my dinner entree while my friend opted for their Chicken Marsala for his meal. I was satisfied with my meal, the beer battered deep fried cod fish tasted great here. I sampled my friend's Chicken Marsala and it was good but was hoping for more flavor to come through on the Marsala sauce. Service was acceptable from the host desk to our server, all went well. I enjoyed the first visit to The Cove Restaurant and would like to revisit them on future trips to the area.

The Lowdown: Beautiful waterfront views, attentive service, delicious food, fair prices, and a laid…read moreback atmosphere that made for a great girls' night out. The three of us were on a girls' trip to Oak Island, so we took the golf cart over to Lone Rider. Parking was easy, even with a short wait for an outdoor table. But there were plenty of picnic tables and bar seating where we could relax in the meantime. Once we were seated outside, the view overlooking the sound was absolutely worth it. Peaceful, relaxing, exactly what we were hoping for. Our server was friendly, attentive, and made sure we had everything we needed throughout the meal. We all ended up ordering the Smash Burger, and yes, despite the lettuce headlines, we kept the lettuce on and lived to tell the tale. My friends chose tots, and I went with the fries. Everything came out hot and fresh, and the Smash Burger on Texas toast was a great twist. Prices felt fair for the area, especially given the location and overall vibe. No live music the night we visited, but they host bands and events on other nights, which sounds like a fun reason to return.

Was there on 10/22/26 for their weekly trivia get together. The trivia was fun and everyone was…read moreenjoying themselves. Very happy for them. The food was fair. Got a single slider with fries and a coke. I also ordered their Bavarian pretzel. Oh boy, was that a surprise! It consisted of bite size pieces, which apparently were deep fried and soaked in grease. Awful. I would recommend eating elsewhere before you go, if its for the trivia.

Friendly, handy little stand alone cafe. Good selection and friendly. Sandwiches were tasty…read more Only 5 tables, so a tad small, but good place for a quick lunch

Salty Dogs Cafe was the closest open restaurant to where we were staying, so we tried it for a…read moreweekday lunch. The inside of this modest restaurant is a bit cluttered but there is space for a few tables. You order at the counter, serve your own beverages, and clean up after yourself, but that doesn't stop them from suggesting all sorts of generous tips for themselves. I tried the "Wild Birdie"; consisting of turkey, slaw, provolone, cranberry relish, and 1000 Island, on a dark roll. It was ok, but the sandwich was definitely on the small side, so I left hungry. The menu notes that it comes with bacon, but I don't recall having bacon on my sandwich. My dining companion tried the burger and didn't like it. The beef patty seemed like it had been cooked in the past, then reheated to order so it was served barely warm. The bun was cold. We've had better. The restaurant heavily markets their $25 Maine- and Connecticut-style lobster rolls, so maybe that's a better choice than what we ordered?

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

ALWAYS Love The Silver Hill Grill. We visit Holden Beach every fall and always hit The Silver Hill…read moreGrill every year for good fried seafood. It is serious, no frills, fried seafood. Always fresh, always delicious. The hush puppies are excellent! Highly recommended if you are ever in Holden Beach.

Food was DELICIOUS, only thing that bothered me was... when…read morereceiving your food the girl running food out could DEFINITELY smile, we went 3 times and every occasion she seemed unhappy with her job and didn't mind reaching her arms across someone's face without saying excuse me or sorry. The servers & bartender have great attitude and attentive when needed. We had the steamers pot 2x (great selection of seafood) Spinach artichoke dip (AMAZING SPICE & creamy) Seafood Mac (Delicious) Cajun Shrimp Pasta (Amazing spice, noodles were a little overcooked but nothing i couldn't overlook with the amount of creaminess and flavor in the sauce) And other dishes, i just can't remember lol.

Tasty raw bar right across from the beach. Everything ordered came out fresh and quickly. It was a…read morebummer to spend $62.50 on a seafood tower that hardly fed two. We had to order the crab stuffed flounder to fill our bellies. The crap dip is spectacular with the fresh pita. Our waiter was sweet and very attentive. Overall a lovely place to dine for fresh seafood.