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    The SaltBox Cafe

    4.7 (451 reviews)
    ModerateNew American, Cafes
    Closed 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

    The SaltBox Cafe Photos

    Business Info

    THE SALTBOX CAFE ATMOSPHERE

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

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    Recommended Reviews - The SaltBox Cafe

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    Reviews With Photos

    Grilled Elk Chop
    Jordan J.

    The best quality food on the OBX. Make sure you call and reserve prior to your trip. The food is phenomenal and unique and service is friendly and personal. I can't wait to come back year after year.

    Mediterranean salad
    Meredith C.

    Food is very good here. We ordered two salads that were delicious and a semi generous portion. Service was attentive. The only thing I should point out is there is only a small amount of parking spaces.

    Pan Seared Crab Cake
    Athena B.

    Came here as a recommendation from our bed and breakfast, and this did not disappoint! Reservations go fast as it's a small place, but the bar and outside is open seating. We were told to go right as they open at 5pm to get a seat, and luckily we got the last 2 seats at the bar; however, by the time we left (7 or 7:30-ish), there were several empty seats at the bar and it probably wouldn't have been an issue coming later (unless that's not normal for them?). This was on a Saturday as well. Moving onto the food, we shared the jalapeno popper dip appetizer which came with homemade kettle chips and it was delicious, but it definitely could've been spicier for our palette. My boyfriend had a crabcake for the first time as the waitress highly recommended it. He has nothing to compare it to but he enjoyed it. I was between 2 items and the waitress recommended the arancini entree to me and it was also amazing. I am iffy on gorgonzola sauces because gorgonzola sometimes has a goat cheese taste to it which I don't like, but this didn't give off that nasty taste. I would 1000% eat here again on our next trip to OBX!

    Side orders of eggs, smoked bacon, toast

    Found this place on the way back from a ride in the Outer Banks, came here because of the good reviews. This place did not disappoint. However, if you don't want to sit at the bar or outside, call and make a reservation in advance. The food is outstanding. The service is very quick, and the inside has a Beach theme, which is really nice.

    That curry pumpkin soup
    Tom S.

    I will say this is 4 1/2 star review. First time here and it was a hitbwith the family. The appitizers were the hit if the dinner. We had the Farmers board charcuterie. Great selection of items as well as placement of items. The spring rolls were delicious and the BBQ shrimp was delicious and my favorite. I could not get enough of the BBQ sauce. Ended up putting it on almost everything we had. Even ordered extra bread to dip in the sauce. We loved the bread as well. We also had an order of roasted brussel sprouts. For the main courses we had the lamb loin with broccoli, pan Seared crabcake, the porkchop dinner with onions and potatoes, and sn order of shrimp and grits. I started out with the soup special which was the Thai curry pumpkin soup. Fir dessert we tried the chocolate almond cake which was very good and the lemon ricotta pie. I did not really taste much lemon but the chocolate almond cake was good. The service was excellent. Everyone was friendly and the staff were very attentive. The atmosphere us very casual and fun. The pricing was about average. Overall a great place and experience. We will be back. The star of the dinner was the appitizers.

    We had a wonderful Mother, daughter, sister time together.

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    3 months ago

    Amazing food and excellent service in a very welcoming environment . The wine dinners are exceptional and not to be missed

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    3 months ago

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    7 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    1 year ago

    Had a wonderful experience and dinner here on my honeymoon. You must have the crab cakes!

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    7 months ago

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    1 year ago

    Good service but unfortunately the food was not up to the ratings on line. It was just O K not outstanding.

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    9 months ago

    Not just your fry and dine establishment. Nice atmosphere and good food. Even accompanied allergies

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    2 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Business owner information

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    Amanda S.

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    11 months ago

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    11 months ago

    There is a bunch of flys, need to clean the fly traps but other than that good experience

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    Ask the Community - The SaltBox Cafe

    Are you pet friendly?

    Hi Dave! Yes, our outdoor porch is pet friendly. It is walk-in only but open for the season. :)

    Do we need reservations for a Sunday evening?

    Good idea to do that. It does get busy. You may have to wait quite a bit otherwise.

    Kid friendly? We have 5 ranging from 15-4...?

    It is a small place so if they are well behaved it would be ok. Be sure to call ahead for reservations. There is seating inside fro maybe 30-40 people and out door seating for 20+. Out doors (its under roof) would be better for kids maybe.

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

    You might also consider

    Beachside Bistro - Burger and fries X 3

    Beachside Bistro

    (80 reviews)

    $$

    We had a great dining experience. The crabcakes were the best I've had. But based on some reviews…read moremaybe our great experience may have been a fluke. I was going to drive back down hour and half to treat my sister to crabcakes but I'm afraid it will be disappointing. What say recent other customers.

    We came for dinner after a day of activities and looking for a nice beach side place to eat that…read morewas family friendly. We sat down at what was basically inside of hotel bar. It was called Sea Ranch Resort. Think Days Inn... because it was next to or connected to it. Service was terrible. Servers more interested in staying inside to avoid the heat. Waters - empty. View - doesn't exist. You look at a pile of weeds and grass. Now the food was okay at best. 3/5. Burger was overcooked as most are even after asking for medium. My wife marginally enjoyed a chicken sandwich but said again - dry. The FLIES. Gross and everywhere. They ruined the entire meal and were abhorrent probably because the patio is in a grass patch. I asked about them as far as if they did anything professionally, citronella, foggers, etc and our server said - to quote - "We aren't sure what to do. I tried to spray some Lysol earlier before we opened." Inside bathrooms exist in the hotel. Filthy and no TP or paper towels. The problem isn't the staff - they're all kids. It is the management which might as well have been on Mars. Gone. No where. I wouldn't go back if it was free. Please don't disrespect yourself with this junk hole. Finally the only person dining with us was a mom and her approx 9 year old son (like mine who was dining with us). He appeared to dislike his chicken nuggets/fingers and said "Mom can we leave and go somewhere else." Sad to see 2 family meals ruined by poor service, flies, and poor tasting food. I'm not one to be hard on restaurants for no reason, but this place is terrible. The 2 stars are generous... but no one got food poisoning so good for that. Ugh.

    The SaltBox Cafe - newamerican - Updated May 2026

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