Had great service tonight!!! Small kids' menu, which made it much easier and even our server asked if we wanted their meals out first (given the fact they were cranky). The lobster quesadilla app was incredible. I got the Heritage Pork Chop, which was cooked to perfection! Everyone in our party practically licked their plates. Our server, Victoria (I think) was so great. Also, their special cocktail of the night that included peaches was very refreshing! This is the place you go for a nice meal out and enjoy a restaurant with a small kitchen, and few employees who know how to make the atmosphere feel bigger and give personal service! read more

Excellent service for our party of 8 on a very busy, rainy day! Hostess set-up was a bit odd, but we all ended up sitting together. Matt was very helpful with our questions & despite his warning that they were short-handed, food arrived hot, delicious and correct!! read more

There seemed to be a lot of confusion with the hostess'... once seated, it took over 40 minutes to get our food. Food was delicious...our waitress was great... I'm sure there was a shortage of kitchen help. read more

Upside is already open for the season, and we were able to eat outside tonight. It was fantastic-- the food and cocktails were great! The chef is obviously really talented and creative. Our waiter Christine was so welcoming and fun. Try the hushpuppies, calamari, lobster quesadilla, fruit and nut salad, pesto papperdelle with shrimp and scallosps, and peanut butter pie (if it's the featured dessert). read more

As another reviewer said, it's a place you really want to like. It's cute, they have a nice outdoor eating area overlooking the sound, and the menu has some interesting items. But sadly, it was highly disappointing. For appetizers, we ordered the hush puppies, the tots, and the crab dip. My brother-in-law also ordered the soup of the day, shrimp bisque. For dinner, mom, dad and BIL had crab cakes, sister ordered short ribs, I ordered the shrimp and grits. Drinks and apps came out without issue. Hush puppies were good, crab dip was decent. Tots were very bland. BIL found 2 hairs in his soup. He quietly and discreetly pulled the waiter aside to let him know that he found hair in his soup. A bit later, three order of crab cakes and the beef short ribs came out. Portions were very small. We joked that the crab cakes were croquettes, not crab cakes, and they had a lot of filler and not much crab meat. I waited and waited. Twenty minutes later, only after having asked our perplexed waiter, did my shrimp and grits come out. Surprise! It was three pieces of shrimp and three of the bland tater tots from the appetizer menu. Waiter never came back to see how we were, to refill our water, anything. It's ok though. At this point, fine, we're still at a 3-star review; I live in Manhattan, I'm no stranger to small, overpriced portions. What brought the review from 3 stars to 2 stars was when the waiter inexplicably came up to our table and told us he took the soup off our bill, but insisted that there wasn't a hair in there. Of course BIL didn't put the hairs back in the soup when he found them! It was like the waiter came back to say he was doing us a huge favor but that BIL was really wrong. What brought the review from 2 stars to 1 star was when my sister- who worked as a waitress for almost 10 years in high school and college, and who picked up our $200 bill- quietly took the manager aside to let her know of our disappointment with the service. The manager STILL continued to insist that the staff looked at the soup and didn't find a hair. Not a single apology, nothing. TL;DR, we spent over $200 for mediocre meals and the privilege of being insulted when hair was found in our food. As all 5 of us said, we wish we had just waited the hour and 45 mins for a table at North Banks. read more

Delicious drinks! The fried green tomatoes are a must try. The seasonal fish was salmon and it was cooked to perfection.

Great place to spend some time while you are in Corolla. This place is new, clean, and run well. The food is good and takes cues from locally available food. This place has a full bar and several craft beers There are quite a few steps to go up so make certain you can make two flights with ease up and down. read more

Upside Restaurant - View from the deck - Seafood Near Me - Corolla, North Carolina

The location was nice, the host was friendly, the food was decent. The portions were small, especially for the price. We were very hungry and when we asked if there was bread or anything (chips, popcorn, crackers, ANYTHING) the waiter said "we don't provide complimentary bread, but we sell it for $1.50". I said, yes we would like the bread. He brought over delicious bread with melted butter for dipping but it was woefully small for 4 people. Ultimately, when we got the bill he didn't charge us, he also didn't mention it (which was strange to me). I wouldn't say don't go here or avoid it, because it was decent. I just wouldn't run back here if I lived around here and if I vacation here again, I would not return. But if you're not really hungry and want a nice atmosphere try it. read more

Horrible customer relations! After calling in advance and then waiting 20 minutes for the restaurant to open, our group arrived prepared to sit at separate tables for lunch. The maitre de refused us admission because we were a group of seventeen (as discussed by phone earlier).   Bad business. No second chances on this sort of thing. We quickly escaped to North Banks, 250 feet away, for good service and menu. Join us here!! Never at Upside. If this is how they operate, they won't be open long anyway. read more

This was our third year visiting Upside. Amazing food. Great service. Terrific sunset. So good!

The View. Oh my the view. The food. Oh my the food. Then finally the service. They are exceptional here. Ok so it's a neat place with a cool cozy type feel. If you have a chance I would get in here. The menu has a little bit for everyone, great cocktail menu selection. So all in one of my faves in OBX. Dave is amazing as well read more

Upside Restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Corolla, North Carolina

Lunch on a quiet Saturday... No wait! Turns out check-in day is a great day to be out in this shopping area. We split the mahi mahi tacos and had a beer while waiting for the house. Good. I'd be back. Liked the view and vibe. read more

Upside leaves me feeling torn about how many stars to give them, but 3 feels appropriate. I had gone to Upside on one of my last nights in Corolla with my husband for dinner. We arrived a few minutes before they opened (they take a break in the afternoon I believe) and the hostess said we needed to wait outside, that they couldn't let us in. So we waited on the bottom deck where the entrance to the restaurant is and while we were waiting the waitstaff had begun to clean the tables upstairs (there is outdoor seating directly above the entrance to the restaurant). It had just rained, so excess rain on tables and chairs were being dumped onto the deck and subsequently my head because either no one realized or forgot that we were waiting outside. After a few minutes we were let in and taken upstairs. There is indoor seating on both levels as well. The decor on the inside I will say is very nice, beach chic with dark floors and white walls, the restaurant looks really spacious and clean. When my husband and I sat down we were attended to right away, my husband ordered a beer and I ordered a cocktail. His drink came back in about 2 minutes whereas mine took a little over 10 minutes to come out. Mind you it was not busy at this time and we were sitting directly across from a bar. We ordered the crispy hummus as an appetizer. It was okay, could do with a bit more seasoning, but I'm not a huge fan of falafel anyway which is maybe why I was less than enthused about it. For our entrees my husband had the jerk chicken and I had the portobello mushroom over grits. He said the jerk chicken was good, but that he's definitely had better and I thought my dish was pretty good, the mushroom was cooked well and the dish overall was seasoned nicely. I like the texture of the grits with the mushroom, but the grits were just a bit underdone for me. Overall, the server that waited on us was very nice, food was ok-good, not great, but drastically overpriced. Even more so than you would normally expect in OBX. Bottom line for me is that I don't think I would go back for dinner or lunch maybe a drink though as the price doesn't equate with the meals. read more

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We visited Upside July 8th. We were a group of 8. We got there a little before noon (when they opened). Right around noon, they came out, got some names and then prepared our tables. We were seated shortly after 12pm upstairs and Matt was our server. He took great care of us and answered all of our questions. He let us know there were only two people in the kitchen, but we didn't notice any delay - which we were prepared for. We had fish tacos, hummus, wedge salad with shrimp, chicken sandwiches and quesadillas. Everything was great. Would definitely come back again. read more

Upside was recommended to us by a friend as a must during our Corolla vacation. Indeed the food was delicious: a large perfectly done pork chop accompanied with succotash and mac and cheese, steak cooked medium rare as requested. The quality of the food was the saving grace of our dinner. The rest of the experience was lackluster. We had been seated for while until finally asked a passing server to send someone. It turns out they had a "misunderstanding" and nobody had been put in charge of our table. All the while another server could be heard apologizing profusely to a nearby table for reasons unclear to us. The steak was supposed to come with shrimp but they were not on the plate. The server brought the shrimp upon request. Not sure if I would come back. read more

We had mahi mahi, the best meatloaf you'd ever imagine, portabello over grits (honest, awesome grits), and a crab cake cum macaroni and cheese. Awesome. View to die for. Enjoy! read more

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We dined here in June. Social distancing wise the restaurant was doing a great job. We ate on the top deck and enjoyed the beautiful view. The food and cocktails were spot on, but even if they weren't the view alone makes it worth it. read more

The good: Courteous server Nice atmosphere Food seems to be hit or miss. Some items were very good (crab cakes) while others were not. The bad: Took 50 min to get our food. They weren't able to bring out all the food together so some were left waiting. Definitely not a place to bring kids. What they offer for the "kids menu" is pretty bad. I would not recommend coming here. read more

This review of this restaurant would be five stars, but at the end of August they just did not have enough help. They had two servers working the entire upstairs tonight. They were trying, but it just wasn't enough. Now let's get to the food, because it is very good. We recommend the lobster quesadilla and the calamari for starters.And get this, they take a crabcake and macaroni and cheese and mix it together. That was a great entrée, so is the seafood boil. And the view of the sound is nice. This far up 12 N. there are not a lot of nice restaurants, more fast food type places. But this one is special, and we will be back again. read more

My boyfriend and I came for lunch and were greeted by friendly and energetic staff. The environment on the back patio and upper deck are both great spots to dine or have a few drinks. We LOVED the fried green tomatoes and our server Matt made the whole process pleasant and easy going. Definitely worth the stop! read more

The food was simply amazing. It was so incredible that we dined there two nights in a row. The Seasonal fish was fresh and simply delicious. Their Caesar salads were perfectly fresh & crisp. The Jerk Chicken.... Oh my gosh. I can't say enough about the experience. Additionally, Christine, our waitress, was one of the finest servers I've ever experienced. The wine list was limited but both the Malbec & Cabernet (one bottle each night) were very nice (easy drinking) reds. In summary, this place is, without doubt, "on its game". High marks to the entire staff! read more

We have been coming to the outer banks since 1999 and have yet to experience better food than we have at this establishment. We have currently been in town for 2 days, and have visited twice already! Service is absolutely wonderful, and the staff was even attentive and kind towards our boisterous one year old. Cocktails were original and on point, waiter suggestions for both food and drink were spot on, and every single thing we put in our mouths at this place was excellent. Especially recommend the fish tacos, lobster quesadilla, dip trio and panzanella salad. Beautiful interior and even more beautiful outside deck for eating. We can't wait to go back! read more

Prologue - Diner party comprised of parents and boyfriend. Shared all dishes with the boyfriend. Food - Tried the 1lb spiced shrimp ($20), crab cake ($26) and scallops ($12). Shrimp spiced with old bay, good amount of sauce and came with some bread. Could have come with some more bread for one pound (a portent of things to come). Scallops came with two small scallops -- that's right, only two small ones -- on a bed of some spicy bean medley that got a big ol' frowny face from me (boyfriend ate the beans, so out of that $12 dish all I got was one scallop). Honestly, it's pretty offensive to call a dish "Scallops" and then bring out two scallops on a bunch of beans. Crab cakes were quite delicious and crispy, with a tiny side salad. Although for $26, the portion was pretty shockingly small, meaning the dish was not worth it at all. But to be fair, my boyfriend thought it was so tasty that he said he would go back just to eat it again. My parents tried the kale salad and jerk chicken (neither of which I tried). The kale salad was said to be "dry". The jerk chicken looked good but was lathered in that same foul spicy bean sauce so that my mom couldn't eat it. The jerk chicken also came with some very watery and overcooked aromatic long-grain rice. Service - Started off on the right foot, server was friendly when he introduced himself. After the introduction he turned into someone completely different; so much attitude. Whenever he would bring anything to the table I would say thank you and he would make this expression like "dang right, you should be thankful". His cheery self came right back around when it was time to pay and tip him. Fake. Ambience - Modern interior although we ate outside on the summer deck, which had nice lights draped around for dinner dining. Table had huge decorative basket with fake candlelight inside out of batteries. On second look, all tables had their lights out. I was pretty borderline between a 2 and a 3. Would I come back? No. read more

Upside Restaurant - Crab cakes - Seafood Near Me - Corolla, North Carolina

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My family and I went for lunch, when we walked in the hostess was not at her stand and there was a sign that said please wait to be seated. So, we waited and waited then, my husband went upstairs to see what was up. My husband talked to one of the server and the server said that the hostess would be down in a minute, then my father saw the hostess walking into the kitchen. Unacceptable! Finally, we left. read more

SALTY!!!!!! We had the low county boil and the strip steak. The low county boil was salty as hell and I expected a bigger steak, very thin, reminded me of something I would get at Waffle House.. great atmosphere but they need to step up the food game. read more

Simply the best sea food we had this week. Not cheap but their fish tacos, their Alaska crab and their lobster quesadillas are spectacular. Their Alaska crab clusters are the best king crab legs I had in a very long time. Absolutely highly recommended. read more

Great new OBX restaurant. Lunch was great. Awesome server...Laziz! great view of the sound from this roof top terrace. Yummy adult beverages. Reasonable lunch pricing. Great food. read more

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Bottom line up front - overpriced low quality food, poor service, friendly/helpful manager, very unfriendly owner. I don't believe I can mention other restaurants in my review, but Upside clearly can not compete with the competition in the area in neither food quality, price or service. It is time to let this restaurant give up it's spot in OBX. Unfortunately, Upside left much more to be desired tonight. The service was poor. However, I don't think it was the server's fault as he looked overworked and seemed to be the only one. He told us our food was coming out shortly several times for over an hour in an attempt to appease us with false hope. We ordered several of the same dish and the portions were very different. One dish came out looking obviously over cooked/unacceptable but the cook and waiter didn't do/say anything until we ask for a replacement. Upon doing so, the waiter said it would take a long time to replace our dish but they could replace part of it. The replacement was very poor quality and devoid of flavor yet we were charged full price. Despite the very long wait time and poor service, gratuity was mandatory. The manager, who was very helpful and polite, offered to adjust our check but was verbally shut down in front of my party by what seemed like the owner who said in a very terse tone - 'we won't do that'. Following on with irritated comments about how she felt our complaints were unfounded and blown out of proportion. We left with nothing being done about our complaints and the owner effectively telling us to leave the premises. read more

Let me start by saying I created a yelp account just to write this review. Rarely am I so impressed with a restaurant. Hands down the best dining experience we had in the Outer Banks. The staff was friendly, service was great, and the food was even better. We started the night with their crab legs, which were unbelievably fresh and delicious. The two cocktails that I tried were expertly crafted. Coming from Texas, I've tasted some good steaks in my life. The New York Strip here was top 3 all time steaks I've ever tasted. Every bite that I took, the information being passed from my tastebuds to my brain blew my mind. I didn't think it was possible to get this much joy from eating something. Do yourself a favor. Try this restaurant. Order the steak. read more

Stopped in for lunch (served 11:00 to 2:30) and everything was great! We were a party of 3 and were seated immediately inside with just a 5 minute wait for the patio. We each ordered a cocktail off the menu and a lunch plate. The food was tasty and hit the spot. It's a little pricey for what you get but worth stopping in. read more

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Giving an overall 3 because, well, it wasn't terrible. You can tell they're trying. The place itself was small but cute. My friends and I really wished we would of been able to sit out on the deck, but due to weather it was closed. (Which I understand completely) The food came out fast which is always nice. The staff was also friendly. The food: I ordered the crab dip for an appetizer. What a mistake. It was cold and bland and only consisted of cream cheese with hardly any crab in it. Was disappointed. Then I got the fish tacos which were tuna cooked medium rare and in my opinion they were good. I liked them but I wish for $14 I would get 3 tacos instead of 2. Also, if you like sweet potatoes they serve them cold, which completely threw us for a loop and we did not eat them as a result. read more

The dinner was great would go back. My family enjoyed their meal as well the server was wonderful and helpful explaining the menu. I would definitely recommend this spot. read more

I would not recommend this place. If you want to be ignored after being seated for over 15min before even a beverage order was made. Come here, I was not waiting in a mostly empty place to be ignored. They obviously don't need the business. read more

We visited at start of the off season. Service was excellent and the food was very good. Chef's choice swordfish, low country boil, portabello dish and Caesar sale were each excellent. Crab cakes with Mac and cheese were not a hit. Not much crab. Three dip app was excellent. Watched a beautiful sunset from the deck. read more

Despite the excellent food, the server was rather inattentive and the wait for our food was ridiculously long at a time when they were not exceptionally busy. Also stood at the empty bar, bartender saw us, and never approached us to serve us. We were the ONLY people in the waiting area bar. All in all, would not recommend, as there are other area restaurants that try harder for your business and with food that is just as good. read more

Wow! This place is amazing. The owners are accommodating and the food is superb. The trio appetizer was loved by all as well as the bacon wrapped calamari. Everyone including our teenage sons loved their food. If visiting please visit this place. They will treat you like family. We'll be back. Thank you. read more

Absolutely amazing experience! We have been coming to Corolla for years and I have to say that this has to be the best food, service and atmosphere we have experienced yet. It's on the smaller side so you may have to wait a bit but know that it is worth the wait. read more

Food was meh. Ordered calamari and fried oysters for apps both way over salted. Main course was tilefish again came so salty I could only eat a little of it. A thumbs down for the food but the service was great. read more

Very impressed. Exceptional ambiance. The bar made solid bourbon drinks and the meal was top notch. I will come again.

Good! Flavorful food, nice atmosphere. I didn't see a kids menu. Fortunately our kids ate before we went there, so it was fine. I'm surprised at the lower reviews on here. read more