Mariana C.
Yelp
Been coming here for years as part of our annual OBX family trip around Thanksgiving. It's charming and cozy, but they can still accommodate larger parties (we are a group of 7) if you can handle going upstairs, and are ok being up close and personal haha We called a week in advance to have the most flexibility in time and date for a party our size, and they were happy to help us as we needed to adjust a little. Check their website, this time of year I think they only have evening hours, so the phone line doesn't open until later afternoon as well.
Everyone here is friendly and the food is delicious! Some of our go-tos are the Crab Bisque, Scallop Rumaki, and Brie appetizers. I always try to get their special that is usually salmon in a light cream sauce, topped with crab and served with asparagus and whipped potatoes of some variety. The salmon is always amazing! This year the special was served with flounder instead. I found it too bland, compared to what I'm used to from them, but perhaps that's just how flounder is?
Some other entree regulars in the family are Shrimp & Scallop Napoleon, and the Seafood Pasta. The only catch (pun intended?) is that both are creamy, saucy dishes. Great for taste, but not for having to pick your shrimp. Unfortunately, the kitchen leaves the tails on the shrimp in these dishes, and when we asked about it the kitchen said they do not/would not shell them. Meaning you have to pick your saucy shrimp out and de-tail them yourself. It's a bit messy, especially at a white table cloth establishment, and means you either have to use your bread plate, or you are digging around in your dish and hope you don't slip and send any food flying.
If you are looking for fine dining, romantic setting, elevated seafood... Colington Cafe is certainly a delight (aside from the shrimp tails ;))