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Barefoot Bernie's Tropical Grill & Bar
Categories: Restaurants Canadian (Traditional) Restaurants Seafood Canadian (Traditional), Seafood [Edit]
3730 N Croatan HwyKitty Hawk, NC 27949
(252) 261-1008
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
34 reviews for Barefoot Bernie's Tropical Grill & Bar
Review Highlights
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"Get the Maryland Crab dip, with the warm pitas." In 4 reviews -
"...and I travel to the Outer Banks once a year for vacation." In 5 reviews -
"The fish tacos are my favorite." In 2 reviews
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34 reviews in English
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Review from Lacey G.
San Diego, CA
5/18/2012 1 Check-in Here
Pretty solid choice. I got the Pollo chicken and left with a full happy belly. My dad got the Thai wraps and was pretty happy with them as well. Not overkill on the amount of food. Had the coconut shrimp as an app, which was pretty tasty but not a fan of the sauce.
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Review from Christine G.
Raleigh, NC
4/30/2012
My boyfriend and I went to Barefoot Bernie's just as they opened for lunch mid-week, and within 15 minutes it was more than half full. We were seated immediately. We decided on the Parrot Wings as an appetizer...neither one of us was blown over by them; they tasted fine, but they were nothing special. The boyfriend got a tuna burger and I got an angus burger. He was disappointed that the "sushi grade" tuna supposedly used in the tuna burger had to be cooked medium well (he prefers his tuna rare). My burger? I asked for medium, and I got medium. I also got one of the greasiest burgers I've had in a long time. It tasted okay, but again, nothing special
I don't really want to give the impression that the food was bad, because it wasn't, not really. It was more that we got the wrong things. The menu is HUGE and there is a lot to choose from--next time (and we will go back) we will choose something else to eat. For a first visit, it was mediocre, but I can see that there are things on the menu that are better than mediocre--we just need to try them. :)
I promise to update this review when we're back in the Outer Banks! I hope I can improve the rating! -
Review from Christina S.
Ashburn, VA
4/28/2012 1 Check-in Here
Key lime pie martini wasn't that great, however the rocky road ice cream dessert is wonderful! Get a shooter and u will feel less guilty.
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Review from Lindsay S.
Raleigh, NC
10/6/2011
Barefoot Bernie's is keepin' us barefoot locals pretty happy. It's a chill atmosphere just like its name indicates it should be and I've been chillin' with the rest of 'em for a few years now.
The owners, long-time Outer Banks locals, have integrated their tropical travels with a restaurant to offer diverse cuisine to the island. They do a good job. It's even decorated to the tropics. I'll admit that I've only eaten here a couple times though. I think I had the crabcake sandwich and they did a pretty good job.
I mainly come here to chill. I've caught many an ECU or Carolina game on the big TVs in the bar area. I've also hung out for local artists and bands performing in house. Good times, good times. The bar tenders know the regulars by name. I'm no longer a regular since I only come back home to visit now rather than living there permanently. This local girl still runs into other locals though. "Hey, good to see you again!"
This past weekend was no different. I came in on a Saturday night. The house was packed with those in to watch the ECU v. UNC game and throw back a few. We finally got some space at the bar before moving to the couches on the side to chill away from all the cheers. I like patio bars and bars with decks, but Berni's deck is a little small and secluded, but also has plastic walls when it gets cooler so it becomes a smokebox rather than a chill area.
Good beer specials. No one had the tropical drinks, but a friend had the wine and said it wasn't too great. Eh, it's not really meant to be for wine though, my friend. Go take a break from all the regular things going on. It's a-okay. -
Review from Kirk W.
Falls Church, VA
10/16/2011
Barefoot Bernie's is a pretty good joint in an ocean of seafood buffets that are pure tourist traps. Sure, there are plenty of tourists at Barefoot Bernie's (like us), but there is no lame buffet, the food is pretty good, the service is friendly and the prices are right.
Don't get me wrong - I've had better seafood, for sure, but it's not bad (pretty good actually, with some unique New Orleans-inspired dishes that were a nice change of pace), and they're not asking for your first born.
All-in-all, a highly recommended place for some decent seafood at decent prices and in a non-pretentious and inviting environment. -
Review from Jennie L.
Roaring Spring, PA
5/23/2011
My family and I travel to the Outer Banks once a year for vacation. There are 12 of us (this includes cousins and such we aren't a Duggar family prodigy) so it isn't easy to fit us in a restaurant together, but Barefoot Bernie's was very accommodating. It was crowded but we only had to wait about 15 minutes for a table. There was an inside seating area and an outside area to wait in and we choose the indoor area because some creepy guy was outside smokin' a ciggy..... GROSS! Our waitress was very nice and did a great job keeping everything straight. So I guess what all this is saying is that the service was awesome!
As for the food, you get large portions at a reasonable price. For starters they bring you loaves of bread with dipping sauce. The sauce seems to be olive oil, Parmesan cheese, garlic and most likely other herbs that I do not have a delicate enough palate to detect. The bread is like log of soft chewy goodness that you can cut into big or small slices as you wish.
About half of the people in the group got one of the Gourmet Pizzas. And gourmet they were! We got a cheeseburger pizza, a margarita pizza, and a mighty meaty pizza. I was able to try all of them and each were quite good. The Cheeseburger pizza had burger and cheese on it, the margarita pizza was tomato sauce and two kinds of cheese and the meaty pizza was piled high with an incredible amount of meat. It was like eating a pizza with a cow and pig on it and I am not kidding about that folks. Don't be fooled by the menu's description of a "10 inch" pizza either. These things are so big they could feed a large army of about 2 or 3 small people. All I'm saying is that one person cannot eat the entire thing.
A couple other people got chicken salads, someone got some seafood, another person got a steak and the last person got some chicken. I'm not sure of the specifics on these things because I was much more worried about my own food. However, I did not hear any complaints from anyone.
The only complaint I do have, which is the reason for only 4 stars, was that we were seated next to the bar which had a lot of loud drunk people around it. Not the best atmosphere for children, but nothing incredibly bad happened it was just loud. -
Review from Ali F.
Arlington, VA
7/14/2011
You look at the Barefoot Bernie's menu and say to yourself "There's way too much variety, it can't all be good." But it is. I've been coming here for quite awhile now and have thoroughly enjoyed every single meal I've had.
The bread and dipping sauce at dinner has been mentioned several times so no need repeating it. Our last meal there included the Tomato Patch Pizza, Maryland Crab Dip, Bang Bang shrimp, Jerk wings, seafood gumbo and grouper-in-a-bag and everything was fantastic. My entire family left stuffed, happy and eagerly anticipating our next meal there. -
Review from Dan B.
Jackson Township, NJ
1/5/2012
My family and I have been coming here for sporadically for 4 or 5 years now. The food is solid, but rarely exceptional. Better for lunch than dinner in my family's opinion. Great for Sundays during football season, always good beer on tap, though beware if you plan on rooting against the Steelers.
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Review from A R.
Chesterfield, NJ
9/8/2011
Compared to the other places to eat in the Outer Banks, the food here is great. Get the Maryland Crab dip, with the warm pitas! We haven't had a better crab dip anywhere!
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Review from Matt S.
Kitty Hawk, NC
2/26/2012
Cool restaurant nice bar decent food, fun place to catch a game. But I think it's a little over priced for what they serve. But the food is consistent and it's a lot better than some of the other places.
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Review from Dan P.
Wilmington, DE
9/21/2010
We go to this place at least once every time were down in the area. The food is above average for a touristy beach area but it's always consistently like this. The bar area is nice for games, seems like everything were there there are a lot of Steelers fans there.
The service is is very friendly here and accommodating. Their pizzas are good, more of a thick crust pan pizza. -
Review from J F.
Bayside, NY
8/23/2010
I have never been to the Outer Banks, and it turns out the Realtor that rented the house to us was not ready so we decided to eat here. Let me explain further, we have been on the road after two days of traveling with two school age children. We were a large group with different food opinions ranging from your basic grilled cheese for children to vegetarian options to burgers to Caribbean style cuisines...you name it we needed it and they delivered!
It was the perfect start to our vacation and gave us a chance to catch up and discuss so many good things... definitely plan to go back to OBX and visit Barefoot Bernie's again. -
Review from Jeremia F.
Pittsburgh, PA
7/19/2011 1 Check-in Here
Came here for an early dinner. Had a few beers and my wife had a mixed drink that she thought was delicious. The menu was extensive so we picked a few appetizers. They were also very good. If you are a Stiller Fan you can rest assured that you are welcome in this joint since the owner is originally from Pittsburgh. Service was also top notch!
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Review from Alex G.
Rockville, MD
10/11/2011
Good service, great food, live music.
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Review from Brian L.
7/15/2009
I went to this place with some friends while on vacation. There were 8 of us, and we all made it a point to order different items, so we could try everything.
I ordered the daily special, which was local wahoo with risotto and spinach. Again, if you've read my posts, I'm not a huge seafood fan. I order it at certain places expecting them to make it taste good. I'll say that they made the wahoo manageable in terms of taste. It tasted like fish, with good consistency. The risotto was a bit creamy - I found it to be alright. Finally, the spinach was good, with good flavor.
I tried my friend's scallops, which was really really good. Everyone else had a general feeling that the food was good. So I'd say that this place has pretty good food (just not me, because I ordered fish, which I'm not a huge fan of, unless it is fish and chips!).
Finally, the service was not that good. This is extremely volatile, as you can get a good server. But our server wasn't very attentive at first. She forgot many things, and was slow with the drinks. After everything was set though, she became more attentive (because it is easier to just ask "is everything ok?"). Otherwise, I say that this place deserves a chance if you would like a relaxed atmosphere with good food. -
Review from Christina K.
Winter Park, FL
9/8/2011
Not a 'bar' atmosphere. We went with a crowd looking for somewhere to enjoy some ambiance and good drinks. Our waitress made us feel uncomfortable from the moment we got there. Maybe better for dinner, but not somewhere to hang out with some friends and enjoy a few cocktails.
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Review from Julia M.
3/18/2011
I had a Great mahi sandwich, nice tasty fries, and a couple of cold beers... so what more can you ask for when you're on vacation at the beach?! They played terrible music on the afternoon we were there ...but that certainly would not stop me from going back. The menu had lots of tasty offerings that I would like to try on future visits.
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Review from Jeremy B.
Atlanta, GA
7/17/2010
On our way home from the Outer Banks, we decided to pick a place for lunch that we had never been before. We go several times a year, and seem to hit the same favorites every time - so this time, we were going to get adventurous.
There's no doubt, the Outer Banks does seafood VERY well. But what I loved about Barefoot Bernies is they did everything with a twist...nothing was "safe". I had a crab cake with mango / corn salsa and a lemon aioli that was INCREDIBLE! My partner had a crispy fish sandwich with a crazy-good tartar sauce (with chives and maybe sour cream? Dunno...but it was YUMMY!). My mother had a huge, fresh chicken salad that she devoured. Great food, but they've added their twist, and did it very well!
The reason for 4 stars versus 5 is the service. We had decent service, but you could tell they were short staffed. Each waiter / waitress was covering way too many tables to be especially attentive. Our sun-bleached waitress was great...when we saw her. Just tough getting her attention. Other than that, we'll definitely be looking forward to our next visit. -
Review from Frank G.
Beverly, MA
1/6/2012
Thought we could go and "hang out" at the bar, order drinks and appetizers, and watch NFL footbal games. A little confusing when the hostess stopped us from going into the bar area even though there were empty tables in the bar area, and no one waiting. We had to place our name on the waiting list and wait ???. Told the hostess nicely that we don't want dinner and we're just going over to one of the empty tables in the bar area to have some drinks and watch the football games. She still insisted we wait after putting our name on the wait list. No one else was waiting and she didn't seem to want to understand. So we went and sat at an open table after a third time of explaining. This threw the hostess into a panick who ran to tell the waitress something who was serving the bar area. Way too complicated. Obviously, you can't just go and "hang out" at the bar and relax. Nevertheless, after being made to feel that we had committed some sort of crime, the cheese pizza was surprisingly good.
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Review from Jamie M.
7/7/2008
We arrived on a busy pre-holiday evening during prime dinner hours and were told it'd be about a 10 minute wait. We were seated after about 15 minutes but noticed a lot of the larger parties (that had a 45+ minute wait) were hanging out in the rocking chairs out front with drinks (smart move!).
I wanted something somewhat light so I ordered the Santa Fe Chicken Salad. They brought my dressing on the side without asking which was nice since it didn't really need much - the beans and vegetables were fresh and had a lot of flavor. They must have run out (or forgotten?) to put the tortilla strips on, but I survived without them.
My boyfriend ordered the fish special, which was some sort of tuna dish (I'm not a fish expert). He said it was really good but they cooked it a little more than he requested and they charged him three dollars more than what the menu stated.
Overall it was pretty good (minus the missing tortilla strips and the overcharge on the dish), if we lived in the area we'd probably come here pretty often. But since it's a pretty long trip down to the OBX for us we'll probably try someplace new next time. -
Review from Edward S.
1/20/2009
Off-season and good food in OBX apparently do not go together all of the time.
However, this was not the case when we ate at Barefoot Bernie's. Much like a previous reviewer said, the name and exterior of the place lead you to believe this place will be tacky and a let-down. Fortunately, that was not the case.
You have your choice of sitting in the bar area (smoking) or the room next to it (no-smoking). We chose non-smoking, though if you are looking to watch multiple tv's, then go with the bar area.
We started with the hot crab dip and steamed clams. Coming from Maryland, we were hoping for something that had a familiar ring to it. The crab dip was great (think about using your bread instead of the pita chips though) and the steamed clams really hit the spot.
I ordered the pasta and white clam sauce, the lady ordered the fish & chips. Both of our meals were excellent. I've never really liked fish & chips, but the breading that they used on theirs tasted very good. My pasta was bursting with clams and clam pieces and it was one of the better clam pastas I have had in awhile.
We drove up and down the main road looking for a place that was priced right and had some food we could really enjoy on our last night in the OBX. We are definitely glad we stopped at Barefoot Bernie's! -
Review from Laila L.
Washington, DC
11/14/2010
Definitely commercial, but solid bar food and stiff cocktails. Huge tiki-type bar and lots of T.V.s broadcasting the game. The jerk wings, ka pow (spicy shrimp poppers) and coconut shrimp appetizers were really good. If you really like mojitos, avoid theirs because they use mix rather than straight lime juice. The painkiller, which I ordered instead, is good, but aptly named. I couldn't finish it (wimp).
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Review from Megan S.
Gaithersburg, MD
7/28/2010
We stayed in Kitty Hawk for vacation, and went to eat lunch out on a Thursday afternoon. After an hour of driving around (nothing was open) we found this place. We were seated right away in the bar area.
Our waiter was awesome, and explained up front that if he seemed scarce it was because they were short staffed that day. Despite the warning, I thought the service was great. He refilled our sodas promptly, swung by to see how our food was after he brought it out, and was friendly.
The food was AMAZING. Having lived many years in pittsburgh, I tried their "Bernie Bros. Sandwich" which was their take on a Primanti Bros sandwich, but with Carolina BBQ, coleslaw, onion rings, on a jalapeno cornbread sandwich. Augh, so good. I would definitely recommend going there. I wish I'd gone back to try the crab dip! :) -
Review from Reed L.
Kitty Hawk, NC
9/9/2011
Very good food .... they are not perfect all the time but no one is.
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Review from Phil C.
Lancaster, PA
8/15/2010 1 Check-in Here
Good spot to pop in quick for burgers and a beer. Nothing spectacular nor dissappointing either. Good prices.
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Review from Roy C.
Kill Devil Hills, NC
4/18/2011
Excellent meal, I had the seafood gumbo, which was excellent (very spicy!) Graet service as well. Will definetly return!
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Review from Rhonda C.
Atlanta, GA
8/11/2008
We headed in for a light dinner and were surprised to find the Tuna Poke Stack - a raw tuna appetizer that rivaled any other tuna I've had elsewhere. Great flavor and creative plating. The calamari was light and well cooked and the Clam Chowder was pretty good too. Other than that, we had some salads but no entrees. We'll have to give them another try the next time we head to the OBX.
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Review from D K.
Kitty Hawk, NC
10/9/2010
Fun place to watch a game! Good food, sometimes drink specials and pretty consistent overall. Apps good, good chicken sandwich type place. Skip their sushi though.
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Review from Diane R.
McLean, VA
10/3/2010 1 Check-in Here
Great food and atmosphere!
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Review from Jon M.
Charlotte, NC
7/23/2011
I first tried Bernie's about 4 years ago and frequent it every time I am in the area. The fish tacos are my favorite. This place is a great place to go to watch a game on the "bar side" or great to have a casual sit-down meal on the "dining side." Cool tropical feel and have always had positive service from the wait staff. My favorite place for a quick meal in the area...highly recommended!
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Review from Sheila H.
Narragansett, RI
9/15/2010 1 Check-in Here
Large interesting menu with great local fare - the fish tacos and seafood quesadillas did not disappoint!
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Review from B. R.
Brooklyn, NY
7/27/2011
lovely food. nice people. we tried the non-standard fare for lunch, ie non-seafood and it tasyed lovely. kid had a great time too. will be back.
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Review from Brian T.
Havre de Grace, MD
1/7/2009
My initial perception, based on the name and exterior. was this place had to be a somewhat tacky beach hangout. We had heard good things about the food, however, so we decided to give it a shot. My wife and I were surprised by the quality of the options on the menu and had a good dinning experience. We would definitely go back.
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Review from Leslie S.
Fayetteville, AR
12/27/2009
This wasn't a bad restaurant, but the hostess was so rude to me that I can't recommend it. I got the impression she was a manager or owner, because she was so brazen in being condescending. Skip this one and try one of the other great restaurants in OBX.
