Coffeehouse on Roanoke Island

• 106-A Sir Walter Raleigh Street
• Manteo
• (252) 473-1295

The Coffeehouse offers expertly prepared coffee and espresso drinks, tea, chai, hot chocolate, milk shakes and fantastic smoothies. Check out the selection of loose teas. Pastries, scones, homemade cakes, muffins and other baked goods tempt you for breakfast, lunch or a snack. With cafe tables, sofas and reading material, you’ll want to stay awhile. Lots of gifts are for sale here too – coffee beans, honey, T-shirts and handmade mugs and tea pots. It’s open seven days a week in season; call for off-season hours.

Fisherman’s Wharf

• 4683 Mill Landing Road
• Wanchese
• (252) 473-6004

It doesn’t get any fresher than this. At Fisherman’s Wharf you can dine on fresh seafood right on the harbor of an authentic fishing village. The Daniels family (one of the longest-standing Outer Banks families) opened this restaurant in 1974, and after a hiatus of a few years the restaurant is back. Fisherman’s Wharf is over a fish house, with boats unloading fresh catches right downstairs. Every seat has a panoramic view of Wanchese Harbor, so you’ll see all the activity of a working waterfront while you enjoy your meal. The kitchen’s specialty is local seafood, but the menu offers a wide range of items. Everything, including dessert, is homemade. Fisherman’s Wharf serves lunch and dinner every day but Sunday. Fisherman’s Wharf has a children’s menu and does not serve alcohol. To get there, head down N.C. Highway 345 into Wanchese. Stay on 345 (don’t veer off anywhere) almost until the road ends. You’ll see the restaurant at Mill Landing, on the waterfront. You can also get there by boat, and there are docks where you can tie up while you dine. Take-out ordering is available.

Garden Deli & Pizzeria

• 512 S. U.S. Highway 64
• Manteo
• (252) 473-6888

This friendly neighborhood restaurant, owned by Manteo Mayor Jamie Daniels and his wife, Nadine, is a Roanoke Island favorite and often busy, but service is fast and meals are quick so the wait is never long. The delicious New York-style, hand-tossed pizzas are loaded with toppings and are available to eat in or take out, and Garden delivers on Roanoke Island in the evening. People are becoming addicted to Garden’s fresh-baked sub rolls, which smell heavenly as they’re baking and taste delicious filled with cheese steak, house-made chicken or tuna salad, or deli meats and cheeses. Garden also makes paninnis, burgers, salads and delicious desserts like chocolate cake and cheesecake. It’s open for lunch and dinner every day except Sunday. You can sit inside or out on the porch.

Great Gut Deli

• 219 Thicket Lump Drive, Thicket Lump Marina
• Wanchese
• (252) 473-4500

Lunch at this deli is worth a trip to Wanchese, whether you go by car or by boat. The name comes from what the locals call the body of water that runs by here. The deli offers fine meats and cheeses for a variety of sandwiches, but the real appeal is owner Annie Davis’s homemade cooking. You can never go wrong with one of her daily specials or her fabulous shrimp, chicken or tuna salad. Sandwiches, wraps, salads and fresh soups are always on the menu, and there’s usually a special treat every day. The deli is open for lunch Tuesday through Saturday, but hours vary in the off season so call ahead. When you’re out enjoying a day on your boat, Thicket Lump Marina is a great place to fill up your belly and your gas tank.

Johnny Marlins Restaurant and Raw Bar

• 715 Pirate's Way, Pirate’s Cove Marina, Nags Head/Manteo Causeway
• Manteo
• (252) 473-2266

Formerly Hurricane Mo’s, Johnny Marlins offers a great view of the Pirate’s Cove harbor activity and charter boats. You can dine outside on the second-level covered porch or indoors in the spacious restaurant that’s surrounded by windows. Fresh seafood, steaks, chicken, pasta, sandwiches and children’s items are on the menu. Owners Larry and Linda Riggs, hailing from the West Coast, have imported a new California wine selection, top-quality steaks and new menu selections. The raw bar features steamed and raw shellfish. Johnny Marlins offers a full bar. Lunch and dinner are served every day in season, and the lounge stays open late – grab a bite to eat from their late-night menu. They close in December and January.

Mann’s Luncheonette

• 2991 N.C. Highway 345
• Wanchese
• (252) 473-3787

This restaurant, at the end of Mann’s gas station, grocery and hardware complex in Wanchese, serves breakfast and lunch. They don’t close until 4:30 p.m., so many locals pick up a take-out supper here. An enormous patty of Spencer’s sausage on a hamburger bun, grits with sausage and cheese, or pancakes are what most people get for breakfast, but there are many other offerings as well. Lunches are full meals with meats, potatoes and vegetables, and there are specials every day. Everybody knows that Wednesday is spaghetti day. Be sure to try a milk shake or fresh-squeezed orangeade or lemonade while you’re here. The Luncheonette is open every day except Sunday.

Manteo Creamery

• Magnolia Market Unit C, corner of Queen Elizabeth and Ananias Dare Sts.
• Manteo
• (252) 473-8062

Manteo Creamery is a perfectly situated pit stop when you need a treat. This simple ice cream shop offers 16 flavors of hand-dipped ice cream, which you can enjoy in a cup, a cone, a sundae or a Hurricane — your favorite flavor blended with cookies, candies or fruit. They also have Italian ice, and the flavors rotate daily. Eat inside at the counter or at a table or enjoy your treat outside in the porch swing.

Mimi’s Tiki Hut

• Pirate's Cove Marina, U.S. Highway 64
• Manteo
• (252) 473-3906

Mimi’s Tiki Hut is an outdoor bar on a deck overlooking the marina at Pirate’s Cove. In the summer, it opens every day at noon, and there is live music on Fridays from 4 to 7 p.m. Full Moon Parties are held monthly with live music from 7 to 10 p.m. They serve wine and beer, including draft beer and microbrews. You can get a bite to eat from the Pirate’s Cove Ship’s Store. 

Olde Towne Creamery

• 500 U.S. Hwy. 64/264, corner of Ananias Dare Street
• Manteo
• (252) 305-8060

Olde Towne Creamery offers all the sweets the whole family craves — fudge, true Italian ice, 24 flavors of premium, hand-dipped ice cream, smoothies, sundaes, milk shakes and banana splits. Ice cream cakes are also available; call ahead to order. There’s indoor and outdoor seating. Hours are 1 to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 9 p.m. on Sunday. You can also rent bikes for kids and adults here, including three-wheel bikes.

Pizza Hut

• 264 U.S. Highway 64
• Manteo
• (252) 473-1945

You probably know what you can get at Pizza Hut — pizza, subs, Italian entrees and a salad bar. It is located right across from Ace Hardware on the corner of Sir Walter Raleigh Street. If you’re looking for a late dinner, this is one of the few places on the island to get it. Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Roanoke Island Picnic Spots

• Various locations on Roanoke Island
• Manteo

We thought you might enjoy knowing about the locals’ favorite picnic spots. You can get take-out from most the restaurants we list here, so why not grab your feast and head out for a true outdoor dining experience!

1) Manteo Waterfront Boardwalk
Manteo Historic Waterfront Area
All along the Manteo Waterfront there are benches and tables that invite an outdoor meal. You can also sit under the gazebo, out on the pier or just plop down on the edge of the boardwalk and let your feet hang out over the water. At George Washington Creef Memorial Park, next to the Maritime Museum, there are picnic tables and grills. There’s also a great playground and swings along the boardwalk.

2) Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
1410 U.S. Highway 64/264
Low-slung live oaks, perfect for climbing, tall pines and grassy expanses provide the perfect picnic setting at Fort Raleigh. There are a few picnic tables, but you can also just spread out on the grass. Have a picnic dinner here before The Lost Colony, which starts at 8:30 p.m.

3) Old Swimming Hole
Airport Road next to the North Carolina Aquarium
After a visit to the aquarium, head over here for lunch and a swim. There are picnic tables and grills, restrooms, playground equipment and a volleyball court. The soundside swimming hole has a lifeguard in the summer.

4) Roanoke Island Festival Park
Across from the Manteo Waterfront
The grounds at Festival Park welcome picnickers with picnic tables and a wide-open lawn. The best time to picnic here is just before or during a performance at the Outdoor Pavilion.

5) Freedmen’s Colony Road
At the northernmost end of the Manteo Bike Path
At this little park-like area, there are a few tables, a sandy beach by the sound and some benches surrounding an interpretive exhibit about the Freedmen’s Colony that lived here during and after the Civil War. There is parking for cars, but it’s more fun to ride a bike here, stop for lunch and a stretch on the beach, then ride back home. It’s about 3 miles from downtown Manteo.

Stone Oven Pizza

• 7575 S. Virginia Dare Trail, Nags Head/Manteo Causeway
• (252) 441-7775

Stone Oven is a convenient stop off the causeway and features great pizza, calzones, sub sandwiches, a variety of appetizers including chicken wings and mozzarella sticks, plus salads, sodas and beer. They’re open all year for eat-in at their beautiful soundfront location. You can also take it to go. They offer free delivery all day within Nags Head and Pirate’s Cove (in winter, i.e., less busy times of year, they’ll deliver to Manteo and farther up the beach; just call and ask).

Stripers Bar and Grille

• 1122 S. Bay Club Drive (off U.S. Highway 64), Shallowbag Bay Club
• Manteo
• (252) 473-3222

Stripers Bar and Grille in the Shallowbag Bay Marina has a great waterfront location, and they welcome boaters with plenty of transient slips. To get there by car, just turn into the Shallowbag Bay Club development off U.S. Highway 64 and head for the sound. Stripers has three levels, all with fantastic views of the Roanoke Sound. The first floor offers a steamed seafood and raw bar; you can have a seat at the bar, a table or one of the two outdoor patios. The second-floor dining room is all enclosed and also has a bar area, and the third floor is a private club with an outdoor deck. The menu at Stripers emphasizes fresh seafood, and you’ll also find steaks, chicken, pastas, salads, appetizers and burgers. Rockfish, locally known as the striper, is a specialty here — we definitely recommend the rockfish Reuben. The Sunday brunch menu includes eggs Benedict with lump crabmeat, Bananas Foster French toast, build-your-own omelets, award-winning soups (some of the best oyster stew and clam chowder around), salads, sandwiches and homemade desserts. They have a kid’s menu and are open for lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch all year. Take-out is available, and Stripers also offers off-premise catering.