Waterman’s Bar & Grill: Best OBX Sunset Bar

If you love watersports and good food, check out Waterman’s Bar & Grill. They offer a great outdoor bar focused around sunset views and the watersports community. Check out the Salvo Day Use Area just down the road after you finish your drinks.

Making Waves in Waves

Waterman’s Bar & Grill is located in the town of Waves on the outer banks. The restaurant shares a building with an water sports shop. The sign at the front might be easy to miss if you do not know what you are looking for.

Parking is without a doubt tight. This is one of the most popular places for lunch and dinner in the area but the parking is sized for only half of the crowd. We were lucky enough to snag the last spot in the small parking lot. There is no back up area so once it gets full, it will get very congested.

So What?

The big appeal of Waterman’s Bar & Grill is the scenic overlook of the island’s sound-side. This part of the outer banks is far enough away from the mainland that it just looks like a calm open ocean. The adjacent water sports shop has a large grassy area for wind sailing preparation and a boat launch. The wind was unusually dead on the day we came so we did not get a chance to see anyone utilize this space.

Additionally, this location gives an amazing view of the setting sun in the evenings. Most of their official picutes feature the setting sun off of their main seating area.

These simple things make Waterman’s stand out from many other classic beach side restaurants. It jumped out at me when researching the area myself. It makes you feel like you are apart of the energy of the wind surfing community even if you are a complete square like me.

There is also an adjacent resort called Waterman’s Retreat that shares the parking area. If you are considering staying in the area, check them out.

The Bar and Grill part

The Bar and Grill portion of Waterman’s Bar and Grill is a well oiled machine. The line forms along the porch like area on the parking lot side of the building. When the doors promptly open at 11am there will likely already be a few people in this line waiting to get in. There are a few stations at the bar you order both your food and your first round of drinks. If you already have a tab open, there is a separate line at the far side of the bar to go to. There were signs everywhere telling guests to ensure you have both your order and the method of payment ready when you come to the bar. This felt like a high pressure situation for some reason but it ran well and kept the line moving.

The seating area is exclusively outside. There is a large overhang area and a secondary patio. The overhang area is shaded for the better part of lunch but by mid afternoon you have full sun. The patio had full sun the whole time we were there. The full sun patio would have been okay with a few umbrellas but they did not have any.

We came unprepared for the sun and were not early enough to claim a seat in the overhang. Many large groups would send someone ahead to claim seats in the overhang area while the majority would stand in line. Both of the seating areas have great views if the wind sailing area and the sunset.

Let’s Eat!

The food was a good spread. We really enjoyed the guacamole we got. The food came out promptly and at regular intervals. The staff came by to check on us what felt like once every 2 minutes. They did not interrupt us. They would just walk by and look at the table and see if we looked like we needed anything and occasionally would ask if we needed them. A+. Kaitlyn tried for a simple quesadilla and I went for a burger. Madilyn was not interested in her PB&J but I thought it tasted good.

This is a dog friendly establishment but the only area to relieve your furry friend is the area near the parking lot. They have dog bags if you run out. I would not bank on it personally but that is just me.

Overall

Waterman’s Bar & Grill is a great place to eat in the remote town of Waves NC. The high energy atmosphere is exciting and the food is great. I have not seen another great establishment like this anywhere in the outer banks to date. Come check it out next time you are on NC 12.

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