Lone Cedar Café – Nags Head, NC: Specializing in fresh and local seafood. If you’re craving the freshest fish, clams, crab, shrimp, and oysters from local North Carolina waters, you’ll find them at the Lone Cedar Café.
For generations, Outer Banks families made their livings—and their daily meals—from the bounty of local waters, caught fresh every day. The Basnight family continues this tradition by serving only the freshest Outer Banks seafood, caught in local waters, and brought to our docks daily by local fishermen, then cleaned and prepared right here at the Lone Cedar Café. Our vegetables are “just picked” from North Carolina farms, we serve only all-natural beef and poultry, and even our herbs are grown in our own chemical-free garden on-site. Come enjoy delicious food, gorgeous sunsets, and panoramic water views, the antics of our resident ospreys, and our warm southern hospitality. Local Seafood Nags Head NC – The Lone Cedar Cafe.
We take great pride in serving fresh, local food—and in being a “green” restaurant, too. By keeping our environment clean and focusing on fresh, local, and natural foods, the Lone Cedar ensures that diners have a healthful, natural, and—above all–delicious dining experience.
Kinda reminded me of a nursing home.. VERY expensive menu with VERY limited options.. We left without ordering anything, did leave the waitresses a tip.. Beautiful location.. Hostesses could use some maners... Would not recommend
I'm very saddened to have to write how disappointing our experience and meals were.The 1 thing I noticed;... is that NOT 1 EMPLOYEE SMILED. It was like they were all stiff, no personality, & no smiles!! Tourists & customers were walking in happy and smiling; yet not 1 employee. Very off & noticeable.I ordered the Broiled Seafood Combo. Scallops were overcooked, shrimp was bland but OK, and the Flounder was mushy. The baked potato was excellent.Another's entre was the Shrimp & Grits. This dish was quite oily and the sausage in it was almost brick hard. Was not fresh Andouille Sausage!Another's entre was the Ribeye Steak. It was ordered medium and came out as med rare to rare. It didn't even look like a Ribeye either. I couldn't help but finally say something to our waitress about the steak being undercooked and that it was not a Ribeye! It wasn't even shaped like a Ribeye, and it did NOT included the tender portion either. The steak was not eaten as this person just wanted to leave. All she wanted was a good Ribeye!! Kind of ruined what we all thought was gonna be a great dinner.We chucked it up as,... we just won't eat there again. We eat out several times a week, and there are plenty of other awesome restaurants.
Beautiful large restaurant right on the water. Delicious appetizers and entrees. There is a large garden outside where some of the food is grown and then served. The staff was very friendly and the wait was not long.
A passable, but overall disappointing dining establishment. Pros: drink selection/quality, menu variety, outdoor ambience. Cons: quality of food.The fish entrees, one of which is pictured, were quite good. However, several of my party ordered different shrimp dishes, and the shrimp was very clearly frozen and farm-raised. Not what I would expect at all from a restaurant literally at the shore. The she-crab was also mediocre at best. Tasted like it was out of a can.Overall: a nice enough place for a large group or family, but far from the best option on the island.
Food was delicious, and service was excellent. I'm rating the restaurant a 4 because the room was very cold (it was cold outside and very windy) and even though there was only one other couple in the dining area we were seated back to back. The other couple was meeting with the caterer for their wedding and they were very loud. Needless to say the atmosphere was lacking because we couldn't talk and we were so cold we ate quickly so our food would still be warm. I'll give them another chance only because the food was very good and our server was great.
Waterfront dining in a warm & homey setting. Friendly service, family owned. The food is fresh & delicious; prices are reasonable. Love that they utilize an on-sight veggie & herb garden as well (makes for crisp & flavorful salad!). Twice we've gone to their Thanksgiving dinner loaded with seafood, meats, sides, desserts & full bar-- it's excellent. I'm not a big fan of turkey so that buffet with broiled fish, bacon-wrapped scallops, fried shrimp, prime rib, crab dip, etc.... really improves the holiday for our family! Re: the shrimp & grits, my only suggestion is to ditch the green peppers-- otherwise it's perfect lol. Our underage son enjoyed ordering some kind of ginger beer watermelon mocktail off the Thanksgiving drink menu. When we're in OBX we trek down from Corolla to eat here because it's worth the drive, every time!
They have an inside bar that looks over the Osprey nests. They have tables that give you a beautiful view of the sunset on the water.The food is delicious. The waitress said, “if the seafood doesn't swim in the channel, we don't serve it.” You can bring your cleaned catch, and they will be happy to cook it for you.If you are wondering, the lone Cedar is no longer there.