Beach Shop & Grill

Amazing meal and cocktails on the patio. Excellent service. The raw oysters, crab cakes, and shrimp and grits were incredible. 10/10.

Had a terrible experience here ruined one night of our vacation. This restaurant caters to locals- On arrival the restaurant looked to be well decorated and high end. Unfortunately service did not reflect that ideal. To start with our food took 58 minutes to arrive after ordering. At around 56 minutes we had asked to see a manager because we had noticed 4 tables seated after us had already received their appetizers and food where we had only received our appetizers around 4 minutes after we ordered. We ate our 3 slices of fried green tomatoes and proceeded to watch others eat and leave- leaving us without food for around 50 minutes. When finally seeing a manager she couldn’t give a tiny bit of care we had waited that long and others were served first. She responded with we are giving you a dining experience by making you wait between courses we are not a restaurant that you just hurry in to eat at - it is part of the experience. We then told her that sitting without bread or any type of food for 50 minutes was unacceptable to any restaurant and those tables should not of been served first. She blinks at us like we were idiots and then responded dripping with sarcasm “dully noted” After more sarcasm but never an apology -our food finally arrived but we never had a chance to enjoy it as the manager showed back up to read out the minutes of the poa system so now our food we are paying $200 is getting cold that we we have waited for more then an hour. She snarkely reads it to us showing us it showed up in “reasonable time” just to prove our point. “You arrived at 7:40pm at 7:42 your app order went in was delivered promptly at 7:44 (true it did we thought it was impressive- we the three of us then ate our three slices of tomato in approx 1 minute) then 29 minutes later your order was put in….” That’s when I interrupted ok so there is the problem we didn’t see a waitress for a long time our order was put in way way to late. She then responds well it’s the experience we want you to enjoy your time and not rush food in and out. And more and more and more talking all while we are not eating our now cold food……..all we wanted was a sincere apology and to enjoy eating our expensive food…..we didn’t get either. Then to our surprise after she showed no care to our treatment, never did apologize, she goes to the table seated right next to us where the man who was served timely way before us but seated after us, kisses her hand and says sherry we think your the best! Every Saturday night you make our experience amazing just ignore them! I don’t know if she put in our order later for the locals or it was a look over (leaning more toward local preferences) either way we were treated without care, treated as though we were digging for a handout, and treated as we didn’t understand how “fancy” restaurants worked-which is ridiculous we are major foodies we have eaten many places and reviewed thousands of restaurants this was the most ridiculous experience I have ever had in a restaurant. We paid our $200 and took our cold food home. Worst night of vacation. Save your self some money, enjoy your vacation and go across town to the best fancy restaurant on topsail -Splash by the sea-look at the ocean, enjoy the friendly, timely service and have a wonderful “experience” on your vacation and skip Beach Shop & Grill!

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Had a terrible experience here ruined one night of our vacation. This restaurant caters to locals- On arrival the restaurant looked to be well decorated and high end. Unfortunately service did not reflect that ideal. To start with our food took 58 minutes to arrive after ordering. At around 56 minutes we had asked to see a manager because we had noticed 4 tables seated after us had already received their appetizers and food where we had only received our appetizers around 4 minutes after we ordered. We ate our 3 slices of fried green tomatoes and proceeded to watch others eat and leave- leaving us without food for around 50 minutes. When finally seeing a manager she couldn’t give a tiny bit of care we had waited that long and others were served first. She responded with we are giving you a dining experience by making you wait between courses we are not a restaurant that you just hurry in to eat at - it is part of the experience. We then told her that sitting without bread or any type of food for 50 minutes was unacceptable to any restaurant and those tables should not of been served first. She blinks at us like we were idiots and then responded dripping with sarcasm “dully noted” After more sarcasm but never an apology -our food finally arrived but we never had a chance to enjoy it as the manager showed back up to read out the minutes of the poa system so now our food we are paying $200 is getting cold that we we have waited for more then an hour. She snarkely reads it to us showing us it showed up in “reasonable time” just to prove our point. “You arrived at 7:40pm at 7:42 your app order went in was delivered promptly at 7:44 (true it did we thought it was impressive- we the three of us then ate our three slices of tomato in approx 1 minute) then 29 minutes later your order was put in….” That’s when I interrupted ok so there is the problem we didn’t see a waitress for a long time our order was put in way way to late. She then responds well it’s the experience we want you to enjoy your time and not rush food in and out. And more and more and more talking all while we are not eating our now cold food……..all we wanted was a sincere apology and to enjoy eating our expensive food…..we didn’t get either. Then to our surprise after she showed no care to our treatment, never did apologize, she goes to the table seated right next to us where the man who was served timely way before us but seated after us, kisses her hand and says sherry we think your the best! Every Saturday night you make our experience amazing just ignore them! I don’t know if she put in our order later for the locals or it was a look over (leaning more toward local preferences) either way we were treated without care, treated as though we were digging for a handout, and treated as we didn’t understand how “fancy” restaurants worked-which is ridiculous we are major foodies we have eaten many places and reviewed thousands of restaurants this was the most ridiculous experience I have ever had in a restaurant. We paid our $200 and took our cold food home. Worst night of vacation. Save your self some money, enjoy your vacation and go across town to the best fancy restaurant on topsail -Splash by the sea-look at the ocean, enjoy the friendly, timely service and have a wonderful “experience” on your vacation and skip Beach Shop & Grill!

We have lived in Surf City for about a year now and have heard so many good reviews for Beach Shop & Grill. We decided to visit for one of our special date nights. When we arrived, the restaurant was still quite empty. The host was very warm and inviting and immediately sat us at our table. We then proceeded to wait about 15 minutes without anyone coming to the table. Meanwhile, all the other tables were being served. I had to flag down the host to mention we hadn’t been visited by a server yet. He seemed embarrassed and said he’d take care of it right away. Well, we waited almost 10 more minutes, and as we were about to get up and leave, our server finally arrived, excuses in hand. She NEVER apologized for our long wait, which is all we were wanting.

This place has a great cocktail menu and an excellent wine list, so we each ordered a cocktail and a bottle of Walter Scott Chardonnay. We also ordered the Pork Belly Confit starter. The cocktails and wine were superb, but the Pork Belly was VERY dry (something that is quite hard to do), but the flavors were amazing, so we just chucked it up to an off night.

For dinner, I ordered the Hokkaido, Pan-seared Scallops. These were some of the best scallops I have ever tasted! The sear was thin and crisp and the scallops were perfectly done. My bride ordered the Crab Cakes and said they were, hands down, the best crab cakes she’s ever had. Tons of crab, very little binding and amazing flavor.

We finished the evening by ordering the Key Lime Meringue Pie, which is the house specialty dessert, and an Olive Oil Cake. The Olive Oil Cake wasn’t a flavor I cared for, but my bride has had this many times before and said it was good. The Key Lime pie though was other-worldly! And that meringue. I have never tasted a meringue that was so thick and creamy. I fell in love with this dessert and my mouth waters every time I think about it.

The night started out shaky, but the food (after the starter) at the Beach Shop & Grill rescued the evening. If you’re looking for a high-end, Executive Chef meal, this is the place to go on Topsail Island!!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 2

Wonderful lunch with delightful cocktails, a hugh wine line list and menu items with local and fresh ingredients. Our server, was friendly, knowledgeable of the menu, and timed our lunch with cocktails, appetizers and entrees so we were not rushed and able to have a great lunch experience. Don’t miss out on a delightful and culinary experience.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Amazing food!! Some of the best calamari and shrimp and grits I have ever had! Fantastic balance of flavors!! We will definitely come back when we are back at the beach.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

My family and I had dinner here today, and while the experience had some highlights, overall it fell short of expectations.

We started with cocktails (passion fruit and pineapple), which were unfortunately very bland—mostly tasting like diluted vodka with no real fruit flavor.

For appetizers, the fried green tomatoes were excellent: crispy, beautifully presented, and well-balanced. However, the burrata, which I was really looking forward to, was a major disappointment. The cheese tasted overly sour, and the focaccia was dense and rigid rather than soft and airy. On a positive note, the fried rice balls were delicious—crispy, flavorful, and perfectly complemented by a tangy marinara sauce.

For the mains, the burger was very ordinary, nothing that justified the price point. The only dish that truly stood out was the Rigoni pasta with lobster and crab—full of flavor, perfectly al dente, and beautifully executed.

Service, on the other hand, was outstanding. From the hostess to the assistants and especially our server Landyn, everyone was attentive, friendly, and professional.

The restaurant has a pleasant atmosphere and a strong team, but for a $300 dinner, presentation alone isn’t enough—flavor needs to match the aesthetics

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 1

Service: 5

Really nice place to eat, they prepare good food and you can have a drink here ( there’s a bar), we got breakfast here, the waitress was nice, she got our order right, the only thing here is that they add the tip without telling you.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Went with a group of friends. Service was great, super friendly staff. We got oysters, crab cake Benedict, and the shrimp and grits. All were delicious! The drinks were also very good.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

My fiancé and I went to celebrate my birthday and Alessia was our waiter. She was absolutely amazing and explained the menu options for the night. It seems there may be a rotating menu. We started with the calamari which was soooo tender. Our cocktails were very tasty and the price was comparable to most cocktail bars. We ordered the Steak Frites and Short Ribs. We were a little underwhelmed with the steak but service was excellent and timely. The restaurant is small but the ambiance was nice and we didn’t have an issue with the noise level.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 5

Food was delicious and wonderful service.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Owner, Cliff made me the most fabulous blueberry drink! We had a feta ricotta appetizer during our quick visit to Southwest Harbor. Do not miss this visit while you are in town!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Food was not good.

I went here for my birthday and had been looking forward to try it, was really let down. Considering the prices you would think there would be more flavor in the food. We had the milk bread which was the only thing we liked. Burrata - was not a great cohesive dish as the waitress explained and the bread was hard and lacking compared to the amount of cheese. Frogmore Rigatoni - absolutely terrible, there was no flavor and it was hard to eat, the lobster and crab could’ve been flavored so much better. The price we left paying was $100 and it was hard to swallow literally.

I’d look elsewhere if you’re looking for somewhere to dine!

The food was okay. Looked at Menu online to pick out what we wanted and to see if we wanted to even eat there. We made a reservation let them know it was our 25th anniversary on reservation. So arrived for dinner. They did wishes Happy Anniversary when we arrived. Nothing special about table or location of table. Started looking at menu had nothing that was on the online menu. Was a very small menu in Restaurant. Ordered there surf and turf. Was decent they cooked it to right temp we requested. Portion was very small. The crab was slim very very small portion. Would I go back? Not sure. Wasn't really impressed for a $300 meal. The only real good thing was our waitress. She was amazing.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 4

We’ve been coming to this restaurant for years and years. The crab cake sandwich on the lunch menu is fabulous!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5