This is our annual family beach trip to EI.
I decided to babysit 3 of my grandchildren so their parents, along with my oldest grandson, could go out for a nice dinner.
Upon their return, they all had huge complaints! One had swordfish and he was served the nasty brown part of the fish that no one ever eats! He lost his appetite after 2 bites!
All others said the food was unfit to eat.
When the server  asked what was wrong, they finally told her. She offered to take 10% off the bill. I think they should have refused to pay for such terrible food that they could not eat!
Don't go here! You'll regret it if you do!
My first recollection of Captain Charlie's was in the mid-80s. My family has vacationed here for nearly thirty years, and always makes a stop at this place the first night we get in. This week was no exception. We all loaded in the car and slogged through the traffic to this small restaurant. All in all, it was a decent dinner.
Captain Charlie's is not fancy. It's not high-end, glam food. It doesn't pretend to be a superstar. Nope. It's a small, seafood restaurant in Swansboro, NC. They're being honest. That's OK with me.
I want to start off by saying their hush puppies are awesome. It was very hard not to eat two baskets worth, before getting the main course. Their bread was a little on the sour side but was good too. The salad, though, was as basic as it gets. That's to be expected.
I had absolutely zero problems with our server. She took care of our table and dealt with anything we needed. She was nice about it, too. It's a sad day in the food industry when that makes news, but yeah. She was a good one.
My catfish was broiled and came with a Cajun seasoning. It was fine. Was it mind blowing? No. I enjoyed it though; that will work. I also had the chowder, which I liked well enough. Now, what is all of this fussing about? It doesn't appear to have milk or tomato in it, but that's the only thing chowder can be, ever? It certainly had the texture of a chowder. I wonder if the shrimp and grits people got similar flack? OMG, U CAN'T PUT SHRIMP IN GRITS!!!11111
I would like to think I have taste buds and appreciate good food, too. Someone believing that they are the arbiter of good and bad is laughable. Yelp is better approached with testimonials and letting the audience decide for themselves. So, we all get our say. That's a fair deal.
My family used to love coming here every summer in Emerald Isle. It had good hush puppies, awesome clam chowder, and was always busy when we went for dinner. Since 2008, the place seemed to have changed completely. The place is practically empty, the food clearly frozen, and for some reason they seat people in a room of the restaurant that is filled with tvs, horrible lighting, no ambient music, and tables that are similar to a school cafeteria. What happened to the old Captain Charlies?? We are done trying here... Would much rather wait for 45 min to get a table at a competing waterfront restaurant than dine at Captain Charlies again.
Review Source:I have to take issue with some of the other reviews here, and even wonder about the authenticity of some of them (are they friends or relatives of the owners of competing restaurants?). Captain Charlie's has been my family's favorite on the Crystal Coast for more than thirty years, and both the food and the service continue to merit this distinction. In fact, we ate here two nights in a row this week. The first night was my birthday, and I couldn't decide between the fried shrimp or the prime rib, my two favorites here. Not to worry, said our server Bev. They had run out of prime rib (we were dining late). The obvious solution was to dine early the next night for prime rib! Bev was our server both nights, and clearly takes pleasure from seeing her customers enjoy a good dining experience. It is also notable that in our modern age of high staff turnover, everyone from the hostess to the manager and the servers have been consistent for many, many years. This attests to the quality of the owners and managers, and accounts for the continued quality of the food and service.
One more thing. Yes, Daniel S., it IS clam chowder, and being from North Carolina yourself, I'm surprised you couldn't recognize it. It is delicious, too!
You like good old fashioned fried seafood and an open welcome environment,this is a good place!  I enjoy it about twice a year.  Would i direct tourist traffic there?  Maybe not the first on my list of recommendations  but  for their prime rib, i would boast about it.  GREAT PRIME RIB.  Definitely the best within 20 miles.
Review Source:If you're looking for fried seafood reminiscent of the buffet at golden corral, this is the place for you. Â However, if you have taste buds and appreciate good food, avoid this place like the plague.
Also, it's more than a little ironic that this place is next to the beautiful swansboro waterfront, yet it has fewer windows than a jehovahs witness kingdom hall.
Went here last week with some friends while on a trip to the beach. Â I definitely wasn't impressed. Â If you're satisfied with unbelievably run-of-the-mill seafood with nothing interesting to it, Charlie's will do. Â If you demand something with good flavor or something memorable, it's worth the drive somewhere else.
I had the "stimulus menu" (low-priced) combo platter of "white fish and clam strips" (no lie, the menu said white fish, not any particular species). Â It came with fries, slaw, and hushpuppies. Â The waitress also brought our entire group free chowder to start (good service is one of the few reasons it gets two stars instead of one). Â The clam chowder, however, wasn't actually chowder, just brothy soup with some clams in it. Â The hushpuppies, however, were good (but there's plenty of other places with equally good or better hushpuppies). Â The "white fish" was decent, nothing special. Â The clam strips bordered on inedible (WAY more batter than clam, to the point where I couldn't taste the clam). Â The fries were like fries anywhere else. Â Coleslaw was gross: almost a puree consistency.
All in all: this was a very boring, disappointing dining experience whose only redeeming quality was good service. Â It's definitely worth the drive somewhere else for a better seafood experience.
Captain Charlie's is not fancy or expensive; it is just an old school family restaurant. The premises are clean and the wait staff friendly. My wife and I both had the special: Fried shrimp and clam strips with soup, slaw, side and drink for $15 / person. Quite reasonable. The shrimp were fat and plentiful, but the clam strips were a bit on the anemic side both in quantity and quality. Still a decent and tasty value. Might come back on prime rib night (Wednesday). However, if fried seafood is your desire, I would recommend the extra drive to either The Red Barn Grill in Hubert or The Net House in Beaufort as both surpass the Captain in value, portion and taste.
Review Source:
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