Colington Cafe

Consistently the best meal I’ve had on the Outer Banks for 20+ years. This is an annual must and gets 5 stars for quality, consistency and service. The food is fresh, flavorful and satisfying. We love coming here. Start with the caprese or composee salad, get the filet Dijon and end with the toll house cookie pie or seasonal cobbler. You’re welcome!

Beautiful location! Loved walking around garden area while we waited. Food was delish! Had the steak with lump crab on top. Mash potatoes were a little too dry for my liking. But everything else was amazing!

We made reservations for the first night in OBX. We were all quite tired and decided an expensive meal would be «wasted». They were gracious about our cancellations. Two days later we tried again. We have 11 in our party and were seated in a back room overlooking the gardens. Our group can be quite noisy and even when we asked the waitress if we were being disrespectful to other diners she said we were fine. The ambience was terrific.
Pretty much all of got a different menu item ranging from salad and soup, to the filet (which was PERFECTLY grilled), to fresh fish. Everything was flavorful and appealing. The desserts were too much to pass by: Mango/​Peach Cobbler, Oreo cheesecake, crème Brule and more. Every single once was fabulous!
We will definitely go there on return trips. I’m glad we didn’t go that first night as our visit was much more relaxed and enjoyable. One word of warning, the parking lot is on a steep hill. Handicap is at the top of the hill at the front door. If the hill is too steep, it might be best to have someone in your group drop you off at the door.

We just had the most wonderful meal! Highly recommend eating here! Quaint atmosphere, lovely staff, fabulous food. Beautiful at night on this gorgeous summer evening.

I’ve been to the Outer Banks a handful of times and can’t believe I’ve never been here before — this is a must do for dinner — it’s only open 5 – 9, 7 days a week — make a reservation and go… period! Located just beyond the Wright Brother Memorial, if you’re not looking for it, you’ll miss it… even if you are looking, you’ll probably drive right by… the service was impeccable, friendly southern hospitality with fast attentive service. If you get one thing — the She Crab Soup… I didn’t get it, but when it showed up at the table, I had to get a bowl for myself and it was worth every penny — I’ve had crab cakes with less crab than the soup. Filet with crab was next — cook perfect and a large amount of crab. I only wish there was room for dessert — it was probably to die for…
It’s not cheap, but not expensive either depending on what part of the country your coming from to visit. Also — it’s worth every penny plus a few extra! It was voted a Top 25 places to eat in NC and earned the label!

This is the best restaurant in the area. Super staff that really appreciate your being there. The also do things that tell you they enjoy working there and demonstrate their passion to make your dining experience a lasting enjoyable memory
We had the fried shrimp and crab cake with roasted vegetables and great garlic mashed potatoes. Mmmmmmmmm so good.
You must go and experience their fine dining establishment. Be sure to plan ahead and make a reservation.

We went here for a celebration dinner so we tried much more than we usually would. Started with the scallop appetizer which was delicious. I’d get that for a meal in a heartbeat. For dinners I had the shrimp and scallop Napoleon which was so yummy. He had the crab cakes which were full of meat. Sides left a bit to be desired, but I’m sure they make a big batch of them and keep them warm until they go out, leaving them a bit dry. We splurged and got dessert too. Crème brûlée and an amazing cake that invoked rum drizzle pineapple icing and macadamia nuts. Service was awesome. Definitely recommend this place. Make sure to make a reservation!

This amazing little gem nestled down a winding road is amazing! I can’t wait to go back. The ambiance is perfect, the service amazing and the food TO DIE FOR!

Love Colington Café. Always a special treat and pleasure to dine there. Had the delicious She Crab Soup, Crab. Cake appetizers and the mixed green salad tonight for a lighter meal. My friend had the soup too but opted for the Filet de Mer and loved it. This was her first visit and she was delighted to learn Colington lived up to the wonderful culinary reputation they have earned all these years. Great service and very cordial staff.

I understand that this restaurant is highly rated on both Unilocal and Trip Advisor; however, I would advise to ignore these reviews and avoid Colington Café.
I thoroughly feel like our money and time were wasted with this visit. The quality of food was extremely poor and my date and I were unable to finish our meals.
The coconut shrimp appetizer was very overcooked. The crab cakes were described as «lump crab cakes» on the menu, but were actually shredded crab meat. They were also very dry, causing them to be inedible. The filet mignon was a horrible cut of meat, consisting of a lot of fat, and extremely tough.

Filet Mignon is a MUST! And has to be rare, it’s so good that it almost melts in your mouth! It is served with bearnaise sauce, which is hollandaise with tarragon.

The setting is great. First up the big old oak tree up front and then as you walk in you can feel the warmth and comfort this place exudes. Lydia was our server for the night.
She was attentive and the food was good. The coconut shrimp and she crab bisque were wonderful. I had the fish of the day which was yellow fin tuna and mashed potatoes. The wife had the red snapper pan seared and she liked it as well. You should definitely check this place out if you are OBX.

As anyone who travels knows, finding an interesting and good place for a meal in a heavily touristy area is always a bit of a crap shoot. These areas are mostly populated with chains and destination style food emporiums which appear alluring but seldom serve much worth eating. Colington Café isn’t one of those.
From the outside it looks like a rambling house converted to a restaurant and it may well be, but it’s charming and not too kitschy décor gives you a hint of what’s to come. The menu is fairly deep with specials and unannounced specials which add to the fun. We chose from one of those and a line item on the regular menu. They also have an excellent gluten free menu with enough choices for those challenged by their diet.
All fish is as local as possible and when not, clearly enumerated by the helpful and attentive wait staff. Gosh, they even have wine specials! Speaking of which: the list is short but adequate and many choices are excellent values.
Meal preparation is excellent but the presentation is fairly basic and straight forward; the only slightly disappointing note on the night we were there was the mashed potatoes. They were the only starch on the plate and needed to be there, but didn’t add to the otherwise great food. They also have quite the selection of deserts, should you have room left.
All in all, Colington is worth the trip to the Outer Banks and even worth a detour to get here if you’re somewhere in the area.

After a long look on Unilocal,the wife and I chose the Colington Café for our first anniversary. We liked the look of the food and it looked like the atmosphere was going to be quiet and romantic… we were correct on the former, but unfortunately not the later.
Let’s start with the good… the REALLY good food. We decided to go with their strengths for dinner… really good red meat with really good crab on top. I can’t say enough about this food. The filet mignon was tender, flavorful, and juicy and the crab tasted absolutely amazing. The location was beautiful, tucked back in the woods, well off the main drag. It was in an old converted house that made it feel like you were having a spectacular dinner at Grandma’s.
Everything was great… except for the atmosphere. When I made our reservation, I made sure to mention that it was for my anniversary dinner. Unfortunately, they decided to give us a table in a room with two large groups of boisterous adults, rather than a more intimate setting. For the majority of my anniversary dinner, I got to overhear conversations about how millennials are ruining the country, questions about social media, and anecdotes about adult kids… Our waitress was very apologetic, but the evening was still marred by the experience.
I wouldn’t dissuade anyone from trying it out, I just hope that your experience is more intimate and romantic than ours. It’s the only reason it didn’t get 5 stars.

We had read so many reviews about how fantastic the food was here so we decided to take my parents here for an anniversary dinner. The ambience and staff were very nice. Because we had to wait a few minutes past our reservation time they even gave us a free appetizer. I would definitely recommend this place for the seafood or steak lover as I think those are the dishes this restaurant executed well. The chicken Normandy was a little lacking in flavor is our only complaint. Don’t expect outstandingly fantastic but it is somewhere for a nice meal.

The best meal we had all week! The restaurant is so quaint and charming. Friendly staff, great wine list and fabulous dinner specials. There were 4 of us and we all ordered a dinner special because they were just too good to resist but the regular menu looked amazing as well.
I would highly recommend this restaurant if you are looking for a night out while in the Outer Banks.

I had no idea this place existed & now that I do this will be a stop for special dinners when I’m in the Outer Banks. My Matron of Honor picked this place out as a nice dinner for my bachelorette weekend. Service & food was incredible.
We had reservations for 7:45pm & the place was packed when we arrived. We were told that it would be a few minutes until our table was ready & were shown the wine bar which happens to also be the gift shop. The woman working in there was super nice & recommended some places to go out afterwards while we ordered a glass of wine.
We were seated shortly after & a basket of warm bread was brought out. I wanted everything on the menu, it sounded so good. My friend & I both ordered a bowl of crab bisque & my other two friends ordered a caeser salad. Both were delicious.
I ordered the filet mignon that came with scallops & veggies in a wine sauce. My friends all ordered the filet mignon with a crab cake. All of our dishes were served with mashed potatoes and green beans. Everyone at the table thoroughly enjoyed their meal. We all agreed that it was the best steak we had ever had.
The staff could not have been nicer & even brought out a complimentary bowl of crab bisque for my friend to try & a small bottle of champagne for me to take home.
I’ll be bringing my future husband back for a romantic dinner next time!

We went here for anniversary dinner. Place was packed, warm and friendly. We came on a busy Saturday night and glad we had reservations.
We were in no rush but it took awhile to get us seated and get our drink order. Once all of that was taken care of, smooth sailing. We were taking our time and enjoying the atmosphere so we didn’t mind the wait.
We got the tartines Provencales and scallops rumaki (bacon wrapped scallops with a teriyaki ginger sauce). Both appetizers went well with the wine we picked out, the Santa Duc which is a cross of a Syrah and a Grenach.
For entrees, my husband got the filet with lump crab meat. The filet was cooked to his liking and had great flavor. The crabmeat was simple and delicious. The Bearnaise sauce was an excellent addition to the dish.
I got the Shrimp and Scallop Napoleon. What. A. Treat. The sauce was the perfect consistency and complimented the seafood perfectly. What an excellent dish.
The mashed potatoes and mixed veggies sides were delicious as well.
We got the coconut cream pie for dessert. Need I say more. What a great dessert.
Will recommend this place to anyone coming to OBX.

First time visiting OBX and first time visiting this place! And it was NO disappointment! Especially being gluten free!!! The food was great… Salad, filet, shrimp, crab cakes, EVERYTHING! Even the desert.
I personally had the GF le grande trio and was not disappointed!

This is one of the better restaurants in OBX, as far as food goes. We keep coming back, year after year, to enjoy delicious salads, apps, filets, fish, and dessert. I mean, even their vegetable side was memorable! I usually get the filet with crabmeat. It is the best one I’ve had in the outer banks. And don’t forget dessert — everything is homemade and heavenly.
Service is great — always accommodating. The girl we had this week was reading my mind and was always two steps ahead of the questions I never had to ask.
The reason that this does not get 5 stars, for me, is because of the space. I realize that the country styled, house-​like restaurant gives it it’s charm, but it is so cramped. We go with a group of 14 every, and every year, I am squished in, up against a window. If I had drank more wine this year, I would have feared for my life walking down the old staircase. Trust me, this does not prevent me from coming back every year. I just wish they would update their space. They would have plenty of room for large groups if they built a nice patio!