Perennial favorite, an outer banks original, and the staff know their seafood. We will only go here!
Ardra S.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Kitty Hawk, NC
Picked up a dozen steamed and spiced blue crabs($ 24), 3 lbs steamed shrimp($ 9.50/lb), and 2 – 3 lbs mussels($ 5/lb), plus a bottle of horseradish($ 5). Delicious! Could only eat half on the first day, by 2nd day just one of the shrimp tasted off but the rest was all good.
Boomers R.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Wilmington, MA
Best seafood on the island. Our first stop always! During the Christmas holidays we spent two weeks in Kill Devil Hills. We shopped at Carawan twice buying steamed shrimp both times, swordfish and cherrystone clams. Delilah!
Jordan G.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Rockville, MD
Fresh fish, fair prices, and nice people. Our preferred fish market when we’re on the obx.
Jeff R.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Westerville, OH
We visit Carawan Seafood at least twice each time we vacation in the OBX. We take the shrimp and fish back to our condo and grill it up. The seafood is fresh and right off the boat. You’ll want to get there early as they sell out of the good seafood by mid-afternoon. Their staff is polite and helpful.
Andy H.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Boston, MA
Bought jumbo shrimp and scallops. Scallops were fresh and amazing. no complaints. Shrimp had seen better days. I knew as soon as I opened the bag that they were not fresh, they had a very distinct fishy odor. So we cleaned and deveined 2 lbs of shrimp and I did my best to give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe I was just being overly sensitive to the fish smell, but my suspicions were confirmed when we cooked them up and tried them. Very funky taste, certainly not fresh. Since the owner/manager mentioned his ice machine breaking, I almost wonder if these had sat at room temp. for a time before they were put back on fresh ice for sale. it wasn’t worth sitting in 40+ minutes of traffic to return them, so we tossed them. Could have been avoided had I taken a whiff before we left with the store, but shame on me for trusting them right? First time visiting Duck, first and last time we buy«fresh» seafood from here.
Michelle A.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Frederick, MD
Really fresh seafood, adorable little market, has everything you need for a fresh seafood dinner. Prices reflect the freshness of the seafood. Turns out it would have been cheaper for me to get soft shell crabs, cooked, at I’ve Got Your Crabs down the street.
Trey W.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Portsmouth, VA
Went on to get some oysters stood there and walked around for about five minutes with nobody coming from the back. Needless to say I left without any oysters. Please put a bell up front or a bell at the door. I did give them two stars because of the prices. The priced I were reasonable.
Kathryn S.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Washington, DC
Carawon seafood is tops! Having asked the hospitable and helpful clerk for a fish recommendation in addition to the beautiful and fresh crab, shrimp, and oysters I planned to buy, he suggested red fish, noting it as one of his favorites. Back home in DC and a day later, the result of simple baking of this fine fish with some shallots, paprika, and a touch of bacon was the best, tastiest, freshest fish I have personally prepared. Thank you, Sir, for your guidance and for recounting interesting history of the area The addition of fresh picked sautéed collard greens made for a mouthwatering Sunday supper and a fond outer banks memory.
Glenn R.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Kill Devil Hills, NC
Old building with a poor parking lot. Seafood selection is hit or miss. Beware if you call and reserve something like oysters that they will not hold them for you. You are only as good as your word.
Quinn M.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Akron, OH
The owner is super friendly and helpful!!! BEST/freshest seafood around!!!
Brian F.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Laurel, MD
First time here as we usually stay down in Nags Head. My niece, a local and a chef, recommended this place. We had half a bushel of steamed crabs and 6# of shrimp. We are seafood snobs and these guys hit it out of the park. Great service, great seafood, clean and fresh inside. A huge find!
Janelle L.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Leesburg, VA
After paying $ 178 for a HALFBUSHEL of crabs at I GOTYOURCRABS, we called Carawan’s and they were charging $ 80 for the same amount. We knew we were over paying but we’re on vacation. We were LIVID to say the least and Carawan’s steamed us crabs last minute and held our ice in the freezer while we waited. I have never been so impressed by customer service in my life. I would recommend this place to everyone. Just order ahead in the morning between 10 – 11 because not everyone can be as lucky
Local E.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Bedford, MA
Incredibly good. I’ve been reminiscing about this fish market for a year now… I got old bay crabs that you crack open with a hammer, and amazing shrimp. Why must I live so far away? I recommend it highly.
Liisa H.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Brookfield, MA
We were staying in Duck, NC for a long weekend. The closest place that had crabs in stock was Carawan Seafood about 5 miles away. We ordered a few hours in advance, steamed crabs and shrimp for a Memorial Day feast. They were delicious! The service was prompt and very friendly.
Landon C.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Vincent, OH
We ordered $ 120 worth of seafood from here and it was all great. Peel and eat shrimp, flounder, crabs, and scallops. All very fresh and guaranteed to be local. The place has no frills but is great. The shrimp and crabs were already cooked so if you are looking to save a lot of money over going to a restaurant, order them and take them home. The crab goes fast so call ahead and reserve some if possible.
Emily D.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Charlottesville, VA
Amazing fresh shrimp and scallops. Great local business – more expensive than what you can get at the supermarket, but also much better. Definitely worth checking out during your stay.
Megan M.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Gaithersburg, MD
This is a seafood market. We were vacationing in Duck as a large family group and wanted to get a bushel of crabs. We called late in the day and they still were able to get everything ready quickly. The crabs were cooked and seasoned perfectly. When I called originally I asked for size, and they told me large. I guess large in obx is different from large here in MD because they were huge! The whole bushel was only about $ 110 which is so cheap compared with what we are used to spending on crabs. We are planning another trip to obx next year and will definitely be back!
Roger M.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Waltham, MA
I have been going to the OBX on vacation for seven years and never stopped at this place. Why? Probably because it was near Wal-Mart. Lower prices from China is not what I am looking for in a fish place.(No, I never believed that it was fish from Wal-Mart.) Carawan has great, fresh local fish that you can take home and cook. It is not a restaurant — for those of you who can’t be bothered cooking, they will steam stuff for you to take away. The NC Shrimp were amazing. I will be coming back next year.
Julia M.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Charlotte, NC
We were on a quest for fresh oysters — unfortunately they had sold out before we arrived, but these guys really took care of us. I wish I had gotten the name of the gentleman who helped us out — he was one of the co-owners of the store. In any case, he really went over and above the call of duty to provide excellent customer service(even unlocking the door for us after closing time!) While we didn’t get the oysters we were after, we did get some fresh off the boat shrimp, scallops and mussels. Yum-yum! I will definitelty be going back in the future. They also sell wine, various spices, condiments, fresh lemons and a few other things you might want to round out your home cooked meal.