Fat Crabs Rib Company

Because Steamers in Timbuck II closed, we were forced to find some place new for our crab night out. We chose Fat Crabs which we found online. We went to order take out on a Friday night at 5:30. The menu states «no steam pots after 6:00». We placed our order for 5 steam pots at 5:40 to which we heard the cook reply «Fu – » when the cashier gave him our order. We were confused and then the cook came over and told us there was no way he could have it ready u too 8 due to the dinner rush. So we waited. When we came to pick up our order the cook looked at us and said «oh there’s my favorite people». When we received our order we took it to the car to find out we had been shorted half a pound of muscles and a pound of crab legs. We immediately brought the food back in to show the cook what we had been shorted and the owner became very angry and told us that we could not barge into his kitchen in such a manner. When looking around the kitchen there was food all over the floor and the cook was in swimming trunks. In a condescending way the owner and the cook both said that we just didn’t understand how the order was packaged but after reviewing the slip and looking at the food the cook realized he did short us the crab legs and the muscles. We had to wait another 10 minutes for the food which we did receive. However the owner did nothing to make us feel justified in waiting three hours for food just to have our order incorrect. He offered no compensation or restitution. The food was good but after being treated the way we were I would not go back.

Fun, very casual place for seafood and BBQ. I came with a group. We ordered a calamari appetizer, St. Louis ribs, brisket, and BBQ pork sandwich platters. The calamari came out fast and was too hot to eat, clearly fresh out of the fryer. The calamari was done just right, but the breading was rather coarse and fell off the seafood. It was also completely lacking salt, so that was a little weird.
Service was fast and our entrees arrived quickly. The BBQ was really tasty, however I marked the ribs down for being much fattier than what I’m used to… so take that part of my review with the grain of salt that was missing from the calamari. Coleslaw and cornbread sides were outstanding. Fries were a little limp.
The place is very informal – serve yourself drinks from the cooler in the back of the restaurant. Tables are set with rolls of paper towels and plastic cutlery. We sat outside on the covered porch at a picnic table. Perfect for a beach-​vacation meal.

Wasn’t sure what to expect when we entered this restaurant. It is very casual. Our group ordered Carolina BBQ, Ribs and Brisket. Sides were fresh. All of it was wonderful. Portions were good and service was also. Not a fancy place, but a nice beach restaurant with great food.

This place is awesome! Love the tarter and cocktail sauce! Friendly, small town atmosphere. Definitely recommend this place!

We ate here for one of out last meals of our vacation. If you’re looking for good food, get takeout because the food is decent. The restaurant was really dirty. There were multiple flies where the fresh seafood was but being by the door that’s to be expected. In addition, the floor was so dirty I hesitated to put my purse on it. Not dirty with sand (again, expected) but dirty with sticky residue/​food particles. I was bothered that the tartar sauce was not kept cold and in bottles that just sat out. However, the worst problem was the GIANT COCKROACH seen in the restaurant while we were eating. Again, good food but I lost my appetite worrying about contamination.

Have been here twice and both times the food was incredible. Ribs were awesome, descent portions and good value for money. The Hush Puppies were some of the best I’ve ever had. Scallops here were huge, well cooked only a slight hint of grit. If I had to knock anything it would be that the décor seemed a bit rustic. But when the BBQ was that good I barely noticed…

Great low key place for steamer pots. For 2 adults and a 5 year old, we ordered 1 Corolla Steamer pot, 2 blue crabs (because I had never tried them before– I think I’ll be sticking to snow crab from here on out), an extra pound of shrimp (the only thing we knew for sure my son would eat) and 2 bowls of their delicious crab soup.
It was more than enough food for us.
We were there in the off season and it was busy with mostly locals. I could imagine there being quite a wait for a busy night during the summer. We will certainly be hitting there again on our next trip to Corolla!
The only tip I would add for others dinning here with small kids, they put a decent amount of old bay on the shrimp (and blue crabs), so if you are dining with a little one, or someone who doesn’t like the seasoning, be sure to ask for them to leave it off.

Was in the mood for some seafood at lunchtime made a stop at this place.
Wow what an incredible menu seafood on one side of the menu and barbecue on the otherside, Best of both worlds.
They said we were in the mood for some seafood my wife ordered the Coral Threerer platter and I ordered the Seafood sampler. It’s early in the season they’ve only been open a few days they were out of a few of the items, but they were very accommodating on some substitutions.
Good portion sizes and the value was there no disappointment whatsoever everything was perfectly done.
Seafood at this place was outstanding I did try as one of my sites the barbecue beans and they were very very tasty. Looking forward to going back some time and trying some other barbecue as well as I said before that’s the both worlds seafood and barbecue.
Service was good place was clean no disappointment as I said.
A must try if you find yourself up this way.

Seafood platter was fresh and fair price! We were the only people there, found the staff accomodating and friendly. We will go back before the trip is over!

Off season. No lines. Fun staff. Great food and pick your own beer or drink from the case! Scallops were big. Ribs and brisket right out of the cooker this morning. Reportedly, the shrimp was «the best I’ve ever had» from one in our party.

Off season in Corolla, you are limited to the places where you can get steamer pots. Fat crabs is the only place we could find that does them and basically they either cook them for you or you get them raw and bring your own pot to cook them yourself. We opted for the first option. We ordered 3 Alaskans to go. It was great. Some of the seasoning landed on certain items making it a little spicy for some. Also, potatoes and corn were not completely cooked and the corn didn’t seem fresh. No biggie, by the time we finished seafood, we were too full to eat the corn and potatoes. The staff were super nice and helpful.

Awesome place! Really laid back place to just enjoy a beer & some good seafood! This place had outside bench seating & is dog friendly!

It is a small casual beachy type place! The food was amazing! Never have I had so much flavor in the crab cakes or chowda! Our group had a variety of seafood and bbq and everything was excellent! Large portions and friendly people made for a great dinner!

Great casual dining!
If you’re looking for a place to be formally waited on, this isn’t the place for you. You walk in and they tell you to sit where you want and take whatever you want to drink (beers, etc) from the cooler. They did ask that we wait to order draft beer, as they said they had problems in the past with people getting their own draft beers, haha. Incredibly low-​key atmosphere and friendly, laid back staff.
We mainly had seafood: fried oysters, clams, shrimp, scallops and it’s all came out hot, crispy and wasn’t soaked with grease. Two people split the BBQ sampler plate and enjoyed it. Hush puppies and fries were very good.
When it came to pay the check, the waiter/​chef asked us what we had to eat. Again, very laid back!
I can see how this place might not be great in the busy season, because it isn’t exactly set up to operate at peak capacity. However, for our large party (12 people), in the offseason, it was perfect to spread out, be loud and take our time.

At OBX with extended family. Had a catered dinner at out beach house by Tanner. Awesome scallops, shrimp and attitude!
We decided to head up to the restaurant for dinner one night and were not disappointed. 14 of us, treated well, all of the food was amazing, barbecue, seafood, crabs… wow would definitely go there again and recommend it to everyone!

Just horribly run. I tried to go again for my last time. The restaurant is run by locals, which is to say it’s poorly run. Because there is practically no competition, they will clean up during the high season. There is not a hostess/​host stand, so if you want to eat in, you wait in a LONG line while the owner who is no doubt nice but can’t run a restaurant for shit, takes everyone’s orders.
The BBQ is average, the seafood isn’t all local. There isn’t much else in Corolla Village, so what can you do?

Let me say I was extremely underwhelmed by this restaurant, I was hoping for more. I got the crab cake and I could hardly taste crab, it seemed like mostly filler. Some people in my party got the bbq chicken and pork and they both seemed dry. Came with no bbq sauce on it though so you had to add it yourself– no big deal. I will say the hush puppies were quite delicious. The wait staff was friendly but a few of the orders for the people in my party came out wrong which was okay once corrected.
The atmosphere was beachy with nice décor. Lacking central AC but they do have wall units so it wasn’t too ridiculously hot. Pretty small dining area so I would not recommend for large groups.

Fat Crabs was a pleasant experience. The wait staff was friendly and very knowledgable about the menu. I really enjoyed the «pick your own drink» option from the fridges.
The food is good but not great, except for the hush puppies; those are excellent! I ordered the fried calamari. It was fresh but the breading easily fell off, making it difficult to enjoy the «fried» part. The sauce served with it was bad; it tasted like pure mayonnaise. I wish they offered it with marinara sauce or something tangy instead.
My friends ordered crab legs. They seemed to enjoy it, along with the tater salad.
I don’t think I’d try this place again, as there are so many other restaurants to experience.

A very low key place with friendly employees. Ate with them twice in one week. Both times we opted for the seafood which was delicious.
The ambiance was more plastic tablecloth and three beers on tap.
The waitress was very knowledgeable about the provenance of the seafood and described everything is very good practical detail. Where the food came from, when they got it in, the size of the orders… which allows you to order in confidence.
The highlights were the Rockfish and the King Crab legs and I’d easily recommend any of their seafood offerings.
Friendly bartender offered me to try each beer before making a selection.
The only slight pause is that you’re paying a fairly high price but missing ambiance associated. The food makes up for any gap and I’d say get comfy and go have a great meal!

Service was good, the people were nice, and I really wanted to like this place. It was one of those hole in the wall type places, that you love to find and typically only appeal to locals. It was all that… but the food wasn’t very good. I got the D’Big Fried Combo, and it was average at best. Shrimp was okay, fish was okay, the scallops were way over fried, and I could only eat 2 of the 4 oysters. My wife got crab cakes, and they were pretty so-​so. One positive was the «tater salad». It was very good.
All in all, I would be willing to go back to try the barbecue side of the menu. But not the seafood again.
A later edit. The next day we ate at another restaurant in Corolla. My son ordered crab legs for the 2^nd day in a row. The difference was that when he ordered ½ lb of legs at Fat Crabs, he got 2 legs. That’s right, TWO. Tonight we went to another restaurant in Corolla, and he ordered 1 lb. That turned out to be 10 legs. I’m thinking he got screwed at Fat Crabs, and changed my mind… we won’t be back.