Restaurants near Holden Beach

The absolute tops. I’m not sure I’m a good enough writer to do this quaint 5-star gem a service. We drove 45 minutes to enjoy ourselves and will go as often as possible. The food and service were the best I have experienced in my 60 years. We chose to sit on the porch (in December) and could not have been more content. My 86-year old mother was delighted with the coziness and warmth. Our drinks from the “southern cocktails” menu, one with bourbon and one with vodka, had just the right touch of all the flavors. We shared a burrata salad with pecans and balsamic. Each bite was delicious and we were really anticipating dinner. We had snapper cooked to perfection atop Carolina Gold, and a delectable blackberry peach bbq chicken. Honestly, the best chicken I have ever had. We were hooked from the beginning, and now we were talking about how soon we could come back. Dessert was a fabulous piece of chocolate heaven - I’m just coming out of a happy coma and can’t remember what it was called. I can say it was their last slice of the evening and I can see why. The espresso was the icing on the cake, so to speak. Prepared and served as it should be. Great pride and care was obvious every step of the way. From the hostess to the waiter to the bartender to the chef and kitchen and everywhere between, it is clear that tremendous thought was put into how to craft an experience. What a wonderful time we had.

Our server, Angelica, was AWESOME. She knew the menu overall and asked all the right questions. She was professional, friendly, made sure we had everything we needed. She definitely made our dinner reservations with friends (was 6 of us) very festive and delightful.

We had a very fine time at Clark’s. Our server Doug, was very knowledgeable with the menu and very polite and personable. We noticed the staff helping one another and running food for each other. We started with a calamari appetizer with some honey dripped croissants. Both were very good. Most of us got prime rib and I got the ribeye steak. My steak was cooked perfectly and melted in my mouth. A very nice experience for my mother’s birthday.

We had heard great things about Lucca and decided to try it. It's a nondescript restaurant in a small strip mall - so easy to miss unless you know what to look for. The hostess was very accommodating since our reservation had shrunk by a few people. Sat us right away - 15 minutes before our reservation. Menu selection was out of this world - it was difficult to choose. Sam was very knowledgable regarding the specials and other menu items (there are quite a few). It was a difficult choice between the seabass and the filet. My son and I both went for the filet with a Lucca crabcake. Filet cooked to perfection! Crab cake with the roulade sauce was chocked full of crab meat with very little breading. Even though steamed spinach wasn't on the menu the kitchen made it for me anyway. The price point for the filet special was very reasonable. We will definitely be going back.

FAB-U-LOUS!!!! This restaurant never disappoints and I feel so fortunate to live nearby. Our server Luwanda (sp?) was a delight. She’s attentive and knowledgeable about the menu offerings and made certain our drinks were never empty. Everyone at our table enjoyed their food and said it was “perfect”. I particularly enjoyed my pulled pork sliders. It was a mouth full of flavors. The dishes I’ve had in the past have been flavorful too. The Oyster Rock is definitely a restaurant destination.