Island Grille, Atlantic Beach, North Carolina

Once our group — Nancy and I, Liza and Michael, and granddaughters Ella and Lily –settled into our rental in Pine Knoll Shores, Nancy and I went out by ourselves for a date night. We chose one of our favorites, the Island Grille.

It looks as if that’s another one of my signature out of plumb photos, but it’s the roof that’s slanted this time, as you can tell from the curb. Well, mostly the roof.

The Island Grille is a small place a few blocks off the main road at 40 Money Drive. We’d called to reserve a table well ahead. It was a Monday, and on Monday and Tuesday, Island Grille has a buy one-get one deal on the entree specials. The restaurant, as the photo suggests, is tiny, with two rows of tables and a bar. It’s busy and crowded — but not nearly as loud as you would expect — in that delightful way of Parisian cafes.

We were seated at a booth in the back in a corner in the dark appropriate to an anniversary observed. Okay, a table.

We had a drink, or at least I had one, and made our choices. Nancy started with a house salad with a rasperry vinaigrette.

Now that’s a nice salad, with lots of ingredients, all perfectly fresh, and a very well balance dressing.

I chose the corn and crab soup. And an extra spoon came unbidden so that we both could taste it. That was thoughtful.

This was a good bowl of soup. The corn was fresh and the crab flavor, with is easily overwhelmed, held up very well. There was a light flavor of tomatoes in the broth that added some sweetness, and I’d be willing to swear that they were real tomatoes, not those supermarket abominations.

For her main course, Nancy ordered the pan seared mahi-mahi special ($40).

It came over mashed potatoes, topped with a corn and tomato salsa and ribbons of a lime-saffron aioli to finish, with sautéed zucchini on the side. The fish was plump, fresh, and moist, just cooked through. Nancy remarked on how good the various ingredients were, and that the fish-salsa-aioli combination worked beautifully. She also remarked on how good the mashed potatoes were, something she doesn’t usually do, and she ate all of the zucchini, although she usually avoids zucchini! This was a huge hit.

I ordered the sautéed shrimp and scallion pasta ($36).

 Again the seafood was fresh and cooked just right. The linguini was tossed in a parmesan cream sauce, and then everything was tossed with some fresh tomato and spinach, and then topped with shredded parmesan cheese.

I enjoyed the sauce quite a bit. It was well seasoned, and the flavor was not excessively forward. Rather, it tied the dish together nicely. This was a thoughtful preparation, and I loved it.

We’d made our reservation for an early hour, 6:30 pm. The restaurant was already bustling then and the bar was full, and I overheard a caller told that no tables were available before 9:00 pm. It’s been like that on each of our visits.

The meal was made better by the professionalism and good humor of server Emily. She paid attention, and when Nancy asked for Perrier with no ice, Emily brought a glass with no ice, and brought additional limes when Nancy appeared to need some. And busy as the place was, everything was well paced, and the noise level, while not exactly quiet with a crowd of happy people in a small place, was tolerable throughout, even with an infant and a birthday celebration.

The tariff was more than reasonable, especially with the buy one/get one. The only problem with ordering specials at the Island Grill is figuring out the tip. It involves math, and tipping usually involves dividing by five, or four if you’re feeling sporty, and then rounding up a bit. Getting a discount complicates that, especially after a celebratory dinner. I hope I got it right, or wrong on the up side, because Emily, as I say, did an exceptional job.

I can’t say enough about Atlantic Beach, especially the Pine Knoll Shores area, and adjacent Morehead City. There, the beach is broad and never crowded, and great food is at hand. For me, it’s also loaded with family — nephews Jimbo and Henry and their families — and family is important. Come on down to Atlantic Beach, and give the Island Grille a try. It’s an extraordinary restaurant, one to which we go even where there’s no special price deal. They serve thoughtfully conceived, well prepared food at a reasonable price and with excellent service. I love it, and you will, too. Go.

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