Oriental Harbor Deli & Bistro

If you all are such genius connoisseurs and seem to think your opinion is the end all to be all...I'll go ahead and say this...The man that runs the place does tend to be short and snappy with people at times. That being said, if you have a problem with the service or the food, DO NOT GO THERE. Your experience is one, whereas I know plenty of natives that have had 5 good ones to counteract it. You write and write, discouraging people to go there. The food is better than you say, and one experience does not make you the Oriental food critic. Someone mentioned a picnic? Sounds great. That way, you can only talk about your own shortcomings.

That restaurant used to be the Trawl Door, a restaurants we natives treasured and even I myself worked there. If you have problems with our sweet little town, go elsewhere. If you have problems with any particular part of our town, feel free to leave. For the most part, we all liked it much better before people that have not been here for generations came in and changed everything. Overall, your opinions mean nothing.

OH and "Sunshine" is typical. Your complaints sound like a spoiled toddler if he could talk...and I think it's the pot calling the kettle black. The owner is not perfect. We all have problems. Just remember, we definitely did not invite you. Go home and make yourself a sandwich as I stated earlier. Then I'd love to read your scathing review.

The restaurant is convenient and has screened in their deck to make the environs even nicer. It's a decent place to grab a sandwich at lunch, but given that it is a stone's through away from M&M's, why bother. The Waitstaff is friendly, but the owner/manager scolds and instructs the staff with sangfroid. I overheard him tell a waitress that "the menus cost $18.00, you need take better care of them." Again, the food is mediocre. Oriental's best restaurants in my opinion are 1.) The Silos, 2. (close 2nd) M&M's, others: Tiki Bar, The Steamer, Brantleys. The Deli is way on down the list.

Pros: Scenery,Deck,Oriental Harbor Marina

Cons: Food quality, Management

Perhaps I should be grateful for my experience, because it was a first for me, but somehow gratitude and appreciation are not what I felt then or now. I just moved to the town of Oriental from Nashville, TN where I was bartender for upscale wine bar on 12th Ave downtown. I also worked at the Mast Farm Inn in Valle Cruces NC while attending Appalachian State. In my service industry experience customer care is paramount. This is the restaurant's trump card that will bring people back even if the culinary experience is mediocre.
To reprimand your staff in front of patrons is tacky at best and petty at worst. It does reinforce you are the sniffling snot nosed egotistical little twit you appear to be at first glance, picture a used car salesman. The reprimand came as a command to the friendly waitress, in front of me, two tables of patrons and anyone else in earshot that "conversation will wait until after your shift." Huh? Then who I am supposed to talk to? So this is the kind of bar where you can enjoy your drink but do so in silence, unless you bring your own company, which for a newcomer with no local friends yet is a bit difficult. Well, I won't hold that against sunshine (used car salesman) for too long, everyone has bad days, patience is a virtue, etc. etc.
The friendly waitress approached me with that, I can??t believe I actually have to tell you this look on her face, and I couldn't believe what she told me. Ver batim, "The owner told me to ask you to leave, or else he will be asking you to leave." HA! You??re kidding right? No, she was not kidding. Well make it another water with lemon, and tell sunshine if he wants me to leave then he can deliver the message in person. Fortunately the waitress obilgied my refill and continued to make my stay a bit more pleasant despite sunshine's storm cloud of inhospitality.
So, my recommendation? Go to the bar/restaurant, talk to the wait staff as much as possible, venture into the kitchen and talk to the cooks too. Be as friendly to them as they are to you. Don't order from the menu. Drink only water (add lemon if you want) and leave gratuitous tips for the staff. Don't let sunshine taint the staff??s hospitality, and remember, they are working for this inconsiderate tactless peach of a used car salesman, so be sympathetic.

Pros: Friendly waitstaff

Cons: Manager/owner

Where, oh where, to begin?
We called on July 4th to see if the Bistro had room for our party of 13 at 7:30. We were immediately told that would be okay without a reservation. This should have been our first red flag. What waterfront restaurant has guaranteed space for 13 people right before the fireworks on the 4th of July? Our waitresses were both very sweet and helpful, but you could tell they were being rushed by the kitchen. She finally told us (around 7:40) that their kitchen closes at 8pm. Approximately 40 minutes later, the first few dishes arrived at the table. My food was nothing at all like the description on the menu. My boyfriend and his brother's ribs were so tough you had to saw at them to cut the meat and they were cold. My boyfriend ate my food and I ordered the beef tips over rice. It was about 10-15 minutes later before the rest of our party received their meals. I finally got mine and the meat was cold and flavorless and they gave me no rice. I had to ask for it and wait for it to be cooked. I picked at the food because I was hungry and then ordered dessert. The piece of cake was $5.50 and about 1/2 inch thick. Vastly overpriced, but I gobbled it down because I was starving. During all of this, we could see inside the building that the cook and manager were having some very heated words with each other. The cook came out, apologized very shortly for the ribs, then disappeared. I don't think we ever saw the manager. In the end, despite our horrible food, all we got were those tiny pieces of cake and one dish for free. Next year, we'll be going elsewhere. I know it looks nice to sit on the deck by the water, but pack a sandwich and sit on the ground. I promise, it will be MUCH more pleasant.

Pros: Waterfront view, friendly waitresses

Cons: Food, management, cook

This restaurant's location was what attracted me to it. I can honestly say I've never been treated so badly at a restaurant. The food is incredibly bad. The waitstaff is pleasant. However, I'm not the kinda of person who complains at restaurants but the portion of "cake" that was served was less than 1/8 inch thick and tasted absolutely terrible... and I was charged $5.50. I took 2 bites to give it a fair try and it was so bad that I told the waitress that I'm sorry but I really don't like it and I think it's very unfair that something so small and so bad should cost that much. She nicely went to the owner who said to me, verbatim, "Why should I have to pay for it if you don't like it?" to which I said, Well, I think it's unfair to charge that much for something so low quality. He responded with "Well I don't care what you think, I'm not paying for it." Then when I paid, he snatched the card from me and said to his waitress "Just run her card, she won't be back." I was so stunned at someone so heinous that I just didn't know what to do.

I cannot stress enough how bad this place is. I wouldn't send my worst enemy there. Please do not waste your money and please tell your friends now to waste theirs.

Pros: Scenery

Cons: Food, service, quality, pretty much everything that makes a restaurant