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Island Dining: The Breakwater in Hatteras village

By JORDAN TOMBERLIN



Some restaurants are known for their food, others for their atmosphere. At the Breakwater, a family owned and operated Hatteras Island tradition, you get the best of both worlds.
Opened in 1990, the Breakwater, located at Oden’s Dock in Hatteras, offers a menu of excellent dishes, a nice selection of nightly specials, fresh, homemade desserts, and a beer and wine list to satisfy any palate.
Kitchen manager Don Oden uses fresh, local seafood when available, and local chef Anna Merrill makes almost all the desserts offered, which makes the Breakwater one of the few island restaurants where you can have an upscale dining experience with a truly local flair.
If you ask your server for a suggestion, be prepared for a lot of options.
“It’s hard to pick a favorite,” says one of the staff. “Everything is really good.”
Some of the most popular items are the Carolina shrimp, fat daddy crabcakes, stuffed flounder, scallops al Greco, tuna tortilla, Hatteras stew, and filet Oscar.
The Breakwater even offers a BYOF service. If you want your own personal catch of the day cooked up while you wind down, just take your fish to the restaurant, and let Don and his staff do all the work while you relax and enjoy the view.
You can have your fish three ways—fried (in the Breakwater’s famous batter), broiled with white wine and butter, or blackened—and then served to you with bread and the chef’s selection of starch and vegetable.
The food and service alone is enough to leave any diner satisfied, but it’s the view from the restaurant that makes the dining experience truly unforgettable.
Sitting atop the store at Oden’s dock, the Breakwater affords a panoramic view of the harbor’s breakwater, which is, of course, where the restaurant gets its name.
The dining room and bar feature tall windows, providing a fabulous view of the channel, the dock, the boats, and the Pamlico Sound. Whether watching the boats come and go or taking in the sunset, the view really completes the meal.
“Everyone wants to sit by the window,” says owner/manager Jane Oden, “even when it’s dark outside.”
There’s also a spacious deck with plenty of tables and chairs for those who would prefer to dine, or simply lounge, al fresco.
During peak season, the Breakwater often opens its outdoor bar, a sort of upscale tiki-bar, where patrons and passersby can get a drink and relax outside.
On Wednesdays and Sundays, a band sets up on the deck, and guests are treated to live music.
There are lots of reasons to visit the Breakwater—the food, the service, the ambiance, the view, the live music—but for whatever reason you visit, the fact that you always get all of the above will keep you going back year after year.
(The Breakwater is currently open on Monday and Thursday through Sunday, starting at 5:30 p.m., and during peak season, will be open daily. Call 986-2733 for more information.) CLICK HERE TO VIEW MENU