The Stingray Cafe

5/20/2016

Food was excellent, service was fantastic and priced well! I had the combo with shrimp, flounder and clam strips came with hush puppies and 2 sides.  Came to 11.99 and I have enough for another meal.  Staff was very friendly and welcoming!  FYI came here after I left MJ's ( way overpriced for their appetizer portion meals) but I will leave my rant for their review!  If you are ever in New Bern please give them a try you will be pleased.  This is my go to restaurant next time my job sends me back here!

8/7/2016 Updated review

• 18 check-ins

I can't believe it has a this place has a three star rating. This is a local favorite for fresh seafood. I saw some complaints about serving fried fish..tip don't order the fried unless you like fried..other options available as broiled, grilled, steamed...I will say it is very casual, and the atmosphere reflects fishing and fish. You will not find crystal and linen napkins. But since I stop in on my way back from fishing or from the beach appreciate that I can get a good meal dressed casual and relaxed... There is a good variety ask what is the fresh catch of the day and try something new..my husband favorite is the whole fried flounder, I can't decide.. I will say the grilled salmon is the best i have eaten anywhere.. I just had the broiled scallops and they were delicious..The staff is always pleasant and friendly...The owner is often there making sure you are enjoying your meal..If you are in the area looking for great fresh seafood give this place a try.  You can spend lots more but you want find better seafood...

4/10/2016

Best inexpensive Carolina seafood place in New Bern. Try the shrimp burger with slaw accompanied by Old Bay seasoned French fries. I like my iced tea unsweetened (locals say "unsweet" tea vs. sweet tea), but otherwise a nice typical local meal. Avoid Mondays since the fishermen don't go out on Sunday, and the seafood isn't as fresh. Usually it's right off the boat because it's connected to the seafood shop.

5/17/2016

So I hear this is a homophobic establishment that refused to serve a lesbian couple. This is America & that is a tasteless, bigoted decision & they should be ashamed of themselves. I was in the area visiting family & was warned about their policies so I skipped going there. I'm glad I did because most reviews speak for themselves. I just threw up in my mouth thinking about who they are. We are in the 21st Century & you lost the Civil War, get over it!!

7/26/2016

Was reluctant going because of the 3 star overall rating but was glad I did . This is a family run fresh and I mean fresh seafood place , great to take your family to. Nothing fancy here from the decor ,table or plates / silverware but just great tasting , fresh seafood . Service was great and our waitress was on top of everything. Fine china and tablecloth this is not but if you want fresh-did I mention fresh seafood , you will not go wrong here

7/27/2016

We went on a Tuesday which was all you can eat crab legs. So most of my party got this. I got the shrimp which was decent. But the hush puppies were delicious. The crab legs were hot and cooked perfectly. The service was incredible. Our waitress made sure that our buckets were empty and our drinks were full the entire meal. It is just a little dive that serves solid seafood for a really good price!

7/10/2016

The fried oysters were good but don't bother with the onion rings or fried okra. A bit rubbery. Service was ok on a Saturday evening with no waiting to be seated. Another of our party had fried shrimp and said they were good also. Overall, nothing remarkable to report.

4/6/2016

We were optimistic about fresh seafood because it's adjacent to a fish market. But most of the offerings were standard fried fare, and the service (while eventually full of effort) was poor to start with, slow and the food didn't make it to the table hot. It may just have been an off day, but it didn't live up to the recommendations we received.

2/15/2016

About as poor as it gets. The corn on the cob was cold, I mean it was not even at room temp.
One of the two crab cakes was stone cold, the other was room temperature, when the waitress took them to reheat them, only delivered one, not two, as one was half eaten while waiting to wave down the waitress.  Even warmed the crab cakes had no flavor at all.  The clam strips were over done almost to the point of being burned. The shrimp even though they had a knife mark down the back, the poop was never removed. How gross is that?

7/25/2015

• 1 check-in

Nothing special.  Just good seafood at a good price.  Modest decor and paper napkins with styrofoam cups. (They charge .30 per cup so water is not free)

12/16/2015

Oddly enough, being on the coast it's very hard to find FRESH, local, and NOT fried seafood! Stingrays offers all of the above and even fresh fish market next door. I ordered a grilled fish dish and had slaw, potato, hushpuppies, and half&half sweet tea. It was good. BUT my mother (who had been there before) ordered a Salmon Salad! She got a HUGE piece of grilled salmon-much bigger than my grilled fish, and it was half-the price! And it was delicious! I totally recommend it! And we went during the Chrysanthemum festival and had a golden with us, they let us eat outside and the service was very accommodating (even brought hushpuppies for our dog), nice, and quick! One of the best (and probably underrated restaurants in the downtown area!)

Very low key - almost divey/ ambience, but good value for money!

5/23/2016

• 1 check-in

Had the nor'easter platter enough for two with leftovers. Excellent, clam strips, scallops, oysters, shrimp and crab cakes. The crab cakes were probably the best I've ever had, all meat and not a lot of bread to bind together. Fantastic!

11/10/2014

• 1 check-in

A New Bern local recommended us to Stingray Cafe and since its located right across the HIstory Center, its difficult to miss it.

This is a very small place that serves really fresh seafood. I enjoyed my crab bisque which was creamy and had good amounts of crab meat. The complimentary hush puppies were good. I had a fried flounder sandwich which was again fresh & tasty. For  me the sandwich bun could have been better. With the coleslaw and my fish, it had gotten very sloppy by the time i had finished it. Hence the 4 star.

They have a seafood market next door which sells fresh catch. Even though the store was closed by the time we went,the waitress had offered to get us some shrimp and also pack it with ice for our travel. Since we were looking for blue crabs, we decided not to buy any. However i thought it was a nice option to consider taking home some fresh seafood.

11/9/2014

• 1 check-in

We stopped by here after being to Persimmons the previous day. Though this place may have interesting interiors, they do stand apart when it comes to their food. I didn't find their hushpuppies to be extraordinary. I had Fried Whittle Fish Sandwich. Everything on my plate was fresh, buns included !

Bottomline: Less classy but tasty.

6/27/2015

Honest seafood, reasonably priced.

Strolled in around 1 after seeing the palace - though the place was busy, our party of 9 was seated quickly.    We ordered steamed oysters, tuna steak, scallops, and brisket.   All were delicious and delivered in a reasonable time.  Though one of the tuna steaks was overcooked, the server quickly rectified the error.    Our crabs were hot, had just the right amount of Bay seasoning, and were sweet and delicious.   Color me satisfied.

10/21/2015

Love the all you can eat crab legs!  Great food and friendly service!  I will be returning soon and would recommend this place to all my friends and family!

1/11/2016

If you like super greasy fried fish and really dry over cooked shrimp eat here. Terrible SLOW service too. Will not go back!! Yuck!!!!

9/13/2015

My husband and I were passing through to a gun show in New Bern...on the way back we decided to find a bite to eat...I love using the Yelp app..so we found this place...it was great...a cute little cafe with lots of charm...good atmosphere. ..great food..great service..and prices...we were full...we will definitely  go back..next time in the area..thank you for a nice break!!

12/19/2014

As these are an abomination to god, this godly restaurant observes and participates in ejecting from it's fine establishment.

Restaurant will not serve lobsters, shrimp, clams, octopus, and squids (ignore the menu items): Leviticus 11:12
Four-legged fowls (republicans): Leviticus 11:20
Four-footed flying, creeping things (teabaggers): Leviticus 11:23
Whatever crawls on its belly, goes on all four, or has lots of legs (republican congressmen): Leviticus 11:42
Blemished sheep or goat: Deuteronomy 17:1
Women who wear men's clothing: Deuteronomy 22:5
The hire of a whore (a tea party republican): Deuteronomy 23:18
Taking back an ex-wife: Deuteronomy 24:1-4
The work of a craftsman: Deuteronomy 27:15

10/10/2014

• 3 check-ins

At first I was put off by the low rating on Yelp but after I started to read their reviews I started to see why the Stingray Cafe had such a low rating.  People who admittedly have never been to were hating on this place based on past events that they had no knowledge of.  Once I started reading reviews from the locals I decided to give this place a shot.

This is a no frills type of restaurant.  Do not expect a fine dining establishment but expect great food, huge portions and cheap prices.

I ordered the Whiting fish dinner with onion rings and macaroni salad while the wife ordered the shrimp dinner with fries and a salad.  My dinner came with two huge filets of whiting, which was more than enough for me and at $7.99 it was a steal.  The wife commented that she could tell her shrimp was super fresh and probably battered that day by the cooks.  

Granted it was a Friday night but this place was full of locals, which is usually one good indicator of how good the food is.  This place surely did not disappoint and we will definitely be back soon!