John's Drive In - Fast food restaurant in Kitty Hawk - 3716 N Virginia Dare Trail, USA

First place we ate at on our vacation. We love these hole in the wall places. The tacos had a little bite to them but were oh so good and the sauce on the burger made me want another.

Had heard about the dolphin subs and we just wanted to grab a bite on a beautiful day. Sub was great and the dolphin was nice and moist inside (hate over cooked and dried out fish). Husband had the fried dolphin pieces with enough fries to share (and a delicious milkshake). He also said his dolphin was great with the milkshake that was really good. Beautiful day to sit out the back in one of the many picnic tables . Quick service too. Recommend if you just want good food but no time to sit down at a restaurant and order.

Good service. Very very fast even when busy. Parking is tight but real estate is at a premium here. When we came the owner was cooking. Generous portions for the price. Clean. Appreciate the giant milkshake straws. Milkshakes aren’t bad but they are basically vanilla with toppings as it says so the peach shake didn’t taste peachy but again that’s on me not the restaurant. It’s clearly labeled. Love this place.

Let me tell you the dolphin bites were out of this world delicious. Great fried okra . Big portions of fried okra and fries plus hush puppies. The only thing disappointing we’re the crab cakes. Extremely small. Barely 1/4 cup patty. Taste was fine but buns were nothing special. Everybody enjoyed ice cream and shakes

The only true good thing about this place is the service. My order was completed pretty quickly. The popcorn shrimp was immediately throw out, flavorless and soggy. The burger had an averagely good taste but it was extremely thin like COMICALLY thin. Fries were pretty good. Won’t be coming here again but it wasn’t a terrible experience. If you’re looking for somewhere quick you might like this place, very hard to get parking though.

I was pleasantly surprised when I decided to dine at this restaurant on a whim, and I must say, I was completely blown away. The fish dishes, especially the Cajun tuna boat and the grilled mahi, were absolutely amazing. Even my kids enjoyed the outdoor atmosphere. It was a wonderful dining experience!

Something has changed. John’s rep is strong, and coming in the fall has its benefits - less crowded, for one. But, the $14 dolphin boat this time was just bad food. There was at least a 1/4” of batter surrounding the small dolphin pieces, presenting a hard, dark, fried outer shell, a doughy inner portion of batter and an OK piece of dolphin, but without any noticeable seasoning. Could not bring myself to eat this food beyond a few bites. The dolphin had the mouth feel of a bad corn dog at a fair, but without the benefit of corn meal taste in the doughy, thick covering. I think this comes off my list of places to go on the Outer Banks.

The off-season hours for John's are very confusing. We planned a day around eating John's on the beach, walked down the street and... it was closed (1 o'clock on Friday, 10/27). Nothing on the website or social media (the recommended method for finding the most accurate hours) indicated that it would be closed. Definitely disappointing.