The Lifesaving Station

In part of a resort that is on the very northern edges of Duck, it is a great place for a very well executed breakfast. We had the sausage hash, raspberry-​infused pancakes, sausage gravy and other assorted breakfast items. The starter biscuits are terrific. For breakfast at the beach, it is a bit pricey, but it is definitely of good quality. Service was excellent.

Nice place but menu is more expensive and not updated as of 6÷2÷2016. Frustrating and deceiving.

We ate here on our first day at the Sanderling and were pleasantly surprised with how wonderful it was. Food had incredible flavor and the ambience was relaxed

We ate two breakfast and two dinners at the LSS during our stay at the Sanderling. Kelli and Elizabeth were our servers and were both fantastic. Be sure to have the Sanderling Benedict for breakfast… the Caesar salad with your lunch/dinner…and highly recommend the strip steak, shrimp and grits, and sea scallops for dinner! We will definitely be back

Nothing like a massive breakfast to start off the day. The joys of packing on obscene amounts of calories before you go out and face the world. And if you’re in the mood for a huge breakfast, The Lifesaving Station is where it’s at! We were promptly seated upon arrival, and greeted by a very friendly and attentive waitress. My wife ordered the Northern Banks Breakfast (pancakes, eggs, and bacon), while I ordered the Keeper’s Omelette with a variety of meats and cheese packed inside. Whoa! When the food arrived, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The plates were so filled with food, they damn near broke the table. I swear my omelette was made with ten eggs. Our breakfasts were delicious and cooked perfectly. Even though neither of us could finish our meals, we left satisfied, waddled our way out the door, and didn’t have to eat again until dinner.

Stopped in for breakfast. Food was warm but not hot. We got 2 orange juices that we didn’t order & didn’t get the grid that we did order, but got charged for all of them. Also it seemed longer to get the check than it did to get the food.

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were all delicious. The children’s menu is a fantastic value. There really is not much of a reason to go elsewhere when staying at the Sanderling resort. The servers are very friendly. Be sure to make reservations well in advance for dinner during the busy season.

We stayed at the Sanderling and didn’t feel like going anywhere and the Lifesaving Station had good reviews. It has great ambience and fits the area (as most) and we decided to eat upstairs at the bar. I am not exaggerating when I say there were maybe four other tables there, it was off season so it certainly wasn’t by any means busy. This was also after there was no hostess to greet us for quite some time and we just about had to seat ourselves.
We also may as well have served ourselves. After waiting for quite some time we finally ordered one bottle of wine. We were sitting at the bar as I said so it isn’t as if they were back there squashing grapes as an excuse for the incredible delay. Again, we didn’t go high maintenance by any means and ordered the truffle fries and oysters on the half shell. Literally, that’s it to start with for our order. Again, no exaggeration when we waited at least twenty minutes before even asking if they were bringing our order. The table next to us (8coint) had ordered, received drinks and were almost done with their appetizers and we still had not received more. All the while pouring our own while and listening to the calming sounds of the waves coinciding with the even louder sighs of a clearly miserable bartender. Twice when we asked about our appetizers (not even entrees) we got the «any minute now» and other various excuses. I’m not an idiot, I know when an order was clearly not entered. By now we were finally able to get her attention for a second bottle of wine, hoping this would smooth our ailing hunger, it did not. I know this because our truffle fries showed and oysters were a clear no-​show for dinner. Finally after at least a good forty minutes our oysters appeared. We had ordered entrees by now and poured (again our own) almost complete second bottle. Note: two tables were sat and now at the same course as us and there was NO ONE else at the bar.
After a meager apology (at least it was from the kitchen directly) we were finally able to enjoy our oysters. Now, this is where the evening turned for the better. Mother of all things holy I have NEVER and I mean NEVER had oysters that amazing in my life. I would’ve ordered three orders by then if they had arrived at anything quicker than an escargot’s pace, I would’ve. Unfortunately, they were actually nearing closing.
We enjoyed our entrees without much complication (maybe it was because everyone else was gone by then), and it was all delicious. It was unfortunate that the earlier service left such a metaphorically poor taste in my mouth because the rest of the evening was very pleasant, aside from the cranky bartender.
With that, it is a lovely place for dinner but I sure as heck don’t recommend sitting at the bar if you want any kind of service but the food is fantastic and it is the perfect place to go for both groups and romantic couples alike.

Food was excellent. Wonderful fireplace in main dinning room. Request a table beside on a cool day.
I had the duck. Medium rare as recommended. Scary because I have had it underdone places before. It was perfect here.
Calamari good (light). Truffle fries great excellent brussel sproughts
Good drink and bottled beers. Rockfish good. Scallops great.
Kids meals were all good. Great big grilled cheese. Son didn’t like that popcorn shrimp was not feud but gave grilled shrimp.
Would come back to excellent restaurant. Pricier probably than some other palaces around though.

Great service, love the scollops, salads are very good and well presented.

Had eaten here once before and had a really good meal. A group of us went there for breakfast this morning. Our server was very pleasant but the service was not only slow, The food came out not hot at all. Very disappointing.

The food and service were good. Portion sizes were healthy. I had the fried chicken salad and it was really tasty. Was here for brunch and will probably come for dinner during our stay.

Wonderful place! We’ll be back!
In years past we have stayed in one of the larger homes and done much of our dining at home. This year the place we stayed had a limited kitchen, so we got to eat out more. I sure am glad because we found a couple gems in Duck, one of which was this place.
Décor
The décor is nautical, as is to be expected given the history of the building. Nautical without being cheesy. Really nice. Much of the original character was retained on the first floor. We dined upstairs which gave us a nice view of the sound. I was surprised to hear that the second floor was totally renovated (to include the windows we peered out). They’ve done a nice job of blending the old and new. Charming.
Food
We had the goat cheese hush puppies. They were the best we had all week. Perfectly golden brown crispy exterior with a flavorful soft interior. The fennel cream sauce sent this dish over the top. I had the duck for my main course. Again, perfectly executed. Crispy skin and cooked to a nice medium on a bed of creamy grits and veggies. My wife had the shrimp and grits which were also wonderfully prepared. Really nice balance of spice and creaminess. Everything you’d want in shrimp and grits.
Service
Our waiter was a bit eccentric, but knowledgeable and very nice. He gave us great recommendations on other places to go in addition to his restaurant. One thing I think is a bit odd is that our server carried each of our drinks one at a time from the bar. Not an issue for us as we were one of two tables he had, but could see that making service slow during a busy dinner service. Also, my wife’s service pet peeve is when a server reaches across your plate to collect empty glasses or to clear plates. He did this a few times. These were little things that could be easily corrected.
Overall
This place is awesome. Charming ambiance, perfectly executed food, friendly staff. It’s a can’t miss in my book.

We just finished an amazing dinner here. It’s my new favorite restaurant in Duck. We started with the fried green tomatoes & goat cheese hush puppies — both were outstanding. The shrimp and grits were probably the best I’ve ever had — everyone else at the table really enjoyed their entrees as well (seafood stew, flounder, fried chicken, pork chop). Desserts were also wonderful — the brownie sundae & bread pudding were delicious. It’s a cute restaurant with nautical décor, including lots of historical pics of the actual lifesaving operation. Service was good, everyone was friendly and helpful. Best of all, it was kid friendly — unlike our experience across the street at Kimball’s Kitchen (which was also yummy, but we just didn’t feel welcome with small children). We will definitely be back!

We started off with excellent cocktails and then moved onto fabulous appetizers. The muscles were excellent with a very delicate sauce. I ordered the seafood stew and our waitress told us that it was spicy. It was very spicy. My husband loves spicy and so we traded. He loved it and thought it was perfectly spiced I had his scallops and they were excellent. My daughter had the shrimp and grits said they were well done. The potions were large and so we had no room for dessert. The wait staff was very attentive and the space felt authentically redesigned.
I would definately return.

A tad over priced for breakfast, it’s breakfast not rocket science. Well, if breakfast were rocket science then this place is out of this world!!! Ok, this review is a little cheesy, but so was the goat cheese in my farmers omelette. Outstanding preparation, presentation and service. Even with the over pricing I would return, and not just because my wife made me!

Had a late lunch there with my family. It is beautiful inside with nautical décor.
Our server was wonderful. Helpful, didn’t try and run us out of there, and was just plain sweet.
We shared the mussels and the duck fries poutine. The mussels were great and gone in seconds… I would have dunked my napkin in the broth had our server not kept the table full of fresh bread to sop it all up. The fries seemed like a fancy take on disco fries from New Jersey… (French fries with mozzarella and brown gravy, for those who haven’t been blessed…). They were also delicious. The pot roast was tender and the curds were similar to ricotta. Could have maybe had a little more pot roast, but good none the less…
For our main courses we had the lobster roll, some burgers, and the chicken wrap. All very good.
The drinks were somewhat reasonable, and big!
Had a great time and would go back.

Food was really good even for a vegetarian like me. I had the Caesar salad which was amazing. The dressing was so lemony and good. I then had the fried green tomatoes which were delicious. And for dessert I had the brownie sundae with the chocolate and caramel sauce. I wanted to lick the plate clean! Everyone else in my party enjoyed their dinners as well.

Neat history behind the Lifesaving Station. The service was great and the staff was friendly. I ordered the Northern Banks breakfast (eggs, bacon and pancakes). Fast service; however, my only complaint was that the food was cold considering the price one pays. I would have liked for my food to be hotter. The food was not as tasty, perhaps the food temperature effected it. Not sure if I would consider eating here again.

Delicious dinner. Caesar salad, and the appetizer crab cake was so good — no filler, just a great crab cake! The crab soup was flavorful and not too thick. We wanted to try dessert but we were too full.
Our only negative was the loud large group in the upstairs dining area… we should have moved to another table. Other than that everything was great and our server, Tony, was friendly and attentive. Would definitely recommend this place.