NCCOAST.com Dining

The Net House
Enticing Seafood Lovers

The reputation of this Beaufort restaurant far exceeds its locality. Known by local residents, boaters and visitors alike, the Net House entices its seafood-loving guests with an array of lightly battered, fried, steamed, broiled or panned in butter specialties. In addition it offers creamy seafood bisque, Imperial crab cakes and signature homemade hush puppies, which are especially good slathered with butter. The restaurant has been recommended by movie stars and the like passing through on their travels via the Intracoastal Waterway. Newsweek magazine noted praise for the steamed and lightly battered fried local seafood, homemade key lime pie and she crab soup. David Sobotta, author of an online Beaufort travel guide has this to say about the restaurant: “The always ‘on the special’ broiled grouper with a Dijon mustard sauce is pretty hard to beat, then there are the fried soft-shell crabs, flounder or oysters, and also fantastic steamers when in season. The steamers are the best price in town. If you love classic Carolina fried seafood, the Net House is your spot.”

Located one block from the Beaufort waterfront, on Turner Street across from the Historic Site, the Net House was purchased in 1980 by Carteret County natives Lynda and Strug Steed. The building itself is quaint and rustic with a tin roof, while inside its simple nautical décor provides a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere with a come-as-you-are invitation.

The most difficult decision is choosing between a featured special such as the Grouper Dijon or the stuffed soft-shell crabs, or something from the regular menu. The in-season steamed selections include oysters, clams and shrimp. From the broiler there are several tasty options, but if you can’t decide exactly which seafood you’re hungry for, you can’t go wrong with the Mariner’s Platter showcasing a broiled feast of scallops, oysters, flounder filet and shrimp. Panned in butter offerings include back-fin crabmeat (in season), scallops and shrimp, and the house-recipe crab cakes are a fried favorite. The cold plates are another menu option. These refreshing dishes feature crabmeat, shrimp, shrimp salad, and the Mariner’s Salad—a large tossed salad with shrimp and crabmeat.

Don’t forget to save a little room for dessert: homemade Lemon or Key Lime Pie. Any seafood lover will surely be satisfied with the Net House and all it has to offer. For a taste of the Net House at home, try the recipe! The Net House is open Mon. – Sat. at 5:30pm. Details, 252-728-2002.

Net House Stuffed Soft-Shell Crabs

6 soft-shell crabs

1 lb back-fin crabmeat

¼ cup butter

1 celery stalk

1 T bell pepper

1 T chopped onion

½ cup crushed Saltines

½ t celery salt

½ t seafood seasoning

1 egg

1 pint milk

Finely chop onion, celery & pepper. Saute in butter till soft. Mix cracker crumbs with celery salt & seafood seasoning. Combine warm milk, vegetables & crumb mixture. Add beaten egg & crabmeat & blend. Clean crabs, lift top shell & stuff with portions of mixture. Cover with shell, dip in buttermilk, flour with salt & pepper & deep fry in peanut oil, turning once. Drain & serve with lemon dill butter. Serves three.