Dale's Seafood

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100 S US Highway 701 Byp
Tabor City, NC 28463

Phone: (910) 653-2321

Neighborhood: Tabor City

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  4.4 stars - Based on 19 votes

#2 out of 14 restaurants in Tabor City

#2 of 4 American in Tabor City

5 star				12 votes	63%
4 star				4 votes	21%
3 star				2 votes	11%
2 star				0 votes	0%
1 star				1 votes	5%

Top Reviews of Dale's Seafood

12/08/2023 - MenuPix User

03/17/2023 - Seafood lover
Now I will preface this review by stating that I grew up in this area. Going out for seafood, specifically Calabash-style seafood, was a common event for my family. I've dined at many wonderful, and some not-so-wonderful, seafood restaurants throughout the region over the years. The menus are all similar as to their offerings of the types of seafood, how the plates are configured, and which sides are included. While there will be slight variations with the non-seafood menu items, otherwise they could be said to be identical. The seafood will be rolled in a lightly seasoned cornmeal flour, then deep-fried to a crispy, golden shade which locks in the juiciness. It is paired with French fries & Cole slaw. Iced sweet (almost syrupy) tea is the beverage of choice. The appetizer and the bread course are the same--big, steaming, never-ending baskets of those wonderful deep-fried golden-brown dough balls of sweetened cornmeal, those uniquely Southern crispy/crunchy delicious delights that we call the hush puppy!
One difference which is readily apparent when you taste it, which determines the quality of the food, and that is the kitchen staff. Really good places have a full-time cooking crew who have been there for years, many times led by one of the owners. Their focus is making damned fine food that keeps their customers coming back again and again. Other places have been there for decades and hire a few local teenagers to work nights in the kitchen. These kids are shown how to crank out the food and they do, same as they do at Mickey D's and fast-food places around the country. They are earning a few bucks but have no pride or any stake in what they are serving to the patrons on a given night.
And some restaurants have been around for several generations of customers. This means that a particular restaurant may be the only one a family ever goes to due to a host of reasons, whether or not the food is really good may not be a factor in this choice. Usually habit, or a lunch special, is enough to keep customers loyal. Many times, in a tiny town, proximity is all that is needed. Dale's, for many years, was the only seafood restaurant in Tabor City. This gave them a customer base of people who didn't care to drive far away just to grab a meal out. Why drive the 30-odd minutes to Calabash when you could drive to the edge of town to get seafood? And because they had nice nautical decor, compared to seafood restaurants which opened in town later, Dale's was preferred by some as having more "class" than the others. Mind you, this is a small town where some of the older folks still get dressed up before they go out to eat. Even today, those folks in town who love "gettin' above their raisings" must be seen at Dale's. Putting lipstick on a pig doesn't change the fact that it is still a pig. But we all know, nice decorations are not an indicator of class, nor is it an indicator of good food. If so, the T.G.I.Fridays and Appleby's would be three star Michelin restaurants!!!

Now, we will discuss my last experience dining at Dale's Seafood of Tabor City, NC.

Quick synopsis:
Slow service. Regulars given preference by wait staff. God forbid if you need anything from them as you will not be able to get their attention.
Food greasy and lukewarm. Wait staff adores the regulars, stops to chat with them, chat up on the latest gossip, etc. This applies to both the seasoned older ladies and the high school girls working their first job. Anyone else is ignored. Guess their main trade is local town folk rather than the thousands of beach tourists passing by each day.

In detail:
Last time I'll ever dine here.
Went with a large group. Waitress only took half of the group's orders. So half were eating while rest were ignored. Multiple mistakes made with every order at my table, heard from others in our party that same happened at their tables. Our party was in a separate adjoining room, and I had to flag down a busboy in the main dining room in order to notify a waitress that half of the group were waiting for someone to take their orders! Not sure how a restaurant can book a room for a party of over 30 people and not staff enough waitpersons to handle that large of a group. Fail!
Sweet tea was "sort of" sweet with little ice. Had one refill when food was brought, was never offered a refill again through entire meal.
The single basket of hush puppies placed on our table were not fresh from the fryer as they were soft & chewed like rubber. It was like they had been under the heat lamp for a while--not crunchy nor fresh.
Ordered a deluxe seafood. Asked for no Cole slaw as I hate soggy seafood. Yet the seafood on bottom of plate was soggy and sweet, so slaw was put on plate then taken off. The plate was piled high with food. After the huge mound of fries was pushed aside, I realized they were to there to hide the skimpy amount of seafood on the plate. The portion size of what I received was sad. Four oysters, ten shrimp, three scallops--lukewarm, greasy and heavy. The flounder was thin and tasted extremely fishy. Not sure if it was cooked thoroughly or not. Most flounder when properly cooked is light, flaky, and melts in your mouth. Dale's flounder was heavy, dense, and chewy. After two bites, I gave up on it. To be honest, the seafood seemed to have been cooked in fryer oil that wasn't hot enough. The massive mound of fries mentioned above were warm with a pale, yellow hue. I like fries which are hot and have crispy golden texture.
My girlfriend ordered broiled shrimp and scallops with a baked potato. Since there were no fries, the portions of both the scallops and shrimp seemed generous compared to what I had gotten on my plate. The meats were overcooked to an inner tube-like texture. The potato was warm, mealy, and dry.
If I had seen a waitress after we tried the food, we would have sent it back. As I said earlier, finding our waitress, or any wait staff member, was like finding a unicorn or Sasquatch. And at that point of the family gathering, which was wrapping up while those of us to be served so late were just getting our food, I would have asked for it as a takeout order.
As we walked through the main dining room to the register, we noticed that it seemed understaffed as well. So, either some of the waitresses failed to show up to work, or they did not schedule enough people to handle the crowd they had that night.
As I was paying the check, the hostess asked how everything was, which seemed to be a rote recitation for her, because when I said that the food was barely edible, portions skimpy and the service was horrible, she said "I'm glad you enjoyed it!" My girlfriend and I looked at each other in disbelief, and she asked me if the woman was totally deaf. I repeated that the food was not good, that the portions were almost nonexistent, and that the service sucked. She just looked at me and said that she hoped I would give them another chance later. I said I would never be back. And her reply was rather snippy and rude, along the lines of "fine, don't then". It took great restraint not to fly off the handle and say what I felt like saying loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear.

Reading some of this place's Google, Yelp, & TripAdvisor reviews, my experience wasn't very uncommon.

If you want excellent seafood and friendly service, go just a short hop down the road to Adam's Seafood.

02/11/2019 - Peggy Morse
Love the food and atmoshere very enjoyable

06/26/2016 - gwen girl scouts troop 178
I took a girl scout troop of 14 people at 9:00 pm. One hour before they closed they welcomed us with open arms. Didn't mind the loud girls. Served us great food at a great price . Feed 14 for $130.00 . If we are ever back in Tabor City will definitely eat at Dale's. Thank you for great service.

01/13/2015 - Peggy Morse
Good food excellent staff. A definite must if your up this way

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