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The Outer Banks Visitors Bureau has announced that the Kill Devil Grill has once again claimed the top honor in the 3rd Annual Outer Banks National Soft-Shell Week.

With 285 votes, Kill Devil Grill earned the 2025 Best Soft-Shell Crab Dish award, making this their second consecutive win. The top five vote-getters were: Kill Devil Grill, Basnight’s Lone Cedar Café, Dune Street Raw Bar & Grill, Blue Moon Beach Grill and Café Pamlico.

“Congratulations to Kill Devil Grill for defending their title, and a huge thank you to all 36 participating restaurants who brought creativity and flavor to this year’s event,” said Outer Banks Visitors Bureau executive director Lee Nettles. “This celebration of our native blue crabs has grown into something truly special, thanks to the support of our local chefs, diners, and fishing community.”

“It was an honor to participate in the 2025 Softshell Crab week,” confirms Joni Gray, general manager of Kill Devil Grill. Her restaurant team ran multiple event specials each day with the daily kickoff soft-shell dish being the winning combination of a cornmeal fried jumbo soft crab over a jalapeño noodle cake topped with Tajin smoked shrimp, mango and pineapple salsa finished with honey lime glaze. “Thank you to all of our guests for voting and helping us defend our title!”

This year’s Soft-Shell Week featured restaurants from Duck to Cape Hatteras and Roanoke Island, each showcasing their own take on the prized soft-shell blue crab. Guests followed the Soft-Shell Week trail and cast their votes via QR codes at participating locations.

“It’s been great to see so much enthusiasm for these culinary delights,” Nettles added. “We hope Kill Devil Grill proudly displays their hard-earned award and is ready to go for a three-peat in 2026!”

With 887 votes cast in total, the event continues to draw strong participation and spotlight the exceptional seafood scene along the Outer Banks, noted the announcement from the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau. “The Visitors Bureau extends thanks to all who came out to dine and support local restaurants and the commercial fishing industry that supplies our coast’s fresh catch daily,” the announcement continued.

“Thank you to all the participating restaurants for setting a high bar once again,” said Nettles. “We look forward to seeing what culinary magic you’ll create next spring for the 4th Annual Outer Banks National Soft-Shell Week.”

Participating restaurants were: 1587 Lounge and Restaurant, Barefoot Bernie’s Tropical Grill & Bar, Basnight’s Lone Cedar Café, Black Pelican Restaurant & Catering, Blue Moon Beach Grill, Blue Water Grill & Raw Bar, Bonzer Shack Bar & Grill, Café Pamlico, Dirty Dick’s Crabhouse Nags Head, Dune Street Raw Bar & Grill, Greentails Seafood Market & Kitchen, Henry’s Restaurant, Jolly Roger Restaurant, Kelly’s Outer Banks Catering, Kill Devil Grill, La Fogata Kitty Hawk Mexican Restaurant, Lost Colony Tavern, Lucky 12 Tavern, Mama Kwan’s Tiki Bar & Grill, Miller’s Waterfront Restaurant, Mulligan’s Grille in Historic Cottage Row, NC Coast Grill & Bar, Noosa Beach Grill, Outer Banks Brewing Station, Poor Richard’s Sandwich Shop and Pub, Red Drum Taphouse & Grill, Red Sky Casual Dining and Cocktails, Sandtrap Tavern, Shipwrecks Taphouse & Grill, Snow Bird Burgers and Cones, South of KDG, Steamers Restaurant, Sugar Creek Restaurant, Trio Restaurant & Market, Two Roads Tavern and the Village Table & Tavern.

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