Some of the best memories made while exploring a new place happen around the table.
It might be gathering around the table with friends, finding a restaurant that turns dinner into an experience, or stumbling across a coffee shop that becomes an unexpected favorite. Sometimes, it’s as simple as ordering something sweet because you’re not quite ready for the day to end.
In Martin County, those moments can look a little different everywhere you go. With more than 45 restaurants and eateries across the county, there are longtime favorites, restaurants full of local character, cozy places to catch up over lunch, coffee stops worth slowing down for, and plenty of reasons to save room for dessert.
So pull up a chair. There’s something on the menu for everyone.
Around the Table: Martin County Restaurants
A good meal has a way of bringing people together, and across Martin County, there are plenty of tables waiting.
Maybe the evening begins in Robersonville at La Casetta. Settle in over Italian favorites and choose something like Lobster Ravioli served with a creamy crab rosé sauce or Shrimp & Grits packed with cheese and flavor. Down the road in Williamston, the comfort of a good Italian meal continues at Mama’s Pizza, where Baked Ziti, Italian Sausage Parmigiana, pizza, and other familiar favorites fill the menu.
Then there are the places where the experience is as much a part of the story as the food.
Walk into Sunny Side Oyster Bar and you’re stepping into a piece of local tradition. As the second-oldest continuously operated oyster bar in North Carolina, it’s the kind of place made for gathering around the oyster bar, ordering oysters and shrimp, adding a side of broccoli and cheese, and settling in with the people beside you.
At Deadwood, dinner can become an entire afternoon or evening out. The family-run Western theme park gives visitors the chance to ride the train, let the kids enjoy the playground, and then head into The Smokehouse Grill when everyone is ready to eat. Even the menu gets into the Western spirit. There’s the Yellow Bellied Sapsucker – fried chicken breast smothered in pepper gravy and served with mashed potatoes – or the Carolina Cowboy Burger topped with mustard, onions, chili, and slaw.
Just down the road, the scene changes again.
At Georgia Deans, a former floral shop has been transformed into an inviting restaurant, giving the building a new story centered around good food and gathering. Order Atkins Catch, with fresh grilled salmon served over bistro vegetables with a hint of lemon and white wine cream sauce, linger over the meal, and, if there’s still room, finish the evening with a donut or chocolate-covered strawberries.
Not every gathering needs to be dinner, either.
An afternoon at The Tea Room on Main invites you to slow things down. Choose a cup of Apple Pie Chai Herbal Tea, Citral Bee Brew Herbal Tisane, or Goldenberry Black Tea and pair it with a soup or sandwich, like a Cucumber Mint Sandwich or Egg Salad Sandwich. It’s an easy setting for catching up with a friend, lingering over lunch, or simply enjoying a quieter part of the day.
And the story doesn’t stop at these tables. Across Martin County, there are plenty more flavors waiting to become part of your visit. Barbecue is part of the local food scene, with places like Shaw’s Barbecue House in Williamston and Hardison’s Carolina Barbecue in Jamesville serving up their own takes on an eastern North Carolina favorite. When Mexican food is calling, Los Amigos and El Mariachi offer two more places to gather around the table in Williamston. And in Robersonville, newer additions like Tipsy Palate Restaurant & Bar are adding another chapter to Martin County’s growing dining scene.
That’s part of what makes eating your way through Martin County so much fun. One meal might introduce you to a longtime local favorite, while the next gives you somewhere completely new to try. With more than 45 restaurants and eateries across the county, there’s always another menu to explore, another table to gather around, and another story to bring home with you.
One county, a handful of stops, and completely different experiences around every table. And these are only a few of them.
Coffee, Please
There’s something about a coffee stop that fits naturally into a day of exploring. It can be where the morning begins, a reason to wander into a shop you haven’t visited before, or the afternoon pick-me-up that keeps the day going a little longer.
At High Cotton Farms, your coffee run might turn into a little shopping along the way. Browse fresh finds and handmade items with a High Cotton Latte in hand, flavored with white chocolate, caramel, vanilla, and espresso.
Walk through the doors of 501 Flaire Boutique and another coffee experience is waiting right near the entrance. Sips on Second makes it easy to order a drink before browsing the boutique, including The SOS, flavored with salted caramel and topped with house-made salted caramel cold foam. Coffee in hand, you can take your time seeing what else catches your eye.
Then there’s B. Mocha Coffee, where coffee itself gets to be the occasion. Meet someone for a drink, stop in during your day, or cool down with a Mocha Frappe topped with whipped cream. It’s another reminder that even something as simple as grabbing coffee can become part of the experience.
And Martin County’s coffee story is still growing.
Soon, another coffee shop, Coffee 903 will join the scene at 100 S. Main Street in Robersonville, bringing a new place to meet, grab a cup, and spend a little more time downtown.
Morning, afternoon, on the go, or with nowhere else you need to be – there’s more than one way to take a coffee break around here.
Save Room for Something Sweet
Sometimes dessert is the ending to a good meal. Other times, it deserves a stop all its own.
In Williamston, Cakes by Becky offers plenty of reasons to save room for something sweet.
Step inside, and the hardest part may be deciding what to take with you. Party squares, donuts, cookies, and other sweet treats offer plenty to choose from, whether you’re picking something up to share or deciding that one treat is coming with you for the ride home.
Because after a day spent exploring, there’s nothing wrong with ending on a sweet note.
A True Taste of Martin County
No two tables tell quite the same story.
One might mean pulling up a seat at the oyster bar with friends. Another might come with a train ride before dinner. Somewhere else, it’s two friends catching up over tea, a coffee ordered before browsing a boutique, or a sweet treat picked up along the way.
And with more than 45 restaurants and eateries across Martin County, these are only a few of the stories waiting to be experienced.
The best way to get a true taste of Martin County is to start exploring it for yourself. Revisit an old favorite, choose somewhere you’ve never tried, or make food part of your next trip through the county.
Explore the full Explore Martin County dining listings and find your next table.