Cafe & Bakery

Sea Level Coffee + Kitchen

A morning-into-early-afternoon coffee and kitchen stop on Nags Head's S Croatan Highway

(346)

$$$$Nags Head, NC

About

Sea Level Coffee + Kitchen sits along S Croatan Highway in Nags Head, part of the busy Beach Road/Croatan Highway corridor that strings together Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head, and Kitty Hawk. It's a straightforward, no-frills stop for coffee, breakfast, and lunch — the kind of place to grab a cup and a plate before heading out to the beach, Jockey's Ridge, or the Wright Brothers Memorial a few miles up the road.

The kitchen keeps a tight morning-into-early-afternoon schedule: open Tuesday through Sunday from 6am to 2pm, closed Mondays. That's an early cutoff compared to a lot of Outer Banks restaurants, so it's better suited to breakfast and lunch plans than dinner — worth building into a morning routine on a beach week rather than counting on for an evening meal. Pricing sits in the moderate ($$) range, in line with other casual, low-key spots along this stretch of Nags Head.

Because it sits on the highway side rather than directly oceanfront, it works well as a quick stop on the way to or from the beach rather than a destination in itself.

Hours: Tuesday–Sunday, 6am–2pm; closed Monday
Price range: $$
Address: 6705 S Croatan Hwy, Nags Head, NC

Reviews (346)

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4.8

346 reviews

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sean jones

3 weeks ago

Great service and better food. Upon entering was handed a menu and put in a quick moving line to the register. Options are simple but all sounded fantastic. Really appreciated the specialty coffees listed, made selecting what we wanted much easier. They took our order quickly, were accommodating of substitutions we requested and were overwhelmingly friendly. Seating and atmosphere was great. Plenty of outdoor seating, though mildly cramped inside. Despite being swamped with customers, our drinks came out almost as fast as we could find a seat. It wasn't even 5 minutes later that our food came out hot and ready. Flavor was amazing. We both got a Hash bowl. Mine was salmon and sweet potatoes, hers was potatoes and sausage. Everything tasted extremely fresh, and quality. Some of the best food we've had in the area so far. Overall very happy with this small find, great people and fantastic food/ coffee. Would highly recommend.

Brandon “Birdie” Sprinkle

5 months ago

What a great breakfast we had recently at Sea Level Coffee + Kitchen! We visited on a weekday and had a great experience. Everyone was so helpful and we were able to sit outside and enjoy the beautiful weather while having a delicious breakfast. We ordered a Bananas Foster Latte, Yeah Buoy, CoYo Bowl and Basic Beach. Everything tasted great and we will definitely be back again in the future!

Ky Holl

5 months ago

Phenomenal breakfast and coffee. “Yeah Buoy” burrito was a great portion, and reminds me of the license plate burritos from Hawai’i. Taste was perfect. It wasn’t over-seasoned, which is the case with a lot of egg dishes, letting you actually appreciate the egg, but the hangover potatoes and guacamole brought some flavor, and with a little salsa roja it was a beautiful way to hit all three meals for the day in one go. The Smoked Salmon Hash (pictured) was even better. The salmon hash was tasty, the eggs were perfectly cooked and beautifully runny, the sweet potatoes were sweet and herbaceous, and the chili lime hollandaise was balanced perfectly with the acid and slight spice so as not to go overboard with the richness of the egg yolks. If you aren’t eating GF, I recommend you ask for some carb on the side to sop up the leftovers. I didn’t lick the plate solely because I’m wearing a new shirt. The salsa roja was fresh and delicious, but very mild. If you have no spice tolerance, feel free to order this safely! If you do, maybe ask them if they have anything hotter. But I digress, it was fresh and refreshing, and the seasoned tortilla chips were good enough to eat dry. We will be back, and we appreciate the delicious food and wonderful hospitality!

JessAbe

2 months ago

As someone who tours the country via coffee shops, I’d say this one is doing it right. The food and drinks are delicious. The staff are very friendly. The merchandise is awesome and I love the local art for sale. Great spot, just beware of parking.

Allie Barefoot

a month ago

Wow! If you’re here for the week, you need to make this place a morning stop. We try not to eat at the same place twice on vacation, but had to make an exception because it was that good. The coffee was fresh, the food was incredible, and the burrito is honestly life-changing.