Captain's Table at Watauga Lakeshore Marina

The only restaurant you can drive a boat to

When we first moved up here from Florida, we kept hearing about “the restaurant on the lake.” We assumed there were several. There is one. Captain’s Table at Watauga Lakeshore Resort & Marina is the only restaurant on Watauga Lake that sits on the water with a dock right below it, where you can tie up your pontoon and walk a short ramp up to a deck with the lake spread out in front of you.

That fact alone makes it a destination. Most lakes this size in the southern Appalachians have at least a couple of marina restaurants. Watauga has the one, by Lakeshore Marina off US-321 in Hampton.

A quick correction on a thing a lot of guests get wrong, including us at first: Captain’s Table is at Lakeshore Resort & Marina, not at Fish Springs Marina. The two marinas are about 5 miles apart on the south shore and constantly get mixed up in conversation. Fish Springs is the older marina, founded in 1949. Lakeshore is the bigger one with the cabins, the campground, and the restaurant. If you are heading to Captain’s Table, plug in 2285 US-321, Hampton, TN.

What to expect

The dining room has the big glass-windowed view of the lake that you would hope for, and a deck that opens up in summer. The traditional menu has leaned to steaks and seafood, with chicken and pasta on the side and a kids’ menu for the family. The lake view is the main event.

There is also typically a snack bar at the marina for a faster, casual bite, with burgers and sandwiches, which is what we go for when we have been on the water all morning and don’t feel like sitting down for an hour.

Where things stand right now

We need to be straight with you about something. The longtime owners, the Tipton family, stepped away from Captain’s Table after six decades in 2022. The restaurant briefly operated as Southern Craft BBQ under new ownership. In June 2023, an early-morning fire heavily damaged the building. Rebuilding has been underway, and Lakeshore’s own marketing still describes on-site dining as part of the resort experience, but the rolling status of “what is open today, with what name on the door” has been less than stable through 2024 and 2025.

By the time you read this and plan your trip, things may be back to normal, or they may not be. Call 423-725-2201 before you drive over. If you booked dinner in your head and they are closed, you will be disappointed, and we would feel bad. A short phone call solves that.

If for any reason the restaurant is dark the week you visit, we keep a current short list of off-lake restaurants we send our guests to. Just message us.

How to get there by boat

If you have a pontoon out for the day, this is the run to make. From the main channel of the lake on the south side, head toward Lakeshore Marina’s clearly marked entrance. Slow to no-wake well before the docks. There is a tie-up pier below the restaurant. Walk up the ramp. That’s it.

A short cruise from the townhouse area to Lakeshore by water takes about 20 to 30 minutes depending on what kind of boat you are on and how leisurely the cruise is. We have done it on a rental pontoon and on a friend’s bowrider. The pontoon was the better lunch experience.

When to go

Weekday lunches in shoulder season (late May, September) are the best version of the experience. The deck is open, the lake is calm, the kitchen isn’t slammed, and the view does the work.

Summer Saturday dinners are the worst version. The kitchen is busy, the wait is longer, and the deck fills before sunset. If you go, go early or aim for an in-between time.

July 4 itself is a scene. Boats fill the cove in front. The deck is packed. If you have your heart set on a deck table that day, you need to be a planner. See the July 4 houseboat parade guide for how the whole week shakes out.

Fall foliage Saturdays in mid-October are the second-busiest scene of the year. Beautiful, but plan accordingly.

What we tell guests

Captain’s Table is the kind of place where the experience is the location, not the cuisine. The lake view from a deck table on a calm evening, with boats coming and going below, is what you remember. The food has historically been straightforward American steak-and-seafood, fine for the setting, not the reason you go.

If you are coming up for a long weekend and the restaurant is open, plan one lunch or one dinner on the deck and bring a camera. If you are arriving by boat, even better. Tie up, walk up, sit down, look out. That is the move.

For anything else lake-related — where to launch, where to fish, where to swim — see our Watauga Lake overview or take a look at the fishing guide.