TV Restaurants

Is Tortugas' Lie Still Open? Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Update

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 16 Nags Head, North Carolina

Current status

Open

As of October 2026, Tortugas' Lie is listed open on tortugaslie.com, reviewed by our team on September 7, 2026; not yet independently confirmed through direct contact.

What the source shows: The business's own website, checked 2026-09-08, shows a 2026 copyright date, an active online shop, and current hours/location pages, indicating the restaurant is open. How we decide a status →

What happened after Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives? 2 episodes

Part 1 — Season 16, Episode 12 Aired

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives visited Tortugas' Lie in Nags Head, North Carolina for the 2013-03-18 episode "Layers of Flavor," where the show explored the restaurant's layered, Caribbean-influenced Outer Banks dishes. Tortugas' Lie has operated as a family-owned restaurant and bar since 1991, and the property includes an on-site volleyball court among the dunes. According to the business's website (tortugaslie.com), a 2026-09-08 check found the site carrying a 2026 copyright date, an active online shop, and pages for daily specials, hours, and location. The homepage still describes the restaurant as "AN OUTER BANKS CLASSIC SINCE 1991." No closure, relocation, or ownership change has surfaced in available sources since the episode aired. The restaurant's Virginia Dare Trail address sits along the beach-facing side of Nags Head's main commercial strip.

Part 2 — Season 19, Episode 14 Aired

The "Crazy for Chicken" compilation revisited Tortugas' Lie, where Guy Fieri had cooked the restaurant's jerk chicken and a jerk-rubbed pork dish called Pork Antonio, topped with habanero pepper jelly, during its original 2012 Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives visit. Tortugas' Lie is a seafood-focused restaurant and bar on the Outer Banks in Nags Head, where the Caribbean-spiced chicken became a menu standout alongside its fresh local seafood.

The episodes Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

Episode 12
Aired
Title: Layers of Flavor · What was featured: Layered, Caribbean-influenced Outer Banks dishes
Season 19, Episode 14
Aired
Title: Crazy for Chicken · What was featured: Jerk chicken and habanero-jelly Pork Antonio, Caribbean-Outer Banks fusion
How Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives restaurants have fared: 27% closed →

Also in Season 16 Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

Season 16: 11 of 29 still open · 4 renamed, moved or under new owners

All 13 Season 16 episodes →

Nearest restaurants By distance from 3016 South Virginia Dare Trail

All 99 TV restaurants in North Carolina →

Before you go: Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources we checked 4 references

  1. tortugaslie.com https://www.tortugaslie.com/
  2. outerbanksthisweek.com https://outerbanksthisweek.com/articles/when-food-network-comes-calling-tortugas-lie
  3. dinersdriveinsdiveslocations.com https://www.dinersdriveinsdiveslocations.com/tortugas-lie-shellfish-bar-and-grill-north-carolina.html
  4. tripledmap.com https://tripledmap.com/restaurant/tortugas-lie
See something wrong?

We work hard to keep every status accurate and dated, but restaurants change fast and our sources aren't perfect. If something here is wrong — a status, a name, an address, anything — tell us what you're seeing and where you saw it, and we'll check it.

Tell us →

Share

Record ddd-0590 · checked by Cal Marchetti.