Don Cangrejo

Don Cangrejo brings a little extra flavor to Wilmington Highway.

Located at 255 Wilmington Hwy in Jacksonville, NC, Don Cangrejo is a Mexican restaurant with a strong mariscos personality — the kind of place where tacos, fajitas, seafood, cocktails, and bold flavors all share the same table.

The name says a lot. “Cangrejo” means crab, and the menu leans into that coastal, seafood-loving side with dishes like seafood soup, shrimp, fish, scallops, crab legs, ceviche, tostadas, fried fish, octopus, and seafood fajitas. But this is not just a seafood restaurant. Don Cangrejo also has plenty of Mexican restaurant staples, from tacos and burritos to quesadillas, nachos, carne asada, chilaquiles, flautas, and fajitas.

Their own website puts it simply: “Made with amor, served with a smile. The Cangrejo Way.”

For anyone searching for Mexican food in Jacksonville NC, seafood near Camp Lejeune, or a sit-down restaurant off Wilmington Highway, Don Cangrejo is worth adding to the list.

Don Cangrejo feels like one of those restaurants that is not trying to be plain.

The menu has range. You can go simple with tacos, rice and beans, nachos, or a burrito. Or you can go all in with mariscos, seafood cocktails, fried whole fish, shrimp dishes, ceviche, crab legs, or a fajita loaded with shrimp, scallops, mahi mahi, and crab legs.

That mix gives the restaurant its personality.

Jacksonville already has plenty of places where you can get tacos or fajitas. Don Cangrejo adds something a little different by putting Mexican comfort food and seafood on the same menu. It feels like a good fit for a coastal North Carolina town where seafood is already part of the local food conversation.

The menu at Don Cangrejo is big enough that you do not have to be in the mood for just one thing.

You will find familiar Mexican restaurant favorites like tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, fajitas, enchiladas, chicken dishes, steak plates, rice, beans, and chips and salsa.

But the seafood side is where the restaurant gets more interesting. The menu includes seafood soups, shrimp dishes, fried fish, red snapper, octopus, ceviche, seafood tostadas, Mexican shrimp cocktails, and several larger seafood plates.

It is a good place to keep in mind when you want Mexican food with more seafood options, tacos and classic plates, shrimp or crab legs, a sit-down meal on Wilmington Highway, or dinner and drinks in one stop.

The seafood section is what gives Don Cangrejo its name and character.

The menu includes dishes like 7 Mares, a seafood soup with shrimp, fish, scallops, and crab legs; Mariscos Don Cangrejo, with shrimp, scallops, mahi mahi, and crab wrapped in foil with chipotle sauce; Pulpo Zarandeado, a grilled octopus dish; and Fajita Don Cangrejo, made with shrimp, scallops, mahi mahi, and crab legs.

That is not the usual short seafood add-on you see at every Mexican restaurant. Don Cangrejo gives seafood a bigger role.

For anyone who likes Mexican food but wants something beyond the standard taco-and-fajita order, that makes the menu worth a closer look.

Don Cangrejo is located at 255 Wilmington Hwy, Jacksonville, NC 28540.

That puts it on the southwest side of Jacksonville, along one of the main routes heading in and out of town.

It is an easy spot to notice when you are traveling Wilmington Highway, and it adds another local dining option outside the busiest Western Boulevard restaurant corridor.

When people search for things to do in Jacksonville NC, restaurants are a huge part of the answer — where to get Mexican food, find seafood, grab tacos, or sit down for dinner and drinks.

Don Cangrejo belongs in that conversation. It brings Mexican restaurant staples and a serious mariscos menu together on Wilmington Highway, giving residents, visitors, PCS families, and service members another locally owned option beyond the usual chain stop.

Jacksonville is not just neighborhoods, traffic, and duty stations. It is also restaurants, seafood, tacos, and everyday places that help people feel more connected to the community.

Don Cangrejo is located at 255 Wilmington Hwy in Jacksonville, NC.

Before heading over, check Don Cangrejo’s website for current hours, menu updates, online ordering, and specials.