5 Best Restaurants in Wilmington, The North Carolina Coast

On a prominent Market Street corner, chef Dean Neff's celebrated seafood-and-cocktail lounge lures diners in with wide windows, sparkling white tile, smooth wood chairs, and gold flourishes. The open kitchen fully delivers, from the selection of local raw oysters to the impossibly buttery swordfish schnitzel, served with lemon jam and a mustard emulsion. A comfortable bar and small dining room's throwback style invites leisurely meals lubricated by addictive concoctions that rotate with the seasons. The bar doubles as one of the city's best coffee shops in the morning and fills in on weekends for a brunch menu highlighted by fish and grits and a smoked cobia Benedict. 

Native Wilmingtonian chef Keith Rhodes is a James Beard Award finalist who sources local seafood for inspired, beautifully plated Asian- and Southern-influenced dishes. Copper fish sculptures decorate the dining room's sky-blue walls and watch you enjoy lump crab cakes, blackened swordfish, pan-roasted grouper, and other seafood dishes.

Sleek design, creative lighting, and carefully orchestrated music provide a mesmerizing backdrop to chef Carson Jewell's seasonal culinary artistry and the talented mixologists who create cocktails using seasonal ingredients and house-made bitters. Try the braised pork shank with sweet potato puree, collards, and radish pico de gallo, or the pan-seared Virginia scallops with parsnip puree, braised leeks, and apple salsa. The sign by the door reads, "Kindness Is Contagious," and the service reflects that ethos—you're made to feel very special here.

The sophisticated dining room delivers inventive new American dishes, crafted out of local ingredients and coastal bounty. There are no wrong choices on the nightly changing menu, from beef tartare to a fried pork chop with honey apple glaze.

The culinary creations here may be free of animal products, but they're certainly not lacking in flavor, from the addictive lentil burger patty melt to a kimchi tempeh Reuben that hits all the right notes.