Eat and Stay in Style in Wilmington, NC and Island Beaches

08.01.2025 - 10:36 / matadornetwork.com

Imagine: You’ve just arrived in Wilmington and checked into the houseboat you’ll be calling home for a few days. You’re reluctant to leave your cozy digs, but you’re hungry, and tales of the monumental seafood tower at Seabird energize you.

Ready to kick off your Wilmington escape, you stroll through the downtown Historic District, stopping to snap photos of the sunset over the Cape Fear River before arriving for pre-dinner drinks at Concorde Espresso Bar. As soon as the cocktails arrive at your intimate firepit table, you raise yours in a toast — to the bites and sips ahead, to the beaches nearby, and to a stylish getaway where Wilmington shows you its very best.

Wilmington’s food scene is no longer a locals-only secret. The word has spread, and foodies are flocking to this North Carolina coastal town to see what’s cooking. From acclaimed chefs and lauded restaurants to up-and-comers representing flavors from around the globe, Wilmington has what you’re craving, starting with more than its fair share of culinary virtuosos.

Chef Keith Rhodes, a Top Chef alum and multi-year James Beard Award nominee and semifinalist, brings his singular perspective to the plate at Catch. The fried seafood platter with jerk collards is Southern soul food at its finest, while the crispy skin salmon filet with stir-fried noodles showcases a dramatic flair. At Seabird, Chef Dean Neff, a James Beard Award finalist for “Outstanding Chef” nationwide and semifinalist for “Best Chef Southeast,” keeps his focus on seafood with a monumental tower featuring smoked tuna, pickled shrimp, oysters on the half shell, deviled eggs topped with caviar, and more. But don’t fill up too quickly — the whole menu, with dishes like swordfish schnitzel and crispy smoked catfish, will leave you dizzy.

Nearby, manna ave. 123 keeps it as local as possible while leveraging relationships with farmers and producers across the state to deliver meals that have earned it an AAA Four-Diamond Award every year since 2015. Pair the fresh catch with seasonal veggies or the steak and duck fat fries with a cocktail or bottle of wine from the award-winning cellar. Meanwhile, Chef Sunny Gerhart — yet another James Beard Award semifinalist — presents New Orleans-inspired fare at Olivero Kitchen + Cocktails, drawing on Italian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and contemporary Southern traditions to create dishes like lasagna with octopus Bolognese and harissa-spiced pork cheeks.

If you have dietary restrictions or preferences to consider, no problem. Wilmington truly has something for everyone. Vegans and vegetarians should make a reservation at The Green House for high-end plant-based dining. For a more casual (but no less delicious) meal, stop by Sealevel City Vegan