After taking flight in spring 2021 Seabird has quickly soared to the top of Wilmington’s restaurant scene. The creation of local fixtures Lydia Clopton and Dean Neff, the restaurant is now open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A nautically-inspired interior is the setting for Neff’s creative menu that is heavy on seafood, like the swordfish schnitzel, smoked catfish and oyster pie, and a seasonal seafood tower. The cozy bar transforms into a counter service coffee, breakfast, and lunch scene each morning with sandwiches, soups, pastries and more.

Manna sets the bar for new American cuisine in Wilmington, and it sets it high. The menu changes so constantly it’s almost futile to list dishes (who knows how long the Pig League Ball Pork, a hickory-smoked pork chop with barbecued peas, Tokyo turnips, and boiled peanut jus will last?), but rest assured that executive chef Carson Jewell is always serving up something tasty. Executive pastry chef Rebeca Edelmira Alvarado-Paredes takes care of the sweets, and between them and general manager/owner WM Mellon they’ve managed to turn Manna into one of the Port City’s must-have dinner reservations.

An appearance on Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives helped rocket the Fork ‘N’ Cork to national attention. Fieri raved about the confit duck wings, but the downtown Wilmington restaurant (which also has an outpost at Carolina Beach) has long been a favorite with locals. Two styles of poutine (classic and Texas, with smoked brisket and barbecue sauce), fried pickles, and Rattlesnake Bites (roasted jalapenos stuffed with shrimp, corn, cheese, and then deep-fried) accompany an extensive list of burgers and sandwiches.

Wilmington native Sam Cahoon’s downtown restaurant offers what the website calls “local fare with Latin flair.” Formerly the executive chef at Ceviche’s, Cahoon’s menu includes a entire section dedicated to salsas, shareables like BLT arepas and chicken tinga empanadas, and entrees like the caliente tuna, a blackened tuna filet served with cilantro-lime quinoa, pineapple salsa, oven-dried tomatoes, balsamic glaze, avocado, and pickled shallots. The lunch menu is heavy on tacos and tostadas, and Sunday brunch is available as well.

Brother and sister duo William and Marsha Boudreaux offer classic Southern coastal soul food a few minutes east of downtown Wilmington. Inspired by the home cooking of their mother, Carrie, the menu at Nippy’s features dishes like crab rice, butter beans and okra, turkey wings, barbecue ribs, ox tails, and fish and grits. All dinners come with two sides and optional rice and gravy, although for that true home cooked meal feeling the rice and gravy is never really optional.

Opened in 2000 by owners Amy and Jay Muxworthy, Flaming Amy’s is as well-known for its burritos as it is for the nearly-ubiquitous “Eat At Flaming Amy’s” bumper stickers. There are chips and queso and nacho platters, but the unique burritos are the real draw. The Bayou comes with spicy Creole jambalaya sauce, rice, beans, cheese, and a choice of grilled filling seasoned with Cajun spices, while the Philly “Phatboy” has grilled steak, green peppers, onions, mushrooms, lettuce, diced tomato, sour cream, and cheese. Heat lovers should stick with the original Flaming Amy burrito, packed with chipotle peppers, fresh jalapeños, mild green chiles, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, rice, beans, “Flaming Hot” salsa, and a choice of grilled filling. There is a second location in Carolina Beach for those not wanting to make the trek into town.

Ida Thai is a Carolina Beach mainstay serving up classic Thai cuisine like som tom (papaya salad), tom kha kai soup, and pad Thai. Red, green, yellow, pananag, and massaman curries are available, and the chef’s recommendations menu includes dishes such as Thai three flavor fish (a whole fried fish with sweet, sour, and spicy sauce), a roasted duck, and soft shell crabs garee. Takeout is a popular option, and it recently began offering beer and wine to go for those who want the Ida Thai experience in the comfort of their vacation rental.

The line might appear before the smell does, but soon enough almost every visitor to Carolina Beach finds themselves queued up for a chance to grab a piping hot glazed donut from Britt’s. The shop first opened in 1939 and has been operated by the Nivens family for the past 40 years. The menu is simple — glazed donuts, plus some drinks. And that’s it. Open Friday through Sunday, the weekend line starts to form well before the 8:30am opening, but it tends to move fast. Britt’s is open until they sell out, which during the high season is a distinct possibility.

Chef Keith Rhodes’s ode to the seafood of the Cape Fear Coast has been one of Wilmington’s most-lauded restaurants since opening in 2006. The menu is certainly seafood focused, with dishes like Cajun-crusted North Carolina oysters, seared Ahi tuna (with coconut-saffron risotto, baby spinach, oyster mushrooms, and a sesame buerre blanc), and a fried seafood platter that comes with the catch of the day plus jumbo shrimp and local oysters. The fish-averse can choose from the “Land Offerings” (steak, duck, ribs), although the shrimp and grits with Benton’s bacon might be hard to turn down.

The Green House is Wilmington’s first, and so far only, restaurant dedicated to high-end vegan cuisine. The seasonally-changing menu highlights the region’s plant-based bounty with dishes like chilled corn soup with sumac popcorn, Marsh Hen Mills creamed grits with roasted carrots, and a plant-based green chorizo with roasted mushroom tamale. Weekend brunch features an abbreviated menu of classic dishes like the BLT and biscuit sandwich reimagined as vegan options.

Looking for thick-cut pork chops, dry-aged steaks, or pecan-smoked chicken? But also, Szechuan eggplant, beef satay with crispy Brussels sprouts, and a bowl of Tonkotsu-style ramen big enough for two people? Toss in a high-end butcher counter and a small selection of gourmet grocery items and True Blue Butcher and Table suddenly transcends the idea of a simple steakhouse. The Military Cutoff location is the original, but there is also True Blue Butcher & Barrel (a more relaxed menu with a whiskey bar concept) in the South Front Street District and True Blue Butcher & Baker in Hampstead (a full-service butcher shop and bakery). Both the Table and Barrel locations also serve lunch and brunch.

Sun-soaked beachgoers and locals head to Wrightsville Beach’s South Beach Grill for locally-sourced seafood, sandwiches, and more. The Lowcountry seafood mac ‘n cheese comes with shrimp and local crab in a spicy Cajun cheese sauce, while the scallop Maison-boro (a nod to nearby Masonboro Island) is served with bacon jam and pecan gremolata. For lunch, there is a selection of sandwiches, salads, burgers, and appetizers, along with classic Calabash-style fried seafood platters.

Since 1976, beach-goers and locals alike have been lining up at Trolly Stop in Wrightsville Beach for one (or more) of their iconic hotdogs. Customers pick a style of dog, the beef and pork “Traditional Southern Dog”, the all beef “Northern Dog”, the smoked turkey dog, the veggie dog, or a smoked pork sausage, before deciding on toppings. The Surfer Dog comes topped with mustard, cheese, and bacon bits, while the Mexican Dog has salsa, cheese, onions, jalapenos, and two strips of bacon. Out-of-staters should probably go for the true North Carolina experience and order the Carolina Dog with deli mustard, chili, and coleslaw.