Steamed Shellfish and Beer in Wilmington, NC
I will be heading down to Wilmington/Wrightsville Beach, NC in a week and a half for a scuba trip, and was hoping to find the perfect place to kill a couple of hours in the evening eating steamed shellfish (crab, oysters, shrimp, mussels, etc.) and drinking beer. Seafood must be fresh and beer must be cold (microbrews are a plus). I tend to enjoy dives over fancy joints, but as long as the food is good, I'm happy. A place by the water/beach would also be a bonus, but again, not a requirement.
After some digging, I saw that the following were recommended on this board, but wasn't really sure if this was what I was looking for:
-Hieronymus Seafood Restaurant and Oyster Bar
-Elijah's Restaurant
Buddy's Crabhouse and Oyster Bar sounded promising, until I took a visit to their ridiculous website and found no mention of food on the thing - http://www.buddyscrabhouse.com
I found a whole mess of options here, but was wondering which one would be best for what I'm looking for - http://www.sea-comm.com/restaurantgui...
I was in Morehead City about a month ago, for a similar trip, and was severely disappointed by the "Sanitary Fish Market and Restaurant". I was hoping this would be right up my ally, but no dice (steamed oysters should be in a shell of some sort). I'm hoping, with your help, not to make this mistake again. Thanks!
By SenorSuarez
on Jul 3, 2007 09:46 AM
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Hieronymus has decent food, but little to offer in the way of atmosphere - it's stuck on Market Street, down near Hooter's, the Wingate Inn and Target - so you can probably see what kind of area you're looking at.
Elijah's is on the river - nice view, pretty touristy. The food is "meh",
As far as I know, Buddy's is a bar. Meaning, a "bar". Where you pick up women (or men) and drink Bud Light. I don't know about food there.
I'd probably recommend Dock Street Oyster Bar http://www.dockstreetoysterbar.com/
It's a hole in the wall downtown, but cool "dive" atmosphere in historic downtown. Their beer selection isn't terrible, but I don't know that they have any microbrews.
Another nice option is Heck of a Peck near Masonboro marina. 4039 Masonboro Loop Rd - We've eaten there several times and the food is always really fresh and good. It's a little off the beaten path in kind of a quaint little shopping center thing on Masonboro Loop Road, which is still mostly residential. But I'd say it's worth it. Nice atmosphere and good food.
Several of the places on your list from your link are no longer around - like Fathoms Bistro. But a lot of them aren't really what you're looking for anyway. Dockside probably has decent oysters, and it's on the ICW, but the rest of their food is pretty drab, and I don't know what kind of beer selection they have. It caters to the Bud Lite kind of crowd, mostly.
I'd say out of all those, I'd recommend Heck of Peck and Dock Street. If you need to stay closer to the beach, you'll be OK with Dockside, but probably not impressed.
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I think Elijah's is consistently good. They also have a seafood bucket they serve that contains steamed oysters, shrimp, crab, little necks, mussels, etc. Beer selection is pretty good too. It's down on the riverwalk with seating on the Cape Fear River. It's probably one of our favorite places. We also like Bluewater over in Wrightsville Beach right after you cross over the drawbridge, on the right. It's on the intracoastal and on Friday and Saturday nights, they usually have jimmy buffett type live music. They have the seafood bucket as a special sometimes. Might want to call and check, if that's what you are looking for.
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Hrm, Dock Street Oyster Bar looks to be exactly what I'm looking for, but is about 20 minutes from where I'm staying (as is Elijah's, now that I look at a map). Heck of a Peck is about 12, but Bluewater is very close. Any other suggestions on places closer to the beach? Many thanks!
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Well, King Neptunes might be along the lines of what you're looking for - it's definitely a dive, and it's right on Wrightsville. 11 N Lumina Ave Wrightsville Bch, NC 28480 We've eaten there a couple of times after regattas. It's not bad, but it's not great either. South Beach Grille is probably our favorite place to eat on Wrightsville Beach, and it overlooks Banks Channel http://www.southbeachgrillwb.com/ but it's actually a nicer restaurant. I'm not sure if they'd have steamed oysters or something along those lines, but I can say that their dinners are very good.
I would advise you to stay away from the Oceanic. It's the only restaurant actually ON the beach, and used to be really good years ago, but now it's unfortunately turned into your basic tourist trap and the food quality is pretty consistently below mediocre.
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Please do yourself a favor and do NOT go to Bluewater! It's overpriced, the service is truly awful and the food . . . just, please, trust me. The only thing it does have going for it is the location, which is on the Intercoastal Waterway. But there are better choices. I've always loved King Neptune, but it is kind of divey in a funky little way. The food and service have always been pretty good. Dockside is my pick for a water front restaurant that is close to you. Not fancy, but they sell alot of seafood so you know what they've got is fresh. I'm not sure that I agree that it's a "Bud Light" crowd -- they have a great selection of bottled and draft brews. Dock Street Oyster Bar would definitely score high -- I think it would be worth the 20-minute drive. For another out-of-the-way choice, I'd go with Mako's Raw Bar and Grill, which is a great neighborhood joint in Scott's Hill, just north of Porter's Neck on Route 17 near Poplar Grove Plantation. From WB it's probably a 15 minute drive, and since you're going away from Wilmington center, there isn't any chance of getting stuck in traffic like there is if you head downtown. Great seafood, great beer, great bartender, divey atmosphere, and you don't have to pay beach prices. Worth the drive.
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Agree with you on Bluewater, not so much on Dockside. I've been consistently underwhelmed by their food.
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Dock Street Oyster Bar it is! Their Dock Street Steamer Platter appears to cover all the bases, and Red Oak on draft should go nicely. I'll make sure to give a review when I get back. Thanks again! :)
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Look forward to hearing how you like it. Hope you have good vis and calm seas for your dive. We've lived here 7 years and my husband was a dive instructor and I'm rated a dive master and we still haven't managed to get out diving here!
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FYI - There are cabs from the beach to downtown Wilmington....do yourself a favor and call one, so you can have two Red Oaks. Although, I will warn you, on a weekend night, it is hard to find a cab at 2am on the streets of Wilmington when the bars close. Not because there are none, but because they are at a premium!
I agree with the food recs. you have gotten and Dock Street is the best choice. Get a seat outside, so you can people watch.
I would agree with the posters about Bluewater and Oceanic, just okay, but great locations....but every time anyone comes to stay with us at our beach place, they always want to go there (usually people over 50!). We prefer South Beach or a number of other places across the bridge or in town. We also like Dockside, but don't go there for the food. I always just get the "catch of the day" sandwich, which is always tuna. Great with a cold BUD LIGHT! Reminds me of that old commercial (although wrong beer)"Schaeffer (Bud Light)...is the...one beer to have when your having more than one!". Plus, at the beach after a HOT day, I want a REALLY COLD beer and light beers just lend themselves to that. I love microbrews, but find them heavy for drinking ice cold on a hot beach day.
Tell us about your stay.
Also, the diving I have done at WB has been great, but limited. I have found that the diving operations there never seem to go out when the wind is blowing at all....boats to small or something. Best I have done off WB was when a group of us chipped in to bring a boat down from Morehead CIty, so we could be sure the boat would go out. I remember an amazing wooden wreck that still had old bottles buried under it. Incredible.
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Thanks for the tip! I don't plan on drinking too much since I'll be diving the next morning. Also, I think I may do the Wilmington Ghost Walk which apparently starts up just down the street from Dock Street. That should be a good way to off any built up alcohol before heading back to the hotel.
We have a fully booked charter with Aquatic Safaris, so I doubt they'll cancel unless the seas are really bad. Thanks again!
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Dock Street Oyster Bar was just what I was looking for. Their beer selection could've been better (they didn't have Red Oak), but I was mostly interested in the seafood anyways. I got their steamer platter, and it totally hit the spot. The snow crab legs were cooked perfectly, some of the best I've ever had, easily pulling out huge chunks of meat. I had fun shucking the oysters myself, and didn't lose any fingers. The shrimp, crawfish, mussels, and clams all tasted fresh and were quite satisfying. I liked that they gave me a side of horseradish so I could strengthen up my cocktail sauce to my liking. The casual atmosphere was great and our server was friendly and was happy to take pictures of our group with our cameras for us. I'll definitely go back next time I'm in Wilmington. Thanks!!
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Glad you liked it. Hope the diving was also good!
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