Where to Eat

What “waterfront” actually means.

Asking about waterfront dining in Wilmington gets you three different answers, because there are three different waters. Downtown faces west across the Cape Fear River, so its rooftop bars and Riverwalk patios all point at the sunset. Wrightsville Beach has water on both sides, with the sunset tables on Banks Channel and the Intracoastal to the west and the ocean views to the east. Carolina Beach and Kure Beach put you closest to the ocean itself, where the boardwalk has been selling Britt's glazed donuts since 1939.

Seafood is the obvious draw, but it isn't the whole story. Downtown Wilmington holds most of the region's restaurants inside a few blocks, from an 1865 building pouring house-made beer to the late-night rooms above Front Street, while the beach towns run to fish houses, breakfast counters, and the kind of casual patio you walk to in flip-flops. Kitchen hours are the thing that catches visitors out, because closing times on the islands shift with the season and get early in the off-months.

The guides below sort restaurants by what you're actually deciding, whether that's the view, the budget, or whether the toddler will make it through lunch. Hours and menus here change often enough that it's worth confirming with the restaurant before you build an evening around it.