Brunches Carolina Beach — Restaurant in Carolina Beach

First off the space is open and bright and clean. It's a fun and casual environment. They have an enclosed patio space that is dog friendly. The service I've had here has always been wonderful. The bartenders and servers are always friendly and seem to go above and beyond whenever possible. The drinks I've had have been great. I tried a Reese's coffee cocktail that was delicious. And I had a strawberry pineapple mimosa that was very good. I've been eyeing the shots, particularly the bday one. They have a lot of fun drinks to choose from. My issue here is with the food. I've eaten here twice now and both times the food was below average. My first food experience was with their hibachi which I would not call hibachi at all. It's more of a veggie bowl with white rice. I asked for no mushrooms in mine. (It's an allergy.) I ordered it with the steak cooked med rare and shrimp. When it came out I noticed the onions were missing and there were mushrooms in it. The zucchini was raw. The bartender was pretty busy and I didn't want to bother her so I ended up picking the mushrooms out. They were big enough that I wasn't worried I might end up eating one. I just really hate to waste food. So after taking the mushrooms out and the onions being forgotten I had a bowl of white rice with raw zucchini and then my proteins. The bartender never checked on me until I was done and asking for a box. She looked at me quizzically when she saw my side plate of mushrooms. I told her they did no onion instead of no mushrooms. It was fine tho. She was super apologetic. The steak was over cooked and under seasoned and may have been cut wrong because it was very tough and chewy. The shrimp was super salty to where it was on the line of inedible. Again, I don't like to waste food so I brought it home so I could try and fix it. The next day I added onion to my leftovers and was able to cook the zucchini. It was better. The next time I went I ordered the shrimp and grits. The grits were great! The shrimp again was super salty but right on the line so some bites were saltier than others. I was also able to try their pancakes and those were pretty delicious so that's something I'd order in the future. Or maybe a burger. I would go here again mainly because of the service and my curiosity about some of the drinks. Food seems to be hit or miss. I do know they are still pretty new so maybe after some time some of these issues will iron out. They do have a calendar with fun specials throughout the month but for some reason they don’t post it on any of their social media. So I guess if you want to see it you have...

If you're ever in Carolina Beach and looking for the perfect brunch spot, do yourself a favor and head straight to Brunches. We had the most incredible experience celebrating a friend's birthday this past weekend, and I can’t stop raving about it! From the moment we walked in, we were warmly greeted by the hostess, and despite the place being packed, we were seated in less than 10 minutes—talk about efficient! The energy in the restaurant was electric, but what really stood out was the exceptional service. We were a party of eight, and our server, Alana, made sure we felt taken care of from the start. She quickly noticed we didn't have drink menus and immediately ran to grab them, bringing waters for everyone in the meantime. Talk about attentive! Of course, we couldn't resist the mimosa’s (peach was the favorite) and breakfast shots—and once we saw that on the menu, the game was on! Two of us opted for the Chicken and Waffles shot, and they were served up with flair and speed. The presentation was on point, and the shots were absolutely perfect—smooth, flavorful, and totally worth it. When it came time to order, the choices were nearly impossible to narrow down, but we went with three Chicken and Biscuit Supremes, one Breakfast Taco, one Notorious BLT, two Carolina Sunrises, and one Nutella French Toast (which—trust me—was an absolute must). The moment everyone dug in, the conversation stopped—all we could hear were satisfied "Mmm's" and "Wow's." The food was perfectly balanced—rich gravy, perfectly cooked eggs, warm, fluffy biscuits, and the Nutella French Toast? Oh my goodness—it was a sweet symphony of flavors, with perfectly sugared strawberries and a decadent drizzle of Nutella. We all tried so hard to finish every last bite, but honestly, we just couldn’t. No shame in taking home leftovers! The entire experience, from start to finish, was fantastic. After cleaning up our table (because yes, we’ve all been in the service industry and believe in good table manners), we capped off our brunch with another round of shots—more Chicken and Waffles shots and the amazing Girl Scout Cookie shot (if you’re a Thin Mints fan, get this one!). Brunches has it all—phenomenal food, a stellar staff, and an environment that just makes you want to stay all day. We couldn’t be more impressed and will definitely be making this our go-to spot for Sunday brunch whenever we’re in town. If you’re in the area, do not miss out...

Hostess was rude. She walked off without saying a word. Someone else walked up and she seemed as confused as we were. Our server was phenomenal! The server was the only good thing I can say really. The tea is mediocre at best. The blackened mahi was the whitest I have ever seen. Very little spice on it much less was it blackened. The worse ... no... the ABSOLUTE worst gluten free bun. It fell apart one bite in and tasted awful. The sauce was creamy lemon and not as described on the menu. The sandwich should have come with lettuce, tomato and onion. Onion could have added flavor if it had been on the sandwich but no, just a tart tomato and lettuce that had no crisp. Coleslaw... you need to be prepared for a lot of garlic. It wasn't bad. It wasn't great. It was different...very different. I liked it ok but couldnt eat much of it as the garlic is over powering and lots of celery seeds which I don't care for. Our visit was during their food happy hour and shift change. Maybe that is an excuse for lousy food but I will not go back during brunch or dinner to find out. This place literally left a bad taste...and I left 90 percent of the food on the plate. Server was knowledgeable about gluten but the restaurant does not have a gluten free menu...just a gf bun. My sister had the same sandwich but with the regular bun. She felt so embarrassed about how little she ate she used her fork to maneuver the food to look like she ate some. When we left she said we would eat dinner somewhere we know to be great. I jokingly told her McDonald's (she really dislikes...