Cape Fear Seafood Company — Restaurant in Castle Hayne

Prior to going to the Porters Neck location, I had visited the one in Monkey Junction for lunch one day, a few years ago with my mother as a special treat. The location in monkey junction was very good at the time. It was my mothers 61st birthday this year & I wanted to take her somewhere she could enjoy seafood. She suggested Cape Fear Seafood since we had a nice time at the other one, but living closer to Porters Neck we choose to eat there instead. Upon arriving, my mother asked the hostess what the specials of the day were (there was a sign right behind them that said to ask) & the girl had no clue & just said "ask your server, she'll know". Our server was great, she did everything right except one thing....And that was to make my mother feel special on her birthday. Typically if you go to a restaurant & tell them its your birthday they do a song, or have a dessert or app on the house (which lets be honest, who doesn't enjoy that on their birthday?!) Needless to say, my mother did not receive anything but that was not even the main issue for why I am giving a one star review. The main issue was when I ordered the Smoked Salmon Cakes over Fettuccine. I've had many smoked meals & never have I experienced a taste so disgusting before. Before the waitress even put the plate down I could smell that something was off. When it was in front of me the smell was even stronger....I took one bite & tried to chew but immediately spit it out. My body started to regurgitate because the taste of that salmon cake was the taste of some sort of gasoline, lighter fluid or perhaps the used liquid smoke which they must've drenched it in it because it was as if I ate pure chemicals. My body was so nauseous that I had to run to the restroom where I proceeded to throw up. While I was in the restroom the manager went to the table & asked my mother what was wrong, she explained & then they asked if I was interested in any other food. She told them maybe the Fish & Chips. When I returned to the table, I was still sick to my stomach. They brought the food my mother suggested which I could not eat. Received a to-go box, the check with the Salmon Cakes taken off the bill but the new meal replacing it. I should of just told them to take it off & left the food because I wasn't able to eat it even after the fact, my tastes buds have been off since this day which was almost a week ago. The fact that they didn't comp the meal, nor give a birthday treat for even the inconvenience of my mother having to watch her daughter turn pale white & throw up that evening is despicable. The other food was sub par for the prices that they are charging. Normally I wouldn't ever write a review for a restaurant but this was warranted. I really hope the restaurant understands that what you provided to me as a meal was pure poison. I will never ever eat there again, I will never recommend this place to anyone. And a warning to anyone who does wish to try their food, avoid the salmon cakes...

My father was visiting from NY and wanted to take my son (2 years old) and I out to a nice seafood dinner on his last night here. I have always loved Cape Fear seafood, so of course I recommended we go there! We ordered a couple of drinks from the bar, an appetizer, two seafood entrées, and a kids meal. When our food came out to the table, my son started fussing because he didn't want to sit in his highchair. After a minute, I brought him outside to "reset". Upon bringing him back in, he was calmed and I tried the highchair again. Not having it. I tried for another minute or so, and he was just carrying on, so I gave him a toy, and he was immediately calm and quiet. A second later, the waiter in training who was serving our table with a veteran waitress, came to our table and quietly and embarrassingly said, "my manager said that the baby is making other guests uncomfortable, so she asked that you guys take it up." And I was speechless so my dad said, "you're asking us to leave?" And the water said "yes, I'm sorry." We asked for boxes so that we could box up our food that was just brought out, and my dad stayed back to pay the bill, that was full price with no discount for inconvenience or anything of that matter. As we were gathering our things, the waitress came over and, while laughing, said "I could hear him all the way in the bathroom!" "Well I hope you enjoy your meals later on!" Wow. Just wow. I was completely in shock, as to why a kid friendly establishment was kicking us out for a fussy 2 year old. He was upset for MAYBE 5 minutes total. Also please tell me why they would send the poor new guy to break the news? Why wouldn't the manager herself come to tell us? Coward move. Also, charging us full price for everything? After sending us packing. Don't think so. I won't be back and I know many other parents of toddlers or babies or any children for that matter may decide not to pay a visit to cape fear seafood company. 😡

Update: One of the owners reached out to me in order to make it right. He apologized profusely and was very empathetic of our situation. He offered me a gift card and asked for me to consider giving them another chance and enjoy the meal that we should have been able to enjoy the other night. He also mentioned that he has spoken to the staff to ensure that this never happens again. I truly appreciate him reaching out and making this right. I plan on giving Cape Fear Seafood...

I have eaten at Cape Fear Seafood a handful of times. The last two times have been pretty good. The first three times were kind of hit or miss.

The first time my wife and I went, we ordered the calamari for an appetizer. We've had calamari at various restaurants, the best so far is, surprisingly, Longhorn Steakhouse. We figured calamari from a seafood restaurant would be awesome. Wow, were we wrong. When they brought the calamari out, it looked as though we got some fresh calamari, which did taste decent, and some old, burned calamari. I wish I had taken a picture, the difference was like night and day, there was no way that these were cooked at the same time. Of course, the burned one's tasted gross, no matter how much sauce you out on it. I believe I ordered the swordfish the first time we went, and remember it tasting pretty good.

We ended up going back a second time, ONLY because we were invited by another couple. We asked instead to go to a different restaurant, but they insisted. This time, we didn't order the calamari, nor any appetizer. I believe I picked the Calabash style plate, which contains fried flounder, fried oysters, and fried shrimp. They were all pretty decent, nothing spectacular, but not bad. It's a little pricey for what it is.

We were in the mood for seafood about a month ago, and we decided to go to Cape Fear Seafood, only because we happened to be in the area. We tried the calamari again, my wife ordered a lobster risotto, and I ordered the swordfish again. Everything, this time, was delicious. The calamari seemed fresh and crispy and tasted good. The swordfish was really good. My wife loved the risotto, so I had a bite and was very impressed.

I would give Cape Fear Seafood 4 stars based on our last visit, losing one star due to pricing. Everything else was really good. Giving it 3 stars due to our...