Cape Fear Seafood Company — Restaurant in Wilmington

First visit to CFSC to try some local seafood flavors and compare against many others I have also tried in The Port City. This evening's visit was in the Monkey Junction area of Wilmington, off of College Road.

FOOD: Crab Dip Appetizer; Shrimp & Grits; Figure 8 Stuffed Flounder and the day's Fresh Catch, Grilled Swordfish. Our son was craving either swordfish or grouper so he ordered the fresh catch, grilled with fries and rice pilaf. He thoroughly enjoyed the swordfish and fries, but then his picky side didn't care for the rice. I tasted all 3 and thought the flavors were fantastic. My wife ordered the Figure 8 Stuffed Flounder and was very impressed. I took one bite and could immeditely tell how thick, flaky and fresh the flounder was. Each filet was wrapped around a crab fusion that makes your mouth smile as you chew. It's really that good. Then, my journey to taste the Carolina Coast's shrimp & grits continued as I prepared to dive into 1 of the top 5 best-voted and must-try shrimp & grits in NC. My top place for shrimp & grits up until this evening, also hails from Wilmington, so this was a true test. I took a bite...I looked down and continued to chew slowly, savoring the flavors. The taste was so similar to that of my favorite shrimp & grits in town! The 2 are so eerily close to one another that I have to vote a tie for now until I can get a blind taste done, side by side. These shrimp and grits are no joking matter and has the perfect balance between land and air. The shrimp was blasting with fresh juices packed inside the tails. The mushrooms and creamy grits gave the dish wonderful earthy tones and then the sauce!!!! The sauce is defined as a low country cream sauce. It tastes sooooo good...mouthgasm!! There is some reduced white white in the sauce that gives it this aromatic flavor throughout and marries well with the shrimp and grits. The only opportunity for improvement that I would recommend is to help make the crab dip more crab-centric. The flavors of the dip taste exactly like a wonderful, deconstructed crab cake with tangy remoulade sauce, but the consistency of the dip was comparable to a fluffy puree rather than a thick dip with larger chunks of crab. SCORE: 4.75 STARS!!

SERVICE: We were served within 1 minute of sitting down by our server, Maddie. Maddie was doing her part during the COVID-19 era by practicing social distancing while communicating with us and wore a surgical face covering throughout the evening. Other staff members were also noticed wearing face coverings and being thorough about cleanliness. Maddie excelled by allowing properly timed visits back to the table, was very efficient, super friendly and carried herself as a professional. The dining area was clean and all went according to expectations. SCORE: 5 STARS!!

OVERALL SCORE: Cape Fear Seafood Company offers up some fresh seafood for an acceptable value but will blow your tastebuds away when you see how they have selected the finest ingredients. Don't be fooled...the exterior doesn't do this place justice for what awaits on the other side of the doors. Incredible food and service. I look forward to dining with you again. 4.85 STARS!!

IG:...

As a local in Wilmington and specifically in the Monkey Junction area, I have been enjoying CFSC since they opened their doors. I've seen it grow from a small space to what it is today. No doubt, Evans and his team know what they are doing. While I always enjoy myself when dining at this fine restaurant, and at many gatherings over the years with friends and family, I want to take a moment to share my most recent experience. Yesterday evening, me and 2 companions had reservations earlier than our usual, as it was a "school night". We were seated in the back room, which was my first time in the area, outside of a wine dinner I had attended a few years ago. It is a relaxing area and the noise level seemed to be at a more reasonable level than the bar or main dining areas. The one element that made this experience most memorable and close to perfect was our server, Cassidy. This server is undoubtedly one of the best I have ever encountered. She knows her menus, from the appetizers and entrées to the beverages, wines, and desserts. When describing the options for catch of the day and the featured entrée, Cassidy expressed the items with sincere joy and answered questions openly, not with "ums", "uhs", or "not sures", but with confidence and pride. We started with cocktails and the crab dip, of course. Even as the room and Cassidy got busier, she remained upbeat, engaged, and service focused. I expressed my desire for a glass of wine with dinner and asked available options. After a couple of specific questions for me and knowing I had ordered the featured snapper with sauteed spinach and rosé infused risotto, she recommended a wine that paired perfectly. Again, the most sincere, knowledgeable, and efficient server, along with a fantastic meal... equals 110% satisfaction. With the decline in customer service over the last few years, I want to do my part in acknowledging the great service I do receive. When making a reservation, check to see if Cassidy is available to serve you... I promise, you...

In the past, Cape Fear Seafood Company has always been at the top of our list for places to eat when we visit Wilmington. However, given our experience this trip, we’re going to have to rethink that. My husband and I made a reservation for 6:30 pm for our anniversary. According to the website as well as the reservation site, reservations were highly recommended because they were limiting parties to 1 hour 15 minutes of eating time and are socially distancing the tables and reducing the number of patrons on site at a time. This was a welcome sight, as we are both high risk and, while vaccinated, are limiting our eating out at restaurants to a minimum while the pandemic is still an issue.

However, when we arrived, what we could see from the front seemed to indicate that there was no social distancing or limited seating being done. After waiting ten minutes beyond our reservation time to be seated (even though we arrived early, meaning we waited almost 20 minutes), the hostess tried to sit us at the smallest table in the restaurant. It was smaller than an end table, barely big enough to fit two chairs, and we would never have been able to have a meal comfortably. In addition, it was in a tiny room at the front of the restaurant right next to a table of about 20 other guests.

When I asked the hostess if we could be seated elsewhere, we were told the only other option was a high-top table in the bar, which wasn’t any better than this card table they set us at to begin with. When I asked about the information online, she just said “oh we don’t do that anymore. I guess I’ll have to tell the owner to fix it.”

Needless to say, we went to another seafood restaurant in Carolina Beach that did a much better job of serving us for our anniversary, and had a lovely meal. If our next experience at Cape Fear Seafood Company is as bad as this one was, the other restaurant will become our...