Hello, Sailor — Restaurant in Cornelius

I took myself on a date here and I was pleased. I wasn’t overly welcomed by the staff, but I did arrive at 4pm so I understand they could have been in a service transition since they are open all day. What a lovely experience though! I ate outside where I could stay distanced from others and I even had the pleasure of watching a boat-goer litter a can in the grass. When I remarked that he may have dropped his can, he explained to me that someone had dropped the can in the street and he was moving it into the grass so that it doesn’t roll into the lake. When I gave a puzzled look, he explained that the marina has people clean up the trash every morning. Suddenly, littering was given a new light. I had no idea my negligence could empower a respected occupation. I've decided to look for places that people are paid to clean so that I can make it dirty with my litter. If anyone knows any spots, let me know.

Enough of the fluff. Here’s what I ate:

Watermelon Al Pastor: The spices are a combination of red pepper flakes, black pepper, and some mystery chili spices that give you an umami experience that is slightly spicy and tinkered with bright lime that makes the whole thing pop. Those spicy, cirtusy flavors paired with the sweet watermelon was just a few hops away from divinity. Eat all but one bite of the watermelon al pastor before your main dish. The last bite you’ll want to save as your digestif. This dish left a great taste in my mouth.

Catfish: This is a perfect summer dish. I tend to be attracted to non-fried fish options, especially this day as I was post bike and needed a lighter refreshing dish. This dish is also utilizing all the in season squash and herbs, which I was so ravenous I forgot to ask where they are from, but I believe the owners use Freshlist for their local farm sourcing, so I already had some trust going into it. The yellow squash and zucchini were perfectly cooked, leaving just the right bit of crunch. The catfish was highlighted for the delicious fish it was. Simple and delicious. Salt and pepper seasoned and cooked to tender and juicy heaven. I looked down and I only had one bite left (yes I’m noticing the pattern…). The fish and veggies were sitting in a light and creamy basil labneh, which was a bit thinner than your traditional strained labneh but I enjoyed it just as much. Perfect. Summer. Fish.

Cocktail- Yacht Club: This was a good cocktail. Not wowed, not upset about it though either. Mezcal drinks though to me are meant to highlight the mezcal, and it was quite good.

Service: So really the only negative part was walking in and having a few people walk by me without acknowledging me or even saying “hi someone will be right with you”. Regardless, it was ok and I was still seated very quickly (and at a table that said reserved, which was untrue but really made me feel like I was VIP! Great trick!). I had a positive experience with my neighbors under the cabana and with my waiter Cole! I like experiences where I can learn new things about food and the people I am interacting with, and there was certainly space for this! I also appreciated being given time to sit and relax and not having food thrown at me as quickly as possible. I was handed the watermelon, given a chance to sit and just enjoy that for a while. I was checked on but did not feel forced to order my cocktail right away either, which I appreciated. Everything was timed perfectly, and I also received a to-go order that was handed to me with the...

SERVICE SUCKS!!! This is the second and more than likely the last time trying to eat at Hello Sailor. We have been there a few times since it opened and within the last year, something has changed and not for the better. The food is decent but, well over priced for what it is and with those prices, the service should be outstanding. I was there a few months ago for dinner, party of 2. We arrived, and had to wait almost 20 minutes to be seated which is normally fine but, it wasn’t busy, at all,and there were plenty of open tables inside the restaurant and out on the patio, where we wanted to be seated, there was hardly anyone. Our waitress was kind but took forever to order an appetizer and then about 20 minutes to receive it and it wasn’t that good. My husband ordered a basic hamburger and I ordered some fish. This took another 30 minutes. When his burger arrived, the order was wrong. The waitress took it away to make a new one. AN HOUR LATER he gets another burger and it was still WRONG. We were there for almost 2 hours and left very disappointed. So, we came in off the lake yesterday 5-31-25 and really wanted to give them another shot. THE EXACT SAME scenario except we had a party of 3. They were slightly busier but not packed by any means. All the staff were running around but not actually doing anything. We were seated by the hostess, no menus were given. Our waitress brought water and I ordered a tea. She never brought the tea, we asked for menus and about 15 minutes later some other waiter was walking around with a tea looking completely lost. He kept going to tables and just walking around and I eventually told him that I thought the tea was mine. Meanwhile, our waitress walked right past our table, menus in hand, to another table and never acknowledged us. Our friend that was with us, went up to the outdoor bar to try to get us some menus. She came back 10 minutes later and was pretty pissed and said that there were plenty of staff behind the bar and all of them were ignoring the people standing at the bar. All in all, our waitress finally came back and we told her we were leaving. We paid $12 for 2 sweet teas and the waitress couldn’t have cared less that we were leaving and didn’t want to order food. This is a great location for a restaurant but, with those high prices and mediocre food plus non existent service, we will not...

My hubby and I celebrated our 13th anniversary here, the first week of February. They're offering sit-down dining and the staff all wear masks. They also require customers to wear masks unless they're eating/drinking, however, I don't feel as though people were spaced apart well. Tables may have been 6ft apart, but many were occupied and the restaurant seemed pretty full. Everyone's got different comfortability levels on this, but it was a little more crowded than I preferred.

If you can look past that, it's an especially charming restaurant on the lake, decorated in what I'd describe as a midcentury style. The employees are just as fashionablyy dressed in clothing that allows each to express themselves, with no real formal dress code. I really liked that.

For brunch appetizers, we were hoping to get raw oysters, but it turns out they rotate the menu based on seasonality. There weren't any oysters, so we opted for pei muscles in tomato, white wine sauce, with crostini instead. It was very tasty in the sauce it was soaked in and the crostini commanded just as much attention from my hubby who swore it was the best garlic bread he's ever had. It only came with two pieces, but when our waitress noticed that we'd eaten all of ours, they came back with more for us to enjoy the rest of our sauce with. We also ordered blue crab claws, crunchy chili oil, and wasabi tobiko which was as deliciously unique as it looked! The crunchy chili oil reminds me of Lao-Thai chili oil that I'm accustomed to at home and it added a nice crunchy texture and heat to the meaty blue crab claws. Combined with the brightly green-colored wasabi tobiko, the combo of flavors was the most memorable part of my meal.

Lastly, for entrees, we both ordered lobster rolls, duke mayonnaise, and tarragon with beef fat fries and homemade pickles for sides. The lobster rolls were generously packed, but the flavor was underwhelming compared to food trucks we've had like Cousins Maine, Lobster Dog, or Red Hook Lobster Pound, a seafood restaurant in Brooklyn, NY. The beef fat fries and pickles were alright. This seafood restaurant was a bit pricier than a lot of other seafood restaurants we've been to, but the ambiance was nice, and getting to try some unique appetizers made this an especially great...