Annabelle's — Restaurant in New Bern

Some of you may remember when Annabelle's was a chain. It wasn't big but it started in NC and was as far south as Charleston SC and up north into Virginia Beach, VA. That's where my Annabelle's was located. I have fond memories of the place that was at Pembroke Mall and closed about 20 years ago. Much to my surprise over the last year I discovered that when the corporation went under back in 1997 only 4 locations remained and they were sold to individuals and employees. Now in 2018 there's only one, it's the New Bern location and it's time for a road trip.

BTW before I continue this road trip took place in July 2018. Plans in hand we left to spend the day down in New Bern. I skipped breakfast and we hit the road around 10am and arrived in New Bern / Annabelle's just before 1pm. The parking lot in front of the restaurant was full, that's a good sign. Upon walking in we were greeted by a young lady who turned out to be out server and she seated us at a table in the bar area right by the Annabelle's street sign. After looking around I would say the place was about 80% full.

I ordered my standard bearer, a bacon cheeseburger & steak fries and my date decided to have one of the lunch specials which I believe was fried codfish with fries with coleslaw. I want to point out that the menu is very similar to what it was back in the 90's. Some of the items have changed names, but it's pretty much still the same which was very comforting.

I've had many a BCB at Annabelle's back in the day and they used to be served on a rectangular metal plate and your drink was in a mason jar with a handle. Really cool touch. Alas they didn't have that here but when the food arrived, it was perfect. Just as it had been all those years before. My BCB was indistinguishable from one I had eaten as a teen back in the Virginia Beach location... So was it good you ask? You're damn right it was! What a flood of memories and tastes it brought back. Wow just wow. I was so happy with this lunch. My date liked her lunch as well, she wasn't Wow'ed like I was but she also had never been before.

Service was excellent BTW, our servers name was Brittany if I remember correctly, and she was friendly and kept the drinks full and checked in on us. Kudo's to her. The restaurant was also familiar and even had the classic staircase that all Annabelle's had back in the day. It was a really fun visit. Next time I'm in New Bern or near I'll be putting some time aside for another visit and to re-sample something else off the menu....

I don't 'bestow' five stars very often, and I debated with myself about this one. Four stars from me mean 'very good, I expect to return'. But I only get to New Bern once a year for a bike event. So I won't have a chance at a second review until next September. I expect to return.

Google reviews for Annabelle's were pretty positive, so I had fairly high expectations, and they were met. The menu is fairly extensive, which can be an opportunity for a lot of food that's not really all that good.

I had the Shepherds Pie, which in other restaurants turned out to be fairly bland. Here it was very tasty. And very hot (temperature, not spice). So coupled with friendly, prompt service, the 5th star.

My partner had something that I think was called a Kentucky Brown? I'd never heard of it. He was familiar with it, and said he was surprised to see it here. And he said they did a good job. So we had indications that the kitchen had mastered a pretty wide variety of dishes.

The restaurant is in a mall, which is sometimes a warning sign. Not this time. It's not the food court, and the entrance is on the malls exterior. We went at about 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, and the place was surprisingly busy. There was no wait, but most tables were full.

One caution that has nothing to do with the restaurant. I was staying in a hotel on the other side of US 17 and across the street from the restaurant, about a 15-minute walk, according to Google maps. The time was correct, but there were no sidewalks, and the 6 lane wide street was very busy. There is a grass shoulder that doesn't seem to get a lot of foot traffic. It had been raining heavily all day (boo for the bike event), so the grass was wet.

Once I got across from the mall, there were no crosswalks, and no pedestrian crossing lights. We had to time our crossing based on the automobile traffic lights, with turn arrows both directions. We survived, twice, but I don't recommend walking. Drive over, and if you want to get some walking in, do it in the mall.

UPDATE: I discovered an underpass near the hotel that connected to another mall across the street from Annebelle's. That works have saved us from the uncomfortable walk along the highway, but not the 'no crosswalk' street crossing. I'll still...

I use to rate this place as a 5 * but not now. Just had the worst experience ever. So first asked if I could taste their brisket because I love brisket but was not sure if I would like their's. Was told no it is made to order. Okay decided to order it because I was really into the idea of the brisket. My wife always orders the seafood quiche. She also orders me my normal just in case I don't like their brisket. Her quiche comes out partly raw on the crust. It was pale white and mushy. My brisket comes out as shredded beef that was sauteed. It was greasy and looked like pulled pork. I asked was it supposed to be greasy and shredded. The waitress said no I will take it back. I said please have it remade. We asked to speak to a manager after seeing my wife's quiche was partially raw. A female manger comes out and says that's our quiche it's what we got. So if you don't like it you can order something else. And I know you want to send back the brisket and have it taken off your bill but I am not taking it off. My wife said first off your being rude. The manager said well I don't mean to sound rude. My wife continues saying secondly where do you get off saying we had already planned to have to brisket taken off. We never said that as a matter of fact we asked for it to be remade. The manager responded oh. I told her I planned to have the brisket. My wife ordered my normal just in case. But now you can keep it all. Just give me the bill. In my 8 years of eating at this place this was this first time I was treated this way. I have told them I will NEVER be back as long as that female manager works there. I use to eat here every other week...