Banks' Seafood Kitchen and Raw Bar — Restaurant in Wilmington

Good day. If I can give a zero star, I would. A friend and I walked down the riverfront trying to decide where we were going to have some good food and drinks the evening before Mother's Day. We came across Banks, remembering that I haven't been to this place since it was named Harry's. We decided to try it. It was the worst experience we had in years!

The host was very nice, even though we could not be seated in the outside area we liked, looking over the water. She sat us in the partial outside area that was available. Well, we sat out there for 15 min, and no one came to our table to even ask us what we wanted to drink. My friend got up to go to the bathroom and came back and said there were spots at the bar. Maybe we can get served seated there. Here is when it got worse.

There were two bartenders. When we sat down, they both were busy, yes. But they kept walking past us NEVER Knowledging us, with a hello, I'll be with you shortly. We sat there for another 10 min until finally one of them came to us and asked what we wanted to drink. We told him 2 LIT's. He never asked if we wanted menus. We had to ask him for the menu. Then it took him another 5 min or so to make them and give them to us, for being busy talking and laughing with another customer as he made other drinks. WE REALLY SHOULD HAVE LEFT. Especially after he finally gave us the drinks, and they were HORRIBLE! LIT's has about 5 different liquors. It tastes like 2 were only in there, not good at all. No, we did not send it back for thinking he may put something bad in it since he wasn't pleasant from the start. WE STILL SHOULD HAVE LEFT. But my friend said, "Let me just pay for them because if we walk out, then he might call the manager over and act like we're the bad one's for not paying, smh.

He finally came back over and asked what we wanted to order, but we just said we will take the bill. At this time another couple came up to the bar sat down and he immediately went over to them two min later, with menus and asked what they will like to drink. We really felt offended. Especially since we are a different nationality from both the bartender and the couple that just sat down. I was upset, it almost ruined the rest of our night. We said we would NEVER go back there again. When it was Harry's, we never had that experience. It's sad how high the prices are it should be Top Notch five-star service. We paid $44 for those horrible drinks.And we did not give a tip at all since he did not deserve it.

We ended up going to Big Fish! Had great food and drinks:)

Banks; You guys need to send some of your staff for classes on how to treat customers.

Thanks for an unpleasant night at your establishment. I'm so glad you have other restaurants around you that I was able to enjoy my...

My wife and I decided to make a trip to the Wilmington Riverfront for a rare night out. Banks seemed like a good option for dinner and didn't disappoint.

We were seated immediately after arriving around 6pm. Our waitress was quick and attentive, and we had our drinks within a couple minutes of sitting down. My wife chose to have the clam chowder as an appetizer, and I enjoyed the bread and butter provided for the table. My wife thought the clam chowder was more of a potato soup with clams added than a true clam chowder, but enjoyed it nonetheless, as she loves potato soup. The bread was good, clearly made on premises, but the butter was too cold and not really spreadable. I enjoyed it nonetheless.

While we were waiting on our food, we enjoyed the atmosphere. The building is well-decorated, with a cohesive theme and awesome views of the river. It was a touch loud at times but certainly nothing intolerable.

Our main courses arrived punctually. I had ordered the jumbo lump crab cakes, which were delicious but not so jumbo for the $31 price point. They would have been perfect with about 15-20% more volume.

My wife ordered the Rainbow Trout which she thought was slightly oversalted but I thought was excellent. Perfectly cooked and expertly seasoned, and cheaper than my crab cakes! I definitely regretted not ordering what she had.

One point of constructive criticism. The menu is a bit overly fluffed in the names and descriptions of the entrees. Sometimes keeping it simple when describing things is better.

The total for the two of us, before tip, was $87. That is very reasonable given the overall quality of food and atmosphere. I will definitely return in the future to try some more food and enjoy those...

Dear Chef Banks

Thanks so much to you and your exceptional crew for making our son and daughter-in-law's Rehearsal Dinner in April such a perfect night! It all started with general manager James Clarke's patience and responses to our volleys of questions about every last detail leading up to the actual night. Banks’s waterfront patio was the perfect setting for such a memorable gathering!

New manager James (sorry, I don’t have 'the second' James’ last name for this note) and manager Dan were spot on in helping us make sure we got everything set flawlessly before our guests arrived, and both were indispensable throughout the night. Fantastic job to all three of you!

Now, onto the actual food and drink! Chef Banks - the appetizers, entrees and desserts were outstanding, exactly what we were hoping for! EVERYTHING was delicious - with the Scallops and Crab Cakes fighting it out for first place. At the wedding the next day, everyone who had been at the rehearsal dinner the night before came up to us and remarked how much they loved the food (and the whole experience) the night before. We’ve been huge fans of your restaurant for years, it’s safe to say you now have another 28 new followers who can’t wait to get back. Combining with the food itself, the service by Ashley, Amanda and Joe was flawless. It was also great to get a chance to meet you Chef, thanks for coming out to say hello!

We couldn’t have asked for a better night, and can’t thank you all enough for a wonderful night!

Slainte!

John and...