manna — Restaurant in Wilmington

Tucked into the heart of downtown Wilmington, Manna offers an elevated dining experience that blends local pride with refined, eclectic charm. Housed in a century-old brick building—once home to a telecommunications company—the restaurant spills over into an adjacent venue with live music, creating a dynamic atmosphere rooted in history and creativity.

Inside, the space is warm and sophisticated, with exposed brick, soaring ceilings, and a striking green granite-topped bar that sets the tone for what’s to come. Their cocktail program is daring, handcrafted, and unapologetically bold—featuring clever names like Mama Tried and World Traveler. Even the mocktails get their moment under the banner “They’re right here, Jim.” The wine list is extensive, and if you're a fan, it’s worth asking about their wine club.

The menu changes regularly and reflects what's fresh and in season, with a strong focus on local ingredients. During my visit, the offerings included North Carolina oysters, crab cuts, swordfish, pork chops, and free-range organic chicken, plus fresh local vegetable options—all elevated with creative touches.

I ordered the nightly plate special: fried chicken served over potato salad with a red cabbage slaw. The slaw had just the right balance of tart and sweet, and the chicken was outstanding—crispy on the outside, juicy and flavorful inside, with a perfectly seasoned coating. Easily one of the best pieces of fried chicken I’ve had in a long time.

Service was top-tier from the moment I walked in—professional, friendly, and exactly what you hope for in a restaurant of this caliber. Manna is the real deal. Everything is fresh, thoughtfully prepared, and deeply rooted in the region. If you’re after real food, real drinks, and a dining experience that honors both creativity and hospitality, this...

Manna was ok. My wife's coworkers had sold her on this restaurant as having "really good cocktails". Also, since moving here everyone has suggested we go eat here. Maybe they were having an off night but none of the cocktails went with the food here, which is surprising since they gave a very limited menu (about 12 items plus a handful of starters). Cocktails were not bad, but perhaps average. Ambiance was good walking into the bar, but then they seated us in the room on the left which reminded me of a high school banquet hall. We got greeted by the trainee and he seemed pretty good. Our waitress was polite but incapable of all but the briefest level of conversation. We ordered, between two cocktails each (the first round were awful, hoping round 2 was very) and about three appetizers, splitting a main (chicken) desert and aspertifs with tip came to about $200. The chicken came out alarmingly fast, it was clearly prepped and ready when we ordered it, not made to order. We also ordered the thai curry potato soup, because my wife loves potatoes. We found about six chunks of thumbnail sized, sweet potato (yams), potato chunks in the soup. And about 12x more broccoli. Potato is the first ingredient listed on the menu. We called in a special favor from our babysitter, made reservations, and came here for my wife's birthday. It was ok, but we both agree this wasn't "birthday dinner" quality. Value per dollar was low. We will probably go back up Savorez north of 3rd st for a do-over. Not coming back here unless we hear they are making some changes. Probably don't brag about being an AAA diamond restaurant on the menu if you can't deliver that quality that...

Wow so looking forward to this night. We were first timers and brought friends. We first walked in and wanted to get a cocktail. Well we were told NO? Because our table need to sit now 🤷‍♂️ ok. You could have have 4 cocktails before dinner and that’s money in your pocket. We had to sit asap (rushed) We sat at the table and we noticed our server and the matre’d was extremely awkward and we felt rushed. We tried to order a bottle of wine We were told well we are not sure if you have it. That’s fine but don’t take menu away. We tried to order off the menu and we were told that we need to hurry because you are running out of everything. Oysters 🦪 Cavatelli, and one Half a chicken left. Feeling weird and under the gun we ordered. We laughter it off as a group. It’s a Birthday celebration and we didn’t want to make it about the experience. The food came. Well we did a pickle plate that was subpar the chicken came out and what it was paired with was subpar. Long story, we as a group were very disappointed. It seems like we are a knit picking group by this review but it takes a lot for us to say something. Looking forward to a response.

I am Glad you responded. It’s great that you are passionate about what you do and it’s not taken lightly. I understand farm to table, I understand service, I know how hard it is to do what you do!!!! But it is good for you to know that every service isn’t stellar!!! It seems by your reviews that it’s working for you and I wish you much success. It’s clear we am not your client. But but must admit with your amazing passion comes with seed bumps in the road. BTW we know service and we NEVER skipped on the tip!!!! Thank you for...