PinPoint Restaurant — Restaurant in Wilmington

My wife and I made reservations for our birthday dinners at Pinpoint (our birthdays are 3 days apart) this past Friday evening to help celebrate our special occasions. I reached out, made reservations 2 weeks in advance and was given white glove treatment through digital correspondence.

FOOD: 1855 PRIME NY STRIP (baby fennel - glazed carrots - fried shiitake mushrooms - roasted garlic pomme puree - seared greens - mulberry demi); BRAISED BOAR SHANK (ramp dough & sheep cheese agnolotti - fennel puree - speckled butterbeans chow chow - dill - jus); PIMENTO CHEESE snack; SMOKED SNAPPER BAKED OYSTERS (bacon - fired roasted tomato - spinach - herbed bread crumbs - Pernod - sweet peppers - lemon); Pinpoint's take on a WHITE RUSSIAN. There was so much tasted and enjoyed that Yelp will not allow me enough room to describe it all. Everything was completely sublime but my favs were definitely the oysters and the farm-to-table veggies. The fire-grilled purple carrots, fried shiitake mushrooms and seared greens were something of best dreams. If I were to ever consider going vegetarian or vegan, Pinpoint would be the reason why I started. The steak was tender, juicy and was prepared perfectly. The boar shank was so tender, it fell off of the bone and a knife was not even needed. When I took a bite of the boar meat with the homemade tortellini and sauces...it created flavors that would make you think hard as you chew...but enjoying it all as you do. The oysters tasted as if Deadliest Catch meets Old McDonald on the farm. The oysters were fresh and baked with farm-fresh herbs with chunks of red snapper and a bacon so tender and juicy, I thought it was pure pork belly. Delicious. For my birthday cocktail, I chose to order me a Pinpoint White Russian. The most perfect white russian I have ever tasted just bc of the chocolate bitters and premium ingredients. As for pricing? You get what you pay for so do not expect any corners being cut and know that what is delivered to your table, is nothing short of art. For a dinner of 2 with 1 cocktail each, including appetizer...expect to drop at least a hundred bucks. Only thing holding back a 5 star rating is bc of value. For similar pricing of the steak I enjoyed at Pinpoint, I can order a Japanese Wagyu steak in Las Vegas that will melt in your mouth. But still....solid food all around. SCORE: 4.7 STARS!!

SERVICE: It simply does not get any better than this. We were greeted by a very professional and friendly staff at the door and were seated near the back of the restaurant by Luis (GM of Pinpoint). There was a small birthday card, 2 glasses of champagne and a clean setup waiting for us. Luis knew his stuff and he could tell you anything and everything about the menu items, their origins and all ingredients used. It was crazy...he had a such a plethora of knowledge that I became confused as to what to order. Lol. White glove treatment all night with the highest level and class expressed. Bonus points for this experience. SCORE: 5.1 STARS!!

OVERALL SCORE: On my budget, Pinpoint is a place I can't visit often but when I do...I know I'm going to receive top notch food and service, thus, probably going to reserve for date nights, special occasions or when I want to surprise someone I love. If you have an over abundance or surpluss of cash and $100+ dinner doesn't phase you at all, Pinpoint is definitely the place to go and eat very well. I loved the food. I loved that we celebrated our birthdays with an incredible experience there and I loved the special service we received. I just know where my financial limitations are at each month and dining here on the regular is not an option for my family and I. For what you get though? You get a kickass meal, fine cocktails and Hollywood-style service. ...

My husband, daughter and I ate at Pinpoint last Sunday night while we were staying at a beach cottage in Southport. We are from NY and hadn't been to Wilmington in almost twenty years, so we thought it would be fun to check out how it's changed. After reading the history on the restaurant and all of the accolades, we were really excited to get reservations for Sunday when a lot of restaurants are closed in Southport. I haven't written a restaurant review before, but really feel compelled because our experience was so mixed. I also just read some recent reviews and I'm glad to see that other people had such positive feedback about the service. We arrived a little before our 7:15 reservations and were brought to the bar by a very friendly hostess while they finished getting our table ready. My husband and daughter were offered drinks while I used the restroom. When I returned, the bartender didn't acknowledge me and seemed aloof. We were shortly seated at a table by the window; I was grateful for that because the place was pretty dark and it was a beautiful night out. Our waiter never asked if I would also like a drink. After telling us the specials, he disappeared for awhile before taking our order. It was 8 p.m when he brought some bread and butter to our table! It was really delicious bread which we devoured. A little while later, our appetizers finally arrived. My daughter had a lot of fun with the charcuterie board while my husband and I had the oyster appetizer. I was a little disappointed with this dish because the description sounded better than the actual dish and very pricey. Then came our salad which was really lovely: a simple green salad with peaches that was dressed perfectly. It was a few minutes before nine when our entrees arrived. It felt painfully slow to us and I think we were all getting antsy and overly hungry! When the plates arrived, all of the presentations looked beautiful. I had the fried chicken which was so tender and juicy. I loved the corn and tomato relish that it rested on even more than the chicken! It was such an amazing mix of sweet and savory. My daughter loved the strip steak as it was very tender and cooked to perfection. My husband had the hogfish which he enjoyed very much, although he did think the portion of the fish was rather small. We decided to go for ice cream down the block because we were afraid that if ordered dessert, it would be another hour before it was served. We asked our waiter for the check and again, he disappeared for what felt like a really long time. He actually apologized, but told us the reason it took him so long was because free steak and tomatoes were put out in the kitchen and he couldn't pass it up!! It seemed really unprofessional to me that he would tell us that, even if that is exactly what happened. So, if I had to give an overall rating for our experience, I would give Pinpoint 3 stars. If I was going to just rate the food, I would say it was a 4 star restaurant. I kept wondering if the service was so slow because of Covid but my husband felt it was more about our server socializing a lot with other tables. If we're in the area again, I would give it another try, especially after seeing how impressed other customers were with the service. However, we were a little disappointed to have made the drive from Southport and not have it be such an overall ...

This was absolutely a great experience from the moment we walked in until we left the restaurant. We were walking around on Friday evening and decided to go into this restaurant that we have heard about from several people. The restaurant had a nice crowd but there were several tables open. We approached the Hostess station and was greeted by "Brook". She had a welcoming smile and immediately made you feel welcomed at the restaurant. We had hesitation in our voices when we asked if there was an open table for 4 people. She said that would not be a problem and escorted us to a nice table. "Brook" also told us what were her favorite things on the menu when we asked her. She made us feel right at home. Shortly after, our server "Nicky" greeted us at the table and let us know that she would be taking care of us. She asked us if we have ever been to the restaurant before and then explained that this is a farm to table restaurant. So everything is locally grown or from the nearby area. The menu changes daily depending on what is available and that after we look over the menu that she would answer any questions that we may have. "Nicky's" service was amazing and as you can see from the posted pictures the dinner deserved every one of the 5 stars that I awarded. The fish was fresh and prepared excellently. There was nothing left on anyone's plate when the meal was over. Before I end, I must talk a little about the drinks we were served. The bartenders create a drink menu with very creative and tempting drinks that you would not find in other places. We enjoyed them and felt it enhanced our visit to this restaurant. If you are only looking for a cocktail this is a good place to stop in and try something new. I must say that if you are looking to have a special meal then you are looking at the right restaurant. The service is top shelf, the meals are prepared and plated with care and the cocktails are outstanding. You can tell that this place takes pride in what they do and how the restaurant looks. You absolutely cannot go wrong with a visit...