Seabird — Restaurant in Wilmington

We tried to come on the first day of their opening but were turned away because they were full and reservations were required. There was no mention of having to make reservations when I messaged them ahead of time asking about their opening day. So we ended up making reservations with the front staff for the next day. Parking in downtown is the usual, either street parking or the parking garage 3-5 minutes away walking distance, which is free for the first 90 minutes.

A bar is located at the friend, right when you walk in. The interior design and decor is nice. The design is a mix between old-fashioned and modern with a sailboat/coastal theme. The large bookshelf partitions with curtains were interesting. I liked the small touches like the porthole window design on the kitchen doors and the bathroom doors to electrical outlets at the countertop. The white tile with black grout on the walls and on the pillars and the green tile with black grout in the bathroom were very nice. Tables are adequately spaced from each other.

The menu is mainly seafood but there is a steak dish, vegan dish, a pork rib small plate, and a boneless chicken wing lettuce wrap small plate.

For the reservation mishap, they gave us complimentary white wine, which was very nice of them to do. We also received complimentary 2 small pieces of cornbread, drizzled with sorghum syrup. The cornbread had a nice grainy texture. I would have preferred it warm and less brown/ baking time though.

We started with oysters, both raw ($3-4 each oyster) and the baked barbecue oysters ($15, 4 oysters). They were all delicious and fresh. The raw oysters come in six, 12, 18, 24 count. Oysters available were from Stones Bay, the Dukes, Southside salts. The oysters were served in a cute serving tray built with pockets shaped for oysters and were arranged from least saltiest to most saltiest (Stones Bay, Soundside Salts, Dukes). I liked the homemade sweet sambal cocktail sauce that was served with the oysters.

Recommend trying the baked BBQ oysters. It is described as having roasted shrimp with worcestershire butter, lemon, harissa, and was topped with toasted breadcrumbs.

Tried the smoked catfish and oyster pie ($13) small plate. It was more like a stew topped with a potato flour crust. Inside had catfish, oysters, julienned bok choy, diced parsnip, leeks, potato, herbs In a thin celery cream sauce. If you're not feeling too hungry, this can probably fill you up. It had good flavor, but I think it would have tasted better if it had a thicker cream sauce.

For entrees, we tried the Swordfish Schnitzel ($26) and the Applewood Bavette Steak ($28), which were both good. However, they were lukewarm -our waiter, Jamie did offer to take them back to warm them up and gave us a complimentary dessert. They were able to substitute the bok choy in the swordfish schnitzel dish for the fennel slaw. Didn't know that the bok choy and the sugar snap peas were combined together, so I didn't get the sugar snap peas that usually comes with the dish.

The steak dish came with shaved cucumber, purple-eyed pea salad, leafy greens, leeks, garlic pesto and topped with crispy potato chips. My partner ordered this dish but I kind of wished I had ordered this dish instead. I liked it better than the swordfish dish. The swordfish was breaded and fried well though and came with homemade fried spaetzle.

For dessert we tried the strawberry crostata ($8), which comes with lemon basil ice cream, sweet pickled rhubarb, and topped with pink rose petals. Interesting combination of flavors. We both enjoyed it.

Jamie was great. We were very impressed with the customer service. We would come back again! Just make sure you make...

I cannot possibly say enough amazing things about our dining experience at Seabird last night! I made a reservation online for 4 people. One friend was unable to join, so it ended up being three of us celebrating my engagement. When we arrived at our table, there was a congratulations note and an origami swam waiting for us- so sweet! Our server, Erin, was the best server I have ever had the pleasure of knowing- from start to finish, she checked on us frequently, was so kind and friendly that we all felt the warm fuzzies, knew the wine menu in and out (one of my group is a wine professional), and gave the most incredible descriptions of the food options that we all ended up overordering and enjoying everything! Food run down- Shellem Wild Mussels- Unfortunately I was not able to try these as I’m allergic to an ingredient in them. My friend ordered them and devoured them! She gave a 5 star rating! Fresno Chili Prok Ribs- delicious! I’m a spice wimp so they were a little hot for my taste, and my friend loved them! Roasted Carrot Salad- what a treat! This salad had the sweetness from the carrots and carrot puree combined with a light dressing and thinly sliced limes. It was an incredible salad! Smoked Catfish and Oyster Pie- we weren’t sure what to expect with this dish. It came in a bowl like a soup and had a baked topping on it almost like a pita/cheese layer. It was fantastic! It also came with herbs you could shred and add to it. Shellem oysters- locally farmed, briney, so fresh! This comes with two different hot sauces, cocktail sauce, and another sauce along with lemons. Eastern Cioppino- one friend is gluten-free and dairy-free. This dish was able to be made perfectly for her! She said this is her favorite dish to order, and our waitress said it’s the one she eats the most as well. Delicious! We also had two cheese plates- a gouda and a blue cheese- that were delicious and great portions! Then at the end, to celebrate my engagement, I had a scoop of lemon poppyseed ice cream! Throughout our meal we also had a number of different glasses of wines. We were able to taste each one first, and Erin was amazing about splitting the glasses- we didn’t all want full glasses of wine, and you can’t order a half glass, so we would order a glass and be served two half glasses to share. Brilliant! Honestly, Seabird is probably the best dining experience in Wilmington. They also keep notes about what food and drink you enjoy so that when you return, the team can suggest items you may really like and keep track of things like allergies. The manager frequently checked on every table as well, and the entire team worked together seamlessly to ensure we had everything we needed at all times. We never felt rushed and were able to enjoy every minute of our...

This was a super cute place and we went with friends for brunch. Hostess and server were great. Highly recommend making reservations.

We had quite a few of the brunch options. It was a little strange that with the prices they charge (around $20 a plate) they nickel and dime you. We asked for cheese on scrambled eggs and they said it was $1.50. Coffees are $6 per. A small thing of honey is $1. If you use more than one creamer, $1.

So, I have been debating on whether to make this review. They were super nice and our waitress was horrified but honestly I was sick all day yesterday. I ordered the omelette. I had finished it, and my friend’sdaughter noticed there were tiny spiders all over my plate and on the table and was freaking out about it. We called the waitress over and handed her the plate and she was horrified. The manager(???) came over and apologized and said they would take off the bill. Ok, great, but also, said it was on the dill which all of us ate from on the appetizer earlier so we probably all got it?? All four of us were sick all night. Maybe it is a coincidence. We spent $100 on a meal (after they removed the one dish) and were all sick and having nightmares about spiders. It wasn’t one. It was a spider mite infestation I realized after I looked it up at home. There were at least 50 on the plate and who knows how many we ingested from the various dishes. They said bc their stuff is so fresh??? But my stuff at home doesn’t have that after I wash it. I love pickles and today I couldn’t event stomach anything with dill.

We are just shocked this would happen at a James beard nominated place. We just moved from an area with a lot of James beard winners and this would have never ever have Happened there.

The manager(??) was very nonchalant about it..so maybe it happens a lot. We will never be back. I’m not exaggerating when I say we are all sick and will never eat dill again.

It’s also strange they wouldn’t comp the whole meal and ask us to come back and try again. It was just the one dish and even the waitress when she came back after that said..I’m guessing you guys don’t want anything else and brought the check. So does this...