The Bridge Tender — Restaurant in Wilmington

HOLY COW. Let me say this first, being in Wilmington for two years now searching for the best place with wonderful food has been very far and few between especially since COVID. We saved this place in a back pocket for a special occasion and we decided the two year anniversary would be just that. We used to be chefs in some incredible places so you can say we are picky and hold some standards above the average person. Let me start with the service, our waiter Jadon was beyond incredible, very attentive, polite and knowledgeable with a great sense of fine dining skills. I truly was pleased to have a great personality to pair with the mouth watering food. The pictures do no justice you must just go and try a few dishes instead of taking my word for it. We started the evening with clam chowder and the scallops, the bacon jam was well crafted, paired wonderfully. Our entrees was the swordfish, Potato Croquettes and Brussels sprouts (insert chef kiss) 😘👌 as well as the coconut shrimp with the orange marmalade is a true treat to the tastebuds!! A dinner so grand must be sealed with dessert right?? We had creme brûlée’s on our mind but sadly was not on the menu however, when asking Jadon about the bread pudding I wanted to know where to hold my expectations. Being a pastry chef myself I know there can be good bread pudding that melts in your mouth and sadly some dry type that belongs in a coffee shop solely to dip in coffee…When the dessert came I was mind blown. It was soft and moist laced with cinnamon, white chocolate and fresh ice cream. Just how I enjoy making it myself. My mouth just started watering writing about it. The portion was huge and plenty to take home, which didn’t even make it to the next day we ate it once we got back home and settled in for the evening. We have decided from now on if we plan to go out to eat we eat at Bridgetender or nothing else because we have been disappointed so often until we came here. I seriously cannot stop raving about this place. We even asked for a pint of clam chowder to go home and was offered hot or cold, cold to go was best so we could truly enjoy its fresh taste again for lunch the next day. And I think since for days now I have asked we go back even if it’s just for the soup. So seriously whomever reads this, share with Jadon and the chefs for the biggest round of applause I could possibly write, you all did a fantastic job and we cannot wait to...

Let me start by saying don't come here unless you plan on spending some money. BUT you get what you pay for! We didn't realize you were suppose to make reservations first, luckily they were kind enough to still find us a table that was open. The food was outstanding.. beyond outstanding. The catch of the day was swordfish and my boyfriend said is was amazing. The steak was so tender and cooked just the way I asked (which is soooooo not usual at any other restaurant). Get this, I don't like cheese, my daughter ordered the kids meal Mac n cheese.. it looked delicious and sure enough when I took a bite it was heaven in my mouth! Yummy! Our appetizer was the buffalo shrimp, words cannot describe how good it was. I can't eat spicy stuff and it wasn't spicy at all but still had the buffalo taste to it. To make it simple, it's worth the money to eat here. My new favorite restaurant, I'm baffled at how good it all was!

The service and all of the employees made this experience even better. Everyone was all smiles (clearly I couldn't see their mouths because of mask mandates but its obvious what features look like when smiling). They were all genuinely nice, and were all very professional. When you go to a restaurant and you get awesome service it not only makes you want to come back but it brightens the mood!

As I was walking to the door I was expecting a small seafood restaurant that looked like any normal eating joint... Oh was I wrong! The inside of this place was BEAUTIFUL! My kids couldn't stop staring and telling me to look at the fish tank. I absolutely love how they serve your regular beverage in a wine glass. The employees are all dressed to look spectacular. It was just gorgeous inside! The view of the water and boats while you're eating.. not only did I enjoy looking out at the peaceful view but my children did too. It was very clean inside and in the bathroom.

I don't think I'm missing anything. Let's be honest, you have to go and see for yourself. I can't...

When we got here, we were seated right next to the loudest group of people I have ever heard in a restaurant. Not the Bridge Tenders fault, but definitely would not want to sit next to those 40 year old frat veterans. On with the story though, my family of six, me being a 16 year old and not wanting to eat anything placed in front of me, thought the calamari appetizer was good. A bit on the salty side, plus the fact that I had no ice in my water so i felt like I was drinking ocean water made it harder to eat. When it came time to order, I would of liked a simple dish with Scallops. Nothing out of the ordinary; just simply cooked scallops. First off, they did not have a dish with scallops that was out of the ordinary. Secondly, when I finally decided to order what I thought was going to be simple scallops, I waited about an hour till the food came out and I got a huge mistake. I got 5 scallops which were good in size, but what came with the scallops had me wondering. It was some sort of orange, wet, gritty mess. It was good, just the appearance is what got me. I also got sauteed spinach. That was just about the only thing I was able to haggle down my throat. They were very oily and had no flavor what so ever. The scallops were just plain disgusting. They came on top of some weird red jam and they were also very charred on the bottom. I felt like I licked a 20 year old skillet after eating one of the scallops. My overall experience of the Bridge Tender would have to be a 2 out of 5 just because I though the waitress was kind of hot. Also, you cannot beat the location. The only thing that beat the location was the chefs in the back beating the food up. I expected bigger things from the Bridge Tender because I have had many of my friends tell me great things about it. This review isn't to trash The Bridge Tender, but to simply provide my experience and inform others before they would like to spend 3 hours...