The Quoin Restaurant — Restaurant in Wilmington

Quion was a pleasant dining experience and warrants a return trip.

We sat out in the patio, which depending on the weather, I'd recommend. The patio is probably the best outdoor seating in the city. Isolated enough that you don't feel overly exposed, but overlooking some historical grounds, so nothing too decrepit or garish either. Honestly, I enjoyed it more than Talula's Garden outdoor dining in Philly, which is often considered a gold standard for outdoor city dining in this area.

The staff all seemed quite pleasant, but had a few missteps. We had to wait about 10 or so minutes between seating by the hostess and seeing any wait staff approach our table. Drink service was also quite slow. Once things started going, it seemed a bit better, but then we had wait staff repeatedly bring dishes to our table that we did not actually order.

Everything we ordered was pretty much a hit from start to finish. For cocktails we had the Sun's Out bourbon cocktail and the Garden Party gin cocktail. Both were enjoyable, well balanced cocktails. We shared the Potato Quoins, Maryland Blue Crab Crostini, and Corn Agnolotti. For mains, we had the Crispy Octopus and the Branzino Filet.

The Potato Quoins were enjoyable, but as they were essentially giant tater tots, it is hard to miss. My partner felt the creme fraiche and dill with the potatoes lacked the seasoning punch of flavor she wanted, but still an enjoyable dish. The Maryland Blue Crab Crostini was my partner's favorite dish. Based on the truffle flavor on the crostini, they definitely use both the grated truffle, which is readily visible, and truffle oil, which brings a much stronger truffle flavor to the dish. The Corn Agnolotti was also quite enjoyable. The chives served with it to presumable cut the sweetness didn't really get the job done, but it was thoroughly enjoyable. The Branzino Filet was flakey and delicious with a gorgeous, crispy sear. It was executed as well as I could have hoped. The crispy octopus was okay, but not stellar. The octopus was battered and, presumably, fried. No real issues with it, but it missed on expectations. Battering didn't provide the texture contrast that was expected from the "crispy" lead-in, and expectations were something more inline with a charred and grilled crispness or a hard sear crispness, instead of the battered and fried crispness.

One miss on the food was the kitchen timing. While we were told the food comes out as it is prepared, which is generally fine, the timing was still a miss. First, we ordered our cocktails. Next we ordered the crostini, potatoes, and agnolotti as shared dishes. We then ordered the octopus and branzino as our mains. Our sequence of dishes served was potatoes, both cocktails, agnolotti, octopus, branzino, and then the crostini. Again, not a major issue that the octopus came out several minutes before the branzino, as we were told ahead of time and that isn't all together an unusual kitchen trend anymore, but the first food dish ordered coming out last, when it is clearly intended as a starter and when the only "cooked" part of it is the crostini being toasted seems like a mistake was made.

On a whole. Enjoyable, but not without mistakes or issues. Nothing that is a deal breaker. Fully intending on returning for another meal when the menu rotates for the...

I went to Quoin with my stepson to celebrate another successful semester under his belt (I'm very proud of his accomplishments so far!) this past Tuesday. First of all, the atmosphere is top notch. This is a very nice date spot! I love the open kitchen concept, and it blends in well with everything else going on in the restaurant.

Eileen was our server, and she was awesome! She was very kind, professional, and patient as she walked us through the menu since it was our first time. Restaurants can have great food, but it's the people that make customers become regulars, and Eileen left us with a great first impression...so much so that we'll be returning soon.

Starting with the drinks, my stepson had a Strawberry Fields, Spring in Monaco, and an Espresso martini. All of the drinks were delicious in his book, with an emphasis on the Espresso martini. Most espresso martinis are made with Kahlua Creme, drizzled in chocolate, etc. This martini was NOT like that, and my stepson was pleasantly surprised. It was basically an Italian espresso with alcohol, which was perfect. I had a Spring in Monaco and a Funky Fresh. Delicious!

For appetizers we had the grilled octopus and the fettuccine with scallops. The grilled octopus was delicious! Spicy, juicy, and left me wanting more. My stepson tried it for the first time and said it was awesome. The fettuccine was fresh, the scallops tasted like they were flown in that day and the saffron sauce provided just the right kick. Overall a great way to start the evening!

The mains knocked it out of the park! I had the waygu steak served with spring onions and a red-wine sauce. Although the portion was smaller than what I'm used to, it worked perfectly for me with the appetizers I had earlier. It was prepared perfectly and full of flavor! My stepson had the dry aged ribeye. Eileen recommended the steak be prepared medium instead of the medium rare that we usually have our steaks prepared, and it was delicious! My stepson said this steak was better than any steakhouse here in Delaware which is should be considered a gauntlet thrown down to all of the steakhouses here in Delaware. They need to step things up! We also added on the potato Quoins which were also delicious. Think of them as an elevated tater tots served with some creme fraiche sprinkled with dill.

For dessert my stepson had the Quoin Sundae and I had the sticky toffee pudding. The sundae was like biting into a cloud! Just a moment of flavor and then it was gone. My stepson was stuffed, and said the sundae was the perfect ending to the meal, along with the espresso martini.

The only major critique I can provide was with the sticky toffee pudding. It was served with some ginger ice cream, which I liked overall but I can see how it can be overpowering to others. I think this dish could be elevated if the ginger ice cream was swapped out with a cardamom/pistachio ice cream along with a brandy sauce or a cream sauce to accompany the pudding. That would definitely take that dessert to the next level!

Overall, a wonderful experience that definitely deserves a...

Following a previous visit in mid-February when the restaurant still appeared to be working out the kinks, my wife and I returned to the Quoin on 7/9 and left stunned by how far the restaurant had come in 5 months.

Upon arriving we were greeted by the hosts, who acknowledged and apologized for our previous experience and advised us that we would be well taken care of.

Our waiter, Benny, was an absolute pleasure to interact with and possessed an encyclopedic understanding of the menu and how to pair dishes together. Further, he took the time to thoughtfully answer our questions on how this or that dish is prepared - not simply re-reading the components back to us, but explaining how they complimented one another in a way that sated our curiosity and truly enhanced our appreciation of the meal.

We ordered the crostini with leeks, hazelnut, lemon and sheep's milk cheese, the crispy octopus, the big eye tuna tartare, the charred rainbow carrots and the grilled branzino filet. Standouts: the octopus was tender and flavorful, complimented and enhanced by chickpeas, celery and lemon; the tartare was balanced, not overpowered, by the subtle heat of Calabrese chili with hints of mint elevating the dish even further and eaten on cheesy crispy paper-thin housemade crackers; the branzino was perfectly grilled with a to-die-for crispy skin and worked wonderfully with the roasted carrots.

As a surprise, the kitchen gifted us their hanger steak, grilled perfectly and paired with a subtle but wonderfully complex and smoky romesco sauce that balanced the unctuous cuts of meat - truly one of the most memorable steaks I have eaten.

For cocktails, we loved and highly recommend the High Altitude and the Sun's Out.

As our meal was ending, Director of Food & Beverage Alenrry Iniguez personally thanked us for our visit and noted our previous patronage of their sibling restaurants in Philly, Wm. Mulherin's Sons and Hiroki. He treated us with class, made us feel truly welcome, and is no doubt a big reason - along with the excellence of the FOH and BOH staff - why The Quoin should be at the top of your list when visiting Wilmington for dinner and drinks.

Before leaving, Alennry informed us that our meal was on the house - a wonderful and unexpected gesture that floored my wife and I. As we walked out the door and down the street to our car, we couldn't stop talking about our visit. Trust me when I say that you...