South Beach Grill — Restaurant in Wrightsville Beach

If you're looking for a place where you can enjoy both the charm of a beachside bistro and the comfort of a bright, intimate setting, this cozy restaurant is the perfect spot. South Beach Grill offers a blend of delicious food, friendly service, and the kind of ambiance that makes you want to linger for hours. This is a favorite haunt for my husband and I – we visit in the off-season [November].

Atmosphere 5/5: The moment you walk in, you feel at ease. The décor is effortlessly elegant, with soft lighting, and warm accents. Large windows let in tons of natural light and offer a lovely view of Banks Channel—perfect for watching the sunset while sipping a cold drink on the patio. The space is cozy and intimate, not overcrowded or noisy, so you can hear yourself talk and enjoy the conversation.

Food 5/5: The food here is nothing short of amazing. Whether you're in the mood for fresh seafood or something more comforting, the menu has something for everyone. The fall menu is incredible. The portion sizes are generous without being overwhelming, and the ingredients are high quality, local fare. The chalkboard menu is a stellar example of seasonal exploration in the dishes, and you will not be disappointed.

Service 5/5: One of the highlights of this restaurant is Jenny (the manager) and her staff. From the moment you arrive, you’re greeted with a warm smile and a genuine welcome. The servers are attentive without being overbearing, and they take the time to explain the menu and offer recommendations based on your preferences (shout out to Gladys and Logan!). It’s clear that they take pride in their work and in making sure you have a great visit. Whether it’s a friendly chat about the best local French bistro or just ensuring your drink is always topped off, the staff adds to the overall relaxed, feel-good vibe of the place. It’s one of the main reasons we come back year after year, without fail. Jenny and her staff know dining is about the full EXPERIENCE, and it shows in the service you receive. It’s white glove without being pretentious.

Final Thoughts: This place is a true gem – lunch or dinner. It perfectly combines a cozy, relaxed atmosphere with exceptional food and outstanding service. Highly recommended for anyone in the area—it's the kind of place you’ll want to return to again and again. Friday and Saturday are usually full, so reservations are recommended – even making one is a...

This is one of the worst meal experiences I've had at an actual sit down restaurant.

I have been coming to this restaurant since the late 90s. It's been an institution. We're former property owners, and Wrightsville Beach has been my family's favorite beach since before I was born, more than 40 years ago. I've never really had any problems with this place before.

It was 7 adults and two kids. We ordered 3 apps. The last app, calamari, came out after the actual food. That's an unforgivable sin in my mind. Just dump the pickles and calamari in the fryer before you start the mains. I can't see why you wouldn't do that?

Myself and another diner got the wrong order, and a seemingly unordered order of buttered noodles was brought out for some reason.

I myself ordered a shrimp Ceasar wrap but was brought chicken Ceasar. That's fine. That's a mistake. But taking 10 minutes or so after that and bringing out a shrimp Ceasar wrap with shrimp hot enough to wilt the lettuce with the only other ingredient being the dressing and tortilla.

There's a bit more but I don't care to nit any further. I only really write reviews when places really impress me or my experience is way out of proportion to the rating. This was that type of experience.

They did end up offering to comp the apps, which we didn't accept, but they did that by trying to take the already printed and signed check back. They already knew they messed up so not proactively fixing the issue is either obtuse or trying to guilt people into tolerating bad service in order to...

This was our first time to South Beach Grill. I was always hesitant to go here because it’s right on the road. But I’m glad we did. It’s really nice inside but we still chose to side outside because you can see some of the water in the channel on the other side of the street. It was a bit of a struggle to get the stroller through but people were very helpful. I really liked that they had a lot of locally sourced items on the menu. With that being said I chose to eat a salad. I almost got the Sea scallop Maison-boro but something about the mixture of bacon jam, pecan gremolata and sea scallops I wasn’t so sure about at the time. I’m also pregnant and having a ton of food aversions. I bet it was delicious. But I felt the same way about the Carolina BBQ platter I wasn’t sure how I felt about the Cheerwine BBQ sauce. Honestly I’m going to try these two menu items next time I’m in town. I ended up getting the Beach House Salad with grilled chicken which seems really boring but it was really good. I ate it all. I also got an appetizer with my salad of Lou’s country corn bread. These were so good! I hadn’t had good corn bread in a while. My boyfriend got the Carolina Pork Nachos and he said they were the best nachos he’s ever had. I agreed they were good. I can tell the chef puts a lot of time and attention to the menu and I bet so many other items in the menu were good I just wasn’t sure about what I was craving. I’ll be back to try something on the chalkboard or the above mentioned items...