Wilmington and the Cape Fear coast: Riverwalk seafood and beach towns

Wilmington sits on the Cape Fear River in southeastern North Carolina, about 10 miles from the Atlantic. Its historic downtown, with a walkable riverfront, brick streets and 19th-century buildings, is the center for eating. Beach towns such as Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach and Kure Beach are a short drive away and run on a separate, seasonal schedule. Together they make an easy weekend of seafood, shrimp and grits and long meals by the water.

What is the Riverwalk?

The Riverwalk is a boardwalk along the Cape Fear River in downtown Wilmington, running past restaurants, bars, shops and docks. It is the heart of the downtown. Walking along it at sunset is itself a pleasant evening, and several restaurants have decks that look at the river and the battleship across the water. Parking downtown is in decks and metered streets, and it fills on summer weekends. Walk or take a trolley if your hotel is nearby.

Which restaurants are on the river?

Several restaurants along the Riverwalk and the marsh beside it have decks over the water: a floating bar and restaurant you can walk onto from the boardwalk, a long-running downtown room with a traditional seafood menu and shrimp and grits, a restaurant with a deck over the marsh in Riverlights and a seafood restaurant with river views on South Water Street. Walk the Riverwalk once, read the menus in the windows and choose by the view.

What is shrimp and grits?

Shrimp and grits is the signature dish of the Carolina coast: shrimp, often with bacon, peppers or a pan sauce, over creamy stone-ground grits. It started as a breakfast fishermen ate in the low country, and today it is on dinner menus as well. Local shrimp from the North Carolina coast is sweeter than most imports. Other classic orders include crab cakes, fried oysters, hush puppies and a seafood platter, as well as steamed or roasted oysters in the cooler months, when oyster season runs from fall to spring.

What about the beach towns?

Wrightsville Beach, just east of Wilmington, is an upscale beach community, with water on both sides and a steady summer population, and its restaurants change often, so check recent reviews. Carolina Beach, to the south, has a boardwalk and marina restaurants, and their names and hours change, so check recent reviews. Kure Beach is quieter. Beach restaurants are busiest from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and some reduce hours or close in winter.

When is the best time to visit?

Spring and fall are the best times for an eating trip: warm days, fewer crowds and plenty of seafood. Summer is lively but packed, with waits of an hour or more for a deck table, and traffic to the beaches on Fridays and Sundays is heavy. Winter is quiet, and some beach restaurants close, but downtown stays open. Hurricane season runs through November, and a storm can close restaurants for days, so check the weather before you travel.

What local seafood terms should you know?

Menus use words that visitors may not know. Shrimp are sold by size, with the number counting how many make a pound. Soft-shell crabs are blue crabs caught as they molt, usually in spring, and eaten whole, fried or sauteed. Oysters from the coast are often called by the name of their creek or sound; ask for a mix. Mullet is a local fish, smoked into a spread or fried, and flounder, grouper and mahi are common fillets. Calabash-style seafood means lightly breaded and fried, named for the small town of Calabash near the South Carolina border. Hush puppies and slaw come with it. Ask for the catch of the day, and ask where it was caught.

How do you manage reservations, waits, tax and tipping?

Downtown restaurants take reservations for dinner, and the popular ones fill on weekends. For the beach, many places do not take reservations and run a waitlist; use their text-a-table system if offered. Ask whether outdoor seating is first-come. Arriving early, around 5 p.m., is the easiest way to avoid a long wait.

North Carolina applies sales tax to restaurant meals, and local governments in the area may add prepared-food taxes; check the rate on the check. Tip 18 to 20 percent. For seafood allergies, which are common, ask about shared fryers and sauces.

What can you do if you do not eat seafood?

Wilmington also has barbecue, pizza, tacos, a thriving brunch scene and several bakeries. The downtown has Southern restaurants serving fried chicken and biscuits, and the area's film industry has brought a mix of chefs. You will not go hungry if shellfish is not your thing.

Think about the weather and the tide when you plan a meal on the coast. A deck table is a pleasure on a clear evening and a poor choice when the wind is up, so ask whether there is indoor seating and whether the restaurant will move you. Summer weekends fill the beaches and the roads, so allow extra time to reach a reservation, and expect waits at places that do not take bookings. Ask where the seafood came from, because a good kitchen is glad to tell you what is local that day.

How do you compare shrimp and grits across Wilmington?

Shrimp and grits is a dish worth rating more than once. Some kitchens add bacon, some a pan sauce, some peppers, and the grits can be creamy or coarse. In the Mosey app, rate the plate as a dish, write what made it different and add the Outdoor seating tag when you ate on a deck over the river. Do it at three tables and you have your own ranking, which beats a borrowed one.

For a beach weekend, keep a list with a section for downtown, Wrightsville and Carolina Beach, and send the invite link to the people sharing the house. Seafood allergies are common on the coast, so the Hide dishes that list filter is useful: it hides dishes where a place has listed an allergen, and a dish with nothing filled in says allergens not listed, so ask the kitchen about shared fryers and sauces.

The next time you finish a plate on the Riverwalk, rate it by the dish in the Mosey app.

More guides to read next:

• Harrisburg and the Lehigh Valley: Pennsylvania food day trips
• Lancaster County food guide: Central Market and Pennsylvania Dutch cooking
• Worcester, MA restaurants: Shrewsbury Street, the Canal District and diners

More in the US food guides and the ranked lists of places.