Donna%26#39;s thread about favorite area restaurants got me thinking. I%26#39;m a local and have eaten at most of the area restaurants over the years but it%26#39;s been a few years for some of them.
I informed my dear husband that we needed visit at least one local restaurant a week. I told him all restaurants from the very inexpensive to the very nice should be included. He mumbled something but I%26#39;m sure he%26#39;ll comply.
I thought I%26#39;d keep this thread running as a place to comment about the restaurants. I am also going to post in the Restaurant Reviews section of this site as well.
I hope this helps island visitors when they are wondering about a certain restaurant.
Topsail Island area restaurant tour
I recently went to Lo-re-lei Pub %26amp; Grill in Sneads Ferry.
It has a bar-like atmosphere but also has table seating. The menu has a good variety of choices. I had the fried shrimp, which were medium sized, plump and lightly breaded, and hand cut French fries, a couple of the people dining with me had salads with broiled shrimp and scallops. Everything tasted great and we were all pleased with our meals.
The atmosphere is casual - hey, it%26#39;s a bar. I would consider it to be family friendly and would bring kids there to eat during daylight hours. Drawback - there were no highchairs or booster seats when we were there.
The server was prompt and the food didn%26#39;t take too long to come out.
Prices were inexpensive.
The place was clean.
The ladies%26#39; bathroom was clean and well taken care of. Although the two toilets, which weren%26#39;t divided by stalls, in the one room puzzled me.
Topsail Island area restaurant tour
Lore Leis used to be the Old Mermaid that was a long standing watering hole that straddled the County line here in Surf City.It has been run by Tracy O Quinn and her Father for the last couple of decades.They moved to Sneeze Ferry a while back after the Mermaid was sold out from underneath them to make room for condos.The history was that it was on the Oceanfront till a Hurricane moved it where it rested on Hiway 210 and judging by the way the floor sagged I belive it.
They have always done a good job with thier food and they used to have the best late night breakfast on the Island,As a matter of fact I ate there two times in a row last week ,the Cheeseburers are the Bomb and I would reccomend everything there.For the record I would say they do seafood better than anywhere on the beach.They have live music on the weekends and Karoke during the week.
What a great idea, Conniecat! Thanks for the help! We%26#39;ll be arriving in August and will definately take your post under advisement when dining out.
Sorry for slacking off a little. We have gone to several restaurants recently but I don%26#39;t have much time to post this morning so I%26#39;ll just do one right now.
The grill at the SeaView Pier in North Topsail Beach serves good food but to say the place is nothing fancy is a bit of an understatement.
We went with several people on a Sunday afternoon and it was crowded. There isn%26#39;t much seating inside and the dining area is, well, not anything special. You can sit outdoors, though, and on a nice day that%26#39;s ideal because you can watch the ocean, pier and beach.
The menu is on the wall and you have to order at the counter and get your own drink but they bring the food out to you.
The food is good and relatively inexpensive. My husband I I ate lunch for under $15, including tip. I got an oyster burger, which was delicious. I got onion rings on the side and they were good, too. Others in my party got cheeseburgers, shrimp baskets and chicken tenders. Everyone said they liked their meal. The burgers were surprisingly thick and the shrimp were pretty good sized. The French fries seemed greasy but the cole slaw was good.
They have dinners and breakfast on the menu, too.
The service is good and the people are friendly.
The place is clean but the bathrooms bug me a little. In the women%26#39;s room there are three stalls squished in one small room. Instead of doors there are (shower?) curtains hung on two of them. The third, presumably the handicap stall, has a real door.
Overall, I%26#39;d say the food is good and I%26#39;d recommend it for a very casual meal.
For only $1, you can walk out on the pier. Bring your camera for a lot of photos.
Excuse me,But it is a Fishing Pier not a Five Star Michelin Award winning Restaurant.It is what it is.
Thank you, Conniecat. Those of us about to visit your lovely area are really appreciating you honest reviews!
Jellybear7, You are so negative! Why not find something constructive to do with your time?
I read the post as it being a fishing pier, not a 5 star restaurant, so it is as she wrote, so it is what it is, and what Connie wrote.. I , as I am sure that 99% of the people who read the post understood that.
Thank you again Connie for another inforative post for your terrific area.
Thank you all for your kind words! Feel free to post your restaurant experiences here, too.
My husband and I recently went to Home Port Restaurant %26amp; Pub in Topsail Beach. It%26#39;s located in front of the Assembly Building and it%26#39;s had several other names throughout the years, most recently before this it was Skully%26#39;s.
It%26#39;s an L-shaped building with one leg of the L as a bar area and the other as the dining area. It%26#39;s really nicely decorated, it%26#39;s very airy and it%26#39;s clean. The bar has pool tables and such and the dining room has nice, polished dark wood tables.
The menu has a lot of Italian foods, as well as burgers and sandwiches, appetizers, salads and dinner entrees - including seafood. I thought the prices were moderate. It%26#39;s open for lunch and dinner.
We went at an odd time, 4 p.m., so the place was not busy, and our service was fast and friendly.
I got a huge grilled chicken salad that was on special for only $6.99. I liked it a lot. My husband got chicken wings and onion rings. The chicken wings were small, but they did give him one extra, and the bleu cheese dressing was runny.
The best thing we had was an appetizer of calamari that we split. It was wonderful! Not only did we get the rings but the tentacles, too. We were a little leery about them but tried them anyway and they were great. They were very lightly breaded, there was a hint of parmesan in the breading and a tasty marinara sauce to dip them in. It was so good! I%26#39;d come back again just for the calamari.
There were some odd things about the restaurant, though. While the place is nicely decorated, the tables are beautiful and the plates are white with starfish and such on them, you%26#39;re served soft drinks in big old plastic Coca Cola cups. I know it%26#39;s not really a big deal but it just seems so odd and out of place.
Also, the ladies bathroom has a beautiful mural of a mermaid on the wall, but there%26#39;s only one women%26#39;s bathroom with one toilet. I can foresee that there could be problems when the bar and restaurant are packed. In addition, the toilet in the ladies room could use a good scrubbing.
Overall, I%26#39;d eat there again and recommend it to my friends.
Wow. My posts are getting longer. I%26#39;ll try to shorten them up and leave the longer reviews in the restaurant section of this site and not in the forums.
On to the next restaurant.
Rick%26#39;s Restaurant and Sports Bar is in Sneads Ferry on Hwy 210 on the causeway before you get to North Topsail Beach. The food is fresh and tasty, the place is clean and comfortable, and the service is friendly and efficient.
They serve lunch and dinner and have a large menu that includes entrees, salads, sandwiches, appetizers and desserts.
A large group of us met there for supper and had a great time. I ordered the Southwest Chicken with steamed vegetables. It was delicious. My husband had flounder stuffed with crab meat. Others in our party had pasta, steak and fish. We also had children with us who had chicken tenders. Everyone said their meal was good.
My husband ordered a slice of homemade ice cream pie for dessert and I took a bite. It was great.
The prices are what I would consider moderate. My meal was $12.95 and I think my husband%26#39;s was a couple dollars more.
The server was friendly and attentive. Even though the restaurant was busy very while we were there, she always made sure our drinks were full and our dirty plates were taken away.
Rick%26#39;s is fairly large with a lot of seating. It is furnished in hard wood and wood work with sports memorabilia in the bar. It is a very attractive place.
The bar is big, light and airy with high ceilings and good ventilation. I don%26#39;t smoke and while the bar room is the smoking area, I could not detect any smokiness or smoking odors. There are TVs hung on the walls and a big screen TV above the bar.
The dining room has both booths and tables, and they have tables that can accommodate large parties. It is in a different room than the bar.
There is also a small game room located just off the dining room with a few video games in it.
The bathroom is clean and very nice.
I tried to think if there were any negatives to warn people about but couldn%26#39;t come up with any.
I would highly recommend Rick%26#39;s to anyone.
