Busy place, but fully staffed. Excellent menu choices, beautiful place to get to before sun sets. Perfect place to watch as sun sinks below the horizon
Such a shame that this amazing venue for a restaurant serves food that I could definitely make better at home… with a name like smoke on the water, I expect some mouth watering, tender BBQ. Not so much the case here. Portions are small, meats are over cooked and tough. Menu is pretty boring. This place has so much potential, but the menu is lacking. They need home made sides with real, BBQ. Fresh local seafood options, something besides “basic.” There are so many places in Wilmington that are innovative, full of flavor, just way above anything on the menu here. Sunsets, beautiful, but don’t come for the food.
An amazing dinner spot!! The wait was definitely long (to be expected) but was perfect because the trail to walk on behind the restaurant was so beautiful! We grabbed drinks, watched the sunset, and made friends! Staff was very kind and were working super hard. Our server (I think his name was Brandon or Brendan…) was amazing! Also shoutout to the host (Victoria) because she was kind and was working hard!
There are so many bad reviews for this place, we almost didn't come here. But we met a friend who lives in the area and she had good things to say. We weren't disappointed. I wanted to rate it as good but TripAdvisor ratings doesn't give that option because they go from average to very good. The weather was very stormy so there was no outdoor seating when we were there so we didn't get to enjoy the outdoor experience. We had the burger and brisket sandwich and both were actually very good.
I will agree that this place has a great location and view. The rest of our experience was less than acceptable. It was a disaster from the beginning to the end. Hoping I have enough room to type. You won't believe this mess! We were seated promptly. We had a party of 6. One of them was there for her birthday. The waitress was kind enough to allow us to split the bill. Three were on one, two on another and a third alone. The waitress even wrote the orders in numbers and connected them with lines to show who was being billed where. I assisted so she wouldn't get it wrong. We ordered dinner. It came out pretty quick. Two people order the Shrimp Tacos. It was a joke. Each person got three tacos on their plates. The tortilla shells had TWO shrimp each. Just TWO in each taco. This obviously wasn't an accident because all six tacos had only TWO shrimp. Not Jumbo shrimp either. Another individual order the chicken sandwich. The bottom part of his roll was so wet (yes wet - not soggy!) that he couldn't pick it up. It was dripping wet and falling apart like bread does when its wet. Another person ordered the prime rib sandwich. It was so well done that it was difficult to cut with a knife. When we sent it back and asked for med-rare to medium, it was brought back out an we were told that they cook all the prime rib the same. REALLY!!!!! Then don't cook it so long! The only plate that was worth anything was mine. I ordered the Crab cakes. They were pretty good. The waitress never came back and checked in on us. One of our party was drinking everyone's waters because we couldn't get refills on drinks. The waitress finally returned and asked if we wanted our bills. Then she couldn't figure out how to break out the checks. YES, after we spent ten minutes when we got there literally writing it on her pad with numbers and lines linking the parties together. Once we paid we left. I was so agitated with the entire experience that I left my debit card in the receipt book. We then called to be sure they had it. The person at Smoke on the Water told us they would put it at the hostess stand to be picked up. We told them we would come the next day to pick it up. Keep in mind this was on a Sunday. Low and behold I show up to pick up the card on Monday and guess what? They are closed!!! Would have been nice to be told that on SUNDAY when we told them we would be in tomorrow to pick it up. I finally arrived to pick up the card (When they open at 4pm) on Tuesday. The staff was rude (other than the GM -who told me he was new) and they could not find my card. After I told them three times that the card was supposed to be at the hostess stand and they continued to walk away a look for it in an office, the GM finally started pulling papers and items out from under the hostess stand. Guess what !?!?!?!?!?! It was there. No Way, Right where it was supposed to be. I wish the best of luck to the "New" GM he has his hands full and has a ton of work to get this place into shape!!
I would give five stars but the reservation and seating policies don't really make sense to me. We called ahead to try to make reservations, and we're told they do not accept them but there was no wait at the moment. We arrived at the restaurant within 20 minutes of that phone call and there was an hour and a half wait. When I told the hostess that we had just called and we were told there was no wait, she stated that it is typical right at that time of night that the tables all fill up. I realize that there may have been a flood of people within the call and our arrival, but we would have made other plans if they were more transparent and told us that was typical. I'm not going to judge the establishment on just the hostess, because twice after that interaction she almost ran into me walking through the restaurant and never excused herself and made a face as if I was in her way for just existing in the restaurant. There was very limited seating at the bar, so we took our drinks and walked around the deck area and made the best of it. We were there right at sunset so there was a spectacular view over the water. Food and drinks were great, and they happily accommodated someone who was with us with food allergies and dietary restrictions.
We’d like to give our server, Sydney, a shout out! She was fabulous. We were a bit needy with special requests and a couple of (minor) complaints. She remained graceful and cheerful throughout and did great problem solving on the spot. This was the second time we’ve had Sydney as our server and same thing both times. The meal and views were great, as always. (This was an unsolicited review! We don’t know Sydney outside of Smoke on the Water.)
Let me tell you..What is better than coming to a nice place by the water, either cold or warm, with always an easy place to find parking?As you park and walk up, you are greeted by such a friendly and knowledgeable staff that gladly will you assist you to pick your seating inside or out (I suggest out) depending on your preference.To find your way with family or friends to the searing of your choice (again, pick outside) as you can sit around the table to enjoy eachothers company in such a relaxing environment.As you're sitting there, the welcoming staff can inform you of their specials, food, or drink for something that might strike your interests. You can glaze upon their intriguing menu of seafood or BBQ and their fantastic choice of appetizers to choose from as well for something that glues your eyes to it as if your stomach isn't letting you look elsewhere... as this is the shrimp or oyster Po Boy for me..As you order your meals and drinks, you can sit back and relax while my preferred time to go is during the sunset as you can watch as the sun falls from your seat or the pier behind them for some great family or friendly photos ?.Getting a little cold ? No worries, move your way inside or towards the fire pit outside where you can eat your meals and drink your beverages around one another or meet some others there as well.Finishing it off with some nice optional dessert or my favorite ... Another beverage... to a great evening out to an easy walk back to your car with a taste that doesn't leave you.I'll see you all here again soon with another great experience!
Love love love this spot. Great food, beautiful view, friendly waitstaff. Fire outside bunch of seating and near the water. What’s not to like
This place is cute and has great views. I walked in wanting to order a Taco and tequila for my shirt. And the shrimp tacos were amazing. Grilled and seasoned amazingly. The fries weren't great. Tasted as if they were cooked twice, but the tacos made me happy. There's also a fireplace outside to have a drink or eat. Very open with natural light makes it nice to be in.