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Black Sea Grill
When Cem Akthas emigrated from
Turkey with his family in 1995, he
brought years of Mediterranean-cooking
experience with him. Akthas opened
the Black Sea Grill (118 South Front Street,
910-254-9990) in December 2008 and has
helped run the family-owned restaurant
since that time, using the freshest fish
and produce to make authentic Eastern
European cuisine. The Black Sea Grill
is an intimate restaurant with décor that
will make you know you’re in a Turkish
bistro. Menu items include kebab, falafel,
fresh anchovies and specialties such as
humus and eggplant delight. A cup of
Turkish coffee completes your European
fine-dining evening.
Press 102
When Jeff Jones opened the Hotel
Tarrymore, he had far more in mind
than just a hotel. The hotel houses Press
102 (102 South 2nd Street, 910-399-4438), one
of Wilmington’s newest fine-dining restaurants.
The name is meaningful in the
sense that almost everything on the menu
is pressed. Press 102 starts with the classic
panini and adds Southern flair and flavor
— the country morning panini (country
ham and scrambled eggs), for instance.
Press 102 also offers fan favorites such as
shrimp and grits and braised short ribs.
After dinner, grab a signature cocktail at
the bar, made with fresh-pressed fruit.
Manna
The name “Manna” comes from the
Biblical history of the Israelite people, who
having fled Egypt’s tyranny, by was of the
Red Sea, awake in the desert to find that
God has answered their prayers for food
with manna from heaven. The Israelites
ate the manna to sustain themselves the
40 years that they wandered in the desert,
and this story inspired Chef Jacob Hilbert
to open Manna (123 Princess Street, 910-763-
5252). To place Manna in any one genre
is a tricky business. Chef Hilbert makes
sure that the menu is constantly updated
with unique dishes, such as “the nice rack”
(a roasted rack of lamb), “groupies in the
water” (seared grouper) and “drunk pigs
on a cot” (brined pork tenderloin). Hilbert
doesn’t believe in creating a menu locked
into one style or region, and the result is
a unique fine-dining experience.
The Eat Spot
Less than a year old, The Eat
Spot (34 North Front Street, 910-763-
5366) offers a fine-dining experience
at affordable prices. Owner
and chef Jason Godwin had a
vision when he opened The Eat
Spot in March 2010: create a restaurant
and bar that would please
anyone who walked through the
door. Godwin uses his experience
as a fine-dining chef to create perfect
meals, injecting his own style
into his made-to-order dishes.
“We smoke our own barbeque in
house,” Godwin says. “I take a
lot of pride in my eastern North
Carolina-style barbeque.” With a
menu ranging from local seafood
to sensational salads, and a classic
burger, there’s a fine-dining dish
for every mood and every price.