Our top three choices: Fish Bites, Shuckin Shack, and local seafood stands.

Fish Bites

6132-11 Carolina Beach Road,
Wilmington, NC 28412 
www.fishbitesseafood.com/
Don't let the strip-mall location detract you from this restaurant/seafood market  Past guests raved about  Fish Bites so we decided to check it out for ourselves.  Call ahead for a reservation because there can be a wait even in the non-peak season.  .  
If your traveling with children or are in a rush, you can call ahead to place your order.  Then it will be ready for you when you arrive at the restaurant.  Laugh and Learn Drop-In Day Care is next door, so you always drop the little ones off if you want a quiet dinner.  

But, it is really o.k. to bring the kids.  Fish Bites is one of the most family-friendly restaurant in Wilmington  The kid's menu, crayons, lobster tank, and amazing corn mini-muffins makes it the best seafood restaurant to take the entire family.

On our first visit to Fish Bites, we were pleasantly surprised with the variety on the menu, for example, grouper cheeks and oyster bombs.  We opted for the steamer platter and some Peel & Eat Shrimp.  Both were good, but both JR and I liked the shrimp at Shuckin' Shack better.  The next time we tried the Fishermans Stew which was great choice for a November night.  There was plenty of seafood in the stew, but the tomato based broth was lacking in complexity.  I tend to like things that are very bright (loud) in flavor.  

We had friends visiting us at Carolina Beach over Thanksgiving, and they all raved about Fish Bites.  Here are some of the things I remember them saying:

"The shrimp bombs are like the best things I've ever eat."

"I can't believe how affordable this is.  You can never get seafood like this in Brooklyn."  


Yeah, they loved it.  I was really happy that they liked Fish Bites because some of my friends can be kind of picky.  Even the supertaster of the bunch managed to find something on the menu.  There are a lot of non seafood items on the menu, so there is something for most everyone.  

Picture
Live Maine lobster for sold at Fish Bites.
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Movie Recommendation

Whenever I see a lobster, I think about think about this scene from Annie Hall.  If you haven't seen this classic film, I highly recommend it.  You can watch it instantly for less than $3
on Amazon Instant Video.  Just click  the "Buy from amazon.com" button below.