Wilmington favorite makes OpenTable's list of best brunch restaurants

Allison Ballard, Wilmington StarNews
·2 min read

Mimosa fans agree there’s no wrong time for brunch. But the year’s brunchiest holiday has to be Mother’s Day, which is May 12 this year. And there are all sorts of lists to help diners navigate the options, from special events to best brunches.

Now the restaurant reservation site OpenTable has compiled a fresh list of the Top 100 Brunch Restaurants for 2024. And one Wilmington spot is among them. Seabird at the corner of Front and Market streets in downtown Wilmington was one of seven restaurants in the state on the list.

OpenTable reviewed more than 14 million diner reviews and found nearly half of all Mother's Day dining takes place during brunch hours, from 11 a.m. to 2:59 p.m. The list includes eateries in 29 states and Washington, D.C. California has the largest share of restaurants with 13.

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Seabird has already received a lot of attention this year. Chef and owner Dean Neff is among five finalists for the Outstanding Chef in the James Beard Foundation Awards. Caprice Bistro was on OpenTable’s list of romantic restaurants in 2018. And Yelp named Savorez was named a top brunch spot in the state in 2022.

Here’s a look at all of the North Carolina eateries on this year’s OpenTable list.

  • Afternoon Tea at the O.Henry Hotel in Greensboro

  • Green Valley Grill, a fine dining restaurant in Greensboro

  • Herons restaurant at the Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary

  • JOLO Winery & Vineyards restaurant in the Yadkin Valley in Pilot Mountain

  • Madison’s in Highlands. (Both JOLO and this spot were also on OpenTable’s 2024 list of romantic restaurants.)

  • On the Nines Bistro in Mooresville

  • Seabird in Wilmington

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Allison Ballard is the food and dining reporter at the StarNews. You can reach her at aballard@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Seabird in Wilmington named a Top 100 Brunch restaurant by OpenTable