Restaurants

Restaurants in New Bern offer culinary fare from around the world, everything from traditional Southern home cooking to fine European cuisine. Good, fresh seafood is available in nearly every restaurant, prepared in the specialty styles of the house; one seafood market includes a next-door venue for its ready-to-eat seafood preparations. The following eateries do not include popular chain and fast food restaurants most likely already familiar to you. Calling ahead for hours of operation is recommended.

The price code we use for our restaurants reflects the average price of a dinner for two. Because entrees come in a wide range of prices, our price code reflects an average cost of entrees, not the most expensive item or the least expensive item. For restaurants that do not serve dinner, the price code reflects the cost of lunch fare. Price code averages do not include appetizers, drinks, desserts, gratuity or the state's sales tax. Prices are also subject to change. Unless otherwise noted, all of these establishments accept credit cards.
$ Less than $20
$$ $20 to $30
$$$ $31 to $45
$$$$ More than $45

MJ's Raw Bar & Grille caters to both lunch and dinner crowds. Fair prices enhanced by daily specials bring locals in for crab-stuffed mushroom appetizers, homemade soups, Maryland crab cakes and desserts. Shrimp, oysters, clams, crawfish, scallops and mussels invite gourmet diners to the raw bar while blackened Angus, Mellow Mushroom burgers and Buffalo fried chicken sandwiches beckon the lunch bunch. MJ's stocks a full-service bar and offers a fine selection domestic and international wines. MJ's is open daily.

Skipjack Landing adds its latest quality business to the New Bern scene with the opening of Persimmons Waterfront Restaurant at Skipjack Landing. The theme of the menu is "Southern Bounty" and that means lots of local produce, excellent aged beef and very fresh seafood. A full wine list and imported as well as local microbrew beers complement each entree item. Persimmons is open for lunch Tuesday through Saturday from 11 AM to 2:30 PM and for dinner Wednesday through Sunday from 5 to 9:30 PM.

The restaurant can handle large private parties or intimate gatherings in any of a number of variously sized rooms or on the waterfront deck. Docking facilities provide 'parking' for boaters desiring to dine inside and evenings often include entertainment. Check the Web at www.persimmonsrestaurant.com for dates and times. Persimmons Waterfront Restaurant carries full ABC licensing.

Trent River Coffee Company, inside and out, yanks old-timers back with a pang to the coffee bars near every college campus during the '60s. Some evenings, always pre-announced, folk artists and other local or imported entertainers communicate informally and effectively in the plain Jane setting of small tables in a relatively small area. A complete coffee bar and retail coffee shop, Trent River is the social gathering place for locals on most weekday mornings for coffee, hot chocolate and breakfast breads and pastries. Late risers may prefer the ice cream and milk shakes. Morning, noon and night, coffee and good conversation are brewing up good times.

Ashley Moser, culinary school graduate, experienced chef and owner of 247 Craven Restaurant in New Bern highlights fresh-cooked menu specialties in both Mediterranean and southern styles with conversation regarding wine choices. Manager Patrick Ligi meticulously trains staff to attend with equal care, those with an hour and those with plans for lingering enjoyment of fine dining and pleasant chat. The restaurant offers Sunday brunch from 11 AM until 2 PM,  Tuesday through Saturday lunch from 11 AM until 2:30 PM and dinner service from 5 PM, ending when the last patron is ready to call it a night. The full bar stays open until the restaurant closes each evening. 247 Craven Restaurant also presents a Wine Dinner monthly by reservation, with each course accompanied by a new or unique fine wine specifically selected to enhance the taste and textures of the food. Moser and Ligi are pleased to sit down and 'talk wine' with diners. They happily offer tastes of new vinyard products and unusual wines customers may enjoy and purchase by bottle or case at reasonable prices.

A Catered Affair owner Stacia Reid creates lunches Tuesday through Saturday from 11 AM to 2 PM and breakfast on Saturdays from 7 until 10 AM. Always-fresh ingredients are prepared creatively and unfailingly tasty. The 2009 season introduced a chicken salad luncheon plate quickly topping the charts in demand. Stacia and her crew have been providing professional catering services through A Catered Affair for 20 years in the New Bern area. Catered lunches are available for groups of 10 or more.

Open daily, Almond Tree Cafe & Ice Cream Shop serves breakfast treats such as chocolate-chip Belgian waffles, pancakes, scrambled eggs, omelets made to order and croissant or bagel sandwiches featuring egg and cheese and a choice of ham or bacon. Lunch and dinner provide soups, shrimp, turkey, chicken, roast beef, ham or salads served in pitas and wraps. Beverages include specialty coffees, cappuccinos and low-fat frappuncinos, while a children's menu features PB&J, a pita cheese melt, hot dogs and ice cream, sundaes, milk shakes and cookies. A second location at 2116 Trent Boulevard (phone 514-2233) offers the same cuisine.

The Baker's Square serves breakfast, lunch and dinner with generous portions, fair prices and outstanding service. Breakfast platters of pancakes, French toast, biscuits and gravy or eggs come with a choice of sausage or bacon. Or, any combination may be selected from a list of breakfast items. Lunch and dinner bring out the home-cooked beef, chicken or seafood, and prime rib, shrimp, soft-shell crabs, catfish and pork, all served with sides of vegetables, cole slaw and Baker's rolls. A local tip advises trying the country fried steak. Salads and sandwiches are available on the lunch and dinner menus. So are desserts of pie, cheesecake and pastries. The Baker's Square is especially busy Friday and Saturday nights, so timing visits to miss the crowds is a good idea. The restaurant is open Monday for breakfast and lunch, Tuesday through Saturday for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Open daily, Capt. Ratty's menu features a variety of seafood and steaks cooked just about any way you want. Owner Tom Ballance says the restaurant serves some of the best steak in the state, due partially to Capt. Ratty's high standards for cut selection. Crab, shrimp, oysters, clams, mussels and oysters are on the menu. The price of the oysters depends on whether the customer shucks or the staff shucks. A children's menu lists grilled cheese and hamburgers. Clam chowder, sandwiches and salads suit all tastes, and beverages include soft drinks, tea, coffee, beer and mixed drinks. Capt. Ratty's also is noted for its excellent selection of wines.

Carolina Bagel Company, open Monday through Saturday, is tucked away in Village Square on Trent Road. The company offers fresh-baked bagels all day, topped with homemade cream-cheese spreads. Pastries and homemade brownies are baked daily. There are salads, platters and sandwiches and a kids'' menu with PB&J, BLT and grilled cheese. Catering also is available.

Chadwick House Cafe is small in size and big on service. Owners Amy and John Faulkenberry provide a menu including such Southern staples as chicken salad and pimiento cheese or turkey, ham and roast beef sandwiches prepared on white or wheat bread or croissants. Soups by cup or bowl, salads and pie or cheesecake by the slice are served at inside or outside seating along with daily specials and a soup of the day. Chadwick House sells many of its menu items by the pound or half-pound, and pies and cakes are available with advance notice. The cafe, open for lunch Tuesday through Saturday, does not serve alcohol nor does it accept credit cards. Off-street parking is available.

The Chelsea Restaurant serves meticulously planned, carefully prepared and beautifully served fare for lunch and dinner daily except Sunday. Appetizer selections include Shrimp and Crab Toast — shrimp, crab and a blend of cheese on French bread, pan fried in butter and served with a port wine reduction. A Turkey Pita Club sandwich combines smoked turkey, bacon, Monterey Jack, lettuce and tomato in herbed pita bread and served with raspberry mayonnaise. A favorite is Southern Osso Bucco — roasted pork shank braised with olive oil, red wine, fire-roasted tomatoes, olives and capers served with garlic smashed potatoes and seasonal vegetable. Another favorite is the low country Shrimp and Grits, a combination of shrimp, smoked sausage, cheese and grits. The Chelsea offers a selection of domestic or imported beers and wine and mixed drinks. This also is a popular nighttime gathering place (see our New Bern Nightlife chapter). The Chelsea is housed in the restored 1912 drugstore of pharmacist Caleb Bradham, inventor of Pepsi-Cola.

China Wok offers pork, chicken, seafood and beef in Chinese sauces, some, but not all hot, with varied vegetables and, of course, steamed or fried rice. Chinese isn't fast food, but at China Wok, it is quickly prepared and served in generous portions to sit-down as well as take-out customers. The ambiance is not designed for lingering meals served one course at a time, but the service and quality of the fare is excellent. Fortune cookies accompany every meal. China Wok is open daily, with lunch specials available Monday through Saturday.

Christoph’s on the Water, located at the Hilton New Bern Riverfront, is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The restaurant offers a contemporary casual dining experience on the beautiful Trent River waterfront. Christoph’s features hand-cut steaks and seafood to tempt any palate and offers the only outdoor waterfront dining in all of New Bern. Christoph’s Lounge is the place to enjoy the live entertainment every Friday and Saturday evening.

Country Biscuit Restaurant opens at 5 AM, serving steak, ham, tenderloin, sausage, bacon and cheese biscuits or breakfast plates to include eggs and grits or hash browns. The lunch menu offers sandwiches such as cheeseburgers, and plates including a side of vegetables. For those in a hurry, Country Biscuit serves through a drive-through window, too.

The Cow Cafe in New Bern's historic downtown specializes in ice cream made on the spot and other desserts especially pleasing to children. The menu features a full line of sandwiches, hot plates, soups and salads, all whimsically named in the bovine theme. Patrons may try Moo-chos, Save-A-Cow barbecue baskets, Grazin' Garden Salad, El Moo's Chili and move on to The Cow boutique gift shop. Predictably there, are cow inspired items, mostly Holstein, for every age group. The Cow Cafe summer hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 AM to 9 PM and Sunday from 10 AM to 9 PM. Fall and winter hours are Monday through Thursday from 10 AM to 8 PM, Friday and Saturday from 10 AM to 9 PM and Sunday from 11:30 AM to 6 PM.

El Cerro Mexican Bar and Grill has an extensive menu of authentic Mexican food including combination, vegetarian and children's dinners. Sample chalupas, cile rellenos, enchiladas, tacos and burritos with chicken or beef fillings at a great price with the combination dinners. Diners find generous portions and Mexican or domestic beers, wine, Margaritas and other mixed drinks. El Cerro is open daily 11 AM to 10 PM, Sundays noon to 9 PM.

Flounders Seafood and Smokehouse is a family-friendly restaurant with daily specials and moderate prices. Monday night offers two entrees for the price of one to seniors ages 50 and older; Tuesday provides a discount for take-out orders; and Wednesdays are for kids. Flounders serves a full array of appetizers, plates, platters and desserts, including their specialty seafoods, Southern sweet tea and bar beverages. The restaurant has all ABC permits and is open daily.

Gina's Pizza's two locations carry an extensive menu of salads, hot wings and Italian dinners to eat in or have delivered. Specialty pizzas such as Veggie Gourmet and The Works Gourmet offering samplings of all toppings are available every day at bargain prices, not even considering the daily specials. Open Monday through Saturday until 10 PM, Gina's delivers with a minimum order of $7.

Harvey Mansion Historic Inn & Restaurant is a bed and breakfast with an onsite restaurant and nightclub on the Trent River. Diners select from seafood, beef, poultry or lamb dishes in one of six dining rooms, including the Green Room, originally the formal parlor with ornate woodwork and molding. All dishes created by chef Scott Weiss come with a house salad and fresh dinner rolls. Specialties include beef and Brie en croute, lamb osso bucco, Asian ahi tuna stack, chicken Chesapeake and coastal Carolina crab cakes. Appetizers, homemade desserts, an extensive wine list and nightly specials have made the Harvey Mansion a great destination for dinner.  

Since 1945 Moore's has specialized in eastern North Carolina chopped barbecue pork. Eaten on the spot or taken out, the food at Moore's is good. A meal of pork or chicken barbecue is served with cole slaw, french fries and hushpuppies. There are shrimpburgers or seafood plates with shrimp, flounder and trout, and St. Louis–style ribs on Saturdays. Moore's can cater small, large or huge events or put on a North Carolina–style pig picking. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner every day but Sunday. With every intention of freezing some for another day, old-timers from Pamlico and other outlying counties generally take home a pound or so of barbecue from Moore's whenever they come to town. Most confess to caving in to that distinctive aroma and pickin' on the way home so there's just not enough left to bother with freezing.

Stompin' Grounds is a coffee bar with frappuccino, cappuccino, latte or undecorated good coffee, and it's a lunch stop and a wine shop too. Stompin' Grounds also offers catering and is available for private wine tastings. The Friday night wine bar provides wines and hors d' oeuvres until 10 PM. Stompin' Grounds is open Monday through Thursday from 6:30 AM until 6 PM, Friday from 6:30 AM to 10 PM and Saturdays from 7:30 AM to 4 PM.

Open Monday through Saturday, Tryon Palace Seafood sells fresh shrimp, oysters, flounders, scallops and catch of the day to those wishing to prepare a seafood supper at home. Next door is The Stingray Cafe, where pre-ordered shrimp and oyster burgers, soft-crab and crab-cake sandwiches and fish and chips may be picked up with sides of fries, slaw and hushpuppies.