A Legend, in Leland, a town located right where the Cape Fear river meets the sea. Shirley's is a…read moretiny local spot in a strip mall, but they know local seafood really well. Prices are extremely reasonable, and the service is timely, friendly, and attentive. But let's get to the food. Fried Oysters are plump, juicy, with a classical crust of seasoned cornmeal perfectly fried to a turn. Excellent as a platter, or available as a po' boy style sandwich. They often feature fresh Carolina fish in season, flounder, catfish, and Spots, which are small but delicious white-flesh fish that are native to the Carolinas, and near impossible to find elesewhere. Their platters come with fresh classic Carolina Cole-slaw and perfectly fried hush puppies. Flounder fillets thick and perfectly tender. Chef knows his business, everything I've ever ordered here has always been first-class, coming here for years now. Thank you for an excellent experience, each and every time. My friends tell me their pork chops are very, very good too, down home country flavor. But I dream about their fresh seafood.

Shirley's was very clean and everyone was friendly. We enjoyed our meals. Service was good. Hope to…read morego back.

Went there today. The review is much the same as the one from last year. I had eggs over easy…read more(cooked to perfection), sausage, bacon and avocado. The staff were very attentive and pleasant. I have to say that, unlike the first review, the coffee was meh, at best. But then I'm really picky about my coffee. :)

Good service. French toast was okay…read more Waffle was overdone and very dry. Overall not real clean -- table was sticky. Would not go again given the other options in the area. Leaning to 2 stars but went with 3

I think most people know this is a fine diner -- my review will just be another one singing the…read moreKettle Diner's praises. Located in a relatively convenient spot from anywhere in the Jacksonville area, the restaurant has lots of room for customers, and so I've often found a table even in some of the traditionally busier times of day. The food and the service are always reliably great. Omelets, pancakes, French toast, and even hash browns (which, in most other diners, along with their fellow traveler in undesirability, grits, are best avoided), are far better than most other diners. A lot of thought, care, and, presumably, serious on-the-job training must go into the food. The efficiency and dependably rigorous quality are not surprising in a military town. If you're visiting from elsewhere, you will be humbled by the atmosphere, at certain times, when the young service members are having meaningful, hushed meals with their beloveds. Thinking of the hard work, brutal training, and potential life-threatening danger that such absurdly young looking people are enduring will make your worries about mice in the garage, smudged eyeglasses, and forgetting your travel pillow feel awfully insignificant and trivial. Unless you're a fleshly flaneur like me, in which case, a travel pillow and a heating blanket, are still pretty nice. Service is fast and just the right amount of attentive and friendly. On my most recent visit, Elaina was particular kind and efficient.

This is our first time back at the Kettle since returning to OC last September and it is just as I…read moreremember: tasty, down home cooking and friendly folks. I asked our very helpful and sweet server Jersey if she had only 2 choices with one being chicken fried chicken or the daily special Taco Salad, which would she go with and she said the taco salad. So, that's what I ordered. It was very tasty, loaded with 2 types of cheese a side of Jalapeño (which I gave to hubby) alot of fresh tomatoes and lettuce, a side of salsa and sour cream served in a somewhat crispy tortilla shell. And the shell is the only reason for a 4 star vs 5, the shell wasn't as light and crispy as I like it. It tasted as if they fried it several hours ago and honestly, I get why they did it that way as it saves time but the shell just left me disappointed. Hubby ordered a patty melt with fries. We came into town to scope out the Jacksonville Landing for future bass fishing mornings and when I told him we were stopping in here for lunch he already knew he was having the melt. I mean, he thought about it for 90 minutes lol. I've had their melts before and it is yummy. I think though the fries were the star on his plate. They were crispy on the outside and pillowy on the inside and topped with something akin to Old Bay Seasoning. And they were HOT! Y'all, i mean, they're only fries but rhey were PERFECT! I am seriously alreasy looking forward to our 1st fishing adventure just so we can have lunch at the Kettle once we've caught all the bass. Jersey was quite attentive, but not hovering and warm friendly like only you'll find in the south. Oh, bestie told me to get the chocolate torte because she said, literally, "it's life altering." However, I forgot to so, just another thing for me to enjoy after our initial fishing trip. In some ways, you can go home again.

The place was so good our Amy was fabulous. the burger was so good from the meal potato fries…read moreare so good. They are made with cinnamon and sugar.

We stopped in at Pops Diner and ordered a spread that really showed off their menu. The chicken…read morewings--both BBQ and mild--were crispy, flavorful, and absolutely delicious. The cheeseburger was cooked well, juicy, and satisfying, paired perfectly with the sweet potato fries that had just the right crunch. Classic fries were golden and crispy, while the onion rings were thick, well-battered, and tasty. Service was another highlight: our server was friendly, polite, and attentive throughout the meal. The only drawback was the automatic 20% gratuity added for our party of five, which felt a bit unexpected. The atmosphere brought an old-time diner feel, with a nostalgic charm that made the experience memorable. Overall, Pops Diner delivered on food quality and service, with just one small caveat on the gratuity policy.

If you want that "where everybody knows your name" kind of place, this is it. The staff remembered…read moreus by our second visit, which says a lot given the amount of folks going in and out. We ended up having breakfast there three days in a row--coffee was always flowing, and our food came out quickly, even with special requests. We didn't get a chance to try lunch, but it's a great spot if you're looking for a yummy, early breakfast with friendly, attentive service.

Very friendly and clean, fast service. I got the fish and chips, I ask for fries instead of chips…read moreand they were very accommodating. For being next to the ocean I expected fresh fish but that was not what I got, I guess I should have asked before ordering so my mistake. It was ok but NOT for the price. I would try again but never order the fish and chips again.

Always a great meal! 1/2 price bottles of wine on Wednesday. our server tonight, Ryan, was…read moreattentive and kind. He was ver welcoming. The food is always good and fresh.

I was staying next-door at the Home2 suites and the front desk said this was a great place, so I…read morefigured I'd try it out. It's sort of Italian and sort of steak and sort of a little bit of everything. Really clean, strait forward , reasonable menu, nice ambience. It feels kind of high end but the pricing is definitely mid range. I selected the tomato basil soup as my appetizer. It came with a nice toasted crustini. It was a really good soup. It tasted fresh. It had a lot of body to it like, maybe they did the tomatoes here in the house from fresh. It was definitely tomato. The basil was kind in the background, but it was a true red sauce. It was almost tomato paste or tomato sauce flavor. I would've not complained if they given it to me over a bit of penne.. It had a really nice flavor on it not too sweet not too acidic really a very good soup. It came out in a footed coffee cup so you're getting about one cup of soup. The main course was the broiled seafood platter. It was anchored by a large piece of mahi-mahi, that was amazingly well prepared, firm and tasty. To the side of that was a wonderful crabcake, one of the best I've had anywhere and definitely the best in the Carolinas. It did not have too much breading and it had a wonderful texture with lots of good crab flavor. Drizzled across all of this were scallops and shrimp. The shrimp were a little overcooked if you asked me. The scallops were sweet and perfect and everything you would want them to be. The side that comes with this is their crab fries which essentially our beer battered french fries dusted with old bay seasoning. If you've ever had the crab fries at the Philadelphia, ballpark, this is the way they do it. For dessert, I ordered the lemon cello mascarpone cake. It comes drizzled with raspberry sauce. I had visions of lemon curd, and what I got was really good and really lemonade and good cake. But it's not a very big slice. I know about the weight staff. I don't know if they're all good, but mine was exceptional and lovely to talk with. The place was very busy. It had a nice vibe to it, it could've been in South Beach or Miami or Los Angeles, not that it was over over the top just that it was very clean and nice and well done. This is a professional restaurant not some amateur attempt. I recommend it.

We found this on accident last year coming back from the beach and have returned twice since then…read more Open seating area and you can see the kitchen area. Definitely where the locals go to drink coffee, have breakfast and shoot the shit. Waitresses have always been attentive and nice, the food is average diner experience, with no surprises. I liked that the menu is small without an overwhelming selection. We will be going again whenever we visit this area

Didn't get a chance to eat the food because we were totally ignored by the wait staff that were…read moredoing " busy work". I tried catching their eye, waving, but to no avail. This place is usually great for breakfast but this is not a good way to start the day.

The restaurant was very clean. The service was awesome . We just had breakfast there for the 1st…read moretime. They service breakfast at lunch time also. If you can get Mrs.Dee as a server, SHE IS AWESOME! She loves her job and does it with passion. Also Mrs. JJ she so precious. Most definitely will recommended and return. And I apologize for no pic my phone was acting crazy but the food look like the menu. Definitely not disappointed.

City Cafe is a cute little spot in Holly Ridge! The staff have been working there for a bit and it…read moreshows! Their friendly smiles and attention to detail is apparent! I took my bacon, egg and cheese sandwich to go, but it was excellent!! I have supported their food truck - City Wheelz! Zach is the top dog on that truck! It's always like home cooking and I always want to support local!!

The banana pudding ice cream flavor will have me coming back every day of our vacation!…read more We stopped here our first night for an easy dinner. We immediately were enthralled by the antiques adorning the walls. Yes, things are a little dusty but an antique collector knows that you sparingly clean these treasures to avoid destroying the authenticity. We ordered standard diner fare - burgers, fries, steak & cheeses, milk shakes - topping everything off with ice cream! The teenaged staff were attentive and polite, even eager to share their favorite flavors to help us decide. Everyone enjoyed their meals but my oldest said his steak & cheese was the best he'd had though it was smaller portion than he would have liked. All in all, this is a great little spot when you're looking for a quick bite.

After getting burgers here 8 or 9 times last summer I was counting the days until they opened this…read moreseason. My wife and I went last week and the disappointment could not be overstated. I REALLY hope this was a one off but I am worried it was not. What changed? The ground beef. Not sure if they got a different supplier or they are trying to cut costs but neither scenario is good because the meat is horrible. I will try it one more time to be sure but IF this is the new norm- I will not be back, like ever. If it's a cost savings plan- this never works. You end up alienating your core customer base to save a few pennies. It's not like this place is cheap. I'm paying a decent price but I expect a decent burger. Please Island Delights- don't do us like that.