Came in around 1pm on a Sunday and it was slightly busy where we had to wait some. The restaurant is in the old Ohana room at Waterman's which they added a raised platform for tables and more seating around the sides with a small bar area. The other side is a separate bar called Shipfaced. Our waitress was friendly but definitely seemed rushed. She didn't have a kids menu or drink menu available which would've been helpful. My husband got the Catch (cod and shrimp) I ordered the Caesar chicken ciabatta sandwich which was good. But while we waited for our food, I couldn't help feeling a little food envy watching other plates come out. The pancake was giant and the chicken fried steak and avocado toast looked amazing. But staff was quick to grab us a highchair and help remove a chair. My kiddo ended up happily sharing my fries along with my husband's hushpuppies and shrimp. I'd come back yo try their breakfast next time! read more

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Ok let me apologize in advance. I hate to leave the review I'm about to leave because I really WANTED to like this place. QUICK READ: Amazingly slow service, food was mid, place was filthy everywhere you look. After seeing a video on Instagram we decided to make the 90 mile trip from Goldsboro just to get my daughter the largest pancake we've ever seen. Called en route to avoid any Sunday brunch long waits, arrived right at 11:30am - and that's where things slowed WAY down. We along with several other groups waited at the unattended hostess stand for 5, then 10, then 15 minutes before anyone was ever acknowledged. Everyone seemed in good spirits and we were committed, but I've never waited like this before and never will again. Once finally greeted - and seated which took another 10 minutes to get a table cleared off (which is puzzling because the place was 1/2 empty). Now the real waiting began - forever to get drinks ordered - forever to get the drinks - then 1/2 the table got their food and the other half waited quite a bit longer to recieve their food. All in all - 2.5 hours to eat food that was absolutely within striking distance of something you could get in 10-15 minutes at any Waffle House. The employees were nice though not particularly apologetic and never seemed to acknowledge the ridiculously poor performance, and the food was fine. I'm pulling for these guys to get things figured out - but it's going to take a lot and this ship seems to have no one at the helm. (That was a nautical themed joke to lighten the mood!) read more

Sammy Sea’s - The most patient child in America enjoying the pancake she came here for. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

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I rarely leave negative reviews because I like supporting new local restaurants, but unfortunately our experience here this past weekend was pretty disappointing. We were a small party of four. After being seated, we waited quite a while before anyone acknowledged our table or brought drinks. Once we were finally able to order, our food took close to an hour to arrive and our drinks were never refilled during that time. The restaurant wasn't busy, which made the slow service even more surprising. I had asked if the corned beef hash was made in-house and was told yes. When the dish arrived it was clearly canned. I asked if I could substitute eggs instead, and the server said she wouldn't charge us since it wasn't eaten or what was expected. However, when the bill came we were charged for both the corned beef hash and the replacement eggs. The condition of the women's restroom was also concerning. Out of four stalls, only one was usable. One was out of order, one was overflowing with toilet paper, another wouldn't lock, the soap dispenser was empty, and the trash can was overflowing. The bathroom also smelled strongly of urine. In total it took nearly two hours from the time we sat down until we received our check. I understand new restaurants can have growing pains, and I hope they're able to improve the service, food quality and cleanliness issues. Unfortunately based on this experience we won't be returning. read more

I've very mixed feeling about this place. Upon entering we saw it was seat yourself. We sat down and I noticed there were only 3 tables occupied at Noon. Not a good sign, but I thought ok they have only been open a few months. The table felt sticky and I heard another person mention it to the waitstaff which said its the cleaning product that makes it feel that way. Hummmm, maybe you should try a different product? The inside was different with the middle tables being raised with rope around it? Trying to look like a ship???? We both got the Seaside club.the bread was just plain white bread toasted, not a rustic cut bread as stated on the menu. It was ok, a decent club sandwich that came with decent fries which were not greasy. Overall opinion, ok food , decent prices. Just overall I felt like something was off, like was ok probably wouldn't come back. I like places that give me a good upbeat vibe, this was just not doing that. I hope they do well, and maybe in the summer we will come back if they have the outdoor patio open. read more

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Now in the former Waterman's Brewing restaurant, Sammy Sea's was alright. The decor is definitely different from before, with a raised up seating area in a nautical theme. Their drink menu is pretty limited (based on my experience). We never got to see what the beer options were, and they had four cocktails to choose from. Our waitress was nice, but seemed either new or a little flustered. We had to ask for a kids menu and also the drink menu. I really wanted the Monte Cristo, but they weren't willing to swap out the hash browns for fries, so I got the turkey cranberry and asked for it to be toasted. It was ok, but would have been better had they toasted the entire sandwich so the cream cheese would've warmed up. The French fries were delicious though. read more

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Great food!!!!! Awesome atmosphere, fairly new restaurant opened within a year ! You will not need lunch if you eat there for breakfast. Service was friendly it was a bit long to wait on food but it was Sunday in Wilmington at a good restaurant so there's always a wait and ITS WORTH EVERY SECOND !!! read more

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Not too busy after it shortly opened, but was almost full by 9 AM. You choose your table and sit on your own. Tables are a little sticky, but guess that's just how it is even after I wiped it down. Napkins they use have a lot of lint so lint was stuck to the table and flying around in the air. Nice that the windows at the tables had a roll down shade so we could roll it down to get the sun out of our eyes. We ordered All Hands on Deck (eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, toast) with added cheddar cheese on the eggs, the Deckhand (2 open faced biscuits with sausage gravy, hashbrowns, eggs), and All Hands (eggs, bacon, hashbrowns) from the kids menu. Bushes were big, so that was great. The deckhand is enough for three people or maybe two people with a large appetite. Even the kids plate was a nice large portion. My partner liked his all hands on deck dish. The deck hand was good as well, but the biscuit wasn't the best buttery biscuit I've ever had. Overall, service was pretty quick. At the end, felt a little bit rushed out of there when the waitress came back to pick up our bill, but, we weren't ready to pay it yet. They had high chairs, but the buckles were either missing or not working. The owner was notified by our waitress and plans to remedy that. The table height was just a little bit too high for my one year-old sitting in the highchair but he was still able to eat. read more

This place was a mess from the moment we walked in. Tables were left dirty, there was food on the floor, and the atmosphere was terrible. Service was painfully slow, the staff seemed untrained and confused, and we waited over an hour for food that wasn't even good. My burger tasted old and premade, and I barely touched it. I wanted to support a new local business, but this place seriously needs leadership, training, and better management before I'd ever consider coming back. Take this as a sign to make the mistake of going here like we did. This was the most painful restaurant experience I've had in Wilmington. read more

Best breakfast I've ever had. Now I'm so full I can't move. Please don't let fake reviews fool you. Opinions are like a**holes, everyone has one.. So good try for yourself read more

Sammy Sea's has been on my list of restaurants to try ever since they opened! I'm thankful that my fiancé and I were able to give it a try it on a rainy Sunday. I also want to touch on some of the themes mentioned by other reviewers: 1) Understand that Sammy Sea's is a new business. It is normal for a new business to work through kinks, figure out what works, and grow from feedback. Overall, we had a GREAT experience. 2) We did not have to seat ourselves. A nice hostess came to the stand and sat us promptly. We went around 10 AM on a Sunday (prime brunch time). Our server was also great! 3) The tables are not sticky because they are dirty. Our table was clean and I could see team members cleaning other tables. I'm not an expert in wood finishing, but it's something to do with that. It's not uncommon in restaurants. 4) The food was REALLY GOOD and very cost effective. Pictures for reference! I seriously want an entire plate full of the kielbasa. read more

Sammy Sea’s - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

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Two hour wait for a table of 6. Granted it was sunday morning but not busy enough for that. Another hour and a half for food. Steak was overcooked, everything was bland, and came out separately. Will not return. Also. "Candied" bacon on the menu is just Canadian bacon (ham). Simple typo led to a member in my party being disappointed as she doesnt eat ham. read more

Unfortunately the online hype wasn't remotely worth it. As soon as you walk into the door you're hit with the strong smell of Fabuloso, which should've been the first warning. Waiting to sit wasn't awful, 25 minutes. But when we sat down the table was sticky, although that might be from the cleaner eating away at the table. The wait for the food, considering how small it is in there, was awful... Now onto the food, the food "looks" good. Well presented. But the flavor was awful... everything either tasted like grease or cheap quality ingredients. Monte Cristo wasn't remotely that... undercooked on top of that. Potatoes were straight grease, zero flavor. The only good thing was the pancake, which seemingly had cake mix in them. As a side note to the ambiance, the bathrooms were absolutely atrocious... disgusting is an understatement. Overall, not remotely worth it. I hate leaving bad reviews for newer restaurants, but if this place doesn't make drastic changes, it'll be closed within a year. read more

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Very good breakfast, high quality ingredients and variety of options with a great casual seafaring atmosphere. Looks like they have a large bar and outdoor area for summer fun. The servers were great. The wait to receive the food was long (60 minutes) and it wasn't more than half full of customers. read more

If you are hungry and want to find a spot with great breakfast and lunch menus, this is the place !! You cannot finish an entire plate. Service and food is great. read more

Sammy Sea’s - Enjoy! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

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The food was INCREDIBLE. Very very large potions for a low price, plus it was all delicious! I got the breakfast tacos, my partner got the biscuits and gravy meal. Everything was delicious. My mimosa was a 10/10 as well. Service is great, they are super friendly and attentive. My server was the best. They are a fairly new place and still figuring out small quirks, so please be patient and kind to them! read more

Had an amazing experience here. Food was pretty great our server Emma made the experience three times better.

The service is great. The chicken tenders are amazing. I would go back again. Overall a good place

Holy Cow!!! This was a feast, killer food and a refreshing change of pace with great service I will be back again and again and again. Not to mention a relaxed cool feel. read more

Sammy Sea’s - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

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FINALLY--a great breakfast place that actually knows how to cook! We ate at Sammy Sea's this morning and the whole family absolutely loved it. They also have really good coffee, which already puts them ahead of most breakfast spots. My daughter and I shared the largest pancake on the menu--something we would never normally order (and I don't think I've ever even seen that on a menu before), but wow... it was pretty damn good. Huge, fluffy, perfectly cooked, and actually flavorful--not just a novelty. The rest of our table ordered the apple bourbon pancake special and it was AMAZING. Warm, rich flavor, perfectly balanced sweetness--everyone was raving about it. Great service, hot food, relaxed family-friendly vibe, and not a single miss on the table. We'll absolutely be back. Sammy Sea's is officially our new go-to breakfast spot! read more

Sammy Sea’s - Pancakes - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

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I never leave reviews but this time I had to. There were about 4 other tables here on a Saturday morning so no reason for our food to take about an hour to come out. We didn't see our server once from the time we order to the time we got our food. Just terrible service. Food was half decent too just couldn't justify coming back. read more

Wow, even at lunchtime service person was so friendly and fast with our order. Manager even introduced himself since he recognized me from something. NOW the food, I can not tell you how delicious it was. AMAZING and so much there was leftovers for another meal to take home. Try it because you will not ever be disappointed in any of the service you receive read more

The service was fine. However, I ordered the crabmeat & shrimp omelette and it was full of imitation crab not real crabmeat. Also, the toast comes pre-buttered toast and it was some kind of fake (country crock?) butter. Not a fan of the fake crabmeat or imitation butter. Couldn't even eat my toast. read more

Terrible service. Food was delish when it finally arrived.Had to keep asking for things. Coffee took forever then arrived with grinds.

I really considered not sharing this because I understand how difficult it is to have a new restaurant but this is crazy. I am a huge foodie and usually plan a vacation around places to eat. There are wonderful choices very close by. On this menu, there's a lobster and shrimp omelette that sounds wonderful. Instead of going somewhere else, I had to try the omelette. They give you huge portions, so I was pretty excited at first. On the first bite, I could tell that there was no lobster in the omelette, it was all imitation crab meat. Literally imitation crab meat that was super stringy that they are passing off as lobster. The shrimp tasted like they had purchased shrimp already cooked, Then cooked them again so they were super tough. We said something to the manager and it sounds like they've been doing this the entire time they have been open! I know I'm not the only person who's told them that they are lying on their menu and giving people Imitation crab meat, which isn't even crab, and telling them it's lobster. We told him how crazy that is being that they are a seafood restaurant. He says that's up for interpretation. It's literally decorated with coastal decor, the logo has a dog with a captains hat on it, and the sign says coastal kitchen. I'm not sure how that's open to interpretation. Not that I wanted him to, but he didn't offer to comp our meals or anything. He just said that they are going to redo the menu. You cannot have a restaurant at the beach, completely beach themed, and expect people to eat imitation crab meat, but pay for lobster. A good manager would've never allowed it to happen, but they should have immediately blacked out that item on the menu if they can't provide it. Not lie to customers. Very not cool. read more

The food is fabulous and PLENTIFUL. Portions are huge. Pleasant atmosphere. Great parking. Friendly staff. Took longer than expected to get our food but it was worth the wait. Wooden table was sticky. Maybe it's the salt air? Anyway, I will definitely return. read more

We ordered a breakfast scramble and the biscuits and gravy. The food was very bland, especially the scramble. Felt like I could've made the scramble at home, but would've made it with more flavor. Was our first time trying this place and was excited to hopefully find a new breakfast spot, but we were disappointed. Felt like it was a waste of our money and time. Maybe it's a better spot for dinner. read more

Came in for a late brunch to try a local restaurant. Joey was amazing and attentive to us! Super happy with our experience, will be back!

Today was out 2nd time at Sammy sea's and the food tasted great, the portions were ginormous and the staff as well as owners were so warm and friendly! I 100% recommend this restaurant!! read more

I had an amazing time and the food was spectacular, the service was amazing and the location is beautiful

Server was very polite. He'll have no trouble finding another job when they close. The mac n cheese side tasted like fish. The hash browns were undercooked, the lobster was imitation and the monte cristo was buried in a thin raspberry liquid. Out of five people, only one ate their lunch. read more

This restaurant is really not worth your time and money. It's always a bad sign to walk into a restaurant and not a single person has food on their table. We walked in and there was a sign that said "seat yourself". This would be fine if we were quickly greeted, but instead we waited 15 minutes to even be acknowledged and handed a menu. After waiting a super long time for our food, it turned out to be flavorless and like mcdonald's honestly but with huge portions. While we were waiting, we saw about 3 tables walk out do to the extremely long wait and lack of service. I would only come here if I was looking for HUGE portions of food and I didn't care about experience or flavorful whatsoever. read more

If I could provide a negative star this would be it. Very disappointing experience. The crab cake Benedict was terrible, a very unappetizing crab cake. Ordered a biscuit and it was so dry and old, it just crumbled. The stuffed French toast was served cold, that the butter did not melt on top. Our table was sticky and not cleaned, with open cream containers left from previous customers. Overall, poor food quality and cleanliness. read more

Food was AMAZING. The pancakes were the BEST in Wilmington and the portions were insane. Very affordable and quick service!

No stars. Was told by hostess to sit anywhere. Restaurant not real busy on rainy Friday afternoon. Sat at table and were completely ignored for 20 minutes while 2 other staff members worked cleaning up tables around us. No menu no water no coffee nothing. Nobody said be with you in a minute or sorry kitchen is closed. Other diners had food looked pretty good. Got up and left and nobody said anything. Went across street to Pine Valley Market. Worst restaurant experience I've had in 50 years. read more