Found this restaurant via Yelp plus our realtor suggested it. Wow, lunch was amazing. THE BIRD special - smoked half chicken, rubbed with sugar and spice, with hoppin john & your choice of one side $15.75 was excellent. Chicken portion large and moist. Spinach was prepared perfectly. Spouse had their chicken salad in a sandwich and that was also amazing. Service was responsive and friendly. Prices are reasonable for portion size. Restaurant is set up nicely with men women rest rooms. On street paid parking was read more

The Basics - The Bird special - Southern Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

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The restaurant was on a list shared by the hotel so we decided to check it out. Our group was seated outside in the Cotton Exchange mall, which was charming, Service was great! I had the chicken salad sandwich and would've liked more chicken salad on the sandwich. I was surprised to find it was smoked Chicken salad. I wonder if I'd have liked it better on different bread because there was too much bread compared to the chicken salad. The Mac and cheese was good. If I return, I'll try brunch. read more

The Basics - Mac and Cheese and Chicken Salad Sandwich - Southern Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

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Such a cute cozy spot in downtown Wilmington! The food was excellent, between biscuits and gravy, the Mediterranean scramble, oatmeal blueberry pancakes, and you have to have the potato cake as a side (fried ball of mashed potatoes)! Server was also very friendly and we had a heat healthy friend who was able to order items w no butter/salt and she was very detailed. We actually went back for lunch the next day we liked it so much! Excellent spot! read more

My wife and I were looking for a nice breakfast/brunch spot for our anniversary, and The Basics, a five-minute walk from where we were staying, seemed to fit the bill. It's got exposed brick and vintage stools that exude retro charm. Add to that an amiable server and Led Zeppelin in the background, and The Basics provided a great atmosphere. The menu offered plenty to choose from, and we ultimately went with migas (potato cake as the side) and the daily omelet (blueberry pancake on the side). Ultimately, the food rated as good, not great. The omelet (sausage, potato, vegetables) was hearty and satisfying. The pancake was tasty (good blueberry flavor) as well albeit dense and crisp rather than light and fluffy. The potato pcake was more akin to a mashed potato puff, definitely not bad in its own right but perplexing for anyone expecting anything latke-esque. Accompanying biscuits were small and dry. While we weren't wowed by The Basics, we're still glad that we gave the restaurant a try. The food doesn't reach the level of the atmosphere and service (or its price point, for that matter), but it isn't a liability, either. read more

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Amazing brunch specials! Friendly service. The fresh made desserts are killer! Try the lemon blueberry kind cake with whip cream! You won't regret. read more

The Basics - Dining area - Southern Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

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There is nothing better than finding a great breakfast place on your travels. Overnight in Wilmington and walking distance from our hotel. Win win I had the Biscuit with home cured cola ham topped with eggs and sausage gravy Lost one star because my Wife's breakfast came ten minutes later. But I would return for sure read more

The Basics - Biscuit ham egg sausage gravy - Southern Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

Wow! Great food, staff, and atmosphere. We ate brunch here and loved it. I had the honey-pineapple glazed pork belly over pimento cheese grit cakes, and my wife had the blueberry oatmeal pancakes. Both were delicious! Our waitress was helpful and attentive, and the place had a cool vibe. I highly recommend. read more

Not gluten free friendly as people claim here. Only serve gluten free biscuits on the weekdays not the weekends. Very disappointed.

I discovered The Basics as it was close to the hotel and had great reviews and the menu appealed to me. The restaurant has a casual vibe. I went with the Grateful Bread sandwich and fruit for the side as I wanted a lighter side. They were out of fresh mozzarella but substituted goat cheese. I like goat cheese but wasn't sure about it but it worked great in the sandwich. I hope there is mozzarella next time to try the original. The fruit was plentiful and a great variety of fresh fruits. Service was excellent as well, Noelle was my waitress and very friendly and helpful. I'd eat here again next time I am in town. read more

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While visiting NC, my good friends took me to Basics yesterday for brunch. I had the Grateful Bread, a delicious sandwich with grilled zucchini, lettuce, tomato, and mozz on a soft ciabatta roll. I wish I remembered our server's name because she was sensational. I'd never had okra before, and they're fried okra are like little tater tots. It is a fantastic little resteraunt and I look forward to my next visit. read more

The Basics - The Grateful Bread. Deep fried potato. Yum! - Southern Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

Love the food. Portions were great. Biscuits delicious and huge! Definitely will come back again. read more

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This is the place to have Breakfast in town, no ifs and's or but's. This trip we were Served by Katelynn and what a bright and colorful, friendly and on top of it young lady. This is our 3 rd time here and we just have never had a bad experience. I did find out on this visit they do take reservations, so if you are going make sure to do that or you could be waiting a while. This is our place to go in downtown, and will always continue to be, if they continue the exceptional standard they have set for all restaurants. read more

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Loved eating breakfast at The Basics! Immediately was greeted by friendly servers and staff. I was on vacation, so started the day with a Bloody Mary cocktail. It was delicious! Next I ordered the Shrimp and Grits , it was popping with flavor. The shrimps were huge and the serving size was perfect . The grits were perfectly seasoned. I also had the two eggs and bacon with toast. The bacon was so perfectly crispy! It was such a wonderful way to start the day. Inside decor is fun and welcoming. I love the setup of the restaurant, the bar area is super nice and the dining area spacious. I loved starting my day by eating breakfast at The Basics! Awesome time! read more

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I haven't been to Basics in probably 5 years. Have to say I was disappointed. The service was extremely slow at first. He was busy so no big deal. But then he never checked on us after we ordered our food. Talked to all the tables around us but not us. My Bloody Mary was very thick even after I added some water to it to thin in out. And there were two singular slices of zucchini in my sandwich. Not ideal when that is supposed to be one of the main ingredients in this sandwich. I probably won't rush to go back anytime soon. read more

The Basics - The Grateful Bread Sandwich - Southern Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

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Food was amazing. Nice people. Got quick service. Amazing french toast. Could easily hear my friends and it was pretty quiet.

Went last Mother's Day for brunch. Food was underwhelming at best. It's a standard breakfast but nothing special. I found the food bland and subpar. read more

This place had never disappointed me. I only wish I lived closer and could visit more frequently. The food is always delicious (once you choose... a lot of great options make that part hard). read more

Came for breakfast with my wife. Very comfortable place with great food right on Front street. We had eggs with avocado and toast. Service was outstanding - everyone who engaged with us was kind and attentive. I recommend for sure! read more

Trendy little place in downtown Wilmington. The burger was very good and the fried mashed potato ball was ridiculously good. The burger was 8oz of angus on a very fresh bun. Topped with a thick slice of fresh mozzarella! Chunky red onions and bacon made for a beautiful creation. The fried potato cake was other worldly. Chilled, rolled in spices and fries to crunchy perfection. So good in going to try and perfect this at home. The staff was great and the decor very urban. If you were thinking about eating here the answer is yes. Since it's small I can imagine it getting quite busy. read more

The Basics - A beauty and that crazy good potato cake - Southern Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

not gonna lie, I was a little hesitant with such a small selection on their dinner menu. Although I was BLOWN AWAY by the food. I usually get salmon or some sort of fish everywhere I go. Before coming to this restaurant, the best salmon I had was in Oregon. Although, the salmon here exceeded my expectations as THE BEST I've ever had and the sides complement the dish very well. DEFINITELY RECOMMEND! read more

Went here for brunch - and it was fantastic. Great service, we got two different specials, and it was phenomenal. Everything homemade and fresh. Parking was easy Sunday morning. Will be back! read more

We ate lunch today after reviewing many restaurants in Wilmington.This is our first visit here. We ordered the fried green tomatoes as an appetizer.They seemed to be tough having to use my knife to cut it up.I wonder if the tomatoes were fresh.We enjoyed the Dijon mustard and onions.I ordered the shrimp and grits which was tasty but only had 5-6 small shrimp.I had a lot of grits left over.(18.00) My partner had the stew which was very meaty and filling. Our waitress was very attentive and the ambiance was eclectic and warm. read more

Loved it! Great cocktail and awesome meatloaf!!! Convenient location ,I will go again soon! read more

Started off with an excellent greeting from our waitress. Was brought out a mimosa with lemon vodka, champagne, and fresh squeezed watermelon juice. The feeling in the air was great and you could tell people were enjoying the morning. The food was incredible and made me want more. I will 100% be back to enjoy this lovely establishment. read more

The Basics - Southern Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

We just flew in from vacation, it was early enough for brunch. We went downtown to see if we could get a seat for 4. Success! I hadn't eaten at basics yet, it was a twenty min wait. We took a walk to the river to kill time. Luckily it was a beautiful day! The place is bustling, staff was super sweet. Kiddo had PB&J and PB&J yogurt ( interesting). Bread ratio to filling was a bit much for me but he loved it. Hubby had the pork belly bowl with an egg added to the top, I had it omelette style. I felt like the veggies overpowered the meat. I did not really taste the pork, however the veggies were really good. ( love Brussels, just think coped might have been better) My side was fried green tomatoes, never had them before and I loved them. We had blueberry sangria and it was perfect. read more

The Basics - Pork belly omelette and fried green tomatoes - Southern Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

It makes sense why you need a reservation for this place on the weekend... the food is amazing. My friend got us a table right when it opened on a Saturday morning. People were already in line before 10 a.m., but it only took us about 5 or so minutes to get a table. They're only letting one party check in at a time so folks aren't standing around due to COVID-19. Our waitress was super friendly and they appear to have a good team in place. Another waitress (possibly manager?) noticed our person was busy and hasn't taken our order so she came over to help us. Despite it being cold I ordered a Bloody Mary and my friend chose coffee with Jameson's. We both enjoyed our drinks. Our food arrived in about 10 or 15 minutes. The menu is pretty extensive and I wanted to try everything. In the end, I went with their omelette special of the day which had a lot in it...sausage, cauliflower, little potatoes, cheese and other things I can't remember because I was like Buddy the Elf with his syrup spaghetti breakfast. Instead of the usual egg omelette, I got the grits bowl instead . Game changer! It comes with one side and I enjoyed the blueberry oatmeal pancake (extra .50...they charge extra for a lot of small items so be aware). You could not taste the blueberry at all so it was basically a normal pancake, but still good. I will definitely be retuning. read more

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I heard a lot of great things about this place especially for breakfast and brunch. Everybody that seems to work downtown loves it and there's always a wait. It was busy when I went however I was able to get in fairly quickly. They have QR code menus, which makes it easy. We were seated right by the door next to a bar seating area which faces the kitchen. If you have children, it's a place you could bring them. I think you can fit a stroller by the table. I didn't really see high chairs, but the place is a lot bigger than just the front area so I'm not really sure. The food was pretty basic you know eggs Benedict regular scrambled eggs, eggs, toast, etc. etc. I was nothing to write home about but was good nonetheless. The staff was super nice. The staff was excellent. The seating was quick very accommodating and flexible, especially when you have a little one until. Pricing was OK. It was decent. You do get a lot of food. I wasn't very impressed with my omelette to be honest. It was some sort of omelette with a salsa on top and then a bunch of chips mixed in it and I'm not sure I can really enjoy an omelette with a bunch of corn tortilla chips lol. But they did remake it for me right away. No questions asked when they saw that I wasn't interested in eating it which I thought was very attentive. They were very good about refilling the drinks and very attentive to the table to check in. Overall, I definitely will go back but it's not something that would be my first choice over other places in the area for the same type of food. read more

The Basics - Entry and window to kitchen - Southern Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

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Wilmington didn't let me down again. Stopped inside for a breakfast on my last day in town, was greeted by an extremely friendly staff and sat at the bar. I got the Mexican scramble (can't remember what it was called) and it was delicious. Nice bright storefront with a nice view of the Main Street. I'll come back! read more

Nice little place. Staff were friendly and helpful. The wild mushroom risotto and the pesto were the best we've ever had. Highly recommend. The smoked chicken was dry but otherwise everything was fantastic! read more

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The chef(s) know how to cook a delicious breakfast. I didn't realize their menu changed daily and I still found something on the menu I enjoyed and ate every bite. Delicious. The only thing missing is a sampler plate because I would sure dive in and eat. The staff were amazing. Don't forget to check for reservations early if you are in town. If not it's worth the wait. Thank you for seating our bigger party and taking excellent care of us!! read more

Some of the worst food I've ever tasted, I don't understand how one can completely ruin such simple recipes. Our group tried the fried green tomatoes, spinach dip, biscuits, smoked chicken, Brunswick stew, Carolina Cobb, shrimp & grits, fried okra, grilled chicken, asparagus, and key lime pie, and none of it was appetizing or edible. A mind-boggling culinary disappointment, and even more bizarre is all of the positive reviews... read more

Last night was our anniversary and I selected The Basics for dinner. I had been here once before for brunch. Friends of ours joined us. This place requires you wearing masks upon entering, when walking around, and when leaving. You also have to wait until they open the door. Our waitress was Madison. We needed to ask for menus because three of us didn't have cell phones to view the menu online. There was no wine list. "Red wine or white wine" doesn't help, so she showed us her cheat sheet. We really would appreciate, and I'm sure others too, if The Basics would have printed wine menus. The four of us shared the warm spinach dip appetizer. With it was French bread, cut into cubes. The dip wasn't your typical thick and creamy texture with cream cheese, parmesan or other cheeses, but a little on the runny side. There was a little heat to the dip but not strong. And it was green! We all loved it. Two of us ordered the pesto encrusted salmon. The presentation was fun. There was a wide ribbon of fried cheese shaped into a curve. My husband said it looked like a scorpion. LOL! The tomato basil risotto was creamy, flavorful, and cooked to perfection. The other two order the meatloaf (came with a huge portion of mashed potatoes and gravy) and a cup of Brunswick stew (my husband had some but brought the rest home). The meatloaf was thick. Everything was excellent along with good-size portions. Prices were pretty reasonable compared to other restaurants in town. Overall an excellent dinner. I'm still keeping this at a 4-star rating because of the lack of printed menus. 5-stars for the food and service. read more

The Basics - Southern Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

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Whenever I'm in Wilmington, I try to make time for this bistro by the Cotton Exchange downtown. Fresh ingredients and hospitable service. For something sweet and "melt in your mouth" good, order the Coca-Cola cake. The Basics is always on point. read more

The Basics - Coca-Cola cake - a delicious milk chocolate cake with pecan frosting and vanilla ice cream - Southern Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

Good service, pricing is good to, not expensive. I had the meatloaf, reminded me of my own meatloaf, would have been better if it was grilled after being sliced. My mashed potatoes were.good but not hot. Husband got a steak with mashed and greenbeans and said it was tasty. It's an older restaurant that has been around for a long time. So the decor was just average nothing fancy. read more

Great sandwiches!! Servers are so polite and very fast. Always there with a fill up for coffee! A great cozy place! read more

This was an easy stroll from our hotel, so we stopped in for a Tuesday breakfast. Liked that they are enforcing masks, having you wait outside, and encouraging hand sanitizer when you get in. Tables separated nicely. Nice and friendly. Code for menu is on the table or look online. Sad they don't serve crab cakes benedict on weekdays! Would have loved to try it. We got our drinks quickly. Tea for me, coffee for Husband. Loved that they brought water without us having to ask for that as well. Then we waited awhile to order. Finally placed our order. And waited. It was a long wait. Husband went through two cups of coffee. Everyone working was sure working hard and fast, but it felt very disorganized. When we finally saw our food show up at the window, we saw it sit there for awhile before it was brought to us. Food was very good. I got the Oatmeal Blueberry Pancakes with crispy bacon. Liked that they put the walnut butter and maple syrup on the side. Came in especially handy as they didn't bring butter for Husband's biscuit, so I let him have mine. He had the steak and scrambled eggs, which he said were good. The steak was well done, but he said it was tasty. My pancakes were large and I couldn't finish them. If there's oatmeal it has to be ground in as you can't see it or taste it. There weren't a lot of blueberries, so finding them was like finding treasure. Overall, quality food, and you can tell they really care about covid safety. Even the bathroom had super hot water. read more

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Short distance from the riverwalk, quiet and cozy in the evening around downtown Wilmington. Friendly service and skilled chefs. Some favorites do run out later in the day, we'll have to come back and try again in future! Ordered the Pesto Salmon with Asparagus and a side of mushroom risotto. For desserts, we tried the famous Coca-Cola cake. Delicious and highly recommended! read more

The Basics - Pesto Encrusted Salmon - Southern Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

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Soooo... I loved the food but not the food description. Didn't really know some of the ingredients but the flavor and taste were amazing. Service was fantastic. read more

Came here because the restaurant I originally wanted to visit was closed. We were seated quickly and customer service was great. The food came out quickly, but there wasn't anything particularly amazing about my meal. It satisfied my hunger, just didn't blow my mind. I would probably come again when I'm back in Wilmington, but I'd grab something different. read more

The Basics - French Toast - Southern Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

Selected The Basics for proximity to ALoft hotel. Turns out it was one of my top 10 breakfasts ever! Fantastic service people (due to our host's supportive, upbeat attitude toward the staff). I selected the fruit as the side with no expectations. Crazy but they had the best fruit plate imagineable. Fruit was beautifully placed, fresh, with amazing variety. I had the Southern Benedict as a main dish which was amazing! Thtow your diet away for that one! Very tasty with a Cajun seasoningn bit not spicy. Yes, they have real hot sauce (forgive me I'm a northerner). read more