Pembroke’s

I’m not exactly the target market for these kind of places because I’m cheap and like big portions but I very much enjoyed my night at Pembroke’s. It has a nice atmosphere that isn’t stuffy. The four of us opted to get a bunch of snacks and small plates to split and the total only ended up being $ 70/​couple which wasn’t too shabby.
Everything is just fresh, which is sort of the point. I was full after I left but still felt like I had eaten a little something healthy, which is always nice. I’m not currently drinking but my husbands mule looked delicious and they seemed to have a great range of cocktails. This is by far my favorite «farm to table» place in Wilmington so far.

One of the best meals my husband and I have had in a long time! Our waitress, Christina was wonderful — suggesting items from the menu based upon our preferences, and she also let us taste a couple of beers before making a selection. My husband loved the North Carolina oysters, the butter lettuce salad was divine, and the shrimp and grits were one of the best that I’ve ever had. Definitely coming back on our next trip to Wilmington. Not to mention that everything is local, organic, and farm to table!

If they aren’t selling the jalapeño jam by the jar already, it needs to happen ASAP. Brunch is delicious and I’m definitely coming back for dinner.

My husband and I used go to Towne before a movie (sadly it has closed). We completely forgot about Pembroke! Having dined at Rx (same owner/​chef) several times we were hoping Pembroke would be consistent. The ambiance was nice. Lighting was good. Different feel from Rx which I really liked. There’s a different crowd at the forum than downtown. The service was good and the food was delish. Did not disappoint. Our plan was to eat small so we weren’t stuffed before the movie. That went out the window as soon as we looked at the menu. Usually does. We started with two cheese plate and we each ordered a Manhattan (VERY good). Then, on to the steak tartare (fantastic) and pimento and ham plate served with pepper jam, b&b pickles and baby biscuits. After our several «firsts» we moved on to our mains. Fish Chowder and the pork shoulder (super pumped to eat my leftovers today). Our table for two was so tiny our plates had to be timed which is fine except we had to plow through our food because the timing was off. I was hoping to order another drink but I was so focused on eating before my next plate came out. The price was what we expected. $ 90 before tip. We will go back but next time we’ll sit at the bar and order small plates for real!

Totally Outstanding!!! The food, the cocktails, the service, the atmosphere. I live 100 miles away, but this place is worth the drive. I will be back very soon.

The atmosphere is very nice, however the food was somewhere on the fence between mediocre and sub par. I would recommend the pickle plate (pickled okra, cucumbers, onions, green beans, & peppers). The burger on the other hand is another story. All those pickles in the restaurant & not one made it on the burger? Also, I requested no mayo on my medium burger. My burger came out well done and smothered in mayo. The server looked at me I had 3 heads when I pointed it out. Next time (if there is a next time), I will definitely not sit at a high top in the bar nor will I order a burger.

I love love love this business. Last year I went to their first anniversary oyster roast and it was simply amazing. Buffet style of southern goodness. It has hands down my favorite event of 2014.
They had the same annual event last Sunday night. Yes it was good but not as wonderful as last year. My main complaint was the service. Last year there was no table service and the restaurant was nearly at capacity; nuts is an understatement so I understand why the business owner decided to add wait staff this year. That being said our waitress was terrible. We arrived early and it was clearly a lot less chaotic than last year’s event. After about ten minutes our waitress walked by and said she would be back shorty. Shortly really meant another ten minutes. Not sure the point of wait staff if they can’t even get water in a timely manner.
Anyway our waitress finally approached our table to take drink orders almost twenty minutes after we were seated and explained that she was only doing beer and wine but we could order spirits from the bar. I proceeded to the bar and asked for a cocktail list but was told they didn’t have one, which was odd because I have been here many times before, and their cocktails are some of my favorite in town. I left the bar with a very dry and disappointing glass of Champagne.
The food was amazing! I love how they did both steamed and raw oyster’s this year. The bbq and fixings were also wonderful but I really missed the smoked trout that was on the buffet last year. After my meal I was at the bar closing my tab and started talking to another bartender about how disappointed I was that they didn’t have cocktails. He laughed and said he could make me whatever I wanted. My friends agreed to stay for another drink so I ordered the Musc ox, which is their version of a Moscow mule with muscadine syrup. It was delicious! Not sure why the 1^st bartender told me no cocktails but the bar wasn’t even busy and they missed out a large sale because I was with a group of big drinkers.
I really hope they have this event next year with smoked trout back on the buffet and with their wonderful craft cocktails.

In town for UNCW parents weekend and came across this place thanks to Unilocal.It was fantastic. Little deceiving when you pull up and see it sitting at the end of a shopping plaza but don’t be alarmed. You’ll be pleasantly surprised when you step inside. Surprisingly quaint and comfortable. Food and service were both outstanding. Try it out and see for yourself. We’ll be back.

There are meals and then there are dining experiences. I attempt to fill my life with the latter, at least as much as I can fit in/​afford. So there’s no question that when I travel, I seek out joints like Pembroke’s. Albeit situated in a new-​construction strip mall, this farm-​to-​table eatery is doing many things right. It’s always a non-​sequitur to me, but location doesn’t mean everything.
The menu here is upscale, and the focus is on local ingredients. There’s a blackboard on the wall listing out the sources of many of the components of the menu. The style is New Southern (is that a thing?) or at least New American Southern fare. A mix of up-​jumped classics like fried green tomatoes and otherwise fancied up New American. The prices match the care with which this food is made. Its obvious they use quality ingredients and quality recipes.
I visited with a group of 7 and we went to town, ordering a huge cross section of the menu and sharing. I was highly impressed with a couple of the dishes, and found the rest to be of good quality. Favorites included the fried green tomatoes with a sweet relish, and shishitos with a house-​made hummus (not something I’d normally favor). There is a pork belly/​tenderloin main that was pretty damn good as well. Overall for the price (advanced) I was decently happy with the quality. I admit I’m spoiled, living in Portland, Oregon. I’ll just leave it at that. I give extra credit here for the quality effort and dedication to local.
The cocktail program is pretty great here too. Craft stuff, and they are able to accomplish a lot with the limited product they can source from ABC. I can imagine it’s hard to make true craft cocktails when you have a short supply of components.
Service was solid, as to be expected of a dining experience at this price point. Space is nice and dark, well designed to offer that old school feel given the relatively recent construction.
Overall I’d definitely return here. Some of the better food I had in town. But you pay for it.

Really enjoyed the pork chop and my wife the tuna. To be honest, pork was medium rare (130 – 135 dgrees) but didn’t send it back because it was so good.
The butterbean, silver corn succatash was amazing. I’d bet there isn’t a bad dish on the menu.

I was here for a private event and the experience was excellent. We were placed in a separate room from the usual dining area. It looked small but I was surprised that it was able to sit 50 people comfortably. There was even a tv available for slideshows.
We started our meal with crispy pig ears with buffalo sauce and blue cheese dressing. Since this dish is only served at Rx restaurant, we were able to have it as an appetizer for the evening as the chef for both restaurant is the same. This was definitely my favorite! It was crrispy and gelatinous. It was like eating pork rinds covered with buffalo sauce. Although i just had it a day ago, I am already craving for it. I will have to go to Rx again just for the crispy buffalo pig ears!
After that, we were served a salad with lettuce, pecan, goat cheese, and peaches. All the ingredients balanced each other really well. For the main course, I ordered the filet mignon with mashed potatoes and green beans covered by mushroom jus. The steak was very tender but it needed a little more saltiness. The green beans were hard and crunchy. I wished they cooked a little longer since I like my green beans slightly softer. The pork chop was well-​seasoned. Although it was cooked to well done, it still remained tender.
Finally, there were two options for the dessert: chocolate fudge brownie with ice cream and an artisan cheese plate. The chocolate fudge brownie was amazing and a great way to end the meal! It was rich, moist, and fudgy. The cheese plate was nothing to write home about. The cheeses were more on the savory side and did not satisfy my sweet tooth. Although I did like the walnut and honey combination on the dish.

Came in late on Saturday night with a girlfriend of mine, she recommended it and at first I thought it would be stuffy, but it was surprisingly casual, and the bar was packed. We had bar menu appetizers, I had the Headcheese croquettes with quail eggs. Absolutely perfect. As well as a cocktail with Domain de Canton and bourbon which is always my favorite. (I love ginger)
My friend had a cheese plate, and the Dowager’s High Tea, which was like a cold version of a hot toddy. I was pretty surprised at how excellent everything was.
The live music was an acoustic show that was really good. Really REALLY good local talent. and it was a pretty good evening so I will definitely be back.

RX chef James Doss brings his expertise to the other side of town with a bigger, better farm-​to-​table style venue. Great food on the upscale side with seasonal ingredients and a southern theme.
Highly recommend.

Most amazing food ever! «Farm to table» place that should not be missed! The ingredient were noticeably fresh. I WILL return!

We were really looking forward to dinner here based on the reviews
Very disappointing. I had the scallops with a salad and vinaigrette. The scallops tasted a bit fishy and my salad was bland
Hubby had the steak frites
The fries were the best part of dinner
His veggies with pesto were also bland
We won’t be back

This pregnant mama was craving a juicy filet mignon for weeks now and Pembroke’s absolutely delivered. The meat itself was succulent and cooked to perfection and it was surrounded by fingerling potatoes, mushrooms, and a variety of onions in red wine jus. I was in heaven and the fact that everything was locally sourced really sweetened the deal.
We brought along our toddler as she is typically well-​behaved in restaurants; however, this place was definitely not kid-​friendly. The environment was very quiet on a Thursday night, there was no kid-​friendly portion options, and while I appreciated the leisurely service to catch up with the old friends we were also with, it was too slow for someone with young children. I would definitely not recommend bringing your kids under 12 to this restaurant. I felt like we were offending the other 3 tables of guests by bringing her along, which is not how I want to feel on a family night out to eat. That being said, I would certainly come back on a date night or with friends.

Back in town again… Hands down, best restaurant in town!!!
Bartender made us a «porky» which is their version of a Old Fashion. It’s not on the menu anymore but has muddle bacon in it, nuff said!!!
Dinner was fantastic again, I had the Skirt Steak and Frites and my friend had the Shrimp & Grits… Both perfect. We split the warm fudge brownie and that was perfect.
Keep up the good work Pembrokes!!!

Started with Pembrokes Oysters Rockefeller and Heritage Ribs, which were delicious. I finished off on the Pork Chop, which was fantastic.
I thought the ambience was nice, you knew other people were there, but it wasn’t too loud and had a nice touch of seclusion/​privacy.
Waitstaff was great.

Wilmington has some really great restaurants, but this one– well, it’s on another level. Let me explain; I rate a restaurant based on it’s foods, ambiance and service. Service is big– it’s not just how attentive your waiter is, but how well they know the menu and are able to provide insight into different menu items from cocktails to entrees. The service here is impeccable. Our waiter was not only attentive, but really gave my husband and me guidance on what to expect from a dish or cocktail and what the big contenders were on a menu.
Pembroke’s is very eclectic and I love that everything is in season, providing a great flavor that comes from the food itself, not just from how it’s prepared or cooked.
The food really is great, but I don’t want to stress too much on what I got as the menu is constantly changing. I do believe the Crispy Boudin is a regular on the menu. I have been to New Orleans quite a bit and the Boudin here is authentic. In fact, this place reminds me of some of the more adventurous places in New Orleans, like Cochon. Pembroke’s is not afraid to serve the delectable meats that people are sometimes afraid to try, like pork belly. But I beg you, try it.
This place is great for dates, celebrations or two friends grabbing a bite. For Wilmington, it is on the higher side than some people might be used to seeing; however, the portions are big and easily splittable (yes, I just created this word).

A five star from this girl. Case closed. Amazing wine list — hello prisoner, round pond, Tikal, Susanna balbo, etc. But even more impressive — yumminess. Pork belly is awesome! The NY strip is to die for — as amazing as any filet I’ve had. Oh and did I mention you can order peanut butter and chocolate layer cake or Godiva cheesecake.
So good! Go to the bar and then won’t steer you wrong. Sit at the bar and ask for Nick.