Eat here
DESCRIPTION: When you walk in they will move you straight ahead toward the dining room. Max in the bar is the best server in the place. My family heads for the bar. Winter time there is a fire, now consider that this is on the NC coast - feels great in January. Go with the specials.
DATE: 2003-03-19
FOODRATING : 10
SERVICERATING : 10
AMBIANCERATING : 8
OVERALLRATING : 10
RECOMMENDED DISHES : anything on the specials list

Fresh Seafood and Politics
DESCRIPTION: The 42nd St. Oyster Bar is a favorite spot for the movers and shakers in North Carolina's capital city. Fresh seafood is brought in daily from the restaurant's own fishing boats. The beer and wine selection is fantastic, including several regional and national microbrews. Highland Kashmir IPA is a very good selection. We waited for our party in the bar section and found that happy hour offers fresh oysters for $3/dozen. The cocktail sauce is homemade and they include extra fresh horseradish on the side to spice it to taste. All the food we ordered for dinner was plentiful, fresh, and very very good. Fresh hushpuppies with butter are laid out while oredreing and are almost a meal in themselves. I was dissapointed with the cheddar potatoes with my meal which are twice baked potatoes with cheddar cheese melted on top. However my wife's sour cream and chive mashed potatoes were great. I had the mahi-mahi, my wife had the scallops and shrimp. My brother won with the baked seafood platter - scallops, shrimp, and a halibut steak baked with bay seasoning. The place is very busy and the service is outstanding. One of the better places I've been
DATE: 1999-12-30
FOODRATING : 8
SERVICERATING : 10
AMBIANCERATING : 8
OVERALLRATING : 8
RECOMMENDED DISHES : baked seafood platter, catch of the day.

Never Again
DESCRIPTION: Pretty much everything went wrong when we were there at the end of July - waited three hours to check in, room still wasn't ready when we finally were allowed into it, carpet was dirty, a/c didn't work properly, ice machines were either empty or slimy, terrible food (Sunday's breakfast dishes recycled on Monday and pretty thoroughly dried out by then, too), overpriced drinks (seven dollars for a weak prefab margarita), asked for towels on Sat. afternoon and finally got them myself from the "spa" on Monday night. Combine all that with mandatory valet parking when the lot is full, which is pretty much all the time, constant work on the lobby and courtyard area, and the week's wait, two phone calls and one email it took to get our Visa account credited after we gave up and left three nights into a five-night booking, well, we got another room as soon as one opened up somewhere else and we don't intend to go back, ever, there or anywhere else in Wrightsville. Best move for this place would be to turn the courtyard area into a parking lot, quit trying to pass itself off as a "resort," and just be the tarted-up Sixties motel that it is. I have to say, though, that the kids they have working there really are trying, and most of them were a lot nicer than you'd expect... although I'm still waiting to hear from "the owner - he really wants everyone to be happy when they leave here, and he's going to call you, I promise."
DATE: 2003-08-07
OVERALLRATING : 2

DESCRIPTION: I dined at Elijah's on Saturday before the dinner crowd and was astonished to find that my bill was more than I had accounted for on my debit card. I left a cash tip and an additional tip was added after I left.
DATE: 2003-09-01
FOODRATING : 8
SERVICERATING : 6
AMBIANCERATING : 8
OVERALLRATING : 6

What a Dump
DESCRIPTION: It sure seemed like a nice place as I waited patiently on a busy night. I thought any place this busy must be good. But no, once seated in their main dining room I was treated to the sight of waiters wrestling and cursing up a storm in their work area. That was just the beginning, the service was some of the worst I have ever had and the food was cold and over priced. When the manager came around asking how everything was, I could see him glaze over as I told him about my poor experience. His response was sorry to hear that and then he moved on to the next table. Unbelievable, this is the first review I have ever written and that should go a long way in conveying my feelings about this place.
DATE: 2003-10-22
FOODRATING : 2
SERVICERATING : 2
AMBIANCERATING : 8
OVERALLRATING : 2
RECOMMENDED DISHES : none

Very Poor Service, Snobby Staff
DESCRIPTION: I do not recommend this restaurant to anyone who is looking for a pleasant dining experience. The food wasn't prepared properly, but more importantly the staff seemed like they were doing me a favor by serving me. I e-mailed the management and got no response.
DATE: 2004-05-12
FOODRATING : 4
SERVICERATING : 2
AMBIANCERATING : 8
OVERALLRATING : 2

GREAT!!
DESCRIPTION: So far Elijahs is the best meal I have had since moving to Wilmington end of May. Service was excellent!!!! The food was out of this world. I can't wait to go back.
DATE: 2005-08-19
FOODRATING : 10
SERVICERATING : 10
AMBIANCERATING : 10
OVERALLRATING : 10

Outstanding
DESCRIPTION: A fun little place with lots of character, and the food is divine. My husband had a ribeye steak with raspberry habanero sauce it was by far one of the best dishes we've ever had. An incredibly enjoyable experience! Long live Chili Peppers!
DATE: 2003-07-29
FOODRATING : 8
SERVICERATING : 10
AMBIANCERATING : 10
OVERALLRATING : 8

Great Restaurant for All!
DESCRIPTION: We had a group with many different tastes but all were very happy with what they found at Rucker Johns.
DATE: 2003-10-24
FOODRATING : 10
SERVICERATING : 10
AMBIANCERATING : 10
OVERALLRATING : 10
RECOMMENDED DISHES : Blackjack Special