18 Seaboard

I ate here tonight and was very excited at the beginning of the meal;wine and bread were great. Then, came the appetizers, which were OK. #1 had the fried green tomatoes and #2 had the fried shrimp with Texas Pete aioli and slaw. Not bad. THEN, came the main courses. #1 had the flat iron- -the 24 hour marinade was disgusting. Absolutely did not mix with the strong taste of the wood fired grill. Probably should have been a 12 hour marinade. #2 had the special- -a flounder. Why do you fry one side and leave the skin on the other side? I guess that's a southern thing. Then came dessert. It was awesome. Peanut butter pie. I guess the pastry chef is pretty awesome. All in all an OK evening, but I probably wouldn't return given the price for the entrees we got. There's more to be had in Raleigh.

We've eaten here twice. Great food, great wine, some great views. Waiters are attentive. Not a bad thing to say.

Great food, service, and drinks. We sat outside on the top patio and it was a beautiful view. The only weird part was walking up the stairs to the top patio. It felt like we were going through a part of the restaurant that was not for guests. But once at the top, it was fine. I thought the waitstaff did a great job despite it being prom night and thus many highschool kids looking for refills on their cokes and bread. Our waiters were Sam and Matt. I highly recommend the 24 hour marinated steak with the 18 seaboard worcestershire sauce, mashed potatoes, and cheese grits. I also recommend making reservations at opentable dot com because this restaurant has limited seating.

OK experience. The atmosphere is nice but predictable. We had a relatively early reservation and were seated quickly. Our waitress was wonderful and made good suggestions. Our app's and drinks came out quickly as well as our dinner...although the rest of my dinner was delicious they seriously served INSTANT potatoes! There is no reason why any restaurant should put those on a plate-especially at those prices! Once we had been served dinner we never saw our waitress again and we waited over an hour to get our bill...and watched the guests arriving pile in around the bar while we looked around at all the empty tables around us. Not sure if it was just an off night or what but if the teenagers at any "family fare" restaurant can handle seating on a Sat night these guys should be able to as well! The food was good enough for a trip back but go early!

We went with a group of friends to 18 Seaboard last night. First of all, this restaurant looks fantasic inside and out. Very trendy and upscale. Our reservation was at 8:30 and we got there early (8:00) thinking that we would have some drinks at the bar. The hostess was able to sit us right away (table of 6) which was nice. The food on the menu is unusual which I think is a good thing. You definetley will be ordering something you have never had prepared this way before. We also ordered the shrimp as an appetizer and overall, they were disappointing.

My she-crab soup was very good. Everyone else ordered salads which they said were ok. I ordered the special (tuna) and got it rare. It was ok. Nothing to write home about. My wife order flounder and hated it. She said it was not prepared correctly.

The ambieance at this restaurant is great. However, the food is only ok. The preparation of the food and the way it is served is like no other place you have been to. I would say that if you are going to try this restaurant, you will walk out thinking it was ok but not wanting to go back.