The 20 Best Restaurants in Wilmington, North Carolina

New kind on the block, Olivero has been making waves since it opened in fall of 2023. Inside the renovated grocery store, James Beard-nominated chef Sunny Gerhart explores his Spanish-Italian roots that eventually landed his family in New Orleans.

Drool-worthy dishes from USA TODAY's Restaurants of the Year 2025

Grilled chicken thighs served over polenta at Olivero on Nov. 14, 2024 in Wilmington, N.C. Olivero is one of 47 restaurants on USA TODAY'S Restaurants of the Year list for 2025.

Family-Style Dining

Chef Sunny Gerhart has long been experimenting with pasta at his Raleigh restaurant, St. Roch Fine Oysters + Bar, and diners can try his top success stories when he opens Olivero on a cobblestone-lined corner of downtown Wilmington later this spring.

This Wilmington flavor-focused restaurant has been named one of the best in the U.S.

A popular, new-ish Wilmington restaurant has been named one of the best in the country. Here's what you need to know before you go.

Olivero Blends the Flavors of Spain, Italy, and New Orleans in Wilmington, North Carolina

Acclaimed Raleigh chef Sunny Gerhart opened the highly anticipated Wilmington restaurant this week.

A First Look at Olivero

There’s a relaxed, worn-in familiarity to Olivero where the space simultaneously houses culinary prowess and comfort. Gerhart says he wants Olivero to be “a spot where the lights are a little low and the music’s a little loud; a place where you can participate in a curated multi-course meal, but also come on a night where you just want a big bowl of pasta and a martini.”

12 Hottest Restaurants in Wilmington, North Carolina

Perhaps the most-anticipated Wilmington restaurant opening of the year, Olivero represents chef Sunny Gerhart’s ode to his family’s culinary history and his love for the beach.

Meet The Chef: Lauren Krall-Ivey, of Olivero

In the epicurean haven that Wilmington is quickly becoming, one name keeps popping up in the culinary sphere - Co-Executive Chef Lauren Krall-Ivey. Together with James Beard nominated Chef Sunny Gerhart, they have created elevated Italian cuisine gracing the tables of Olivero Restaurant.