“Espetus,” the Portuguese word for skewer, is the new Brazilian steakhouse that opened this month at 7110 Wrightsville Avenue. The all-you-can-eat dining experience includes waiters circulating through the dining room serving guests premium cuts of roasted beef, lamb, pork and chicken that has been grilled on sword-like skewers. The restaurant also provides this “Rodizio,” or continuous service, outdoors on its covered patio. It also offers a large appetizer and salad bar.

Espetus is open seven days a week serving lunch Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., offering a selection of three kinds of meat. An expanded selection of meats is offered for dinner from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Sunday brunch begins at 11 a.m. with continuous service every weekend through dinner. The all-you-can-eat lunch is $16.95 while dinner is $29.95 per person.

The restaurant can accommodate up to 52 guests in the dining room, nine seated at the bar and 32 guests on the outside patio. It serves Caipirinhas, a popular Brazilian cocktail made with granulated sugar, lime juice and Cachaça, a liquor made from fermented sugarcane juice.

The owners aim to provide an authentic Brazilian culinary experience. They hail from the town of Valadares in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, where farming and raising cattle runs in their family.

Blue Asia aims to offer upscale Asian cuisine

New Pan-Asian restaurant Blue Asia opened in March in the University Commons shopping center, 341 S. College Road, Suite 52. The restaurant serves Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai and Japanese dishes, including sushi and hibachi. Its open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Thursday to Sunday and noon to 10 p.m. on Sundays.

Owners Chong Ling and Jessica Zhao moved to Wilmington in October from Rock Hill, S.C. where the married couple had owned four restaurants.

“I wanted an upscale Chinese restaurant here,” Zhao said. The menu includes Vietnamese lemongrass chicken, Chendu duck and local fish from Sneed’s Ferry. It also offers a full sushi bar. Zhao and Ling are originally from Fuzhou, China, but have lived in New York City and Connecticut previously.

Blue Asia seats a maximum of 130 guests. Its dinner entrees range from $10.50 to $13 per person. Lunch specials are $6.25 to $7.

King Neptune re-opens with new menu

New owners of Wrightsville Beach’s King Neptune Restaurant, Danny and Earl McPherson, unveiled the renovated restaurant and new menu on March 15.
“We wanted to give the dining room new life and new energy,” said Danny McPherson, who previously owned the Shore Shack, a Wrightsville Beach coffee and donut shop. He took ownership of the establishment with his brother Earl in mid-February.

After four to six weeks of renovations, the restaurant now has a revamped dining room, new floors, fixtures and dining bar. They maintained the historic main bar of the establishment, which is said to be the longest-continuously-run restaurant in New Hanover County.

The new menu offers a variety of seafood including Ahi tuna, fried oysters, grouper and grilled tilapia. It also offers non-seafood items. And the restaurant now serves breakfast, lunch and Sunday brunch. The hours are 6:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. seven days a week. Sunday brunch is served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“Through my first investment on the island, I learned about the history and that provided the intrigue to own the oldest, continuously-run restaurant in New Hanover County. It’s a great honor and responsibility,” McPherson said.

The restaurant and bar is located at 11 North Lumina Avenue in Wrightsville Beach. Its new phone number is (910) 333-6688.