We recently spent a weekend in New Bern, NC. It was fun, and part of the reason we think so was that we found some great places to eat, drink and be merry. You can read more about the visit here. In this article we’d like to share two restaurants which we really enjoyed, and heartily recommend. One is actually more towards the club scene than a traditional restaurant, but it has good food and we spent three hours there. First the restaurant:
The Chelsea
The Chelsea is located in the downtown area on the corner of Middle and Broad Streets. There is a quieter upstairs dining room as well as a lower level with a good sized bar area. Overall you get an elegant, bistro type vibe at The Chelsea. A well
diversified menu offers lot of choices, and the daily specials were pretty tempting too. We started with the Calamari – which was one of the best we’ve ever had, anywhere. It was light, flavorful and perfectly tender. For 
dinner I had the Risotto Paella, a huge plate of risotto just piled with various meat and shellfish. This was delicious, and I could not finish it (at least comfortably). Cheri enjoyed the broiled crab cakes. For drinks I had a local brew and Cheri had the BOEN Pinot Noir. The Pinot was pretty excellent, as was everything about The Chelsea. We really recommend this if you’re looking for an upscale bistro type experience with great food. Reservations definitely suggested, especially on weekends. Their website is: https://www.thechelsea.com/.
Now the cocktail bar:
Baxter’s 1892
Located at 323 Pollock Street, this establishment was once a jewelry store. Apparently it was a fixture in the town for a long time, and Cheri knows someone whose wedding china came from the store. The original dark wood jewelry cases with large vertically sliding
doors are still there, but now they hold bottles of high end spirits. There is a long wooden bar to the right as you enter, with tables along the left side. An upstairs mezzanine holds more seating. Above your head as you enter is another mezzanine, and this is where the band played during our visit. They played old school New York style jazz, and were really excellent.
Most people come for a cocktail or two, and maybe an appetizer. We ended up sampling several of their available tapas, ordered a bottle of wine, cancelled our dinner reservations elsewhere and just hunkered down. There is a fun, casually upbeat vibe here. The food was very good, and for us included salads as well as the barefoot egg rolls, zucchini fritters, short rib tacos and tortine. We could not finish it. The tortine was a meal in itself. Of course we did save room for dessert and
coffee. This was a great way to spend an evening. We strongly recommend spending some time at Baxter’s 1892 if you are in town with an evening to spare. Their website is at https://www.baxters1892.com/, and the doors open at 5:00. Closed Monday and Tuesday with brunch available on weekends.
These are just two of many choices in downtown New Bern. If you visit you won’t go hungry, or thirsty!
A votre santé!
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