This Wilmington -scent restaurant has been declared one of the best in the US – Yahoo Life

Oli is relatively new to the Wilmington dining scene, but its unique inspiration and innovative menu launches the restaurant in the national spotlight. According to USA Today’s Restaurant of the Year on USA Today, this is one of the best 44 places to eat in America.

“We have only been open for about a year,” said founder Sunny Gerhart. “It is an honor for me to be recognized as what we do here.”

What is the best restaurant near you? See USA Today’s 2025 Restaurants of the Year

Internal restaurants of the year: How USA Today has chosen its best dining areas for 2025

What does Oli’s to stand out

This is a restaurant that has a point of view and a story you need to tell. Gerhart called the business of his great -grandfather Jose Oli, and the Spanish and Italian origin of his family is the starting point for the menu. But Oli (the man) also travels through the Mediterranean and North Africa as a sailor before settling in New Orleans. And all these places are indicated in the food.

Speaking of this, in the kitchen with Gerhart is a co -founded cook Lauren King Ivy. The two longtime friends have a creative culinary partnership where they can test and improve dishes together for seasonal menus.

“I think this is something that separates us,” Ivy said.

Gerhart received a nod from the James Beard Foundation as the best chef: Southeast in 2022 because of his Fine Oysters St. Roch Fine Oysters in Raleigh, NC and Krall works as a executive chef at well -known restaurants such as Poole’s Diner and Death & Taxes, owned by James Bird Bird, the winner Ashley Christensen before joining Gerhart in Wilmington. The couple chefs is also among the semi -finalists for the best chef: southeast for 2025.

The restaurant opened in a former grocery store and washing machine, which had been empty decades before the renovation. Gerhart said he had considered a lot while working with the designers to create the right look that forwarded classic Italian eating establishments. But it is a Moroccan tile instead of a red checked tablecloth and a modern intake of the classic birth of Venus on the wall.

In addition to the booths and tables in the dining area, there are also two bars – a traditional bar next to the windows and a bar of the chef, where evenings can watch the kitchen staff while creating a house made and cooking everything from vegetables to steaks on the grille on a tree.

What to order in Oli

Shared small plates. The menu is divided into four parts. The first section focuses on tapas-style dishes, followed by salads and vegetable-oriented tariffs, and then larger grilled plates. They are all designed to be shared. Although the menu changes seasonally, there are some favorites. Baintet with Mortadella and Fontina Fonduta and the warm dates with scattered, spicy Calabrian sausages Nudja are served from their opening.

Crispy cauliflower. In Oli’s Fall menu, this dish is a good example of the type of aromas that the chefs work with, King said. The fried cauliflower is layered on a bed of tum or Lebanese garlic sauce, and then garnished with olives, almonds and vinaigrette, which adds a touch of sweetness with poaching gold raisins.

Lasagna: The kitchen makes both sheet paste and extruded pasta for its menu. There is always a dish with macaroni for malfaldin with curly edges, for example, and you can usually find a dish that includes Olivero octopus sauce. Like this layered dish with horizon, ricotta and kale Salsa Verde.

Grilled chicken: Many of the elements for the bar and the restaurant come from the oven with firewood, from the charred pineapple for an updated cocktail from negroes to the green onion of the grill, which is included in sauces. But this section focuses on the grill. There is usually a steak and a whole roasted local fish, which are served in a way that facilitates sharing with the table. For this dish, chicken hips are cut and served on a bed of creamy polenta, with eggplant capta and delicate fried okra.

See the full menu.

Details: Oli, 522 S. Third St., Wilmington, North Carolina; 910-399-2961; oliveroilm.com

See last year’s list: USA Today’s 2024 Restaurants of the Year

This article originally appeared on Wilmington Starnews: Wilmington, NC, Oli Restaurant called one of the best of USA Today