Perla Raw Bar

Love this place! Good atmosphere, good food and the service is always the best! I’ve been here dozens of times and my waitress always checked up on us so often! Totally would recommend for a weekend out or a little fine dining dinner.

Excellent new seafood focused concept not too far from Wrightsville with a bright, open decor, a huge bar that has seats inside and outside, and a great outdoor space. Service is excellent, with servers offering suggestions from their knowledge of the menu. They have a daily oyster menu, with five options when we visited. The menu has a lot to choose from, from shareable small plates to mains. The croquettes were light and airy, not dense and heavy as they often are. The flounder was perfectly prepared, a classic new American upscale entree. The cod based fish and chips was excellent too, with the cod being battered with local Bills ESB and not greasy and the chips being homemade potato chips instead of fries but excellently made. Beer wine and cocktail lists are sure to please. The oyster mignonette was excellent and they offered cocktail with horseradish and hot sauce alongside. Highly recommended.

Had dinner last week at Perla Raw Bar with my husband and another couple.

It was our first time here, and maybe second or third time for our friends.

Adam, the manager, greeted us as we entered and was super friendly.

I loved the atmosphere of the restaurant with tables spread out, the high ceilings, the beautiful glass flowers on the wall and those hanging, the inviting long bar (16 - 18 seats), and even the beautiful tiled floor in the bathroom.

I started with the tuna tartare, a great combination of crispy rice, Brussel sprouts and topped with the raw tuna. My friend highly recommended it to me and I'm glad she did. It was a unique combination of flavors and textures.

My friend ordered the shrimp spring rolls. They were pretty small but she said they were excellent. My other friend ordered the cucumber salad, which he shared with my husband. Both enjoyed it.

We all shared a side order of truffle fries (I love anything with truffles), which came with a garlic aioli, although I really didn't taste the garlic. We decided to get a second order of truffle fries.

For our entrees, my husband and I both ordered the Southern Seafood Stew, which had one large scallop and a few of each of shrimp, mussels, clams, and fish (I think it was cod). This was on top of rice grits along with a red sauce. The menu stated braised cabbage, but I didn't see any at all.

One of my friends had the salmon with gnocchi, wild mushrooms, etc. My other friend ordered the fish and chips (first time eating fish and chips), which came with coleslaw and salt & vinegar chips.

Everything was excellent, flavorful, and cooked perfectly.

When we got our entrees, our truffle fries had not yet come out of the kitchen, so we told Caitlin, our waitress, not to bother to bring them out.

Everything is a la carte, making this a somewhat pricey place to eat. However, the food was excellent, the atmosphere lovely, and with the great service by Caitlin, it's worth it.

I want to return to have lunch on their patio. I noticed the bar has seating on the outside, as the glass windows can open up.

Started with the oyster sampler there was no standout as far as the oysters for me. I did rather enjoy the range of spice levels for the accompanying sauces. The shrimp croquettes were delicately fried, they melt in the mouth, each bite had a hint of saffron that brightened the dish. The tuna tartare was fresh, Brussels added some texture. The salmon was standard, but the ricotta gnocchi and braised greens elevated the dish. the seafood stew has clams, mussels, scallops, shrimp and fish. The tomato based sauce with light and flavorful. We were sat at a table next to the bar. That was a little too close for comfort. There is plenty of outdoor seating, it was a cold night and that was not an option. The server seemed a bit annoyed by the questions of a less experienced diner. That was the only bump in the road with the service .

We enjoyed a late lunch/early dinner at Perla on Saturday. Overall things were very good. The restaurant is beautiful with lots of attention to detail in the decor. Our food was good and we were able to try several items. Our only complaint was that we ordered two of the steak entrees medium rare and they were both cooked medium well.