Hello Sailor Review

Hello Sailor, a waterfront restaurant/bar and outdoor tiki bar, bringing us summer vibes all year long right outside of Charlotte.

Hello Sailor resides in Cornelius, NC. and has been around for almost a year, but it could never get old. The ambiance and lake views (sitting on Lake Norman) are enough to have you coming back for more. The menu, inspired by seafood, and the decor inspired by Seattle, where the owners where when they found out about this space becoming available. I hadn’t known this when we were there for lunch, but it makes total sense looking back at pictures and having visited Seattle a couple years ago.

Furthermore, our first visit was a couple weeks ago and it was a great, but here are some takeaways you should know:

Plan to get there at least 5/10 minutes before they open if you want to sit outside. We got there about 20 minutes after they opened on a Saturday and had to wait about 15 minutes. If you don’t mind eating indoors, there is plenty of room inside and you shouldn’t have to wait. They have some windows on the lake side and you could still get a good view from inside!
You are paying for the food but especially the ambiance (I’ll touch on this a bit more).
The staff is super friendly!

So now that you know a little about the space and the views, let’s talk about the menu. There is actually a pretty good variety of “seafood” on the menu. They have things from hushpuppies to Poke, a delicacy that I have become quite obsessed with this past year. I truly believe there is something on the menu for everyone, even those that don’t like seafood could eat a yummy burger or sandwich.

Now let’s get to the good stuff. Although I’m not a hushpuppy lover by ANY means, I loved the hushpuppies along with the trout dish I ordered. Delicious! And I could go on all day about the mussels. These were so good that I literally drink the mussel soup from the bowl. NO SHAME. Nevertheless, I did feel the trout was over priced along with the shrimp plate my boyfriend ordered. We actually though the shrimp plate was so overpriced that our jaws hit the floor when his food hit the table (it looked really skimpy), and for a second I thought they brought him the wrong plate.

I will say that the staff is happy to answer any questions, and if getting a skimpy plate is a concern of yours I would ask them what they would recommend that is reasonably priced but also filling.

At the end of the day I do believe no matter what you order here, you will still be paying for the ambiance. If you are a creative/visual person like me, you are probably more than ok with this, but it is definitely good to know before you walk in!