What makes this new Cornelius restaurant a must-visit for seafood enthusiasts

When the signage first went up a few months ago at Seaboy in Cornelius, I was immediately hopeful. The older, white, cottage-style house that the colorful sign was perched in front of felt like a sure sign of something unique to come.

In a city where so many restaurants are in big, shiny, brand-new spaces, I always enjoy seeing the scales get balanced in favor of a place with history or where you might graze someone’s elbow seated nearby.

Seaboy does, indeed, have this same type of undeniable, energetic vibe. While it’s no hole in the wall — rather, a very quaint and enveloping renovated home with some fun coastal touches — it houses only 10 dining tables, alongside a chef’s counter, patio seating and a bar.

Chef Jonathan Cox brings extensive experience from kitchens at nearly all of Rare Roots Hospitality’s concepts, including Dogwood, Fin & Fino and Chapter 6.

The exterior carries a breezy, coastal joint feel, with large ferns swaying from the patio ceiling and wicker chairs. The inside is romantic and charming — simple but still style-forward. It feels like joining a dinner party at a friend’s house — a friend who has very, very good taste.

“Everything here is very dear to me,” Cox said. “Close friends that serve here helped pick out the knickknacks lying around on the tables. One of my good friends makes our hand soap. My mom helped me hang the prints in our dining room … The wallpaper in the bathroom has little daisies because of my much-loved puppy, Daisy.”

When we arrived on a Tuesday night, the restaurant was full and Cox was behind the chef’s counter alongside two other chefs. It was the best spot in the house — a chance to watch the chefs do what they do best and move around each other with synchronicity and scrupulousness. Watching plates being perfected one by one is a lot like live theater.

The menu was small enough to feel curated especially for that night, but it maintained enough variety for a wide swath of dining preferences. Same with the bar menu.

We ordered oysters, shrimp cocktail, a Caesar salad, crab and shrimp croquettes, and an exceptional ahi tuna served over a warm, crispy potato salad with pickled celery. The pineapple chamoy margarita was a standout, too.

As Cox explains it, he didn’t want to cook food that was “hard to understand” at Seaboy, so the focus will always be on the freshest possible ingredients, served in a straightforward way.

The menu will change often, daily even, and nothing will remain on the menu indefinitely. A large portion of the produce comes from North Carolina’s Harmony Ridge Farms and Boy & Girl Farms, and Cox gets the most seasonal seafood he can.

And why, exactly, did he select Cornelius, an oftentimes quiet lakeside town, as a home base for this oasis?

“I was actually trying to open a restaurant in Charlotte for quite some time,” Cox said. “Finding a landlord to give me a chance (a first-time restaurant owner without a lot of capital), or a bank to give me a loan was very tough.

“A good friend from culinary school called me and told me his mom just bought a restaurant in Cornelius and was wondering if I was interested. I drove to the location three times that day and honestly it just felt ‘right’ ... Charlotte will always be home, but Cornelius/Davidson has this small town feel that makes a mundane Monday feel special.”

I couldn’t help but push a little further about the size, specifically. Choosing fewer tables is always intentional, and Seaboy has only 10. I wanted to know what it was about this previously unassuming white house on North Main Street that felt “so right.”

“I’ve spent a lot of my cooking career, basically all of it, in pretty big restaurants. I always longed for a little smaller space where I could ‘have people over’ and take care of them … I can’t see myself expanding to much bigger restaurants after doing this. I love my staff. I work side by side with them, and everyone brings something huge to the table.

“Everyone here loves hospitality. I feel like when you go really ‘big,’ it’s easy to lose this vision and forget some details.”

Seaboy opened at the end of March, but it’s clear things are already in full swing. It took a few tries to get a reservation (though the host noted that the patio and bar often can accommodate walk-ins). And as a Cornelius resident, each time I’ve driven by, the parking lot has been full.

“Honestly I feel like I could wake up at any moment — it’s been that good,” Cox said. “I’ve been totally blown away at how busy we are. Reviews have been beyond my wildest expectations.

“Opening a restaurant is probably one of the hardest things (and scariest) I have ever done, but the highlights for me have been seeing the team really come together. Everyone here chips in and adds something to the vision. From the hostesses to the dishwasher, everyone takes tremendous pride in their work.”

Seaboy Restaurant

Location: 20822 N Main St, Cornelius, NC 28031

Menu

Cuisine: sustainably sourced seafood and craft cocktails

Instagram: @seaboyrestaurant

This story was originally published April 22, 2025 at 5:00 AM.