New Delaware restaurants offer gyros, pizza, seafood & steak, plus a new Turkish bakery
Restaurants continue to be a driving force in Delaware’s economy.
There were 2,144 eating and drinking places in the state in 2022, according to the most recent figures available from the National Restaurant Association.
And more are coming. Some are a few months out, such as a second location for Wilmington's La Pizzeria Metro, which is scheduled to open this fall in the Town of Whitehall near Middletown. Other restaurants have changed hands, have recently opened or are imminent.
Here's a look:
Taste & Sea Seafood, Steaks & Libations
Keystone Plaza, 1810 Wilmington Pike, Glen Mills, Pennsylvania; tastesea.com
The former Pescatore's Italian seafood restaurant closed its doors on Dec. 17, 2023, after nearly 20 years in business. The building is being renovated and scheduled to reopen at the end of March as Taste & Sea a fine-dining seafood and steak restaurant owned by John and Chrissy Talbot.
John, a former executive chef at Creeds Seafood and Steaks in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, for 22 years, has been in the restaurant business for more than 30 years. Charles Moronski, a former sous-chef at Bluecoast Grill and an executive chef at Crust and Craft Kitchen, both in Rehoboth Beach, is the restaurant's executive chef and partner.
According to the restaurant's Facebook page, the dinner-only restaurant's name comes from Psalms 34:8, “Taste and See the goodness of the Lord.”
Corner Cove Restaurant & Bar
410 Hockessin Corner off Old Lancaster Pike, Hockessin, 302-235-8320
OK, so it didn't open in December, as hoped for. But by the end of February, a long-vacant and cavernous hall in Hockessin Corner has come back to life as a two-story restaurant and bar with local oysters, steamed crab, cheap beer, red-sauce pasta and flame-cooked pizza.
Michael Rocco, a longtime veteran of Delaware restaurants, said he couldn’t believe what he saw when he walked into the 19th-century building that is now home to his restaurant, Corner Cove, a few doors down from The Back Burner restaurant in Hockessin Corner. “When people walk in, their mouth drops,” he told us last year. “It’s all exposed wood beams. I’ve got a fireplace in there. When you go upstairs, you’re looking at actual horse stables.”
There, he serves large pizzas starting at $14, a world of seafood, and his dad's old recipe for the South Philly and Jersey Shore specialty of crab gravy on spaghetti. Domestic beers go for $3, and few beers top a fiver. Are there chicken parm subs? Shrimp tacos? Local oysters? Cheesesteaks? Italian wedding soup? Honestly, you could keep going down a comfort food checklist for half an hour, and the answer might still be yes.
Maq's Gyro Grill
Gilpin Plaza shopping center, 3205 Concord Pike, Talleyville, 302-698-8133
The small family-owned and operated business takes over the location that was the former home of the Bubble Shack. The Vietnamese takeout shop that served bành mí and bubble teas for more than five years closed in October 2023
Maq's, primarily takeout, offers a blend of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine.
The menu includes chicken and lamb tikka, fish and falafel platters served with rice, salad and sauces, chicken, lamb and falafel gyros, cheesesteaks, fish sandwiches, cheeseburgers, and fried foods such as whiting fish with fries, jumbo shrimp, chicken wings and chicken nuggets. Desserts include baklava, cheesecake, carrot cake and firni, a slow-cooked Indian sweet rice pudding.
The restaurant will operate daily during Ramadan from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Moon Star Turkish Bakery
1213 Churchmans Road, near Stanton, 302-294-6585
The bakery and cafe had a soft opening on March 5. Owners say they "wanted to bring you a little piece of our Turkish culture with an American spin."
The bakery is open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and it offers Turkish pastries, breads and danishes. More breakfast items are coming soon.
Corner Grounds Cafe
102 N. Fifth St., Odessa
A long-vacant gas station at U.S. Route 13 north and Main Street in Odessa has been transformed into Corner Grounds Café. It opened on Jan. 19. Hours are Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Owner Kevin Taisey, who has a successful heating and air-conditioning company, serves a variety of beverages including coffees, lattes and cappuccinos along with bagels, pastries and other baked goods delivered fresh daily.
Remnants of the gas station can be seen like the steel beam across the interior and the large windows where the garage doors were for the service bays. Odessa Mayor Harvey C. Smith Jr. estimated that the former Gulf gas station had been closed for at least 30 years.
The Odessa Historic Commission directed that renovations to the building should keep the same basic look of the former gas station.
Bellefonte Cafe
804 Brandywine Blvd., Bellefonte; thebellefontecafe.com
A staple of the Bellefonte community for nearly 30 years, the cafe has changed hands for the third time since its opening in the mid-1990s
New owners David Lattomus and Patrick Atkinson purchased the funky cafe from Dave and Donna Farrar and reopened on Feb. 28.
Lattomus has more than 20 years as a chef at such locations as the Hotel du Pont, DuPont Country Club, Columbus Inn, and Harry's Savoy Grill He has been a culinary arts teacher for the last eight years at St. Georges Technical High School. Lattomus said the cafe will be extending its hours of operation and will open for lunch Tuesday through Saturday and offer Sunday brunch and dinner. The new owners plan to offer live music from about 8 to 10 every night. They are also hoping to have solo and acoustic acts perform at the cafe.
The chef plans to add new menu items such as sirloin steak, chicken thighs, a vegetarian filet of eggplant, pan-seared salmon, vegetarian bowls, crab cake sandwiches, and grilled cheese.
If you want to read more stories from Patricia Talorico, visit delawareonline.com/staff/2646617001/patricia-talorico/visit Email [email protected] or leave a message at 302-324-2861. Sign up for her Delaware Eats newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: New Delaware restaurants offer oysters, crabs, cheap beer & gyros
