Last night we met some friends for a lovely dinner at 18 Seaboard in downtown Raleigh. We discovered this restaurant when we ate next door at J. Betski’s for my birthday dinner, and when Eric noticed they had a flat-iron steak on the menu, we were sold.

I’m glad I made reservations online because this place was bustling at 7pm. I started with the peach sangria which I liked but Eric thought it was a little watery. For wine Eric had a glass of the Dr. Loosen Riesling and I had a glass of the Four Vines Zinfindel with my meal.

We split a field green salad that was really fresh and had just the right amount of dressing- and how can you go wrong with pine nuts? Eric had the flat-iron steak with the reduced-balsamic and blue cheese sauce and I had the bourbon-glazed ribeye with a brandy peppercorn sauce. Both were quite tasty. We finished with hot chocolate cake in a mug, which was rich without being too sweet.

Thankfully, even thought the restaurant was busy and nearly full, it was easy to converse at a normal level. The service was great, efficient and quick. They always seemed to be around at the right moment without being overbearing. Overall, we really liked our experience, and we’ll definitely be back.