Charlotte’s culinary scene received another national spotlight this week as Seaboy, a cozy fish shack tucked along West Catawba Avenue in Cornelius, was named one of Esquire’s Best New Restaurants in America for 2025.

The honor places the Lake Norman eatery—home to only about two dozen tables—among the most celebrated restaurant openings in the country.

Esquire’s editors praised Seaboy as a rare standout in a town of roughly 30,000 residents, noting that “on any given evening, the luckiest of them sit at one of twenty or so tables” in the restaurant.

The publication highlighted chef Jonny Cox, a Cornelius native whose cooking reflects time spent in both Charlotte and Sorrento, Italy. His menu, Esquire writes, showcases “an Italian knack for letting ingredients speak for themselves” whil

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