Features

Eater Carolinas 2023/2024

Eternal Sunshine Cafe takes breakfast classics like pancakes, French toast, and Benedicts and turns the volume way, way up. There’s the bananas Foster French toast or blueberry Danish French toast, “Dippy” pancakes (with candied pecans, candied bacon, and peach puree), a hot honey chicken biscuit, and duck and waffles (confit duck with sweet and sour orange duck sauce on a ginger waffle with sunny side up duck egg and scallions). There are more than half a dozen different Benedict offerings, and the daily/weekly specials are always worth a look.

More than main street - 2023

Eternal Sunshine Cafe is one of our very favorite breakfast places in Wilmington. We’ve been at least a dozen times and are never disappointed.

Menu items range from their famous “benedicts” to french toast to breakfast quesadillas and they even serve up some gluten free options too. They can get busy on the weekends, so be prepared for a wait, especially during the summer months.

Our personal recommendations: Any of their daily specials, the biscuits and gravy, or the hot honey chicken biscuit are some of our favorites! And of course, you can’t skip trying their fun mimosa flights.

Wilmington Biz 2021

Despite pandemic-related stresses, the mood at Eternal Sunshine Cafe is sunny-side-up these days.
Not only does owner Michael Pellegrino encourage and model a positive attitude for his staff, but that cheery outlook has just been rewarded.
The Wilmington breakfast and lunch restaurant is the winner of a $1,000 award from the N.C. Egg Association, the result of an eight-week contest this summer in which state residents nominated their favorite restaurant that serves eggs.

Star news 2024

In a more competitive market, Pellegrino sets Eternal Sunshine apart by elevating the ingredients and techniques. The grits now have black truffle and a bit of earthy umami. Potato wedges with roasted pepper sauce have taken the place of home fries. And, for adventurous eaters, Pellegrino has been inspired by José Andrés, and other such chefs. The Caribbean Illusion adds some molecular gastronomy to brunch with a coconut-and-mango ‘egg’ served with rum French Toast and grilled pineapple.