casual island dining at its best!. following the suggestion of another urbanspoon user, a friend and i tracked down molly mcguire's on wilmington island. molly's is pretty much hidden from johnny mercer, but if you turn in at basil's pizza and creep around back towards the cancun ii, you will almost barely notice molly's hidden in the trees on the left. there is a sign, but i really think it needs to be more prominent. anyway, turn in the back onto the white crushed-rock parking lot. if there is no room there, you can park a few feet away back over in the islands shopping mall lot. note for tall folks: remember to duck your head nearing the restaurant entry due to the low-hanging tree branch across the path. the branch is lighted at night, just in case.
upon walking up the ramp, you cannot help but notice a huge sign about unattended children being used as crab bait. hilarious! the host or hostess stand is right there and he or she will seat you. if there is a sign saying seat yourself, just go ahead and sit where you want. the wait staff will serve you in a minute or three.
to the left is a covered deck and pavilion with numerous tables and a view of the patio area just below. the pavilion is heated on chilly days. to the right of the host stand are the dining rooms. the first room on the right is a cozy, quiet, and quaint room with about 10 or 12 tables/booths. the wood paneling in here is amazing. even the angled ceiling is covered in old planks. the bathrooms are conveniently just a step up in an alcove. outside, the second door on the right opens into the bar and a much larger dining area. there are numerous tvs for viewing sporting events. this area is connected to the cozy dining by a short hallway.
the menu here is very good. it is divided into three "themed" areas: golden isles, british isles, and pacific isles. there are so many choices that it is difficult to decide what to order. take your time and peruse the menu.
on our first visit, we eventually decided on the crab dip appetizer.. this crab dip was fantastic. the fried pita bread wedges were perfect for this dish. my dining companion said the crab dip was "to die for." he was absolutely and completely serious.
for our entrées, my friend chose the buffalo chicken sandwich. he said it had an excellent flavor all around. the sandwich is spicy, without being heat-filled. his spuds were cooked perfectly.
i chose thefishand chips basket. the friedfishfingers were so good that they actually melted in my mouth. i chose the spanky's spuds for the "chips," and they were actually better than the ones i usually get at spanky's proper. no kidding!
every time we have dined here, the acting manager has come around to chat with us. we have had nothing but positive comments to share. it really makes a difference when management cares about your opinion.