St. James sets an opening date and adds one of the Triangle’s most creative chefs
For nearly two years, the Triangle has been without one of its most popular seafood restaurants.
The wait is over.
Durham’s St. James Seafood will reopen this week for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. Located at 806. W. Main Street in Durham, the seafood palace from chef Matt Kelly will open its doors Feb. 2.
This means the return of chowder fries and shellfish towers, buttery New Orleans barbecue shrimp and bake crab dip.
St. James has endured two tragic events in three years. In 2019 a fatal gas explosion closed the restaurant for nine months. It was open 39 days before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down restaurants across the nation. After a few months of takeout in 2020, St. James stayed closed for all of 2021.
New in the kitchen
With the reopening, St. James brings in the talents of Tom Cuomo as chef de cuisine. Cuomo was previously the chef and owner of Raleigh’s Papa Shogun, a creative mashup of Italian and Japanese cuisines, which closed in 2020 amid the pandemic.
Kelly is also the owner of downtown Durham’s Mateo Tapas and Mothers and Sons Trattoria, which have been open for most of the pandemic.
St. James opened in 2017 in the former Fishmonger’s space on Main Street, collecting a four and a half star review from former N&O dining critic Greg Cox, who called the restaurant “a seafood lover’s paradise.”
Alongside old favorites like Calabash-style fried fish, Crook’s Corner’s famed shrimp and grits recipe and shrimp cocktail, St. James will add a salmon filet with dill sauce and cheddar drop biscuits.
Also, one of the Triangle’s top fried chicken sandwiches, brined with pickles and spiced with Creole remoulade, has been etched into the permanent menu.
St. James will be open Wednesday through Saturday. In March the restaurant plans to add a Sunday brunch for the first time.
This story was originally published January 31, 2022 at 11:55 AM.
