St. James Seafood Restaurant and Raw Bar

07/22/2025

10/06/2022

Calabash-style seafood done right.

10/05/2022

It doesn't seem right for this chapter to end without acknowledging the captain of the kitchen ship: chef Tom Cuomo.
Chef Tom has worked off and on with chef-owner Matt Kelly since 2016. His resume includes stints at WD-50 and Carbone in New York City and with chef Charlie Parker in Los Angeles. (Parker went onto work at Manresa.)
Chef Tom came to visit his brother who lives here and went for dinner in Durham. "I ate at Mateo - not knowing any of those guys - three months after they opened," he said. "It was awesome." Chef Tom ended up cooking with Kelly at Mateo and then left to open his own restaurant, , which served a creative menu of Japanese and Italian cuisine. (Think chicken parm ramen; fresh pulled mozzarella with kombu garlic bread; tonkatsu milanese.)
Chef Tom took over the kitchen at Saint James Seafood when it reopened earlier this year after closing during the pandemic. His culinary fingerprints have been all over the menu from the handmade pasta in the deviled crab fettucine to the cioppino, which his Italian-American family eats every Christmas Eve for the Feast of the Seven Fishes.

About chef Tom, Matt Kelly said, "I'm really thankful to his family and his wife, especially given the amount of time he's put in since the closure. I know Katie and Dean feel the brunt of it. I have a lot of gratitude for their patience that let me borrow Tom. We wouldn't have been able to make it across the finish line and serve guests their most enjoyable bites without him. I look forward to working with Tom in the future and work with the teams he builds. Words cannot express how thankful I am for his work and our relationship."
Thank you chef Tom for all the deliciousness.

10/04/2022

Only a few days left to enjoy a spread where Juan's Aguachile takes center stage.

10/04/2022

The chocolate pie of your dreams.

10/02/2022

Pro tip: ask for extra bread to get all that goodness out of the bottom of that bowl of steamed mussels.

10/02/2022

So much damn good food.

09/30/2022

A guest recently declared this "the best key lime pie in town."

09/29/2022

Get in here soon to enjoy one last sip of our Salty Dog.
Make a reservation at https://resy.com/cities/rdu/saint-james-seafood

09/28/2022

Our fried chicken sandwich is a holdover from our pandemic operation: Jimmy's Chicken Shack. Order it plain or hot style.

09/27/2022

Fried saltines + Coctel de Camaron = 😋

09/25/2022

In only a few weeks, this sign will be lit for the last time. Get your reservations now via Resy at https://bit.ly/3rJ5keY

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