low-country restaurants on HHI

[deh333]

We'll be making our first trip to HHI soon (yeah!). There have been threads in the past about great seafood restaurants, which I appreciate. However, since we are going to be in the south. . . please give your recommendations for your favorite low-country restaurants in the area.

 

[Jestjoan]

Here's a starting place until the individual recommendations are posted
http://www.sallys-place.com/food/dining_directory/north_america/hilton_head.htm

 

[deh333]

Thanks for the info.

 

[Jestjoan]

Glad to help a fellow Buckeye. I'm transplanted to the South now........

 

[jme]

HHI dining

The resource link listed by Jestjoan is a very good one (even tho some mediocre places are there), as most of the good places are listed, but a few are conspicuously absent: those are: (1) Cafe Europa (on my all-time top ten of HHI for breakfast/brunch, lunch, AND dinner, and it's a can't miss top-ten for any of those meals, esp. brunch, plus the water view at the lighthouse is one of the best around. Get a window seat!! Located in Harbour Town AT the lighthouse.) ;(2) the Westin Hotel seafood buffet, offered nightly, in their Carolina Cafe.....the items are awesome and plentiful....not just 1,2,or 3 entrees, but many types of fish, crablegs, & other types of seafood, plus prime rib.....all-you-can-eat style....and the dessert tables? To die for! Make sure you have a rollaway cart to get back to the parking lot....AND a note in your pocket with "next-of-kin", just in case. Located in Port Royal Plantation, adjacent to Marriott's Barony Beach Club. *****Don't know if there's a true "Low Country only" style restaurant, but maybe there is....I just don't know about it, and we have been going several times a year for decades. You are in the Low Country, but I don't know if there's a restaurant that specializes in that....there MAY be a place that offers a Low Country entree or two on the menu, like a Low Country Boil, but I'm not sure! It's an easy recipe, and one you could do yourself. But things change, and each time we go, we discover new places opened up and old places closed....; (3) Hugo's ....a new place, opened up this past year by someone who worked at the famous HH restaurant "Fitzgerald's" for many years, so he has rekindled that same good thing going, from what I've heard. Fitzgerald's was a definite top-ten also, now closed , but not for lack of business....other reasons...; (4) Bonefish----located along Hwy 278 in a strip shopping plaza just slightly south (I think) of Palmetto Dunes and Shelter Cove-----a great franchise, which never feels like a franchise ! ....and the food at every Bonefish we've tried, like 5, has been consistently fantastic and fresh...it's a "must-try"......large, varied menu, each appetizer/starter and entree is fantastic....reservations a must at all of these I've mentioned, and also those I WILL mention below (except those places which don't accept reservations, like Marley's). If you want a great, fun casual meal, make Bonefish ONE of your evening dinner destinations....; (5) The Studio---A NEW place to us, but one we tried and truly enjoyed---interesting concept---"for-sale" local artwork displayed on walls, like a gallery or studio, which lends a somewhat distinguished and artsy tone to the ambiance...very quiet and intimate...was nearly empty when we arrived at 5:30 to 6 pm, but was packed when we exited at 7:30----everybody in our family (plus our guests) said it was our "most memorable" evening out to dinner of the vacation (3 consecutive weeks in June this year!!!), and everybody enjoyed the meals......(maybe because it was both excitingly new and good)...it's located off Pope Ave. about halfway "between the traffic" circles , just a few steps west of the Shipyard turn-in....turning into something like Executive Park Rd (???).......... ******TO THIS LIST, I would like to (once again) add my two-cents' worth about the ones listed already in the "sallys-place" link above (that's a very good resource, BTW! THANKS) ...i.e., my favorites among those places that are listed. Not necessarily in any order >>> I will say that Charlie's L'Etoile Verte , Santa Fe, Sunset Grill, Catch 22, Redfish, Crane's Tavern, Kingfisher, Old Oyster Factory, Crazy Crab (at Harbour Town location), & Marley's Island Grille are all "can't miss" restaurants! You WILL NOT have anything but a wonderful evening at any of these! ((((HINT: We, as a whole family, NEVER miss Marley's, Santa Fe, Bonefish, and either Old Oyster Factory or Crazy Crab! Also, Cafe Europa and Skillet's for breakfast/brunch. Those are all set in stone....the others we rotate!!!! Sometimes we eat at Marley's twice. A pound of crablegs for $14 is FAR and away the best price on the island, by half, and the same quality and quantity! )))))) ******** I still say THE VERY BEST meal on the island for adults is to be found at Charlie's L'Etoile Verte, but sometimes the teenagers (whom we always take, pretty much) don't allow us an evening together ALONE very often...maybe once in a blue moon...but CL'EV does stand alone at the top! And from other well-respected and knowledgeable lovers of fine cuisine too, that has been the overwhelming concensus for a long time, and a consistent concensus at that, year after year.....It's just a fantastic upscale,yet casual, bistro which has awesome food and a most pleasant and romantic "candlelight" atmosphere....and a different menu each night, according to what is fresh----the specials are not to be missed, whatever they are.....and the wine selections are very good....reservations must be a day or two ahead, if not more. I have even called the week before we arrived at HHI to make reservations, if the time of year is one that would warrant such. They don't advertise, nor do they need to. If only the servers spoke French, you'd think you were somewhere along the Champs-Elysees....If you wish to fall in love again, and you know what I mean, go there. ******I also have a few restaurants which were totally NEW to us this past trip, and looked interesting, but which we WILL have to try on our next visit.....and those are: Frankie Bones, Hemingway's, La Normandie, & Olivier's French Cuisine. We haven't heard any comments on these,or any recommendations per se, but the menus looked very good. Keep in mind that all HHI restaurants are casual...some more casual than others, but you will be able to tell from the way the menu looks. (For instance, La Normandie or Olivier's would probably be more dressy casual than Wild Wing Cafe, right?---WWC...which I didn't mention, but it's also a great fun, LOUD, long-wait-to-get-in evening meal...maybe the best wings I've ever had---over 20 varieties/flavors .....the teens like WWC the best! (They also like Mellow Mushroom a lot.) Yes, it's wild at WWC!!!!! Take ear plugs. Or improvise and use a snorkel mask over each ear. An over-the-head sand bucket with a mouth hole would also suffice. Live music starts each nite at 10 pm, I think. That's my cue to ask for a box. Before that, it's just loud regular music. Or, at least, I think it's music. Whatever----at least it's great when we return to Grande Ocean----then I can sit on the floor of the dark closet for a while & get un-stimulated. Once, after getting back from WWC, I sat on the balcony and saw 5 moons over the ocean...and they were all moving .....it was beautiful. ) *****So, there you have it....the REAL HHI restaurant review. I continue to love to explore and taste-test. One last note: the South Beach area in Sea Pines is great for shopping, but not for food. Keep that in mind....you will ruin an evening, and miss one of the great places listed above. "Just say no." Get the Salty Dog T-shirts and leave...well, maybe stay and listen to the music outside and "hang with the kids", but the dining experience will be disappointing. Also, Hudson's (as a seafood restaurant) is often touted, but imho, is overrated & inconsistent= disappointing. *****Again, I say that HHI is still an island which is gonna sink someday, because it's still being discovered by newcomers.....(I guess that Ohioans never stopped having babies....) but I seriously cannot think of anyplace along the entire east coast where I'd rather spend time....and I've seen 'em all, top to bottom. I've even given second chances, but I have sunk my toes into HH sand, and I cannot remove them. With an occasional misstep to the Caribbean, you can otherwise find me at HH. jme

 

[pcgirl54]

http://www.hhisleinfo.com/favorite_places_&_activities.htm

Here is another list of places to eat and if you scroll to the end links of other HH things to know/do

 

[Jestjoan]

Thanks, JME, I'll be printing out your list. DH and I totally agree about the Westin Seafood Buffet.