Charleston Grill

Description:

• This is the most prestigious, most formal, and most sophisticated restaurant in Charleston, with superb service, grand food, an impeccably trained staff, and one of the city's best selections of wine. The cuisine of the celebrity chef, Bob Waggoner, draws rave reviews from as far away as Paris. The marble-floored, mahogany-sheathed dining room is one of the city's most luxurious and the one that's the most at ease with haute European sophistication. Menu items change with the seasons, and you will be pleasantly surprised by how well Low Country and French cuisine meld. Appetizers might be something rather simple but delectable -- perhaps young lettuce in a champagne vinegar, or something more complicated such as venison carpaccio with arugula, Parmesan, and fried shallots. Main courses burst with freshness and originality, including diver scallops and lobster risotto with white asparagus and a lemon vermouth sauce, or else grilled swordfish with capers, piccolini olives, and sun-dried tomatoes. Modern interpretations of Southern dishes also appear on the menu -- try the duck confit with "dirty grits," baby turnips, and a bacon sage gravy.

• © Frommer's 2012

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Very Highly Recommended 2010