Buccaneer-Restaurant Review

Last Thursday was a night out on the town so to speak. Beau and I went out to Buccaneer on Faber St. in Charleston, SC. We had high hopes for the place based on the menu and the fact that Beau had heard great things from the radio. But well…hopes aren’t necessarily always reality are they?

 

We parked the car, feeling confident that we were in the general vicinity of the restaurant. I don’t know about Beau, but I definitely felt like a tourist walking along East Bay St. searching for Faber St. I’m pretty sure we looked at the map on his phone more than twice. So tucked back behind some other restaurants and in front of a parking garage we found Buccaneer. We entered…

 

My initial thoughts were good. I really liked the brick walls with high ceilings, dark wooden beams in the ceiling and the dim lighting. The walls were decorated with all sorts of swords and rifles and what not. Interesting to look at while you’re waiting for a table.

 

The hostess took a bit of a long time to figure out what table we were to be seated in, especially since we were the only ones waiting. I wonder what she was doing really. Regardless, we were taken to the table closest to the kitchen. And oddly enough there were only two chairs at a four-top table and those chairs were facing the kitchen. Beau and I quickly moved the chairs to face the other direction. Who wants to be staring at the kitchen through dinner? No biggie. Quick change.

 

Did I mention that you get free bread? I mean, any place that gives some delicious free bread before you actually order wins some points on my list. And let me add that this bread was pretty good. This crusty bread had some nice sesame seeds and poppy seeds on top. Yum! And we made it in time for Happy Hour-15 minutes spare! “I’ll have the house red please!” What a nice little bonus to the evening!

 

Let’s see, what was my waiter’s name? Micah-that was it. He was very good. He gave us a lot of attention and was good about refilling drinks and bringing us what we needed. And let me briefly touch on the bathrooms. For you men out there, this may not seem important, but to women this could be a big deal. You see, when women enter a place, whether it be a restaurant, church, an art studio, the movie theater, etc. they are looking for the bathroom. The women hit up the bathroom first and therefore that is the first place of judgment for them even before they see the performance or taste the food. This is huge! The bathroom at Buccaneer was pretty normal if you will. It was very clean, which was good. It was quaint with two stalls, but pretty blah as far as the décor went. So nothing really feminine about it. But I will say that I really liked that the bathroom doors when all way from the ceiling to the floor. It gave a very nice sense of privacy. Every woman can appreciate that. J

 

Now on to the food!

 

Like I said before, we had high hopes for this place because the menu looked promising. There is a section on there that you can order four different types of seafood cooked four different ways and it just depends on what seafood they have on hand that day. So anyway, Beau ordered that. I ordered the seafood platter, mainly because my heart and soul were set on scallops and grits and that was the only dish that had both. Now, normally I don’t go into a new place with a craving for something specific, especially two things. And so I feel like I can order my dish a little bit better than I did that night. But it is what it is. I wanted scallops and grits and so I got it.

 

When Micah brought our food out I was a little dumbfounded as to what was sitting in front of Beau and I. The two plates looked like they came from two different kitchens. My plate looked like it walked out of Gilligan’s or the Crab House. Beau’s looked like it would have come from Blossom or something (maybe not exactly, but close). So as you can imagine, quite different looking.

 

From the one bite that I had off of Beau’s plate and the fact that his plate was clean when he finished, I think his was quite good. Oh, he ordered the mahi-mahi over mashed potatoes topped with green beans and a white truffle sauce. I really enjoyed my bite for sure. That sauce! (You know how I am about sauces!)

 

The seafood platter was ho hum. First off, it was $21! The grits needed salt, which as I’ve said before, I don’t use much salt in my food so if I’m adding salt it’s definitely bland. The scallops were good and the fish was okay, but the shrimp were way over cooked.

 

Overall, not too impressed with Buccaneer. I admit, I was satisfied as far as my craving went, but will still not be returning. Just thought you all out there should know. But feel free to make your own judgment. This is just my attempt to save everyone from a waste of a meal and at the same time steer you towards a meal that will keep your mouth watering for more!

 

Proceeding on ahead to the next place…