NICO Oysters + Seafood started with an offer chef Nico Romo couldn’t refuse. The late hospitality pro Joel Olindo had purchased a former Pizza Hut building steps from Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant and offered it to Romo. He’d be his partner, but it would be Romo’s to run as he wanted. The only request? It had to have an oyster bar. “Oysters are huge in France,” says Romo, a native of Lyon. “The only difference is, I can’t serve French oysters because they’d be $7.”
Fortunately for us all, oyster farming was experiencing a resurgence along the East Coast when NICO opened in 2017, and in the eight years since, the restaurant has become the go-to destination for oysters and seafood in the Charleston area. Plus, It’s been consistently recognized for its stellar French food and raw bar offerings by Mount Pleasant Magazine, and Romo has earned several best-chef nods from Charleston City Paper.
We recently sat down with Romo to find out why the restaurant remains a local favorite, the dish that’ll never leave the menu, the most memorable request from fans, and so much more.
Read on for how to have the best time at NICO Oysters + Seafood, and book your spot on OpenTable.
This interview has been edited for length.
What do you think NICO’s X factor is?
Nico Romo: We have die-hard friendships with people we created over time. That’s our X factor. People who’ve been coming since day-one and really love us. During COVID, we were the only restaurant to open the very next day, and from there, we built a lot of relationships with people because we were there for them.
What’s the one dish you’ll never remove from the menu?
The French quenelle, a traditional dish from Lyon. It’s pâte à choux and pike fish, but we use flounder poached in water. Then we cool it down before putting [it] in the wood-fired oven. When it bakes, it puffs up and caramelizes a little. There’s a crawfish sauce in the bottom that bakes off. It’s a French Lyon classic dish from my ancestors—very rare, but it’s always been my dish. Very classic.
What’s the underdog of the menu?
The quenelle because people don’t know what it is. It’s the underdog and the signature dish.
Who’s your longest regular?
I have a thousand names of people who’ve been coming since day one, but I have three that stand out. Bob Gant comes every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday lunch pretty much every week. Brenda and Gerald Uttaro have a standing Saturday reservation at 6:15 pm. The Johnsons have one every Friday at 6 pm. Those are just three super-standard reservations.
Who’s your longest-serving staff member?
Patrick Willey has been there since day one. He was my server at Fish Restaurant before. He’s done some management too. He’s pretty on the eyes. We like him. We met riding motorcycles. He’s easy to talk to, nice with people, and he’s been one of those figures at the restaurant since day one. He’s always here [He works as a server at NICO now].
What’s the most memorable request you’ve received from a customer?
One couple flew me across the country to Colorado to do an oyster bar for their wedding. That’s probably the most memorable. At the restaurant, we always do special requests because we want to make sure our diners are happy.
When is the best time to find a reservation?
Weekdays, obviously. Weekends are always more busy. We open at 4 pm, so 4 pm to 6 pm is always easy to get table[s] and walk-in. It’s also happy hour [on] weekdays. We have half-off oysters on Mondays, so that’s a good time to come. We don’t use the cheap oysters either. We pick a local farm and offer discounted oysters—it’s a true happy-hour value.
What’s been the biggest change at the restaurant since the opening?
COVID did something for sure. For one, we had a massive turnover in our clientele from the Old Village. So many businesses moved out of the neighborhood. But we gained some new people who are awesome, too.
The food hasn’t changed because we have so many regulars. You have to keep modernizing to keep it exciting while protecting the base of your business. How can we make the quenelle a little more exciting right now? Where are we taking this dish without pissing off our regulars? And now I even have a burger. When I opened NICO, I said I’d never have a burger, and we started selling a burger during COVID, so now a burger is on the menu. You can never say never.
What’s your favorite award you’ve won?
Obviously French master chef. I almost fell down the stairs when I found out about it. I was only 30 when I got it. The biggest one locally is the best chef award [in the Charleston City Paper’s Best of Charleston poll], we’ve been winning every year for a few years. At this point, I’d like for somebody else to get it. It’s always nice to get that recognition because people are taking the time to vote for you. It really speaks to the longevity of my team and regulars. At the end of the day, awards don’t matter. It’s the regulars who show up every week and have a standing reservation. Those people are the ones who matter the most. That’s the biggest thing. And the team that we built, that’s the best thing.
Stephanie Barna is a food writer based in Charleston, SC. As the former editor of Charleston City Paper, she has chronicled the Charleston food scene for two decades.
