The Establishment

Neat atmosphere, beautiful decorated restaurant!

We had brunch and the smoked fish starter was delicious. The swordfish salad was very good as was the crab omelette. Really attentive and genuine service. Will definitely return.

Handsome new, expansive space in downtown Charleston, with excellent food, expert and friendly service, and a really wonderful jazz pianist at Sunday brunch.

Creative menu and great quality food with excellent service.

Food portions were like topas; too small for anyone that has a high caloric intake.

OVERALL EXCELLENT!!! The food, the service, the piano and charming musician! And I VERY much appreciated my request for seating (I have hearing issues) respected and accomadated. Wonderful restaurant that I will return to when I am next in Charleston!! and will recommend to anyone going there!

The place itself is gorgeous, and the decorations really set it up nicely! We didn’t sit at the bar area, but it actually looked like a great place to watch a game. A large TV screen set up with smaller surrounding TVs and an exquisite selection of liquor on the outer frame. On the other hand, the chef’s table looked like a great spot to bring a date, especially if they’re a foodie or sorts. The menu was small and simple, which I find more enjoyable. The serving sizes were perfect, and the service was great. The food was outstanding, but the sommelier and his wine pairings put the meal over the top! The beef tar tar appetizer was incredible and is a must order. The swordfish and ribeye were both fantastic. The only thing I may think of changing was the temperature of my steak because I went with the chef’s recommendation of Medium over my personal preference of Medium Rare. All said and done, I couldn’t have asked had a better first experience, and I have already made a reservation for the future.

Food and service were both fabulous.

Got several starters and split the whole fish which was a wonderfully prepared local snapper! This way we saved room to share two desserts.

Great food, the chef took regular items and made them fantastic. It almost felt healthy, but the desserts are to die for...............yummy!

Vibrant, original and beautifully executed dishes. Food was absolutely on par with anything in NYC or LA. Great wine list and service too--staff was very well trained--not always the case here in Charleston. Gorgeous dining room. Would return in a heartbeat and recommend to everyone.

Two of us dined at The Establishment prior to theater. At 5:30, diners were just coming in and by the time we left at 7 almost all the tables were filled. Ryan introduced himself and proceeded to be a very professional and knowledgeable waiter. He understood we had a time constraint and ensured we were able to make it to the theater in time. Ryan is definitely a 5.

We had 2 starters and 2 main courses. The starters were the oysters and the carrots. Let me start by saying the oyster dish is a WOW!!! However, my first impression was, the portion is way too small as it just covered the bottom of the bowl. PLEASE ADD ANOTHER SPOONFUL OR 2. The carrots were also nicely prepared and enjoyed

I had the vermillion snapper main course and again, WOW WOW!!!! The flavors are terrific and the portion is huge. We also had the monkfish and while it is a tasty dish, a 3rd piece would make this dish much better. The snapper dish dwarfed the monkfish.

The Champaign and sparkling selection is very nice and I had a wonderful Jacquere with the entrée.
The desserts were good; one was a chocolate mousse and the other the Affogato, which was coffee ice cream with espresso poured on top. The espresso caused the ice cream to ice somewhat and there was way too much espresso, so it is watered down. This ice cream might be interesting with a powdered espresso on top of it, or even an alcoholic alternative.

Still a wonderful dining experience and I will be back for the whole fish dinner!

The atmosphere is NYCish, fun vibes with a piano player in the front dining room, a fantastic bar and another dining area beyond that which we didn’t visit. We had (4of us) duck confit(!), carrot appetizer( believe it or not, fantastic!) and shrimp appetizer. Wreckfish, Monkfish and Ribeye entrees. All very tasty and artfully served. Our waiter, Paul, was very accommodating and knew the menu top to bottom. Highly recommend!

This was my 4th visit. I love the atmosphere and the staff. I struggle with the menu. Most everything is very good but the portions are tiny. They don’t serve any bread. There aren’t any sides you can order or a normal dinner salad. The entrees are mostly between 30 and 40 dollars so it’s not inexpensive. I had the crab pasta once and I think there may have been crab in it not sure. It was my least favorite. This time I had the ribeye which was good. I ordered it because the times I had ordered fish I was still hungry when we left. Wine list is good.

We had a delicious dinner last night. The menu is little different but it all works. We had four different entrees and they were all good. Especially liked the fresh pasta and also the monkfish. For starters the greens (if you can imagine) were great, the compressed melon so interesting. The mackerel was pretty to look at and very tasty. Service was good and the staff very nice and helpful. Enjoyed a drink at the beautiful bar before dinner. Will definitely go back.

It was our first visit, and we were celebrating our 42nd anniversary! Our server, Amanda was so delightful and very helpful. We had a wonderful time and will be back soon! We had one of our best experiences in Charleston and can’t say enough about this new restaurant!!

The establishment has matured since their opening and is a very delightful dinning experience. Everything from food, service, to ambiance was great. One of the few retaurants where you can carry on a conversation in normal voice levels. We’ll return.

This was our first visit and will definitely return. The food was exceptionally prepared and presented. Good atmosphere with noise level allowing table conversation. Service attentive but not overbearing. Food portions could have been a little more generous but comparable to other restaurants we visit.

Ryan Rushton was great. Very knowledgeable and great recommendations.

Great food and great service! Brunch was amazing! Will definitely be back again soon!

The food was excellent but the slow service nearly ruined our experience. We had finished the wine before the entree ever made it to us. Took a long time to order and a long time for each course.

This place is special. The menu is creative and delicious. The lighting and feeling to the place is wonderful, somewhere between classic and modern. Local seafood was bombbb and the ribeye was finely prepared. We had a group of 10 and service was great. Overall 10/10.

The portions were good for me but small for the average person and priced a little high for the portion size.

Second time here (liked it enough to come back!!)....started with scallops/ duck .. then we all had a different fish entree.. finished up with the apple and key lime desserts.
ALL the food was excellent.. loved the combination of flavors in each dish!
Would highly recommend for food and ambiance! We all loved it!

We visited this restaurant while on a weekend trip to Charleston. I selected it based upon the reviews in Open Table. We had the mackerel appetizer, the monkfish entrée and the pasta with peekytoe crab and leeks. Our food was very good, especially the pasta with peekytoe crab. We enjoyed the piano music in the background as we were dining and the quiet atmosphere of the restaurant. Our waitstaff was very good and gave us some excellent suggestions for wine to go with our menu choices. Overall, one of the best dining experiences I have had in some time. We will go again the next time we visit Charleston.

we chose the Establishment to hear Eric McQuitty on the piano. It was a great experience except we could hardly hear Eric and if we return, we would request our reservation to be in the room with the piano.

Excellence in every way. Will be going back often.

Throughly enjoyed our evening. The seafood was perfectly cooked.

The food in this seafood centric gem was outstanding. Our server Justin was top notch and anticipated our every need. There is a sommelier on staff to assist with food and wine pairings and his suggestions made our experience superb. Amazing value for a perfect dining experience. You will not be disappointed.

The Establishment provided an exceptional dining experience. The ambience was top notch, with a talented pianist greeting you to soothing tones as you enter the restaurant. We celebrated my wife's 40th birthday there with friends and enjoyed excellent seafood and desserts. The server was friendly and the cocktails were the highlight of the night. I would rank the cocktail list at The Establishment as #1 in Charleston!

Watch out when making a reservation. We showed up to a mostly empty restaurant and were put at a table one foot a way from a piano. We asked for any other table, just not to be right on top of it and where told nothing else is available. There were at least 10 other tables the same size around the room and they refused to do anything. We ended up leaving. Got a call about 20 minutes later from the general manager to apologize, but already went elsewhere.

Very good! We had an 8pm concert to started at 5:45 there and we never felt rushed. They were very accommodating and we will be back a lot!

The food, decor, and service were outstanding. Justin was our waiter and he could not have been more helpful or knowledgeable. We have lived in The Charleston area for a long time and this is one of the better new restaurants that has opened in a while. Great for fresh produce and seafood as well as unique approaches without going so far overboard that it loses it’s audience. Weirdly, get the salad. The lettuce is startlingly crisp and it is dressed perfectly (and I am really not a salad person). Pasta was made in-house and had fresh and delicious lump crab generously incorporated. I wouldn’t hesitate to go back.

Second time here. Ist time restaurant week. Everything is great...except both our fish entrees ...sorry ...tasted like the fish was previously frozen! I love the place but the fish should be top notch to compete in this market,

I will try them one more time to see if its just due to a recent opening

Everything was phenomenal, especially the duck and the rabbit. Great wine selection and staff.

My husband and I stumbled upon this restaurant on our most recent trip to Charleston, and what a happy accident it was! The food was outstanding and our waiter, Chad, was fantastic and very knowledgeable about the wine and the dishes being served. We will be back!

We almost didn’t go because the menu seemed funky and snooty. But the food was really good. We were pleasantly surprised and will definitely go back.

Great venue and wonderful menu. We enjoyed the evening.

Solid food but a bit pricey. Piano player was terrific and ambience is great.

Excellent food
Soft live piano playing
Absolutely enjoyed by all