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The Post and Courier
"Even though it might sound fictional or futuristic to the
uninitiated, a gastropub is a real eatery. The gastropub concept originated across the pond in merry old England. Now, it's
spreading around the States.
The concept fortunately arrived in Charleston when the Red Drum Gastropub opened in the spring.
Essentially, a gastropub is a place where you can drink and also get really good food that's a few grades better than typical pub grub.
Red Drum absolutely meets the definition when it comes to true gastropub fare, and it offers much more. At last, Charleston has a veritable American Southwest restaurant that goes well beyond typical burritos and quesadillas. Plus, Red Drum's winning formula delivers yet another truly cool place to hang out, whether it's just
for a drink and an appetizer or for a full-on meal.
Service is solid here from a well-informed, professional staff,
and the restaurant is gorgeous. It features a series of
antique-looking, ambling rooms with round-edged, stucco walls
and dark wood floors.
One of the building's investors is a British Charleston-based developer who, along with the chef's wife, contributed to designing the restaurant. They created an Old World pub feel. Still, the tall chairs, iron detailing and arches definitely feel Southwestern. There is a spacious patio with a real, wood-burning fireplace that will be delightful for outside dining in cooler weather.
The restaurant is operated by husband-and-wife team Marianna and Ben Berryhill. Chef/owner Ben has previous culinary experience at a successful restaurant in Houston.
The combination at the Red Drum Gastropub is so successful that I felt like I was in Taos, N.M., instead of Mount Pleasant. That's not easy to do without leaving a wake of contrivance, yet the Berryhills and their staff nailed it.
Free parking from smiling valets left a great first impression upon our arrival. The hostess gave us the option of sitting in any of the four principal dining areas, which range from casual at the bar to a little more fancy in the main dining area. We opted for the latter and were seated at a comfortable corner booth overlooking the bustling room. High ceilings make the generously spaced area feel even bigger, and the view of the patio opens up the room further.
Acoustics were a little bit of an issue. The evening's volume level swelled as the crowd thickened to the point where we had difficulty hearing each other speak. That should improve in the near future, however. Chef Berryhill told me in a post-review interview that he has consulted with sound consultants and purchased sound panels for installation in the bar area and dining room.
Black-and-white printed menus arrived on neat-looking clipboards. Our server recommended what proved to be an excellent pinot noir (Cusumano, $24), as well as several dishes. He was a professional and devoted server. He even ran back to the kitchen to inquire about the butter, which one guest insisted had a mystery ingredient she couldn't determine. He returned with an answer. The dense, creamy butter tasted special and went nicely on the golden-hued, thick slices of bread. The server's only fault was that he was late to open the wine, which sat, uncorked, on our table throughout the appetizer course.
The black bean soup ($6) was served in a large, broad-lipped shallow bowl and drizzled with cream and cilantro. The soup was delicious and lovely to look at. The beans were firm, yet yielding and lightly pureed into a chunky froth of beans and vegetables. A fried, thick triangular tortilla was propped at an angle into the soup. While it lasted, it made a perfect, edible spoon.
The tortillas showed up again in the tortilla chips and salsa appetizer ($6), which resonated with Southwest heat. A red and green salsa shared two different halves of a rectangular serving bowl. Both were fabulous, and the chips were fresh from the fryer, which made repeat dipping impossible to resist.
The red salsa was particularly delicious, with a deep-red hue and the rich flavor of what tasted like roasted tomatoes and roasted peppers blended with cilantro, lime and chile. The Romaine
lettuce salad ($6) could use a little flavor pick-me-up.
The avocado dressing was too mild to enhance the
mild greens and classic croutons.
The chicken enchiladas ($15), heartily recommended by our
server, were excellent and, again, beautifully plated. The little fried tortilla rounds were stuffed with roasted chicken and topped with lime-green chunks of fresh avocado. The refried beans were smooth-flavored and satisfying. Unfortunately, the mole, which is prepared here with red chile, had a mildly scorched flavor that was distracting. I think it was the chocolate in the sauce that sent out the scorched flavor. The rib-eye ($29) at Red Drum is wood-grilled. It had a smoky flavor that was enhanced by a deep green, herb-rich chimichurri spread over the beef. The normally well-marbled cut was light on fat, but was still agreeable. The fluffy, buttery mashed potatoes were as good as they get.
Red Drum's pork chop ($20) offers a playful combination of ingredients that are common in both Lowcountry and Southwest cuisines: sweet potatoes, peaches and pecans. The fat chop was slathered with a warm peach and pecan salsa and served with brilliant green haricot verts and a soft, baked sweet potato. This earthy dish was most satisfying.
Hats off to pastry chef/executive sous chef Lauren Mitterer. In her first professional pastry kitchen stint, the Culinary Institute of America pastry program grad shows star-in-the-making promise.
Her hazelnut flan ($8) had pure silk consistency that was decadent when contrasted with a layer of toasted, chunky hazelnuts
on the bottom. A delicious raspberry coulis made just the right flavor contrast statement. All desserts I saw around the
room looked stunning.
Red Drum Gastropub offers Charleston lots of new restaurant-meets-pub concepts. For a young restaurant, it does so very well.
I expect that Red Drum, already off to a fresh and tasty start, will, like a fine wine, get even better with time."
-Holly Herrick, The Post and Courier
