C&S Seafood and Oyster Bar, Brookhaven — Restaurant in Brookhaven

In honor of my little sister's birthday, my brother decided to have her dinner at C&S. I was super excited as I have heard nothing but great things about their food.

Upon walking in, the hostess desk is directly in front of the door. The bar is to your right and everything else is table space. The floor plan itself is open, with the open face kitchen in the back right corner. There is a patio out back with outdoor seating as well. The lighting is dim which automatically puts you in a space of calm. As the elegance of the restaurant is subtle yet eye-catching, you naturally get into an intimate mindset which is amazing when you are with people you love.

Upon checking in, the hostess was very nice. She checked us in without issue and advised that our table would be ready soon. We arrived at 8:30 for our 8:45 reservation. As we were early, we hung around the bar to pass the time. As time went on and our hunger grew, our table was finally ready at 9:20. Though this wasn’t the best representation of a service deliverable, it didn’t change the mood of our celebratory posture.

Once seated, we were greeted by Davion who was all smiles and full of warm welcome. As it was the first time for a few of us, he educated us on the history of the restaurant and went over the menu selection with us. From there he obtained our drink order and gave us some time to see what we wanted.

While looking at the menu, bread was delivered to our table. The bread plate offered a regular white almond with some sort of cinnamon nut bread. I couldn’t choose so I had both. LoL! Both were really good and the warm whipped butter elevates the entire bread chewing experience. Ha!

When Davion arrived back to check on us (in a very timely manner) we were ready to place our order. I decided on the 8oz Filet Mignon with a side of Crispy Brussel Sprouts. Oh yes! I was ready to eat.

When the food arrived, the plating automatically caught my eye. The 8oz was perfectly placed in the middle of the plate with the juices lightly flowing around it. The Brussels were PERFECTLY Charred and added a beautiful color enhancement to my order.

The Steak: Babeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! Hear me when I say WOW!!!!! The filet was well rested and at the perfect temperature. The meat was juicy, flavorful, and butter soft. It cut with little effort and provided a robust flavor profile and seemed to just melt in my mouth. This is an absolute must try if you’re in the mood for a great cut of meat.

The Brussels: I have never, in all my years, had a Brussel Sprout this good. LoL! Perfectly seasoned. Perfectly cut. Tender in the center and crispy on the outside. Also, there were some added leaves in the bowl that had extra char on them which added a layer of texture similar to a ‘chip.’ Wow! This bowl, though just a side, has the potential to capture your attention and hold your taste buds as though it was a main course.

Now… Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better… I got the Peach Cobbler Cheesecake! Oh. My. Goshhhhhhhh!!! All I can say is immaculate. The cobbler is perfectly sweetened. The cheesecake is creamy and thick, yet not too thick. The whipped cream pairs well with both layers, and the crust is out of this world flaky, buttery, and AMAZING!!!!

Overall, the food experience was exceptional. The service provided by Davion was impeccable and the atmosphere was beautiful and inviting. The area of opportunity would be the ‘wait time’ that was experienced. Though there was a reservation in place, there was still a 35 minute wait. Furthermore, the communication of wait expectations was poorly executed as we were continuously told “the table is almost ready.” After the 9th ‘almost ready,’ all hope was gone. Nonetheless, the wait experience won’t keep me from going back to get my Filet, Brussels,...

We went in early for Happy Hour oysters to be followed by an entree. We were seated immediately without a reservation, which we had gambled on since it was a Tuesday. Once we sat down, we sat and waited and waited… until a busman finally asked if our waiter had been by. We eventually were given water and bread service- by the same busman. By the way, a note about the bread: there are slices of white sesame seed bread and oddly, thin raisin bread slices accompanied by sweetened butter. Not sure why that was chosen to accompany a seafood oriented menu. When our waiter did appear, we each ordered the Happy Hour dozen oysters, which were good, but not as crisp as cold water oysters usually are- they were from Louisiana, and had significant amounts of shell inclusions, and they had not fully been severed from their shells, which posed a bit of of a problem, as oddly, we were given small spoons instead of small forks. We’ve never encountered that before, but we perservered and enjoyed them. We followed those by sharing an order of Char-grilled oysters, which were very good, although we had to ask twice for small forks with which to actually eat them. After 18 oysters each, we were fairly surfeited, but actually had gone to C and S to order one specific entree: Swordfish au Poivre with creamed spinach, colossal onion rings, and peppercorn sauce. Our waiter and the chefs were more than gracious in letting us split an entree, and we each had a lovely portion of one of the most inventive and delicious treatments of a meaty fish we have ever eaten. We highly recommend this entree. Had there not been so many odd lapses in attention during our meal, this review would probably have been an unequivocal 5. But we have eaten at other branches of this local seafood stalwart with impeccable service before, and never experienced these sorts of service issues. The room is beautiful, the menu is interesting, bits of service and of presentation seemed...

A friend told me about this restaurant when I asked for recommendations for good espresso martinis.

I went on a Thursday afternoon (during happy hour). As much as I wanted to love this place, I left only liking it. I decided to sit at the bar since it was just me. I ordered the chargrilled oysters and an espresso martini. Minutes after receiving my oysters I patiently waited for my drink that I had to remind the bartender about after he finished his conversation and laughs with the other bartender. He mentioned he totally forgot and compensated me for the inconvenience. That was perfect! I just knew after that mishap things would be better. In my opinion the oysters were a tad bit over seasoned for my liking but they were good. The saltine crackers they offer were stale (no biggie because I didn’t NEED them). BUT after finishing the oysters it took forever for them to remove the finished plate and it was as if I wasn’t there because after the first time of them asking if I needed something else and me telling them not at this moment, they totally forgot about me. It had to be another 25 minutes or so before I finally was able to get them from the other end of the bar that the guy came over and asked if I wanted to order anything else. I ordered the lemon drop and asked for my check.

Overall, this could have been a good experience compared to my “it was okay” experience if the bartenders were more attentive (wasn’t that many people at the bar). I would possibly return, maybe to another location and back to this location in the future, but wasn’t impressed for the hour twenty minute drive I took to get there and the little over an hour drive it took me...