Events at 495 + Satellite Rooftop Bar — Restaurant in Charleston

06/19/2025 - Stars Grill Room - on King Street.

This is very close to The Select where we dined 2 weeks ago. This restaurant is located in an "off beat" area of downtown Charleston.

Our server was Raymond. He told us he was also the Pastry Chef from the restaurant. He was a very funny and friendly server. He spent much time with us finding about our likes and dislikes so he could better advise us on food choices and wine selections. Ron was not sure what wine to order. Raymond brought him some tastings. When Ron decided on the one he wanted, it was a very generous pour.

Ron and I decided to share a starter of hush puppies and we were very glad we did. They were some of the best hush puppies we had ever tasted. There were 5 of them and they were crispy and crunchy on the outside and yet soft and tasty in the middle. They were light and not greasy at all. They were served with a sweet sauce that complemented them perfectly. We could have made a meal of just eating the hush puppies!!

I had the Escargot. It had bread for dipping in the garlic butter. The snails came in the shells. They were not very meaty and they were had to get out of the shells. Several of them ended up being pushed too far in the shell so I could not retrieve them. But they served over 15 of these so not getting to eat each one was not a real loss.

Ron ordered the Roasted Half of a Duck with sweet potato fries. He said he enjoyed his meal.

I ordered the Lobster Frites - fresh lobster served on the shell, creole butter, house fries, garlic aioli. It was fine but not very meaty. The fries were fine. Nothing exciting.

We didn't really want any dessert, but Raymond, being the Pastry Chef, insisted. He brought us a blueberry cheesecake and Panna Cotta. Ron ate the Panna Cotta and said it was very good. I ate the cheesecake and it was good too.

Though the food was good and the service was excellent, the room itself was not very imaginative. It was all paneled wood walls and black leather booths. And at our table we had a bed issue with flies and small gnats. We got a free drink when one of them took a little swim in the my Side Car. The other tables seemed to be having the same issues since we could see them covering their drinks with their napkins. It is a shame as this really didn't make a good impression or for a fun evening.

So would we go back? No. I would go in for a drink and have some more hush puppies. But I would not plan...

Food terrible, service below average but the atmosphere inside and at the roof top bar were nice. The good: the interior of the restaurant was well done, the layout was nice, the seating very comfortable and overall decor nice. The roof top bar was a cool feature though the pricey but average drinks and smoking kind of took away the allure of the rooftop bar scenery. The bad: The menu selections were pretty nice and seemed creative but the execution was not good at all. Our party of six ordered multiple appetizers, entrees and deserts and only a couple of us were just "satisfied" while the rest of us were outright disappointed. The shrimp and grits entree was poorly executed and the lamb chops came out barely cooked and incredibly salty. The service was almost nonexistent so I never had an opportunity to tell them the meat was grossly under-cooked. I usually order medium rare and sometimes do not even mind rare meats but the chops were barely seared only on one side so the meat was not cooked. There was no follow up after the food hit the table until the server came to clear our table because we were finished. At that time she noticed how under-cooked the lamb chops were. The manager came out and offered to cook me a brand new meal. A little late of an offer considering the entire party was finished with dinner and all the plates were gone. The food was not good enough to wait another 15 minutes so i could eat by myself as the rest of my party watched and waited. The appropriate thing would have been to comp the entree at that point but since it was a birthday party, we were offered a $10 desert for free instead. However we all thought it was a pathetic offer that gave the appearance they were sweeping the problem under the rug. Having worked many years in the restaurant industry I generally extend a lot of patience and understanding to the staff but given the absent service, the poor flavors and execution and shortsighted management, our entire party left highly disappointed vowing never to return. In a city full of countless incredible restaurants, it surprises me Stars can stay in the mix but I guess they have a roof top bar as their saving grace. You generally cannot go wrong in choosing a restaurant in Charleston but we did this night and will not make the...

The food was great. The young lady at the rooftop bar was really friendly as well. My issue came with the service we received from our waiter Rob. We sat down and received our water and menus then placed an order for our drinks. Well thankfully we did that because we sat there for about 20 minutes before we were asked if we were ready to order. Im from Charleston and eat out at minimum once a week downtown for dinner/brunch so I know a busy restaurant when I see one and in that case would be more understanding 110%. Once our waiter finally came to take our food order that was it. We were never asked if we needed anything. Never asked if we would like even something as simple as a mimosa since this was brunch. At this point my boyfriend becomes a little annoyed because after we ordered our food we counted maybe 5/6 times our waiter walked by us, made eye contact with my boyfeiend and quickly looked away (i mean he could not even signal for him to stop by our table...thats how fast the lookaway was once eye contact was made). We eventually got tired of waiting so my boyfriend goes to the bar and gets us a mimosa...even the bartender was in awe that we came up being that we were seated guests. Our waiter finally comes back with our food..we enjoy (coodles to the chef)...my boyfriend pushes his plate to the side..to take a breather...waiter comes no questions asked and takes his plate (luckily he was full and was okay with this even though he was shocked). I finish he takes my plate (i placed my plate at the front of the table so im obviously done). Waiter brings the check. Never asks if we were done needed anything wanted anything NOTHING...never even asked if we needed a refill of water smh. My boyfriend at this point obviously fed up asks "how can you bring the check when you never asked if we were done"...all in all food AMAZING (not my first time there bt it was for my boyfriend) but we wont ever come back. With both of us being business owners and having to deal with customers/clients we know the power behind great service from start to finish...this was not that experience. Disappointed to...