Legami — Restaurant in Charleston

Let me preface this by saying, I absolutely love dining out with my dog. But if you're planning to bring your pup to Legami during a heat advisory, you might want to think twice—or at least be ready for some "interesting" adventures in outdoor dining. When we arrived, naturally, we were seated outside, as we hadn't made any special arrangements (rookie mistake). Thankfully, there were fans to combat the Southern heat, but those fans also served as a perfect vehicle for the soft-spoken waiter, whose attempts to explain specials or take our order were completely drowned out by the whirring of the blades. Every time he spoke, we found ourselves squinting and leaning in like we were trying to hear a secret code.

By the end of it, I felt like a broken record, asking him to repeat himself. I'm sure I wasn't the only one—our neighbors at the next table had the same issue and creatively concocted a story about being deaf in one ear to avoid the awkwardness. We would have been amused if we weren't already in the middle of a struggle ourselves.

Then there was the water situation. After ordering sparkling water to stave off the heat, our server brought over a glass that had fingerprints on it, as if it had been polished by a toddler with greasy fingers. While we saw him later perfecting his glass-polishing skills at another table, it was a little late for first impressions.

And, if you’re someone who appreciates water refills and attentive service, you might feel neglected here. We had to ask another waiter for a simple glass of tap water after being left high and dry. The same went for the dog—a water bowl, which I honestly thought would be a given, had to be requested, and even then, it was like we were asking for a golden chalice of water. Oh, and don’t even get me started on the wine chiller. We were treated like inconveniences, not guests.

On the plus side, the food was decent—my lobster risotto was flavorful, and my husband’s ragu, which turned out to be oxtail, was a solid choice (though a bit too gelatinous for his liking). But, considering the premium price, I’d hoped for more than just the basic offering. The cherry on top? The manager seemed unfazed by our feedback, and our waiter, perhaps in a small act of passive resistance, took his sweet time bringing us the check. We left the place feeling like we’d just survived a slightly uncomfortable date, only to realize it was unlikely there would be a second one.

Would we try Legami again? Maybe—sans dog and only if we’re prepared to endure...

Last night, we had a reservation for 7:30pm party of four, arrived at 7:38pm (called ahead to let them know we were running a few minutes behind). Hostess greeted us and let us know we will have to wait 10-15 minutes for a table to open up, so we stepped to the bar and got some drinks while we waited. At 8pm, the hostess comes back and apologizes to let us know it would be another 5-10 minutes until we could be seated. At 8:10pm, a manager (assuming) comes by to give our party each a glass of prosecco. We don’t hear back and are not seated until 8:35pm, which put us standing by the bar for one hour after our arrival time. The hostess seats us and just apologizes to tell us it was unbelievable for them to take that long. We were all very hungry.

We ordered two appetizers to start. One does not show up. We asked the waitress if the burrata would be coming - she immediately opens her pad to check if we had in fact ordered it (which we interpreted as kind of a rude gesture…) and after verifying, says it was her fault and she would put it in. It eventually came to the table after the entrees. She did comp the burrata for that reason.

They were also out of lobster by the time we sat down, which was one of the main reasons we were excited to try Legami. I couldn’t help but negatively assume that we may have had it had we been sat at our reservation time, but that’s my own speculation and can’t verify that…

One of our party members ordered a shot of espresso which just tasted like folgers black coffee.

As we were there to celebrate a birthday, our server let the birthday girl pick a dessert on the house.

The meal I chose was cooked well and was tasty, but I did not enjoy it as much since my mind had been set on the lobster, which you could argue is a “me” problem. Entrees came out within a reasonable time frame, but we were not eating until after 9pm.

The poor service and hour wait to be seated after the reservation time was not addressed by the staff. We did not make a stink about it because we are not the type of people to make a scene in the restaurant. For the price and for what the restaurant ambiance seems to aim for, we sort of expected the staff to be aware and take ownership of their mistakes, which I will say they only did for the missing / late appetizer, but not for our time spent waiting in hunger.

I understand restaurants can have bad nights, but given the amount of issues in sequence, we agreed that we would not return to Legami or recommend this restaurant to our...

Ok WOW. The food was good. The ambience was good. The service was UNBELIEVABLE. I'd come back for the service alone. I want to be friends with all the staff. I showed up with a reservation but wanted to know if we could up our count from 2 to 3. Not ideal, but I thought I'd ask. They said we could sit at the bar, which we were very happy to do. Very kind of them to accommodate. The rest of my party arrived late but I sat quietly at the bar and waited for them. Not very kind of us, truthfully. Finally, everyone arrived. We all started off with cocktails. I was pleasantly surprised by the mocktail options and was greeted with a smile when I ordered one. Y'all know I'm picky when it comes to reception of bartenders to NA drinks but they scored A+. My friends and I were super chatty and it took us forever to start ordering. The staff was patient and never rushed us. My friend announced her engagement to us and the bartender brought us over some wine, on the house, to celebrate. So kind!! I toasted then gave my drink to a friend. She immediately asked the bartender if there was a NA version I could have, and the bartender apologized and then immediately got me a NA drink instead. Ok WOW.

Apps - braised Octopus, scallops, and burrata. Braised Octopus was my favorite, so yummy and now chewy at all! Scallops were delicious, just slightly over salted. Burrata flavor mixture didn't quite hit the spot for me, but I will never say no to a zucchini, bread, cheese combo.

Mains - Bottoni, Chicken Cacciatora, and Grouper. Didn't love the Bottoni - the pasta was too cheesy for me and I was expecting a buttery sauce. Grouper was delicious and I LOVED the asparagus in it. Sauce was amazing and the grapes really complemented the whole. Chicken was delicious as well. Very well cooked, good flavor. Grouper was my favorite.

Dessert, my friends had raspberry tiramisu and loved it.

Then, at the end, the bartender came up with a card for my newly engaged friend. A congrats card that the entire staff had signed!!!! She was so shocked!!! It was incredibly kind and thoughtful.

We ended up sitting at the bar, chatting and eating, for four hours. The whole place had us mesmerized. While this may not have been the best food I've had in Charleston, I will come back any day of the week just to be in that fun space again. Would...