Lenoir — Restaurant in Charleston

Simply delightful dinner at Lenoir. We drove into town from James Island and found street parking, which was thankfully free after 6pm. We didn't explore the parking enough, as Wentworth is one way, but there is a parking garage across the street from the restaurant. We arrived 5 minutes prior to our reservation and were immediately seated. The dining room was beautifully decorated in a retro flair that was very comforting - beautiful wall decor; vintage tile floors, Vivian's family photos. Little flourishes abound, like the water carafes at each table and the beautiful appetizer plates. The menu is short but delicious and loaded with local ingredients. We didn't try the cocktails, but the wine menu has a good selection of west coast wines, and there are several very tasty local beers.

We started with the most amazing dish, that I recommend to everyone! Strawberries and Stratiatella. This is an amazing salad of berries (so fresh, sweet and delicious!), radishes, swiss chard, pecans and the most amazing soft Italian cheese! Stratiatella is like a soft, creamy ricotta that pairs so well in this dish. This salad is a perfect beginning to the meal as it is tasty and light, and fully whets your appetite.

From there we both picked the NY Strip steak, and 3 sides - buttermilk biscuits (these should be mandatory), the French fries, and grits with ramps and pickled ramp relish. The steak was simply delish - well prepared, fine beef, served rare. So good, with an herb butter and tiny onion rings in top. The little sweet cippolina onion rings were so good, they should be a side unto themselves. The rolls were perfect with this - you must order the rolls!

The French fries were also amazing - a thick cut russet strip, deep fried until browned, with salt and a little something more I couldn't place. So freaking good; this is a bowl big enough to share, and you should. It comes with the "kitchen sink mayo" which is fresh and tangy. The grits were the only disappointment - they were good, but not great. The ramps were a fantastic addition, and not local to SC, but the texture of the grits were a bit - well, gritty, as opposed to the creamy grits that I am accustomed to. This is purely a personal preference thing.

For dessert, we shared a buttermilk sorbet, with fresh strawberries. The sorbet was light and sweet with a distinctive tang that paired so well with the berries. Better yet, as it warmed slightly, it began to melt, which made the texture with the berries just perfect.

Of course, the star of the meal was Ms. Vivian herself, who was delivering food throughout the evening, and chatting with her guests. I can't recommend Lenoir enough - a wonderful addition to the Charleston...

Very excited to eat at Lenoir which is owned/operated by chef Vivian Howard. We made reservations to ensure we would get in.

Upon entering, we were warmly welcomed and seated promptly. The atmosphere is very Charleston/modern with a nod to a jazzy New Orleans feel to it right in the historic area.

Drink wise, my hubby stuck with sweet tea and while I had sweet tea as well, I tried first a signature old fashion and then a dirty Martini. Both were equally enjoyable and my complements to the bartender!

The menu is small but extremy varied. We started with sharing the ham wrapped peaches and tomato pie. I think my favorite bite all night was the peaches! The peach balances out the salty ham, and the spicy pecans are a perfect touch. I'd happily eat a plate of them! The tomato pie was delicious and nicely presented in the cast iron pan. The crust was hard to get through with the knife so I might suggest either including a serrated knife to cut&serve or a slightly thinner crust. Taste was amazing though!

For our main course, I ordered the shrimp & zucchini noodles and hubby had the ribeye steak. My dish was simple but taste was outstanding & layered and it developed as I worked my way through the bowl, with the fresh herbs really melding with the broth and creating almost a buttery richness with the softening zucchini ribbons. It was good til the last drop! My hubby's steak was perfectly cooked and the zesty tomato and cucumber salad/relish with it was a perfect complement and great change from the chimcurri craze of the past few years. He thought it got too herby for him by the end which was ok because I helped him with finishing it😁

We shared fried okra with ranch ice cream (yes, I said ice cream!). The coating on the okra was perfect and just let me tell you that ranch as an ice cream which essentially provided a TASTY cooling point to the hot okra was something everyone who loves ranch needs! Not as pleasing was the okra which was way undercooked and seemed like too mature of an okra to use for what would be a very quick fry. I would recommend a younger, thinner okra pod for this that isn't woody or par-cook large okra pod. I love love love okra but this missed it a bit for myself & my hubby.

For dessert, we each had a LARGE slice of tres leche cake which was phenomenal with its peaches & carmel. We would have liked to have found it more moist like traditional tres leche cake but enjoyed the modern, southern nersion of the dessert.

Thank you to all Lenoir staff on Wednesday whom were so welcoming and did such a great job even as we had...

Vivian and her crew did not disappoint.

We are North Carolinians who have grown to love The Chef and The Farmer. We were excited to hear that she had opened a place in Charleston.

Lenoir is the county she was born in and such an appropriate name.

Because we have enjoyed Charleston’s food scene for five days, we decided to go “tapas” style and skipped the entre in favor of starters, sides, and desserts.

The starters - Fried Collards (please try these - you’ll thank me for it - doesn’t matter if you don’t like greens or fried foods - these things are the perfect blend of crispy, salty, and slightly healthy (they are greens after all) Butterbean Agnolotti - butterbean ravioli, we took a chance and were rewarded! Yum! Veggies of the Moment - in season veggies that were very good. Fresh and tasty.

The sides - Buttermilk Rolls - as good as you would expect rolls to be when served in a cast iron skillet - 😃 Mess of Greens - they warned us they would be bitter, and they were, but the rice and drippings made it worth it, especially when “sopped up” with the aforementioned rolls - #protip Fancy Mash - the best mash potatoes you’ll ever eat - Grandma has nothing on Lenoir - trust me here (please don’t tell my mama I said this)

The desserts - Buttermilk Sorbet - ice cream for southern boys like me - with a touch of lemon and fresh peaches - probably my favorite thing (next to the fried collards - yes! they are that good) Carrot Cake - very good as well.

All the presentation was perfect, the drinks were good, the staff was excellent, the ambiance was good.

Definitely highly recommend a trip to Lenoir. It may be new, but the team is experienced, and I think it’ll be the best restaurant in Charleston once word is out.

It’s the best food we’ve had this week - and I don’t say that lightly - Charleston’s food scene did not disappoint!

What a great way to end our stay in this...