Poogan's Porch — Restaurant in Charleston

Overall great experience! We had just arrived in Charleston after a long flight and we were glad to be able to walk in to this restaurant and have a good dinner. It seems to be a historical home renovated into a restaurant. It has a cute little story about a neighborhood dog named Poogan who oversaw the renovation of the restaurant and became the resident dog.

We were taken upstairs to dine. Roscoe was a fantastic server. He had a system and it worked well - the system is to enjoy all segments of the meal and not feel rushed. He would cover a section of the menu, offer his opinions and advice on the items and leave us to contemplate. We loved that he was all too happy to offer suggestions. When in a new city and a new restaurant, it's refreshing when someone can walk you through a few items. He got really excited about the Blue Crab Dip so we thought we would give it a shot. We loved it! It was creamy and seasoned well with toast. We ordered a couple of cocktails as well. I had Captain's Sash (a very typical fruity drink selection for me) and my husband ordered the Pecan Old Fashioned. Before it was over and done, I was sipping on the old fashioned and he graciously took my beach drink. That old fashioned was absolutely amazing! It was very sweet (good to share, I don't know if I would have wanted to drink the whole thing) and actually had pecans inside the drink. It was a really unique old fashioned. The Captain's Sash was very basic and I would try something else next time. After our appetizer, Roscoe said he had biscuits in the oven for us - uh, what? We didn't expect biscuits! What a treat!! They were perfectly cooked, literally just like my Momma makes them. Flaky crust with a tender middle and the honey butter was a perfectly light touch of sweetness. When our entrees arrived, we were excited to dig in - everything had been perfect so far. My husband ordered the BBQ Mahi Mahi which came on a bit of pork belly atop a perfectly crispy grit cake. It was delicious and the fish was perfectly cooked. I ordered the Sweet Tea Salmon, which fell a bit short. The flavor was really nice but my salmon was overcooked. It came with a field pea, corn and butter bean succotash which was delightful while the sauce and seasonings made the overcooked fish palatable. Roscoe agreed that it was overcooked and after a few moments offered us a dessert on the house. That was such a great gesture and an opportunity to really end the meal on a high note. We struggled between the banana pudding and the Hummingbird Pecan Pie. We saw the banana pudding come out for another table and it looked wonderfully creamy and was served in a large mason jar. We decided to go for the pecan pie which was served with a caramel sauce and wonderful vanilla ice cream. We were not disappointed with this choice - it was delicious! I think I picked up a touch of cinnamon flavor somewhere in there. Once we started on dessert, Roscoe surprised us with a couple of flutes of champagne. Now THAT was the surprise that took this experience over the top. We left feeling very satisfied and...

They deserve the 5 stars, but I do have a few reservations regarding this establishment. Though very minor, I need to say the service, though very good, could've simply been better. The gentleman at the front was a bit dry but he was busy so he gets a pass. Bartender was good and attentive as we ordered cocktails while we waited to be seated. Our server was very kind with a great personality but she rarely came to the table and never refilled our waters. We were drinking cocktails so I can understand her lack of concern, but having some water to cleanse the pallet in between tastings is a must and a simple refill is necessary when eating a variety of flavors.

Now for the reason this place gets a pass and 5 stars... The food was very good. We started with fried green tomatoes and the macaroni and cheese. Both were phenomenal. They better be as they're staples in Southern cooking. The fried chicken my wife ordered was one of, if not the best she's had (we live in the south so this is a huge plus). My shrimp and grits were excellent. The biscuits with honey butter were also a nice treat as they tasted like they were made in house. The fried green tomatoes with goat cheese, peaches and walnuts were a very nice way to serve the dish and zing the palette at the same time. It definitely told us; they're not serving simple dishes at premium prices. The Mac and cheese was excellent, not dried and definitely creamy as they should be. The hot honey they provide with the fried chicken is a nice touch as well. All in all this place is excellent and I would suggest anyone give it a try.

Edit: 7/22/2021 Perhaps covid hit this place hard. That's do be expected, but the meal we had yesterday was just awful. Out of everything we ordered only one item was new to us (braised lamb shank which was pretty good). We went back to eat the items previously mentioned in my initial review and NONE of it was the same. Fried green tomato are a new recipe and were the worst I've ever had (and I've eaten them from many places), instead of classic southern fried chicken, we received chicken tenders (I thought we were possibly getting punked, but nope it was really just tenders), mac and cheese was not done right (someone ruined the roux and no more skillet), no more hot honey with the chicken, no more goat cheese, peaches or pecans with the fried green tomatoes, had to ask for biscuits (also no honey butter and they were not the same at all). We tried the she crab soup and I store it tasted like it was out of a can. I only took 2 stars away because I'm convinced it has to be the pandemic. Prices were still high as well though, which is not a good look for...

When researching food spots for our girls' trip to Charleston, Poogan's Porch was one of the places we wanted to check out, and we were able to make a resso a few weeks beforehand for a Saturday at 11:15. Even with the resso, we still had to wait maybe about 20 minutes. But I guess that's better than the two hour wait I overheard for the walk-ins.

I started out with the Poogan's Bloody Mary, made with cucumber vodka (which I didn't even know existed). The cucumber gave it a refreshing twist since bloody marys can sometimes be quite heavy.

They then brought out some biscuits for us to start with, which were nice and warm/fluffy - a great way to start the meal. Since there were a bunch of apps/entrees we wanted to try, we just decided to order a few and share everything:

Fried green tomatoes (with bacon jam/pimento cheese) - this was my fave. It was so good. Although fried, it still somehow tasted light and the bacon jam was chef's kiss. I ended up using it for the other dishes we ordered too. The pimento cheese was good at first but it's something you can't eat too much of. You also have to eat it quick or else it cools off and the oil starts pooling

Pimento cheese fritters (with bacon jam) - this was heavy. I probably could have skipped it but at least we got more bacon jam out of it

She-crab soup - we had a bowl to share, but I don't think I could eat a cup of it, let alone a bowl by myself. It was very creamy, which can be a bit much after a while. This was my first time trying it, so I guess I didn't expect the sherry and was expecting more of a chowder

Shrimp & grits (andouilles sausage, sweet onions, bell peppers, tasso ham gravy) - I really liked this but at this point, after all the heavy apps, we were all already getting pretty full. They don't skimp on the sausage or the shrimp and the shrimp was cooked perfectly. It also didn't have that gulf taste I usually expect when dining in the south

Fried catfish sandwich - this came out last and we couldn't really eat anymore by then. It was too much bread, so we ended up just eating the pieces of catfish, which was oily and over fried in some parts. I did enjoy the 'sidewinder' fries it came with, which is basically like if a potato wedge and a curly fry had a baby

Overall, it was a very heavy meal so I would recommend under ordering and definitely share the dishes. Maybe my NYC stomach is not used to...