Virginia's On King — Restaurant in Charleston

Having lived in Charleston for over a decade, I was excited to get back down and hit a new restaurant. Charleston has always been a culinary oasis, and because of this places really have to step up their game to compete for patron dollars. Or at least, one would think... The 4 of us were running late (coming from Columbia) so I called and Nikki took great care to make sure our table remained open. Liz took care of us once seated, but the red flags starting coming almost immediately: No Old Fashions as they were out of bitters. The only bourbon offerings were Jack (which is technically whiskey guys) and a local bourbon by Boone's. I have had Boone's quite a bit, and it is a good one if you have a $40 pallet but want something over 100 proof. Still, for a guy's night I was looking to spend a little more and would have had more than just the one. We ordered several apps, all disappointing except for the Kitchen Sink Potatoes. One of us ordered the Fish & Grits and it came as components separated on the plate, like it was deconstructed or something. Not very southern and definitely not traditional low-country. I let the other two guys talk me into getting a Ribeye. Understand that I am hard to impress when it comes to getting steak off a menu, already knowing that it will not be close to what I can do from my grill at home. They ordered medium and I ordered medium rare--err to the side of rare. The steaks were absolutely terrible. First, none were the correct temp (mine was actually the most well done out of the 3). The garlic & parm topping was heavy; it was almost all that you could taste which helped (I guess?) because the steaks had no flavor. We struggled with the steak knives that were provided because the meat was ridiculously tough. It also had that "grey", post-cooked texture of a beef cut that hits the heat while it has too much moisture on (or in) it, causing the meat to be steamed instead of browned. We couldn't tell if the steak had been grilled at all and in fact wondered if they were actually cooked the night before. None of us came relatively close to finishing our steaks--at all. I can't complain too much about the brussel sprouts being almost raw--I am only a fan if they have been somewhat broken apart and heavily charred in bacon, or balsamic, or a combination of the two. We had thrown in our towels on the steaks & sprouts when our potato sides arrived at the table. Honestly, I think we forgot that our meals were missing a side. Didn't even try them, we were pretty much over the meal and had to leave to make our show on time. We are a group that would not normally settle for sub par food like this. We were a little pressed for time and spent most of dinner hanging out and talking which helped us to ignore the quality of the meal. More importantly, the cook had three opportunities to serve at least one steak correctly and couldn't. This didn't give us much faith in sending ours back in favor of new ones. Pictured is my meal (obviously without the potato side). Sorry I didn't take a pic once I cut into it, but anyone who can cook a steak correctly should be able to look at the finished color and juices on the plate to know this one isn't med rare. The other three pics are of ribeyes that I cooked a couple of weeks ago. Notice no juices running? Yep, that's because all of the moisture remains in the meat, making it fork tender and no need to smother in toppings or seasonings. I did a Pittsburg seer (salt, pepper, a touch of garlic). Maybe that method isn't as "southern" as Virginia's is trying to be, but who's steak would you rather eat? Maybe it was a VERY off night for them? Staff was great, ambiance was charming, but you will save money and get better quality/consistent food (and drink selections) at...

02/08/24 Robert Savage's review is spot on w/ my thoughts. NO pics bc we ordered to-go. Low country/southern eating AND cooking is a lifestyle, it's a specific culture mostly meaning that U have to definitely hit on FLAVOR! give 3 ⭐ ONLY bc I would hope a dine-in experience will be better. Parking is very limited/tight. Inside is quaint although Google says 'upscale'. The hostess was nice & polite but she omitted some items. Takeout packaging is sustainable but I wonder if it would hold up to a piping hot steak. Good temp should be better (may be becuzz of plastic tray). Our order was supposed to be 8pc (not 4pc appetizer)fried rib dinner w/ cucumber salad & Mac, bbq pork (I think) sandwich w/ sweet potato chips (not crunchy/tasty), meatloaf (gravy, if that's what u call it, was water/slightly bitter/bland/had small slices or bits of onion & something u identifiable(Maybe it was Dill?) & missing mash potatoes even tho she repeated it. I guess crab cakes were in ok. I called (no one answered/left a voicemail) bc I thought about turning around (on raggedy streets/following bumper to bumper traffic) but that meant another 10 m to find parking & probably 20 m for missions items (it wasn't as busy around 4-430 pm)For almost $90 we expected to get everything as requested especially since it's our 1st visit. I will edit/update this post...

We ordered the deviled eggs, fried chicken with sides of Mac and cheese and southern slaw. The corn bread that came with it was okay, I've had better. Deviled eggs was just one egg split in half and was a little above average tasting at best. The fried chicken was absolutely tasteless, bland and was wet (not greasy, wet) on the inside. Mac and cheese tasted like it had been microwaved too long and was also extremely wet on the inside like the cheese separated. Southern slaw was dry and tasted like it had only been seasoned with pepper.

The waitress was very pleasant about the whole thing, apologized and offered to have the cook make something else for us. The manager who was there came up and was very stern to me which was a little off putting.

I did my best to be nice about the whole thing, I absolutely hate sending food back and I felt bad about the whole thing. However we drove 11 hours from NJ, this was our first stop for food in Charleston and our expectations were pretty high.

The manager took care of the entire order so we didn't have to pay which was very much appreciated.

Overall I'm not sure if I would give this place another chance but if I do I will update...