Hank's Low Country Seafood & Raw Bar — Restaurant in Columbus

Bottom line up front: Excellent food, delicious drinks, below average service from host and server, slightly deceptive fees. I was leaning towards three stars because of the service, but the food and drinks were good enough for four stars.

Greeting: I went to Hanks for the first time on Saturday, July 19. We arrived 10 minutes early for our reservation and had to wait 15 minutes past our reservation time like they weren’t expecting us and weren’t prepared. The host put it on us to follow up with her instead of taking the initiative to follow up with us at the bar area which wasn’t that big.

Beverages: We ordered the Low Country Julep, Sunset Ridge, and Three Eight Charlie. Three Eight Charlie was our favorite because the strength of the bourbon was perfectly balanced with the sweetness of the rhubarb. The drinks were delicious and you could actually taste the alcohol so I was very happy with what we received.

Food: For dinner we started with the She Crab Soup which had an excellent, rich flavor. The sherry really added something to it. For entrées, we got the Seafood A La Wando and the Rare Seared Blackened Tuna. The menu description said the SALW came with sauce, but this was more of a stew. It was delicious, but I would not recommend getting both the She Crab Soup and the SALW as the base was very similar, if not exactly the same. I really wish the server would have said something so we could adjust our order. That’s an overwhelming amount of cream base for one meal. The Tuna was perfectly prepared, came with regular grits and chow chow. For dessert, we took home key lime pie which was the perfect texture.

Service: The service was not what I expected for what I assumed was fine-dining. Our server was rough around the edges. The soup was served in a chipped bowl. I had to ask the server to clear old dishes off of the table when it was very obvious we were done using them. He forgot that I wanted dessert and went straight to the bill. I didn’t want to take any longer so I didn’t bother to try the carrot cake I decided to order. It sounded good, but maybe next time. The manager never visited our table, we were back in a small room and I’m not sure if we were really on anyone’s radar.

Bill transaction: I am sure opinions differ on this, but I consider it a little rude when I pay in cash and I am asked if I want my change. A better approach, in my opinion, is to say something like “I’ll be right back with your change.” If I don’t need change, I’ll tell you.

Credit Card fee: Hank’s disclosed the 1.8% credit card fee in a very small, difficult-to-read font on the menu, but it’s technically there. I found it inappropriate that the bill only had one total including the credit card fee; there should have been a cash/debit card total and a credit card total. Our transaction took an excessive amount of time because they had to remove the fee, which I’m not sure if they would have done if I didn’t point it out.

I would absolutely return to Hank’s for the food and drinks. I would not return to Hank’s for a special occasion as this was, based on the service we received. This place seems a little more casual about service is more suited for a...

We came to hanks for my parent’s wedding my anniversary. Our server named Zach was phenomenal. He was very attentive and always came by when we needed extra plates, drink refills, etc… if you come here, you will be thrilled if Zach is your server!

Before I get to the food review, Hanks disappointed me in that you can spend $100 per person for dinner, and you don’t get free soda refills. It’s $5 for a glass of soda. For iced tea, it’s $6 a glass. One thing to keep in mind is that the iced tea has a tropical flavor. My sister did not like it and returned it. My dad could not taste the flavor.

For an appetizer, we ordered the Crispy fried calamari, Fried oysters, Tuna tartare, Baby gem and radish salad, Jumbo shrimp cocktail, and fried shrimp.

For an entree we ordered Hank’s fried, Hank’s broiled, seafood a la wand, crab cakes, and the shrimp and grits.

For desert we got the key lime pie.

The fried calamari was very well seasoned and lightly battered. We would get it again.

The fried oysters were small. We think they were over fried. Would not get this again.

Tuna tartare was good. The fish was fresh and my family would get it again.

The baby gem and radish salad was good. It was big and could easily be for 2 people. Very well dressed salad.

The jumbo shrimp cocktail was a hit at the table. My dad has high standards and this hit all the marks.

The fried shrimp was actually not on the menu but Zach was able to make it happen for us. My family thought they were well seasoned and would order this again.

Hank’s fried - this was big and perfect to share. The French fries were fried perfectly. Crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. The fish and fried tomatoes were good. The fried shrimp did not have the seasoning that our appetizer had. Note to the chef - please have your team season them!

Hank’s broiled - would skip this. The only good thing on this plate were the 2 scallops and the asparagus. The rice was under cooked, the shrimps were a tad over cooked (rubbery) and the fish was nothing special. Do not get this.

seafood a la wand - I ordered this because I felt it was not something I would cook at home. Do not get it. It felt like all the scraps of the kitchen cut up into small pieces put into a dish. Because there’s so many different types of seafood that all have different cooking times, some things were over cooked like the shrimp and fish pieces, some things were cooked decently like the scallops. My best description of this is a cluster ** in a bowl. If you wanted to try something new, I would still recommend you skip this dish. To the owner, I would highly recommend on removing this dish from the menu. Your restaurant is high end and this entree makes you feel like you are eating the scraps.

crab cakes - these were decent. You won’t be disappointed but you also won’t be impressed.

The shrimp and grits - do not get this. The grits and sauce were lacking.

For desert we got the key lime pie - it had good taste and would recommend you try this. We wished that the top would be a little...

Good food, but the service left a bad taste in my mouth. My wife and I have visited Hanks twice since it opened. I was excited to go because I was stationed in Charleston and loved to dine at its original location!

On opening weekend the wait to be seated and communication with the host was rough and service was good, but not great. That was fine. I completely understand that it was opening weekend and they would need to work out the kinks.

Then we went again last night for our anniversary dinner. When we arrived, we were informed that they had sat someone else under our reservation. We then were asked to wait for another table to open up, no big deal. Two other parties of two were seated before us. That was frustrating. Then the host walked past us, apologized for the wait to be seated to a party of four that came in after us, and told them he was checking on their table. Then he came back and told them their table was almost ready. Again, we were ignored. I had to ask about our table, and was told they were working on it. The lack of communication came off as very rude.

When we were seated, we were placed at the worst table in the house, right by the kitchen walkout. It's loud and the ambiance was terrible.

Finally, when we let the waitress know that it was our anniversary, she offered to comp our dessert and told us to choose one. We did. But it was still on our bill.

I would have addressed this with a manager, but management only seemed interested in talking to one table the entire time we were there.

We expect better service from a high-end restaurant. Any one of these things individually wouldn't have been so bad, but having them all happen in one night was unacceptable service.

After this distasteful experience we will not be returning and I will be sharing this experience with anyone that asks me about Hanks. And it is such a shame because I was really...