Celeste Coastal Cuisine — Restaurant in Hilton Head Island

Go here! We wanted to treat my parents, who live on the island, to a nice dinner while we were staying with them. This would be a perfect spot for a fancy date or an anniversary dinner or other special event.

Tash, our server, was fantastic! You could really tell she understood the menu, including the specials, and we ended up ordering not only the special cocktail, but entree as well. We never waited for anything, and she managed that perfect balance of unobtrusive, while also showing up exactly when we needed something. She did not steer us wrong, up to and including the bread pudding we ordered for desert. (We almost never order desert!)

Celeste has a clearly New Orleans-inspired menu, and while food snobs (an epithet some might aim at me) love to hate on restaurants that try to replicate the classics outside of the Big Easy, (the same way people say you can't get a good bagel outside of NYC), if you teleported this place into the heart of the French Quarter, I think they'd get rave reviews. I was instantly homesick for NOLA, and not at all disappointed by our meal.

The char-grilled oysters, the gumbo, the jambalaya, and the étouffée were all wonderful. The sides and accompanying dishes were every bit as good as the main dish. I particularly like the deep fried polenta that had a wonderful crispy shell while being soft as butter inside. Likewise the gouda grits were a perfect match for the blackened grouper. I got the porchetta, the special that day. Even though this is an Italian dish, it had a Cajun spin on it that was amazing. Even though the portions were generous we ended up needing only a very small box for our leftovers. Oh, and I can't leave out that the bread was excellent.

If I had to offer any constructive criticism at all, it would have to be on the cocktails. The pear martini, that day's special, was perfect. However, the Cajun Sour (a riff on a New York sour), and the milk punch (cousin to a coquito or maybe a white Russian) were both served over crushed ice. They were balanced, mixed well and beautifully presented, but, and this may just be my own personal preference, I'm not a huge fan of crushed ice in my cocktails because they too quickly get watered down. This might have been more appropriate for the punch (although I'm not a fan of watery milk), but I prefer my sours to be served up, particularly when there's a red wine float that makes for such a striking appearance. To be clear, though, I enjoyed them and this didn't detract at all from the overall experience.

In summary, absolutely go here. Restaurants that really, really care about their food need our love, now more than ever, and I want to see this gem survive for many more visits...

Thanksgiving dinner was a reservation for 2023. However, three days before Thanksgiving, Celeste called saynig the dinner was cancelled. We have dined often at Celeste. The first greeter at the door was welcoming, and distinctive, with a different, large, funky colorful bow tie. The current guy needs a guest relations course.OK. Thanksgiving 2024. Reservation at 6:30PM. Arrive on time. We were seated without any of the usual niceities. Ordered wine. Waiter acknowledged my wife's request for dark meat, also known as the thigh portion. He said not sure they had had dark meat left but he' d do his best. Bread plates on table. Asked for bread. No bread. Ovens neded to cook turkeys. Alarm. Shared Caesar salad- good. Now imagine a large plate over stuffed with turkey and side dishes. Sorry, your imagination is too good. First, the portions were small. The four slices of white turkey meat were identical. They over lapped on the plate and were equally thick and identically sized. Not from a carved turkey but a butcher case at Publix. The dark meat was a thigh that was impossible to cut with a steak knife. We pointed out these "small" descripencies to the waiter. He said he'd tell the kitchen. Then there was the graham cracker crust pumpkin pie. The crust, like the pumpkin part, was out of a box. No graham cracker crumbs were found. Disappointed? Yes! But then the "seater" tolds us we always complaining and our complaints were not reasonable then citing the numbers of covers Celeste had for the day. Well one of my faults is I don't know how to argue tactfully.The "seater" got hot and ended by telling us never to come back. That he'd put us on a list and give it to the owner. OK, I told you I was not on the debate team. So, we wasted an evening and $84 plus wine plus tip and even got ourselves bannned from Celeste by the seater. I keep referring to him as the "seater" because I believe his talent is seating guests...no more! From the dinners reviews I've read it was not a smooth evening...

I don't believe this restaurant is living up to the standards of the others under its ownership. For example Ella's in Shelter Cove is "head and heels" better in every way. I believe too much emphasis is placed on adding "heat and spicey" sauces to the majority of it's offerings. However a friend ordered the mussel appetizer and it looked great (on the plus side). It had more fresh and open mussels I ever saw in an appetizer. My friend had it as her meal with some good wine. The mussels were not spicey, resisting the addition of red chili flakes as many restaurants do add today. They also came in a great wine sauce. I had a beef Carpaccio appetizer topped with wonderful bits of cheese, also fresh, which was very good. It was 3 of the 4 entrees causing me to rate Celeste at 3 instead of 4 stars. One entre was a well cooked portion of prime rib, but much too fatty. I realize prime rib is not a "lean" cut of beef, but the presentation of this prime rib, edged entirely in fat and containing much too much fat within, was not pleasant visually, or to eat. 2 of us ordered grouper, choosing to have it pan sauted rather than per the menu which came with a sauce we did not care to have. The grouper looked when served like a rather well done baked potato, and was basically in the same shape. It was not moist, had no taste, and certainly was not what we hoped for. I actually ordered a plain baked potato and - incredibly, it was great. A person doesn't typically think of a baked potato seved plain with nothing added for taste as being good, but it was. Our server was very nice and always available or checking to see all was OK, but we did not go into any detail with her. That's on us. We just didn't have time to wait for "changes" needed. I am sure they would have helped as we would...