Red Fish Restaurant — Restaurant in Hilton Head Island

This was our first time on Hilton Head Island. We stumbled on this place while riding around and looking for a nice place to go eat. We definitely were not disappointed. It was a Sunday night, and we did not have reservations. I walked up to the Hostess and said that we had a party of 4 and asked if it was possible to get a table. The Hostess was very pleasant and stated that she would fit us in, but it would probably be a 15 to 20-minute wait. I asked if we could wait at the bar, and she politely pointed me to the area behind her workstation. We walked over to the bar and a female bartender with a nice smile took our drink order and served us very quickly. The bar area had seating for dining adjacent to it. There was also a female guitar player performing music in the area. The music was loud enough to be heard but soft enough to carry on a conversation with guests. The area also had a piano, which was not being used but is a sign that music is played in this area on a regular basis. After a brief self-guided tour of the restaurant. Red Fish is made up of several rooms, each room with its own personality. There is also an extensive outside seating area. One side has an outdoor fireplace. You will be amazed at the huge selection of wines on display. This restaurant could compete with many wine stores that I have visited. I took several pictures of the inside and outside of this restaurant. You need pictures to get the real feel of this beautiful restaurant. The Hostess came over to us within 15 minutes and guided us to a table. The table was in the bar area but as I had stated earlier the music did not deter us from carrying on conversations or enjoying our meal. Our waitress came over to our table and greeted us. She filled our water glasses and refilled our drink orders. She was very pleasant and answered questions regarding the menu. We started with a tomato, mozzarella, and peach appetizer (which was a special), a southwestern chopped salad, and a house salad. Our main courses were Blackened Grouper, a Salmon dish, Black Angus Ribeye, and a Bone-in KC Strip Steak. All the dishes were plated and prepared to perfection. I ordered the KC Strip Steak medium rare and as you can see from the picture, it was perfect. The meals were absolutely perfect, and the only thing left on our table were empty plates. We did not have room for dessert but the ones that passed our table looked as good as the main courses. This is a fine restaurant and you get what you pay for but you will not be disappointed. If you are looking for a special meal on Hilton Head Island, then...

TL;DR: fly in glass; fly in replacement glass; centipede and something long and green resembling grass in the third attempt, plus brown stains on another glass rim; crusted old food on plate rim. Read on for the rest.

Decided to take my family here while on vacation. Started out ok, but we soon realized there was a fly in one of the water glasses. When we mentioned it to a server, she gave us a new glass, but there was still a fly in the water. Different fly? Same fly? Not sure which is worse. I'm really not one to be overly judgmental of restaurants, having worked in many, but this lack of care prompted me to look at things with a more critical eye. Upon closer inspection, my plate was crusted with old food under the rim. My son's glass had brown (lipstick? hard to say) marks under the edge. We mentioned the repeat fly to another server, who procured more water for us. Out of the pitcher into my glass came half of a rotting centipede and a 3-4" stringy thing that might have been grass, plus a few random dark objects that I presume were also centipede parts. I had finished my meal before seeing most of this; my entire family stopped eating at that point. The second server replaced our water yet again, but the only thing we continued to consume was the wine, as it was opened in front of us. We saw the first server next and asked if she knew about the centipede; she was surprised, indicating either she was feigning ignorance or the other server had not communicated any issues to her beyond the fly (flies?). She offered up free dessert, and we just asked for the check. No manager came to speak with us, nor did anyone offer more than a cursory apology--which made us question if this was perhaps not an unusual occurrence. When the check came it had a 15% "VIP" discount. This restaurant is highly ranked on the island, and was recommended by our relatives, who are long-time property owners in Sea Pines. All in all, an appetite-turning experience that was compounded by a poorly handled finish. We will not be eating there again, and will make certain no one...

This place is good, and it has the potential to be great. The restaurant itself is huge, great outdoor area as part of the dining experience. They also will let you select your own wine for purchase, but and this is a big but, you have to walk through the dining area to select it. We tried but the people sitting around the wines were clearly upset so we settled for ordering from the menu. Really, nothing worse than showing someone something cool and then telling them you can't have it. They probably need to either change the layout or simply give you a paper list of the wines they currently have in stock. It is easy enough to look across the room and see a bottle of Caymus, but if you want to explore, that is a bit harder. The steak was really good and ordered medium but came out blood red in the middle. If that is the chefs 👨‍🍳 definition of medium, then I would suggest adding that description to the menu. There is a lot of interpretation, so just take the extra step and provide clarity. Sent it back, and it arrived closer to expectations. The flavor and sauce were excellent. It just diminishes the dining experience when everyone else is eating and you are waiting for your food. Especially if you are enjoying a good bottle of wine. The cauliflower cheese soup was also excellent. Flavorful, the calamari and spring rolls are also very good. The bread, excellent except the service for four is the same as for 2, we asked twice for more but none ever arrived. The specialty dessert is bourbon pot de creme, which was interesting but I would recommend the flourless chocolate cake. Bill topped $300.00 which is in line with others, it is just the experience that is lacking which at the end of the day, some people probably won't care, but fine food, good wine and great company make for a much...