WiseGuys — Restaurant in Hilton Head Island

Came here for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary dinner. Table had a little card with Happy Anniversary regards which I thought was super sweet (apparently it also said 'enjoy a complimentary dessert' which I didn't clock but my mom did). I just thought the card sentiment was nice.

Meal starts, things are fine, cocktails are fine, salad is good, Brussels a bit drowned in sauce but fine. We all order steaks.

Both my mom and I have to send our steaks back - I gotta be honest, reading these previous reviews made me feel better because I always feel like it must be my fault, but my 'med rare' steak was black and blue, and that's being generous. It was raw. I wish I'd taken a photo. My mom's 'medium' is rare; I tried to say I'd take it but it was just too raw. They take the steaks back, time passes, mine comes back out, I say it's fine even though it's still too rare because like - my dad has been eating alone and there's no way in which I don't look terrible for sending it back again (see pic). It tastes fine and I eat the more cooked parts and bring the rest home (see pic). My mom's steak finally comes back out and is a bit rare for her, but could be called medium? Really reaching here to seem reasonable.

We finish our meal and as plates are being cleared I point out my leftover (very rare still) steak to the server and say I accepted it cause I wanted to eat with my dad but it was still not great as he can see from the cut. He says he'll 'pass on the feedback.'

Dessert menu comes and I was very confused when our server comes by and says 'here's the dessert menu, but your free dessert is a panna cotta" and then leaves us with the menu. There's no panna cotta on the dessert menu so we're confused and not sure if we heard right but - I gotta say - my parents and I had at least a fun time joking about the very sad free dessert they don't even put on the menu. It's just hella tacky to be like 'you get a free dessert, but it's this one we chose cause it's cheap.' Why bother? Or just bring it out, but don't make it clear we're getting the charity dessert. None of the other desserts interested us and at this point we were not feeling great about how this had gone so we took the panna cotta, all tried a pretty tasteless bite, (they're right, it should be free) and got the check. Nothing was taken care of (except our 'very special' panna cotta). Look ya'll, I didn't go in looking for free stuff, but the problems with this meal were like - not small. At any other establishment they're gonna like, I don't know, comp a salad as some gesture of goodwill for the fact that you didn't get to eat together and a steakhouse doesn't know how to cook a steak when you chose them for a big event. The time we lost dining together for a pricey meal was not small. Clearly they're not buying good cuts - my dad's steak was tough though cooked well. They all required EFFORT to cut.

Management knew what the situation was and chose to do nothing - that feels important to name. You, as a manager, know that TWO steaks (for a party of three) were cooked incorrectly and sent back (so your kitchen can see how undercooked they were) and you don't think it's appropriate to address that? When you know this is a 50th anniversary dinner? Server was friendly in a pretty plastic-y way, trusted him at first, but not after a while (still tipped 20%).

Maybe businesses in HH think we're just tourists spending money for fun? Nah, we still have standards, and Wise Guys really fell short on a very special day. We weren't cheap, we ordered cocktails and wine and steaks so we really weren't there trying to squeeze some free anniversary juice out of a restaurant, I just wanted my parents to feel celebrated.

(Photo included here is of my 'med rare' steak AFTER it's been sent back to the kitchen, come back, sat on a table for 45 minutes, been in a togo container, and it's STILL too rare. Sorry if that's gross but like - I needed photographic proof to be able to sleep tonight.)

If you have to go eat at this 'steakhouse,' for the love of god don't...

Date of Service: 11/22/24

When I saw WiseGuys’ menu, I was excited to treat my wife and myself to what I hoped would be a memorable meal. The unique offerings, particularly the Porterhouse—a rarity in the area—caught my attention, as did the variety of finishing butters to elevate the steak’s flavor profile. Unfortunately, the experience fell short of my high expectations.

The meal began on a promising note with the French Onion soup. As someone who is particular about this dish, I was thoroughly impressed. The cheese on top was perfectly thick with just the right amount of crust, and the soup itself was a masterclass in flavor—rich, layered, and tasting like the result of careful preparation. It was the kind of dish that sets the bar high for the rest of the meal.

However, that’s where things took a disappointing turn. For my main course, I ordered the $80 Porterhouse, requesting it medium rare with a side of the Parmesan Truffle fries and roasted mushrooms. What arrived was rare to the point of being cool to the touch, with the Cowboy butter sitting on top, completely unmelted… and not about to melt anytime soon. I alerted the waitress, who took it back to the kitchen, but what returned was even worse: a steak that had been overcooked past medium, served on a scorching plate, likely blasted under a Salamander. The butter had now been reduced to a puddle at the bottom of the plate, with no added butter offered for me to put on the steak.

To add insult to injury, the steak itself was devoid of any seasoning. No salt. No pepper. Nothing. It was baffling that a steakhouse could send out a cut of meat this expensive without even the basics of seasoning. Trying not to make a fuss, I gave it a chance but the lack of seasoning made the steak utterly forgettable. The sides were mediocre, at best. Though I might have thought they were better had I not been so disappointed in the steak.

My wife took ill (unrelated to the dining experience). As a result, I decided to just box it up. The following day at home, I seasoned it with some Kinder’s Prime and reheated it. Only then did the steak have the flavor it should have had at the restaurant.

WiseGuys has all the makings of a great dining destination—an enticing menu, a polished ambiance, and a focus on premium ingredients. Yet the execution, especially on such a simple but essential dish as a steak, was severely lacking. I really wanted to love this place, but unfortunately, it missed the...

Ok.....for those of you that follow my reviews, you know I don't just give 5 stars. This place earned them! I made reservations for 1 and was seated in the....not so best spot in the world, but it's just me so I didn't really care. The place was busy but everything seemed to be running rather smoothly. Between the hostess and the waitress, I very impressed by their professionalism. Not a very big facility, but very clean. You can tell Covid has made places step that game up, but I don't believe that was ever an issue here. I ordered a Carolina Mule to drink while I have my bread and oil they brought me. The drink was really good and the bread and oil too. The bread was still hot and seemed pretty fresh. Didn't have that microwave taste to it. The dipping oil was nice as well.

I can't complain about the time between drinks and ordering my food because like I said, it was pretty busy this particular friday night. I guess I may have waited 5 minutes or so between my drink and bread to the time she took my order. No biggie there.

So, I ordered the rack of lamb with whipped potatoes and green beans. Let me tell you, those mashed potatoes were spot on. Perfectly seasoned and hot. Did not taste canned ata all and the green beans were steamed to the perfect texture. Still had some snap in them and very tasty. I think I could have ate a second helping of them.

Now, lamb chops are my all time favorite. I went for a steak, but when I saw that on the menu I was like....oh yeah, that's gonna happen! I ordered them medium like always and that's exactly how I got them. Still hot....and let me just say.....butta! Sheer butta baby! That meat literally melted in my mouth! And I couldn't resis, I had to get the rest off the bones! Oh my God these things were phenomenal! I've had the lamb chops at Ruth's Chris steakhouse and these were....I hate to say it.....as good if not better! Now...I did place a second order to go of a 28 day aged Delmonico and i had to cut a small piece of it. OMG! This is gonna be bangin tomorrow. I know it won't be right off the grill, but I've already had a taste and let me tell ya......hell yeah! I'm glad I went and I will definitely be back!! Awesome job...