Kounter — Restaurant in Rock Hill

9/7/2021

Once again, Kounter has delivered! We continue to be awed by Chef’s creations. Jessica (who I quickly named Aussica – Awesome Jessica!) approached our table with a great big smile, enthusiasm and just bubbling with personality, terrific service throughout our entire meal! After deciding on libations (I stepped out of the box a little and tried the Peppered Pineapple Paloma) we ordered the smoked tuna poke. As the appetizer was delivered to our table, it quickly became the center of attention of the entire restaurant. The dome filled with smoke was removed and presented, the aroma filled the room. Rare tuna on a bed of napa cabbage with a savory drizzle did not disappoint. As for my entrée, I ordered Chef’s creation for the evening … Grouper Wings. Hubby ordered the bacon wrapped meatloaf, a staple on the menu that NEVER fails! Upon delivery of my dinner plate, the Grouper Wings looked like an artistic creation. You could hear the ooohs and ahhhs from others that were sitting close by wishing they, too, had ordered the special. This dish begins with a whole grouper and it is the fillet approach that turns it into a work of art. The presentation is like none other I have ever seen before. The fish is cooked to perfection with the tail and tip of the wings being charred. Every single morsel of fish with delectable. An interesting serving approach was the fish was on a plate that sat nestled on top of a bowl with house made fried rice. The perfect combination. Needless to say, I was uber-satisfied with my entire meal. Hubby enjoyed the bacon wrapped meatloaf. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that this dish is consistently cooked to perfection and is complimented with a side of Brussel sprouts and a bed of mashed potatoes tucked under the meatloaf, old fashioned home cooking with an inspirational twist! Kounter is definitely worth checking out … Chef is always coming up with exciting creations and the staff, all around, is simply the best! 7/8/2021 We had our first encounter at Kounter yesterday evening and it was fabulous! Made our reservation online, table was ready when we arrived. Our waitress, Brooke, was welcoming and very well-rehearsed. She knew the menu well, was able to answer any questions we had and was so very personable. We ordered our drinks which were served to perfection. Highly suggest the pear martini or the black garlic mojito (part of the proceeds are donated to our local Human Society … BIG PLUS!!!) For dinner, our friends ordered the fried ribs (he was torn between the ribs and the wings, Brooke guided him to the ribs), the southwest salmon salad (very neat and unique way of being served, I won’t let the cat out of the bag on how as this is all part of the experience!) Asian Brussel sprouts and hand slammed fries which are peppered and parmesaned! Hubby ordered the beef cake stand sliders … this was more than enough to feed 2 people, we had leftovers to take home! We also had a side of the Asian Brussel sprouts. As a table, we ordered the whipped key lime, oh my oh my! And we did partake in what I would call a dessert drink, but by all means, do not wait until the end of your meal to order this … the twisted white Russian. The twist is peanut butter whiskey (instead of vodka), Kahlua and oat milk … yum!!! To say we were impressed is an understatement. Everything was extraordinarily delicious. This place is truly a little gem tucked in the heart of downtown Rock Hill but has the taste and appeal of a big-city restaurant. Highly recommend you...

My wife and I dined at Kounter on Saturday along with my brother and sister-in-law. We had visited not long after this location opened a few years ago and found it to be okay but underwhelming for the price, particularly compared to the options available in Charlotte. We had heard some good things from others so we decided to give it another shot. To start off, they need to address the acoustics in there. It was so loud we could not hear ourselves talk and struggled to hear anything the waitress was saying. She did say they were breaking in a new bartender and to have patience as he or she was still learning how to make the cocktails. The drinks did take a very long time to arrive but ultimately they were good. The mussels appetizer was tasty but the chile and lime shrimp just tasted like buffalo sauce was poured on the plate. I love spicy but this was very one note. Not terrible but also not something I would ever order again. Our waitress appeared very inexperienced and oddly kept asking to take the menus before we had even ordered our entrees. On multiple visits she kept asking to take the menus and we finally said, “can we order our entrees first?” Rocky start to the dinner but maybe we can overcome it with the entrees. Unfortunately it just got worse. Lobster gnocchi was okay but the lobster was overcooked and rubbery. Scallops were okay but the grit croutons were very dry. The Blue Plate bacon wrapped meatloaf was visibly so lacking in any moisture that the two pieces looked like hockey pucks. Even after requesting additional sauce to try to make it edible, it did not help. It seemed like they cooked the meatloaf, sliced it, and then cooked it again?? Finally, the Carolina blackened trout was overcooked and just not executed well but the dirty rice was embarrassing. The rice was so undercooked it was still hard and inedible. I hate to be harsh but for a $26 entree, are you kidding me?? Fish can be easy to overcook but you can’t execute rice? I’m not trying to be nasty but for the amount of money that you will spend at Kounter it’s just egregious how poor the execution was during our visit. Honestly, I think they are trying to do some high-end, elevated things but they are not even close to being able to land the plane. They would probably be better served in trying to do some simpler fare at a lower price point but then again when you can’t cook rice properly and you’re overcooking every protein then I think there’s a bigger problem. I would not normally even write a review if I thought maybe it was a bad night. Unfortunately they are charging premium prices with extremely subpar food and service. They are so many better options 20-30 minutes away in Charlotte that you can get an outstanding meal with top notch service for the same price point. To be fair, management did stop by to hear our concerns and did make some adjustments on the bill. It was appreciated but couldn’t really remove the poor taste of the...

From an ambiance perspective, there really is none. This is a pretty plain place inside and super bright inside for a restaurant at 6:30 on a Saturday night imo. But that's fine, I'm here for the food, not wall art.

Server was very good although it took a while to be greeted with waters and get a drink order in.

The Smoking Tuna Poke appetizer is one of the best things I've ever eaten. The cabbage was super fresh and crunch and the dressing they used (or soaked it in - which i was fine with) was delicious. There were probably 10-12 cubes of tuna and they were good. Nowt he smoke flavor on it....wow. I've never had a non bbq meat that had anywhere near this much smoke. Awesome.

Scallops dish. Very very good. They were cooked perfectly and the grit cakes were cook. I'd love to comment on the bacon jam because that was something that really caught my eye but it was almost nowhere to be found so the flavor did not carry at all. The overwhelming flavor wasn't what I'd expect out of a tomato vinigrette but tasted more like something cooked in an Indian restaurant. Not what you'd expect from the description but nonetheless, I really liked it.

Drinks were very good.

The baked feta came out unspreadable. So it was basically a room temperature block of feta. This is an item you HAVE to be on top of and can't let sit. And I'd suggest them looking at cooking + serving it in cast iron so it continues to stay warm for longer. The homemade focaccia was outstanding. Really spectacular bread. Now the cracker like bread stuff they also serve - total miss. It was Chewyish and not crispy. And it comes smeared with some sort of red berry jelly making it impossible to try and eat without getting messy. Serve more of that outstanding focaccia and ditch the cracker thing.

The blackened trout was very good. Just note that it's very heavily blackened w an intense cajun flavor. More than I'd expect without some sort of mention on the menu. And the pancake didn't seem to be seasoned. Although maybe the intense flavor of the fish overpowered it, not sure.

I'd recommend Kounter and implore you to get the smoking poke. Mostly everything else was very good except that feta dish. And the meals coming out all looked...