Angel Oak Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in South Carolina

I hope this review can be used solely for improvement, all of these issues can be easily corrected. The quality of the food is the only reason the rating is this high. We arrived for dinner Saturday night around 6:30, we were greeted by the hostess and sat. We noticed every other table that was sat received water from the hostess except us, continuing through the night she continued to refill other tables water except ours. The restaurant seats 16 normal tables without being moved for bigger parties, there was one waiter for one side and our waitress for the other, this was a big flaw especially on a busy Saturday night, even 1 more server would have helped everyone tremendously, both waiters were running around like crazy but trying their best to keep up, however that hurts the customers due to not being able to remember or have time to get and fulfill every request. Our waitress was sat 4 more tables at one time including us, she was very courteous telling everyone she would be with them shortly. By the time she got to us to read the specials we ordered (at least 5 mins before a larger table, yet they all recieved their food before us, a table of 2). We got the crab cake as an appetizer, I got the catch special for the night which included seared scallops and shrimp with side of candied bacon Brussel sprouts and sautéed spinach, my husband got the steak special which was a ribeye topped with shrimp scampi and side of fries, for dessert we got the beignet (donuts with powdered sugar and chocolate sauce). All of the food was absolutely amazing, everything was DELICIOUS and cooked perfectly, there was nothing more we could have asked for with the great quality of the food we experienced here. Now onto more of the bad: The lack of refills was disappointing as my glass sat empty almost the entire visit when all I had was water. We unfortunately were sitting next to a couple that experienced another mishap, the husband ordered the same dinner as me but the kitchen never informed the waitress that they ran out of scallops (among other items that night) so they just swapped it out for salmon which the gentleman was very unhappy about especially not being told or given an option to choose something else before making the dinner, the waitress was not even made aware until after the food was delivered by the other waiter. The environment was very intimate and rustic but played against itself turning very loud with a full house. It really is a nice place with good bones just needs a little improvement on the service, our waitress was wonderful and very sweet but the employees just needed some help to keep up with the number of tables per waiter/waitress, customers appreciate the attentiveness. We were there almost exactly 2 hours out of no choice of our own, simply due to every other factor in play (we prefer not to sit and socialize at restaurants once we have eaten, we would rather they make the money off the table, we can talk elsewhere). The only reason we will return to give the service a second chance, is the food, maybe we will come on a less busy weeknight...

I absolutely never leave reviews however I was completely disappointed in this restaurant and feel the need to tell families with young children that this is not the restaurant to visit. My husband and I are local to the area and live in Shieveling plantation, about 10 minutes down the road. We have been to angel oak many times before and always speak so highly of it. With that being said, I just recently had a baby 3 months ago and was craving just a night out. My mom came to town and I wanted to do dinner with her and my son somewhere close by that I could dress nice. Anyone with a baby knows you do not have much time before they stir so you typically want to choose a place nearby etc. As this restaurant does not take reservations, we made sure the baby was fed and asleep in his car seat before we took off. Once we got there I noticed that there were a variety of different open tables available. The hostess sat us at the table closest to the door which is completely fine. When asked for a high chair to place our car seat on they told me that they do not allow car seats to be placed on high hairs as it is a liability..to which I asked how they would be able to accommodate him? At that point they offered putting him on a chair..as anyone who knows this restaurant uses vintage chairs. I said I did not feel comfortable putting my sons car seat on a wobbly vintage chair and would prefer to possibly sit at a different table where there is a booth to which they then said the tables were reserved when online it specifically states you can not make a reservation! At this point we have been standing not being appropriately helped for at-least 6-7 minutes and we decided to leave and go elsewhere. I am extremely disappointed in the lack of accommodations for infants here or just willingness to pivot and make arrangements to make customers feel comfortable. I will never understand how an establishment can consider a vintage chair safer for a car seat than a high chair which is designed for this type of use. All that being said, as a new mom you never forget how people make you feel and I must say this was such an embarrassing experience as one of my attempted first nights out with my baby. I will absolutely never recommend this restaurant to community members, neighbors and coworkers. I think people forget that just by treating people nicely and being helpful with a kind demeanor can truly make a huge difference in someone’s day and make an already stressful event more pleasant. I can say this restaurant did...

My friend and I went there for the first time and sat at the bar. (We were not in the restaurant but in the back building that was the bar) It was busy, but not overwhelming for the two bartenders. They both appeared very stressed out and annoyed. They openly complained about having to clean off tables as ppl were leaving. There were maybe 20 ppl there when my friend said “when you have a moment, may I get ice water?” The other bartender we were not asking told her there was a water container across the bar with plastic cups. My friend wanted ice water, but got up to serve herself. I said “there’s no money in ice water, so you need to get your own water”. The bartender snapped back and said “we are busy and don’t have time to serve ice water”. I counted 17 ppl in the bar at this time and observed both bartenders both annoyed and stressed. The time to take to scoop up a glass of ice and filling it with water was the same time to fill up a glass of wine -which she had no problem serving. She never checked back with us to see if we needed another drink or how the food was and oblivious that our drinks had been empty for over 30 min. We tried to get their attention, but no luck as they were filling fruit cups and rinsing glasses. We were meeting more friends there and had planned to stay for a while. We ended up asking for our check and told our friends to not go there and we went to another place and the service was night and day from what we just came from. We were very polite with a request and the rudeness was unwarranted. The one bartender made a comment in ear shot that “some people think they’re the only ones needing something”. Obviously directed at us. We patiently waited to get their attention and said please and thank you. They both appeared to hate their job and it ruined our experience. I will never return and tell others about the poor level of “service”. I have been to bars where people are lined up five people deep and the bartenders are pleasant. These two had barely 17-20 customers total and looked miserable and totally unfriendly. Maybe pick a different career?

The young man running food to the customers did a great job. We told him so as we were leaving. We watched him run back and forth between the restaurant and the bar. The two female bartenders were equally as rude to him. They were visibly and verbally upset about having to bus the table. He needs a raise!

Cute place - but we won’t go back nor recommend.

Date 9/13/24. Time...