The Lighthouse Restaurant — Restaurant in South Carolina

Well, this is one of those cases where the location drives the business and not the food. We've had dinner several times, and each time we go back, our conversation always includes how the location is great, but the food is just average or slightly above. The place is always busy in the summer, but it has to be location and direct access to the water. I'll start by saying, I love engineered food, where someone took the time to put flavors together that are complimentary. I don't mind paying higher prices for food, as long as it is is worthy of the price. With that said.... I had the ribs, they were cold. The sauce was decent but nothing complicated. The Mac and cheese(also cold) was mediocre and had very little flavor or cheese. The blue cheese salad was excellent though and the ingredients all worked well together. The corn bread was really good, but that wasn't real butter served with it. Some sort of oil/butter spread which had zero flavor(yuck). My wife had the Alfredo dish which had pretty good flavor and we were both pleasantly surprised. She also had the artichoke appetizer and this also was above average although it did have bacon and that always helps. Our son had a grilled cheese and fries and he enjoyed it. Good crunch on the bread, but not quite enough cheese given the size of the slices of bread. The ratio was a little off. Throw in another slice of cheese or two and this would be a really good sandwich. A couple of negatives were the fact our salad plates were still on the table when dinner arrived, even though we had been finished with them for 10 minutes or more. After finishing our dinner, our dinner plates never left the table, even while we had desserts. That's not ok. The restaurant is in a lovely spot, but is overpriced for what is served. A bit more attention to detail could change the whole atmosphere, however, I am sure the owners don't want to offend the tank top wearing, cut off Jean shorts wearing boater that stumbles in and out paying top price for drinks. I just think the Lighthouse has an identity problem. Not quite sure who their clients are, or more importantly, maybe the clients are too diverse for the Lighthouse to really appeal...

By far , the worst meal we have ever had. Started off with a Caesar salad , which was far from a Caesar salad. It was a regular salad with so called Caesar dressing on the bottom of the salad plate, then piled chunks of Parmesan cheese. Our son is on from California and ordered the so called steak ,medium, which the first one was totally well done , most likely because it was the thinnest steak cut I have ever seen in a restaurant. Sent that back and the second one was just as thin , and loaded with grizzle and fat. ($30). Not sure where they get their steaks from , but they may want to find another suppler. I had the so called Swordfish Picatta. For starters , the girl delivering the food to the table asked “who is having the chicken “ ? As the swordfish looked like a pounded thin chicken cutlet. It was also dry and over cooked. Sent that back and explained to the waitress and the “Manager “ that that was not what swordfish should look like and that I should have been asked how I wanted it cooked (medium, well done etc). Manager explained that the chef stated that they had to cook it all the way through(not much of a choice when it’s 1/4” thick). Growing up around the ocean etc and having swordfish steaks many times, I’m pretty sure that’s not what it’s supposed to look like! I reordered and got the fried Flounder and fries. ( It was ok). Not only was the food unacceptable , management doesn’t have a clue how to run a restaurant. We weren’t looking for free meals , but the manager gave us a free appetizers card !! Haha. We left that on the table for the next customer !! We live on Lake Hartwell, and made the assumption(you know what happens when you assume ) that it would have been top knotch as it is located on Lake Keowee. What a disappointment! Not sure if they are just buying low end food to try and makeup for Covid , but it’s not working and we won’t be back. We’ll be going to Halls Steakhouse in Greenville for a...

On Mondays my wife and I try to have a lunch date, and we search out lakeside restaurants, preferably. While we had to travel an hour to get here (we live by Lake Hartwell which lacks a large variety of restaurants), it was well worth it. Today was not as hot as it has been and there was a breeze off the lake so we sat outside on the wraparound porch, looking at the lake and geese.

We shared a bowl of the crab bisque to start. I would have preferred it to be hotter, and as with my entree below, some lump crab for the price (no pic).

I was craving seafood and saw a Crab Stuffed Flounder ($25 ouch!) and was very satisfied with the portion and side choices (I opted for the steamed broccoli and havarti mac-n-cheese (crazy combo I know, but that's the freedom of choice, baby!). While the sides could have been hotter, the entree was fresh and hot. The flounder was soft and juicy with a crab-cake style stuffing (at that price it should have lump crab, but did have the crab flavor). Satisfied!

My wife had the Fried Teriyaki Salmon sandwich, which came with the fixings you'd expect and the bun was grilled. She chose the french fries, which she loved. I had a taste of the salmon which was crispy on the outside but tender and not overcooked. Of course, I got her pickle.

I had a brown ale and she had a house cab, both of which were adequate pours.

The scenery was of the lake, the ambience perfect, and we got there before the lunch crowd so semi-private as well.

Our server was Sophie and she was knowledgeable, interesting, and attentive. She lives in the area and gave us some pointers on where to put our pontoon in where we can spend the day and enjoy swimming where the water is clear. A good find in a server these days! Ask for her if you go.

We will be back, and will try the Gazebo on the weekend next time (closer to the water and more of...