McCrady’s

The food here is amazing! Service is awesome. Everyone is extremely knowledgeable. If you come to charelston you absolutely must eat here. And if the ham plate is on the menu GET IT! It will change your life.

Delicious! Food was fantastic and the service was great. Everything we had was extremely tasty, I had the best short rib I’ve ever had here and the snapper was so well prepared! I would definitely come back here. Excellent restaurant, no complaints.

I should preface this with I was visiting from a big city and don’t value slowness. The average dinner time here is 1.5 hours for just two courses and they’re small. The food is pretty good. It’s a good looking restaurant and has a cool factor from being in an alley and having history, but I wouldn’t go back. Swordfish was great though. Pork loin was ok. Cocktails were average

Pleasant environment, quiet so you can hear table mates, food outstanding, very limited menu, example: only fish was tilefish when we went; bar was a little behind the eightball, instead of saying «we not have cucumber vodka a young bartender kept trying to create a cucumber drink from gin and cucumbers. After the 3^rd attempt I gave up and had a vodka tonic?

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG. SEAN BROCK. MARRY ME PLLLLLZ.
I cannot calm down. The dinner made me feel like everything I’d had before was literally bullshit. And I didn’t even get the tasting menu.
For starters we shared the pumpkin salad, the beef tartare and the poached oysters. Skip the tartare (why do so many ppl on Unilocal recommend it?). Get the pumpkin salad if you want a thin sheet of mozzarella that looks like crêpe. And MOST DEFINITELY, GET THE POACHED OYSTERS. If you think mignonette sauce is the only way to go with oysters, this dish will prove you wrong and you will never go back again.
For main, YOU MUST GET THE WRECKFISH. The parsnip purée had me hooked and I couldn’t stop spooning into it. My swordfish was 200% as pretty but wasn’t half as good. And it was too well-​done after I requested mine medium rare. But because of the oysters and the wreckfish, I forgive anything else that is mediocre (including the subpar service).
Rather than highlighting the ingredients, the chef almost has a way of manipulating them, elevating them and defeating them… Come here if you live in Charleston, are visiting Charleston, or have nothing to do with Charleston.

Best meal ever. We chose the tasting menu and each plate was a beautiful, delectable delight! Can’t praise the chef enough for inventiveness and a mastery of flavor, texture and presentation. Well worth the splurge!

Nothing but awesomeness. Visiting Coastal Carolina stopped in with my daughter… didn’t realize we would be getting a 5 star lunch! Incredible entrees, unbelievable homemade desserts. Incredible friendliness. If you have never been to this place, it is time!!!

Took the adult family of 4 (2 daughters 21 and 18 so they have been to some nice restaurants) there for Christmas Eve dinner. As they sat us at the the table that was «ready» it was set for 3… I stood waiting as they retrieved a chair and place setting. The tables were jammed together and we had to re-​situate the table so I could get my 6’2″ frame into a chair. We ordered a few cocktails and a bottle of wine, all arrived very nicely.
My oldest daughter ordered the flat iron steak medium. It arrived a solid rare. She sent it back. Second time it arrived medium well, cooked through with no pink. The third time was a charm. The rest of the table had finished eating and she ate alone.
While they took the steak off the tab the service was a above average at best. The whole concept of having the maitre’d verbally detail and review what everyone ordered (all while the food it sitting in front of you on a room temp plate) may seem good on paper but doesn’t play well in real life. He seemed disinterested looking at the ceiling while talking. Food was warm enough to eat but should have been hotter.
Sean Brock was in the bar area eating with family and friends. I wonder if the kitchen took their eye off the ball as well as staff to serve him.
I’d go back but with lower expectations.

After last being at McCrady’s two years ago for Thanksgiving, my family and I decided we needed to make a visit for a normal dinner while in Charleston. Back in Charleston for Thanksgiving once again, our restaurant provided Thanksgiving this year was good, but no where near as good as when we ate at McCrady’s.
To start off the meal, my dad and I had the ‘Brooklyn’, a nice but very boozie drink. My mom had the ‘When Doves Cry’, a very complex, subtly sweet but somewhat savory cocktail that was delicious. To begin, we had the ‘Bob Woods Country Ham Plate, Heirloom Wheat Cakes, with Smoked Chedder’ and the ‘Salad of Butternut Squash, Wood Sorrel, Goat Chees, and Peanut’. Both dishes were delicious. The country ham was some of the best I’ve had and paired with the wheat cakes and smoked cheddar spread,…devine. The butternut squash salad was also amazing. Thinly sliced raw butternut squash over the sorrel goat cheese and peanuts made for an amazing flavor combination as well a wonderful texture. For my meal, I went with the ‘Pan Seared Wreckfish, Parsnip, Greens, and Farro Verde’. The dish was good and absolutely beautiful but fell short on flavor. I understand the concepts of respecting the ingredients, especially within such a seasonal and local based restaurant, but I love flavor bombs and this was good and extremely well executed, but I could have done with some more flavor.
For desert we tried just about everything, which was a great choice by us. Everything was good. I went with the pumpkin dish that was great. Subtly sweet but flavorful and full of texture.
I’d highly recommend anyone in Charleston for a visit, should stop by McCrady’s. Not only did it provide me with my most memorable Thanksgiving dinner, food wise, but it was a treat to visit within its normal capacity.

Gluten Free Review
+Tasting Menu was made gluten-​free and was AWESOME.
+Knowledgeable staff about allergies
Lady & I tried to get reservations at Husk last minute but with them being booked the hostess offered us another one of «Sean Brock“s restaurants which is McCrady’s. Charleston’s famous chef did not let us down at this restaurant. Got right in with no reservations, and parked about a mile away (ha!) .
You walk down an old cobblestone walk way which is the most epic thing ever, and you arrive at the candle lit McCrady’s which is super cool restaurant/​bat and very historic feel to it. Which I later found out George Washington has visited here before, before it was McCrady’s however.
I let them know I was gluten-​free and if the tasting menu could be accommodated and she told me yes totally and I said bam two tasting menus. I’m not going into detail about this meal because it is almost a secret I want to keep but let me tell you it’s the most amazing, tasty, delicious experience of all of Charleston. Had about 9 dishes of pure bliss, and even on one of the last dishes there was wheat crumbles on something and a waiter noticed it and grabbed it instantly and took it back, like wow… nobody else in this world would provide that kind of quality service.
If your thinking about going, this was the best meal of my entire Charleston adventure and it was so damn good.

Oh McCradys, you took me to a land of creative excitement, to a land of flavor and fun, while I ran around the Plate village of crafty creations. What a journey! From the amazing raw butternut squash which was stuffed with goat cheese, peanuts, and granola (not pecans, as another Unilocaler stated), to the perfectly crispy skin red fish with Brussels Sprout’s and cabbage… My tummy fully embraced the 7 course tasting, while the staff continued to find open spaces for me to mentally park my intrigue.
And again, Charleston has rocked my pallet. Kudos to Sean Brock and team. Excellence was found once I walked into this gem of an establishment. I somehow see that excellence lingering for a long time to come.

Wassoup my homies. Ur food is bad. I’ve seen a lot of people die in ur store. Get insure
–Shia Labeouf

Comfortable atmosphere and impeccable service. We stopped by for a later light dinner and had a mix of small plates and dessert. I enjoyed the Bob Woods Country Ham Plate, Heirloom Wheat Cakes, Smoked Cheddar. It was like a mini-​Southern breakfast. My husband had the Ember Roasted Squab, Charred Leek, Sweet Potato, Shiso and the Ember Grilled Squid, Guanciale, Field Peas, Fennel — he reported that both had too much vinegar. With the great service, this was still a good experience, but not a must-​visit for us in the future.
One note: The entrance is really in an alley, and when you’re driving at night it is easy to miss. Once you park on East Bay Street and start walking, you can see a small sign on a post pointing towards the restaurant.

McCrady’s is one of the best restaurants IN THE COUNTRY. We love visiting Charleston (we live ~5 hours away in Atlanta) and will not make the trip up unless we have a reservation at McCrady’s and Husk.
This place isn’t just about good food, it’s an experience. I mean the service is out of this world and the food is so well thought out, creative, innovative and well-​executed. Not many restaurants/​food can open your mind through taste like McCrady’s.

The food was really delightful, but the server (Randall) just mailed it in and the overall experience was not as fine as it might have been. For example, when he was asked «What is bone marrow Hollandaise?», his answer was «Hollandaise made with bone marrow».
No shit?
Great food that would have been better had the server made at least a minimal attempt to explain the menu, without treating McCray’s guests like a couple of rubes.
Not what we hoped for.

A long time favorite with high quality in every phase of the meal and service. Because of the expense it’s usually a once or twice a year experience. This past year, for business and personal reasons, we’ve been here five or six times. The level of service is still impeccable, but the recent change of executive chef seems to have introduced some issues relating to to the range of menu choices and structure of dinner service.
We joined four friends visiting from out of town for a quiet dinner. We noticed immediately that the menu had changed from a prix fixe to a more conventional menu of small plates and larger entrees. There wasn’t a huge range of choice – no green salads, no vegetable dishes available as sides. We each ordered entrees and three small plates to taste. The entrees were quite small-​sized portions but very tasty – the snapper I ordered was impeccably prepared, but the accompanying vegetables were barely apparent. Likewise, the other diners grouper dinners were delicious yet small. My wife ordered a tomato and watermelon «salad» small plate that was priced at $ 10 or $ 12 yet consisted of 4 bites…
Along with the recent downward slide of FIG, McCrady’s changes seem to underline the tendency that as chefs become superstars, their original conceptions/​showplaces often decline in quality. For a place that will set you back $ 75 to $ 100 at a minimum per person as well as substantial time and effort this isn’t quite the standards we have seen in the past decade here.

I had McCrady’s on the brain while planning a trip to Charleston, as a big fan of the PBS show «The Mind of a Chef.» Sean Brock talks about his restaurant on the show, and I’ve been to his Nashville location of Husk several times. A friend and I ordered:
+ Smoked trout with potato, fennel, dill and buttermilk curds. The trout burst into a smoky flavor in my mouth and tasted like it was placed on my plate at the perfect moment of flavor. The creamy potato and flavorful dill, these ingredients were born to go together. One of the most thoughtful plates of food I’ve ever had.
+ Salad of blue crab, cucumber, celery, green almond, coriander and vadouvan. What a fresh and summery dish! An excellent salad.
+ Berry granita with pistachio cream. Yummm. The server said they freeze the berries and scrape the icy goodness off a tray into a granita. The pistachio was light and airy.
+ Milk chocolate with rye bread ice cream. Delicious.
The restaurant feels like a secrete when you locate it in the ally. (I’d try to find street parking, as the next-​door lot was $ 10 on a Monday night.) The building is beautiful, the staff is knowledgeable and smiling, the wine list is expansive and the food is excellent and memorable. We left comfortably full, though not American-​full; these are not large portions. Enjoy your meal for what it is – a memory you’ll want to keep talking about.

This was the best meal I’ve ever had. The flavor combinations were amazing, the attention to detail was impressive, and the service was excellent. M
Drinks: The Paradise by the Gas Lights was a favorite, very light and refreshing. The Peaky Blinder was great as well, accented with lemon peel razor on the rim.
Start with the ham, corn chips, and popcorn mayonnaise. It was delicious and mayonnaise really tasted like the popcorn.
We then went with the tuna tartare and the crab salad, both of which were extremely flavorful and some of the most interesting seafood dishes we’ve ever tasted.
We got the pork and the beef coulette as our entrees. Again, amazing garnishes and combinations of flavors. May not be the best beef I’ve ever had, but the garnishes and sides made it one of the best entrees I’ve had the pleasure of tasting.
Finally, we finished with the milk chocolate, banana, and rye dessert. The flavors really grow on you.
It was a superb meal overall. We will make McCradys a stop every time we go to Charleston now!

I was so amped to visit McCrady’s, having consumed all the hype before my visit to Charleston. Unlike so many other places, it absolutely lived up to and exceeded they hype. The vibe, while clearly upscale, was much more relaxed than I expected. It was romantic for a date, but at the same time I wouldn’t feel weird going with the guys to consume a few whiskey cocktails before exploring the wine list and eating fancily plated food. Look at the photos… this food is the reason Instagram and Foodspotting are popular.
The esteemed wine list also features extremely reasonable ($ 7/​$ 13-​ish) half or full pours by the glass (be clear when you request them; I suspected I was receiving full pours and didn’t say anything, only to find out when the bill came I was right. My only disappointment of the meal). The flavor and texture combinations, the plating and presentation, the service, just an overall impressive meal. Broccolini salad, warm scallops, shaved tuna, roasted quail, all so interesting and satisfying, and all in the $ 15 – 20 range. The dessert, soft milk chocolate with banana and rye ice cream was confusing, unique, and spectacular.
We split four plates between two people and were incredibly satisfied. Four glasses of wine, a cocktail, and dessert, all for just under $ 200 with tip. In the running for my favorite meal of 2015 and high on the list of places to return to when I’m back in town in November.

So, this is the last of my reviews from my epic (in my head anyway, LOL) foodie trip to Charleston 5 weeks ago, a long weekend visit at the beginning of Feb. Of course I had heard a lot about Sean Brock, who hasn’t? So I was pretty excited to check out both McCrady’s (which I knew to be the higher end version of) and Husk, where we were dining later in the weekend. Let’s just say, I believe Chef Sean deserves all the accolades thrown his way based upon my experiences
We came to McCrady’s for a very late dinner our first night in town (thurs). We had had a very early dinner at The Ordinary which was amazing and knew it would be tough to beat, but Mc lived up! I had called the week prior to clarify our dining options, and was excited to hear that it was completely changing in Feb to an a la carte format. Given the number of meals we had planned, a required chef’s tasting menu format might have been a bit too much to stomach (pun intended)!
In our normal fashion, the four of us ordered a bunch of plates to share all together family style. We also asked for a recommended bottle pairing with our dishes that we could all share, and ended up with a grenelle rose.
FOOD (Feb 2015 menu)~
~ Beef Tartare, crispy onion rings, white anchovy and tarragon (served on a beautiful slate-​black slab plate).
~ Lamb Neck Pastrami, red cabbage, grilled shiitake, kumquat, marjoram (unexpectedly served in this beautiful pool of pomegranate-​colored sauce)
~ Warm Calico Scallops, charleston gold rice porridge, swiss chard, peanut, dried goat cheese (more like warm yum!)
~ Ember Grilled Sunchokes, butter beans, creamed lettuces, and mint (served in a bowl so that the sunchokes, which were in the shape of this crispy crunchy giant «crisp» that you broke up with a spoon, could easily be eaten with the rest).
Desserts~
~ Ginger Cake, apple, anise
~ Soft Milk Chocolate, rye, banana
~ Pumpkin Panna Cotta, bitter orange, black malted barley
I’d keep this on my short rotation if I lived local!