Minero

Went here for a tasty lunch yesterday and appreciated the fresh, lighter take on Mexican food. We started with the chips and salsa trio and the guacamole. The salsas were served in adorable little bowls and all were delicious and unique. The verde was my fav, but the arbol and benne were good too! The guac was also amazing! So fresh and flavorful! I think I could eat about a gallon of that stuff! The chips, integral to all these dips, were perfect. Crisp, perfectly salty and kept warm, cradled in their dedicated pockets.
For the main, as pescatarians, our options were exceedingly limited. The husband and I decided to do halfsies on the chopped salad and the sandwich of of day, which happened to be shrimp. I started with the salad and was pretty disappointed. First, the salad was not necessarily «chopped» as I anticipated, but this is not anything a few swift passes of the ol’ knife can’t fix. Second, the veggies included in the salad were fairly uninspired. Iceburg, really?! However, the avocado vinaigrette was absolutely delicious and the masa croutons were a nice touch.
The shrimp sandwich was out of this world. The shrimp were perfectly cooked, plump and super tasty. The bread was fabulous as well and was the perfect companion to the shrimpy goodness inside!
We also enjoyed a few cocktails with our meal. I think I could have thrown back about 8 of the El Satanicos! The pineapple vinegar made them fairly acidic, but very tasty!
Overall, we enjoyed a fairly solid lunch here and would be down to return, but I would have loved to see more non meat options available.

My wife and I came to eat on a Sunday night, and we didn’t have to wait very long. They were very accommodating in letting us store our baby stroller in one of their back rooms instead of out in the open, which I definitely appreciated.
To start, we ordered the chips and salsa, which came with three types of salsa — Verde, Benne, Arbol. The Verde was a fresh and light salsa, not too much spiciness to it, but a strong kick of lime, which I enjoyed. The Benne was like a peanut-​based salsa — it was rich and earthy, with a touch of sweetness. The Arbol (my favorite) was quite spicy, with a lot of depth to it as well. It was obvious the chips were made and fried in house, and weren’t some grocery store tortilla chips. I appreciated the thickness of the chips. Thin chips just don’t quite match up to thick chips.
I ordered the Grilled Catfish Platter, and the fish was cooked to near perfection. It was jam-​packed with flavor, while still being nice and tender. Catfish is so easily dried out, but they did a great job of keeping things moist. It was served over hoppin’ john (rice, beans, onions — deliciousness), with a side of cactus radish salsa and chipotle peanut purée — both excellent. It also came with their house-​made tortillas, which I highly recommend trying. There is nothing quite like a quality hand-​made corn tortilla.
My wife got the Shrimp and Masa Grits, which she thoroughly enjoyed. Like everything else we had, it was full of great flavor, and the masa grits were so smooth and silky.
So it sounds like everything tasted awesome, right? Yes, it did. Why not 5 stars? My reason for knocking it down a star is how small the portion sizes were. As you can see in my photos, the fish was pretty meager, and the salsa portions were also not generous. I was unfortunately still hungry after our meal, and I’m not one to always want to gorge myself.
The service was friendly, and the restaurant was clean and well put-​together. Ah, if only those portion sizes were more filling! But it’s still incredibly tasty — there is no denying that.

Oh my goodness the tacos were amazing!
I had the beef, chorizo, and chicken. All 3 were great, each one tasted fantastic in their own way. I’m from Phoenix and was being a bit snobby about Mexican food in SC. Let me tell you those were the best tacos ever! Margarita was great as well!

I love chef Brock from McCrady’s to Husk TN and Husk SC, but my visit last year to Minero was a swing and foul. Out on business to the lovely Charleston my 2 plates I’d tagged were 492 and Minero. When I return home to San Diego I always either get IN N Our or a California burrito, most any will do at that point, but after the impressions chef Brock left on me with everything he touches I decided to try his take on flavors and cultures of Mexico. I don’t normally eat Mexican outside of the SouthWest/​Socal because as I’m famous for saying «the further from the border you get, the worse the Mexican food»
The wings used Valentina which surprised me as you never see it much, could use some appropriate dipping sauce. Chips, salsa, guac combo had great corn for the chips, direct sourced from small farms in Mexico, but the guacamole was a little bland. Guac can really take a lot of spices without being overpowering. Garlic, red onions, cumin, etc. maybe. Of course they had Carolina Gold rice, always a lovely treat, even with Mexican flavors. The torta uses a good roll, but it’s not like the Telera’s in Mexico City. Think French baguette mixed with challah bread, but accoutrements were off, any torteria in Mexico City will show you the difference. It changes daily, I had the pork which I believe was just the pastor meat which kind of made it disappointing as most torta’s have a multitude of meats. I love how again all their food is cooked on wood fires. Carnitas tacos used the wrong cut and wrong cooking method (must be fried, sorry). The pastor meat needs more achiote and garlic, love the chicharron. The salsas are ok, lacking the boldness I’m used to. Everything is plated well, but they really need to push the corn tradition. I mean he’s got the Midas touch and just needs to push the small Mexican farms as his selling point.
Service was good, always well staffed are his restaurants. Price is good considering he’s trying to change people’s understanding of Mexican food. Décor is a little too bistro, the Miner concept really gets lost with the wood, stone, lighting. I was afraid he would Malarkey and overextend, lose his way and bomb on this, but he won be over a bit.
Drinks we’re great ideas, all over the place though. Tequila, mezcal, sotol, all bolder than traditional spirits so the proportions need to be adjusted. Slightly unbalanced. Love the satanico for the pineapple vinegar and cartreuse and the grande diablo with pisco and habanero, but the titan was a punch in the face. He loves his whiskey so he’s always gonna have some staples. $ 4.5 for fernet, yes please. Ok beer selection and huge Mezcal selection for the Carolinas.
The one thing I tried to explain to the GM that night was about corn smut and how with chef’s knowledge he could really soar with the corn and using a metate brings out the flavors even more. I doubt any of it will ever make it up him, but huitlacoche is where I originally thought they would be going in the corn concept here. This place would do well anywhere because of the quality ingredients. In the way Husk changed people’s conceptions about their local food is what I expected from Minero to do for me growing up on traditional, authentic Mexican and it didn’t quite hit the mark.

Man, I love Minero. I love their happy hour, I love their spicy margarita, I love their chips, I love their catfish taco. Come to think of it, I’ve loved just about everything I’ve ever tried there. Well, except the churros… go somewhere else for dessert. I don’t even like wings, but I like their wings. And now that they have a big new space, there’s almost never too long of a wait. What’s not to love?

Wow.
One of my rules when visiting my sister in Charleston is that we need to go somewhere she’s never been before. This time, we went to Minero. Walking in to the restaurant, you’re faced with the gorgeous bar (love the shelving!) and surrounded by a few booths that look comfortable. We were seated at a two-​top and our waiter quickly explained that the drawers underneath the table held our silverware and napkins. I LOVE this idea. Extra napkins at the ready, leaving more room for finger foods. Why haven’t I come across this before?
Anyway.
I ordered the sangria (and had to talk myself out of a second one) and a water. My sister had a cocktail, maybe something with bourbon in it? I don’t remember. But she liked it.
We ordered the guac to share and I was admittedly a little concerned when out came this tiny bowl of guac. It looked like 2 or 3 tablespoons worth, with some parsley scattered on top. It was accompanied by basically an oven mitt with a bag of chips inside, still warm.
People. If you only have one thing left to eat on Earth, let it be this guac with these chips. Holy chip. This was by far the best guac I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting.
We also ordered entrees. I had a single fish taco, which ended up being more than enough after stuffing my face with guac. It was a little spicy but not overwhelming. Absolutely delicious. My sister had ordered a burrito, thinking we’d share it if the fish taco was small. She somehow ate half of the burrito, which is about equal to her body weight, and took the other half home. I went to pick up the to-​go box and actually struggled with the weight for a second. It must have been 3 pounds by itself.
The only downside was our waiter. He was like a surfer with a Southern drawl, and had a habit of looking away from us when he was talking, then looking at us when waiting for an answer. It was hard to hear him, so that presented some difficulties. Otherwise, we had a great time and will absolutely go back. I’d love to sit at the bar and just eat the guac/​chips with a couple of beers.

Spicy margarita is a must, great tacos, shrimp and grits and I had the 2lb burrito, almost made it. My wife loves it here. Great servers too.

This is a foodie restaurant that is trendy and bustling (aka loud). The food was good fusion Mexican. The problem is I wanted good authentic Mexican food.
Their guacamole is very good, as is the mole dish (very long name, but you’ll recognize it, since there’s only one mole dish). I was a little put off by the «quesadilla» as it was actually two fried tostadas with fillings in between. Just wasn’t what I was looking for. Anyway, if you’re in the mood for tequila and foodie/​trendy fusion, this is a great place. Not so much if you want authentic Mexican food.

Part of me wants to smack this place down to 2 stars because of how disappointed I was. Sean Brock, Mexican? What’s not to like? Turns out pretty much everything.
Let’s get to the heart of it — this place is mediocre at best and criminally overpriced. I can get better taco’s in NYC at a fraction of the price. Authentic ones too, not tex mex. I happened to be there during restaurant week so the damage was limited. Nothing about these tacos screams ‘pay four dollars for meeeee!’. The service was pretty sub par as well. I felt rushed and it was defiantly not that crowded.
I see no reason to come here unless this really is the best taco you can get in downtown Charleston. Then I am just sorry for you folks.

Hands down, the best guacamole we’ve ever had! And this is coming from a dude who prides himself on his near and dear guac recipe. The chips were just as flavorful, too.
When you walk in you’re faced with a decision on taking the stairs or the elevator. But once you reach the second floor dining room and bar area your eyes are in for a visual treat. Minero is stellar from top to bottom. Spotless, chic and contemporary.
We dined in at a weird time; the lull during the conclusion of brunch. So, we had to eat from the brunch menu, which was fine, but they didn’t have any vegetarian options for my better half. Her best bet was the breakfast burrito sans chorizo, but she already indulged in a breakfast burrito for breakfast.
In turn, I ended up ordering two tacos; one steak and one fish. These were wonderful and served with delicious and spicy beans. The girlfriend eats fish (technically a pescatarian, but how pretentious does that sound?), so I traded her half of the burrito for the fish taco.
Our service was outstanding. The waitress empathized with our dilemma. I just recommend either coming for brunch or lunch. Especially, if you’re dining with a vegetarian, as they don’t have many options.

It’s pretty hard to find affordable AND good food in downtown Charleston but Minero has done it. Thank goodness they’ve moved spaces and now have more seating because this place was packed on a Friday night. We were a party of 6 and we got there around 5:45 to get a table, I imagine by the time we left people were waiting way longer than the 15 we had to be sat.
Their chips are delicious: hot, homemade and the perfect amount of seasoning. You HAVE to try a spicy margarita with their own hot sauce!
I order the burrito EVERY time and although it’s vegetarian I never miss the meat. It’s such a generous portion that I get to leave with half every time… hello leftovers!
The place is pretty loud though, it was hard to carry a conversation that included our whole table so perhaps some noise insulation or textiles on the walls could help?
Everyone in our group throughly enjoyed their meal and I know we will be back again.
Go back for: tacos, house cocktails and vegetarian options

We went to Minero on a Friday night. It ended up being one of the last nights of Restaurant Week so I am not sure if it was more so busy because of THAT. We arrived at 7 and there was an hour and a half wait. They do have a text system to tell you when your table is ready so if you want to stroll down East Bay you can! We decided to sit at the bar, usually I prefer that anyway, to avoid the wait. The bartenders were great and the Restaurant Week menu was a fantastic value. We ordered the wings and tacos. The wings are smoked, flavorful and tossed table-​side. The tacos are traditional, no sour cream or cheese so be warned! That being said the meat was great, I wish they offered seafood tacos, but maybe that’s not their deal! We never received our desert but they were busy and we didn’t make a stink. I would go back but definitely on a different night!

Best freaking restaurant in town ! I am from Miami and came to this restaurant after a über driver recommended it to me. Fun and best place here to eat definitely worth checking it out

While I was in Charleston I figured I’d check out Sean Brock’s take on Mexican. I was really looking forward to the more affordable version of Sean’s cuisine since I love McCrady’s and Husk. The food was good but nothing mind blowing. There are so many versions of tacos that are so good, I thought that Minero’s take was good but not the best that I’ve had.
The guac that we started out with was good. I tried the tacos al pastor, the pork carnitas tacos, the green chorizo tacos, the chicken tacos and the steak tacos. All of them were good but flavorwise, I think the steak tacos were my favorite.

So, Sean Brock is a genius of modern cuisine at McCradys, a modern day torch bearer of traditional Southern Cuisine at Husk and now just to rub our faces in it a bit more, killing it with amazing traditional Mexican food at Minero.
I’m from Southern California, I know good Mexican food. This is not good, this is GREAT. My wife and I had the wings – outstanding. And chose four tacos: the pastore; green chorizo (wow!); fried catfish and the charcoal grilled chicken.
I am amazed that people complain about the price. What the hell is wrong with you? The amount of work put into this casual taco shop is mind blowing. The simple potato garnish for the green chorizo taco? A perfectly confit’ potato spear with a equally perfect charred onion wrapped around it. This is not easy to do. That is just one example. I loved everything here. Can’t wait to go back.

Came by for a quick bite this afternoon after a day of exploring — I was pleasantly surprised!
The chips and guac was a great starter. The chips came in this warm, patterned pouch. The guac was nice and fresh — chunky with the perfect zing of lime and generous amount of cilantro sprinkled atop.
I ordered two catfish tacos which ended up being an excellent choice. The fish was a nice size and had a nice, crispy light batter. The accompanying cabbage slaw and onion was generous and fresh while the tartar tied it all together.
We ordered churros to end the meal and these were pretty incredible. The order comes with 6 hot pieces and a chocolate dipping sauce. These were some of the best churros I’ve ever had. So crisp, with a ridiculously fluffy, moist center. I could have finished it all myself.
Good find.

Really deserves 3.5 but i cannot bring myself to round down to 3 stars. But I am a little disappointed… :-(
I was so hyped to visit Sean Brock’s newest venture… And for what it’s supposed to be – a casual taqueria – it holds up and impresses. But the fact is that it is Sean Brock’s place… front and center on East Bay in DT Charleston… and true casual is hard to accomplish. This place actuslly feels like a bit of a side hobby for the James Beard Foundation award-​winning chef.
Wasn’t this McCrady’s wine bar? The original brick walls nod to the history of the most diverse community in our lovely state, despite the loss of the very mother school, Johnson and Wales, that coddled this establishment’s culinary genius during his formative years. Despite their historic charm, the poor acoustics the brick creates are not conducive to average volume dinner conversation. This place is just loud, and I certainly wouldn’t only visit the bar for a cocktail on a Friday night.
The loud volume certainly challenged the ambiance in the simply dressed dining room, but Chef has perfected the handmade tortillas. Supposedly these were perfected by chosing from over 40 varieties of corn. They accompany the chorizo queso, which is also spicy and delicious. The chips and guac are not your average chips and guac! These chips are also homemade and spicy.
The best dish of the night was the special okra taco… Unexpected southern meets mexican. I also tried the chilaquiles – essentially pork nachos, but lacking in much pork and overwhelmed by the black heirloom beans. The mexican corn was delicious but the rice flat out failed – watery and bland.
I do think the flavors and spice of the dishes give mad props to the southwestern tex mex flare I feel they are meant to respect. I am not well traveled enough to judge on true mexican authenticity, but it’s definitely the closest Charleston has ever come, I’m sure.
The dishes are served family style, which makes it confusing if the food is delivered by a runner and not your waiter who can recognize each patron’s order. It was awkward to share with the other couple with which we were dining as well.
The cocktails were on point, El Grande Diablo should be sipped – fair warning. It’s earned it’s name for good reason. But, the regular margarita was tasty as well.
Overall I feel this effort was to accomplish a street food meets fancy feel. I was frustrated that this place didn’t take reservations, but you’d never get a seat in here if they did. I appreciate the counter at the front of the restaurant, but I doubt it significantly decreases the service time – despite the casual food, one must commit and invest time in spending an evening here.

I hadn’t been downtown in a while (parking is such a drag) but when a friend of mine suggested that we catch an early lunch at Minero I actually jumped on it. We arrived soon after it opened, were warmly greeted, seated and quickly approached by our friendly server, Samantha. We knew exactly what we wanted to eat (thanks, Unilocalers) … and what we wanted to wash it down … Mexican Coca Cola … sugary and icy cold. (Note: unless you don’t mind waiting, plan to get there early … the dining room was filled by 11:30 A.M.)
We started with an order of Queso Fundido, ($ 9.00) a classic Mexican dish composed of ooey, gooey, melted cheese, loaded with chunks of chorizo and roasted poblano. It was served in what appeared to be a tiny cast iron skillet, piping hot, with warm, soft, handmade tortillas. The order was just the right size for two people to share.
Next to arrive was a Taco Al Pastor ($ 3.50) … a nice amount of tender marinated and grilled pork, pineapple and avocado piled on a warm tortilla … beautifully plated and delicious … and, an ample order of Chilaquiles ($ 9.00). The latter was brimming with large heirloom beans and tender pork, crunchy tortilla chips, chunky salsa, a perfectly cooked (yolk still runny) fried egg, small pieces of queso fresco (cheese), avocado and lettuce. (I asked to hold the crema.) If you haven’t tried this dish … don’t wait … every mouthful contains everything you love about Mexican cuisine … crunchy, spicy, creamy. In fact, there are so many fabulous dishes I want to try at Minero (with prices that are easy on the wallet) … I know I’ll be back.

I didn’t think it could be possible that Minero could be so different yet as good as Husk. It’s a must visit. I wish I had nowhere to be and I could just stay, eat, have more room, eat and repeat.
We ordered:
the sangria — not sweet at all, refreshing.
the catfish taco — crunchy, very fresh, exactly what you’d want in a fish taco
the al pastor taco — so good I didn’t want it to end
the guac — small but plenty to share, radish on top is a nice touch
the corn — get your own because you will regret having to share — salty, crisp, porky, sweet, smoky all at once
the churros — oh, yes, the churros. I was full of everything we’d eaten and then it turned into Operation No Churro Left Behind and I ate all but one on my own.
Everything was delicious. There was nothing more I could’ve asked for and I didn’t want to leave. The décor of the restaurant fits the food and the wait staff was unobtrusive.
This is a «come to Charleston, stop here no matter what» kind of place.

We really enjoyed Minero. The food was outstanding and the service was average.
I respect chasing authenticity but there is also part of me yearning for the Tex-​Mex that most Americans are accustomed to eating here in the states. A flour tortilla option for the tacos would be great. The purist approach seen with Minero is a bit of a letdown. I think most Charlestonians want a GREAT Mexican restaurant that has SOME of those Tex-​Mex leaning options on the menu. Since most (if not all) of the Mexican spots around town don’t come close to the quality of Minero, it would be amazing to have some of those restaurants’ dishes that are well-​executed with quality ingredients.
With all of that being said, this place is still great and we’ll definitely be back.
From a price standpoint, it is what you make it. Since this was our first time there, we went a bit over the top. We ordered four cocktails, two appetizers, two sides, and five tacos. With tip, we got out just shy of $ 100.
A lot of the menu options are cheap but it does add up.
I would definitely give Minero a try. If you’re visiting, have lunch here and head to McCrady’s for dinner for the true Sean Brock experience.

Comida mexicana, los tacos son riquísimos, personalmente recomiendo el de carnitas y el queso fundido muy autentico! Las tortillas DELICIOSAS!