Tristan Restaurant

I don’t understand what everyone was smoking before they ate here and wrote these reviews but I want some if I’m ever forced to go back here.
Ok maybe that’s a little too mean but that’s how I felt as we paid the check and were leaving completely unsatisfied with our first night out in Charleston.
This place was too ambitious throughout the whole dinner service. The first moment we knew dinner was trouble was as we walked in and found the restaurant completely empty. Through our whole dinner there ended up being two tables served. Yes it was a Tuesday evening and it’s not summer (which is when I’m guessing it’s the busiest) but almost every other place we still needed a reservation for dinner.
The staff were all super friendly but a little over ambitious with the separate waiters for water, bread, food etc. I have been to many restaurants that have that way of staffing but this one had it unnecessarily.
The menu was very limited. This place follows farm to table qualities for ingredients which is nice and understandable for why the menu is limited but with the two of us we were able to get through every thing on the menu. Seems a little short. The options was a prefix 4,5 or 6 course menu. We each chose the 4 since it was such a small menu anyway.
Didn’t get any drinks so I can’t testify to whether they are good or not.
When we first got the appetizers we thought hmmm this an ok start but hopefully just the start to a much better meal and as the plates kept coming we started thinking well at least the appetizers were good. Just not something anyone should think when eating dinner.
The plating was beautiful but also overly ambitious when the food was lacking good texture and flavor.
We shared all our dishes and only a few I can remember because they were the only ones that stood out at as either good or just bad.
I can’t even remember most of the plates we ate because nothing stood out. What I remember is a chocolate crumble and beet salad which was great texture but a very weird flavor palate. Fish was undercooked. And dessert cheese plate was awful mix of tart berries with salty cheese and crackers. The other dessert profiterole with ice cream tasted old. The ice cream was creamy though.
Not coming back here unless they revamp the food and then revamp the prices.

A strange evening. The meal was great. We had the Four Course selection. There was also 5, 6, 7, and 9 course options. The 4 course was a lot of food, especially with the 4 amuse-​bouche that were served. When we first got there at only 3 other tables were in use and the couple at one of these tables looked at the menu and left. After the others left we were the only ones in the restaurant until 7:45 or so when a couple of other groups came in. I suggest they revise the presentation of their menu so it is apparent that the selections can also be served as single courses. Since we were the only ones there, the service was great.

We came here for Valentines day and the good was incredible. We chose the dinner with the wine pairings and I was very impressed. Great presentation and great food.

Amazing. We went during restaurant week, but we wanted the full tasting menu. Which was to our benefit cus it confused the kitchen staff so we got full plates for every tasting.
The staff is just excellent, our waitress was extremely attentive and had great personality! Even gave us a few hot spots to go after.
The food, I can’t even explain the experience except it was amazing! From super creative out of the box thinking like smoked grapes, smoked carrot two ways… Ethiopian crispy cookies rolled with carpaccio, vegetable ash, coffee and chocolate crumble paired with beets, white chocolate black truffle ice cream, amazingly sweet Nantucket scallops… The food was just so beautifully plated and so delicious that it brought me to near tears.
I truly loved the food. I wanna go back, but alas, it’s a 3 hour drive…

Go see Megan or Sam at the bar for great fresh, passionate, innovative new cocktails.

We are staying at the French Quarter, and after walking all over town we decided to stay close for dinner, and I am really glad we did. We ordered the 5 course tasting menu. I will not go into the details of the meal, as it changes regularly. I will say it was one of the most unique and wonderful meals we have had in long time. The combinations of favors were creative and wonderfully tasty. All I can say is that we would go back and try anything that they offer. I highly recommend Tristan to any one looking for a wonderful dining experience where the food looks as good as it tastes.

I had one of the best meals I’ve ever tasted at Tristan.
A group of 11 of us went for a birthday dinner on Saturday, with a 9:15 reservation. Even though it was very late, the wait staff was willing to accommodate us as a few stragglers rolled in. They were incredibly professional, while still being friendly in a seemingly genuine way.
The food was divine. Every bite was perfectly seasoned and delicious.

This place is soooooo good! This isn’t an everyday kind of place… but definitely great for a date or to impress clients. I’m not going to rattle through everything I had… who really wants to read all of that?!
Vegetarian options are PHENOMENAL to say the very least! And you made me like beets. I hate beets! What kind of magic are you using in the kitchen Tristan?

I’m back! There are so many reviews I have to catch up on, but slow and steady right?
So way back in April, I went to Charleston for my friend’s bachelorette party. I highly recommend this location as a bachelorette destination if you are looking for great food, southern charm and not a super crazy party scene.
We had dinner at Tristan our first night and it was probably the fanciest meal we had there. They have all those little extra things like an amuse bouche, simultaneous presentation of entrees, gourmet bread baskets, etc that clearly defined it as a top of the line place. The service was outstanding. They knew it was a bachelorette and went out of the way to make it a memorable experience.
On to the food. Now, I don’t know if my taste buds just not refined enough, but I think the uniqueness and creativity of the preparations and combinations were just lost on me. I had the free range chicken breast and it seemed like it was poached (or steamed? or sous vide-​d) with a creamy polenta and truffle oil concoction with corn and some mushroom. Was it tasty? Yes. Was it mind blowingly amazing? No. Also, I feel like I got gipped with the presentation on this especially when compared to my friends’ short ribs and scallops. And as is the problem with places like these, portions were petite, you only got one piece of the delicious delicious bread, and there is an expectation to order three courses. We did not. We instead opted to go crazy with the desserts and ordered 9 desserts between 8 of us. Unfortunately, the creativity of the desserts surpassed even the entrees and thus, I was even more lost as to what exactly I was supposed to be experiencing/​enjoying. I think unanimously, the smoked chocolate did not go over well, but the passion fruit pudding cake won the night. The lemongrass ginger ale was an interesting idea, but also failed to impress.
If you want a fine dining experience, go to Tristan. If you want try innovative preparations, this is also great. But if you just want simple, delicious food, there are other places in Charleston that better warrant your time.

Food was excellent. My husband wanted the chefs special and we requested it for one, and I agreed that I understood he would have several courses and I would not. They would not do it, what happened to customer service. When you walk in it’s a little formal and contemporary for Charleston. Does not have the charm of Charleston. Staff nice and friendly very informed young lady helped us with a new wine selection, waitress staff did not seem to be as educated with the menu. Although the food was excellent wide variety of food that is just as good in Charleston, and would serve the chefs special just for one.

This place is probably one of the more formal joints you can hit up in Charleston. I don’t mean white glove, I just mean presentation and décor. A little too formal if you ask me.
We walked in and the place was half empty. The décor is very early 90’s and looks a touch tired. So we were nervous as we had come for the fantastic meal that all the reviews speak of.
Our fears were allayed once the food started coming out. Completely out of this world. A beet salad that was dusted with some magical substance that made it even more awesome than an regular awesome beet salad. I don’t even remember what I got for my entrée, but it was definitely pork and suffice it to say that it was also awesome.
The service was a bit too young and inexperience. Our waitress didn’t correctly know how to open a bottle of wine. Sort of 101 for a nice restaurant, but if you can get past that and past the fact that it looks like you’re dining in a hotel lobby (sort of) — the food is really great.

We both ordered the Chef’s Tasting and were not disappointed. You are treated to great service that is coordinated by a team of well trained servers. They started us with a Strawberry Gazpacho to cleanse the palate, and it was amazing. Mozzarella was great, but the Scallop was absolutely cooked to perfection. Risotto course was creative and delicious. I highly recommend the cheese course to finish. The food here is very creative and over the top. We asked if we could talk to the Chef, and Nate was an interesting person to talk to and he was very grateful to be showered with our compliments. My only concern is about the electronic minimalistic music playing in the background. I found it annoying and would prefer something classical or upscale.

I came here for dinner last night and was the only one at the bar. Thomas and the staff took great care of me and treated me like a VIP. This was certainly fine dining with excellent service. Ended up doing the 5-​course chef’s tasting menu with wine pairings. The tomato mozzarella course was incredibly delicious. There was also a violet martini drink that was to die for.

Probably one of the best scallop meals I’d ever had. The service was fantastic. However many people were on staff, I believe all of them waited on us. If my water glass was 2 oz low, they were there to fill it. They made some great drinks as well. I started out with the salad which included a great chevre. While we could have ordered from the tasting menu, the group of 6 of us decided to go ala carte. Most of us had the scallops. My colleague had the salmon and said it was one of the best ever. We were brought palate cleansers between each course. For dessert, two colleagues split a smoked chocolate ice cream shaped like a sausage. The rest of us shared another gelato dessert. The portions are neither small nor huge. There weren’t many people there and it was nice to be able to have a conversation without background noise.

Went here for our 4 year wedding anniversary and it was by far one of the best meals we’ve ever had!

Great food, good location, amazing service
This is one the top restaurants in Charleston. I got the salmon and it was amazing. The food here isn’t cheap, but it was definitely worth it. The desert is to die for!!! Our table sampled everything on the dessert menu and every single desert was amazing. Definitely check this place out if you are in Charleston. We went during the week so I am not sure about weekend reservations, but during the week I don’t think reservations are really necessary. We didn’t have any and we were seated and served promptly.

We went to this place early on a rainy Saturday night in Charleston. It is located in the French Quarter Hotel in the historic district. Free valet parking is a nice touch in this crowded part of town.
Service was coordinated as a team and was impeccable. The cuisine was a combination of low country and nouvelle American. My wife had a wonderful pumpkin soup with a hint of cream to start
We both had the wild mushroom salad which was primarily an ragout of wild mushrooms with just a hint of frisee mixed in.
I had the fresh catch which was bellyfish, a grouper-​like guy with a slightly more buttery taste. It was prepared with faro mixed with sun dried tomatoes.
My wife had a low country carbonara, ingeniously prepared with quail over finely sliced Vidalia onions made into pasta consistency with a bacon crème fraiche.
We had a nice 2008 Pinot (Satellite) from the Marlborough region in New Zealand. Wines were competitively priced and a nice selection. The place had an open spotless kitchen and simple, modern décor.
It is definitely worth the trip and was a truly memorable dining experience.

Upscale dining it is! Very sleek and modern design/​concept in the midst of this old historic town… Very well cooked food, attentive service, overall a very good experience.
Yes it is pricey, but the portions are NOT small like many previous reviewers complaint… I am actually a little upset with previous reviews for indirectly encouraging me to order 2 appetizers, two mains, and a desert for two people…(we were hungry). Buy the time our main dishes came (grouper and scallop plates) we were already full: Drinks+water+bread (their focaccia is really fluffy and yummy)+foie gras tortelloni (smooth and interesting taste)+braised octopus (outstanding)=almost full.
My grouper, which was the market fish that day, was perfectly cooked but we thought that the accompanying sauce (tomato broth) was a tad bit heavy and sweet overwhelming our taste buds; the scallops were probably the best I’ve ever had (again, perfectly cooked, caramelized yet fresh tasting), and mind you, I am not a big scallop fan.
Last, our desert, the sorbet trio (more like gelatto in my opinion) was divine and I am so glad we ordered it although we were stuffed and in fact I could not finish most of my fish: surprisingly it helped us digest and stop feeling like we had devoured everything under the sea.
Not to forget: the mise a bouche was a nice little bite to start off the dinner.
I would definitely go again and perhaps this time do the chef tasting menu. If you like to taste this and that but want to appreciate what you eat, I think the tasting menu would be a better and less costly option.

One of the best meals of my life. Period.
I ate there almost a week ago, and I am still fantasizing. From beginning to end, the dinner was phenomenal. Prices are a little steep, but trust me — it is worth it!!! I had the scallops and my boyfriend had the salmon. For dessert, he had the pot de crème and I had the smoked chocolate parfait. My goodness gracious, it was fantastic. At the end of our dinner, we were plotting how to kidnap the chef!
Wait staff was also phenomenal and did not rush us at all.
Wholeheartedly recommend!!!

A super classy place for dinner — but the times I’ve been there I’ve only ever been in the lounge for happy hour. Great drinks, great prices, and great service. Plenty of seating, and not overly crowded, not even at happy hour.
A great place to «pregame» while you wait for your table somewhere else, and near the waterfront to boot.