Roastfish & Cornbread

Our food was excellent. Something completely different from the rest of what we ate on the island. The service was pretty good. I will say the kids meals were a little scant, but I did appreciate the healthy options for the kiddos. The outside looks like a dive, but inside it’s awesome. Totally recommend!

They have moved to a new location under the name of burnin down south in bluffton sc. Okate

Great food. Go at 11:00 and walk right in!

Liked this place so much we returned a 2^nd time during our week long vacation. The hush puppies with the sweet potato dipping sauce are the best I’ve ever had! In fact, my seafood trio platter was probably the best meal I have ever had in a restaurant. Every little thing tasted fabulous… Mac & cheese, sweet potato cornbread, shrimp, scallops, crab cake. Even the tartar sauce & andouille sauce were so creamy & flavorful. My husbands got the same thing both times… fish tacos. He said they were great! I would eat here regularly if I could.
We didn’t have trouble with our service, but witnessed a table near us who were very upset. Apparently their ticket didn’t get sent to the kitchen & they waited a very long time for their food. This restaurant would benefit from a new POS system for the servers & cooks.
The first time we ate here, they forgot the hush puppies on my mom’s dish. When we brought it to our server’s attention, she brought us double the amount! She even brought out crackers for my 2 y.o. while we waited for our food.
This place is a must if you’re visiting HH.

We found this place via Unilocal,thanks Unilocalers!
When we arrived, there were a few tables seated and eating. We waited for a while and joked about the twilight zone… but then a lady appeared and said she’d be right with us. When she came to seat us, she informed us that someone had not shown up and she was the only one there today. Still she had a smile on her face, a skip in her step, and a superfun nature about her. When we ordered, they didn’t have the first 5 or 6 things we tried to order yet (it was early), but we were all happy with our food. A lizard appeared on a wall near the entrance as we enjoyed our food and when we pointed out the unexpected dinner guest, it was an extremely comical event. The lizzy was safely transported to a much better lizard food finding location by the 12 year old (girl) in our party.
All in all… our experience every bit lived up to all of the food network and newspaper articles that hang on the walls. it was wonderful and we enjoyed every minute of it.

Delicious food, eclectic atmosphere, great waiter (Gerald). Eat the sweet potato cornbread!

I reviewing this as a Vegetarian and Vegan brought in by the extensive vegetarian menu offered.
We stopped in RoastFish after finding their vegetarian menu online and were excited about eating somewhere that not just had a token veg dish, but a whole menu!
We ordered the Ethiopian lentil Salad, the Vegetable Po-​Boy and Portable appetizer stuffed with Ethiopian salad. So far, so good. Ethiopian spices might mean an actual tasty vegetarian dinner.
We soon found out the kitchen was out of lentils so we had to cancel the Ethiopian Lentil Salad. The chef’s special menu included a vegetable sauté with brown rice so I ordered that.
The appetizer was good and flavorful but took forever to come out. I’m not sure that speed can be a complaint in a low-​country dining experience so we settled in and relaxed.
Our dinner finally arrived and I found out that my vegetable sauté was simply a vegetable medley with some rice. No sauce, no spices, no flavor. The rice was overcooked but had fantastic flavor. Unfortunately there was only ¹⁄₃ of a cup of rice on the whole plate. The po-​boy didn’t fair much better since it was just the same sauteed vegetable medley on a bun. No sauce, no spices, no flavor. The side of lentils that should have been with the po-​boy was replaced by plain couscous.
Being out of lentils, the only vegetarian protein on the menu, was bad enough but to put dishes out with no flavor was a something I would expect from a token vegetarian dish, not a vegetarian menu.
I would suggest to the owners to move some of the wonderful flavors in the rice to more of the vegetarian dishes. Use the Ethiopian spices you obviously have in the kitchen. And please make more lentils.

I’m hesitant to write this review after reading the others as it might lead to a renewed influx of tourists. We’ve been coming here for years and over the last two years noticed what others had said — slow service and long waits. Dodd has always been best on island, even if slow.
Turns on someone else was listening to the reviews too — chef david. We’re sitting here on a random Thursday and the service is perfect. Wait was 2 minutes and our food came out on time. In fact they have us extra alligator because our 5 & 7 year old said they loved it.
The restaurant isn’t nearly as busy as it used to be, which is nice, but that will change when others realize this gem is back and stronger than ever.
We’re the one and two star reviews right? Yes. Has the business heard the complaints and changed? It appears so.

Yes. Eat here. We saw the recent reviews and almost chickened out but so glad we didn’t. Best meal we had on the island all week. Seafood all very fresh. Chicken stew very unique and good. Cornbread tastes like a dessert. The collards are among the best I’ve had. BRING YOUR OWN BOOZE.

Had seen the reviews of this place, and was intrigued. So glad a decided to stop here on the way out of town. Started off with a wonderful Spicy Swamp Gumbo along with a lie of their cornbread. Gumbo was full of seafood, just the right spiciness, and the cornbread was wonderful (think semisweet carrot cake, but thick like cornbread).
Got the low country seafood lunch place, which I had blackened. Whiting, jumbo shrimp, and a little crab cake. I enjoyed the blackening spices, the shrimp was plump, the fish was moist, and the crabcake was full of crap. As my two sides, I had them put the yellow rice I ordered in the bowl with the red and black beans on top. This combination was extraordinary.
This is not haute cuisine; however, this is incredibly good food at a good price. The chef uses lots of organic ingredients, there is entire page of vegetarian options.

Best low country dining we experienced in our 10-​day trip to SC! The blackened shrimp and scallops were amazing. My children enjoyed the variety of options to include beer-​battered shark.
BYOB!

This was simply put the worst dining experience I’ve had in my entire adult life. It was like everything posted in the previous reviews came true in our visit.
We we arrived half of the items on the sides menu were «out of season» and unavailable. How is Mac and cheese «out of season»? When we sat down we were informed that three additional side items were not available. And somehow they were out of tarter sauce. Seriously?
The service was painfully slow and when our food did start to arrive almost an hour after ordering it came out one or two plates at a time and several orders were incorrect and many sides were so cold they couldn’t be eaten. The waitress (if you can call her that) called my mother a liar when she said that she ordered fried scallops and not grilled and when her side of fries came out 10min after her scallops they were ice cold.
Our meals were missing the signature cornbread and when I asked about it we were told that they were out and more would not be available until the next hour. My meal was missing the crab cake which I didn’t even realize until we were driving home.
We spoke to the manager and I asked him if this was some kind of joke because I was expecting Gordon Ramsey to come out of the kitchen at any time and yell, «that’s it, Hell’s Kitchen is closed!» He didn’t think that was funny. They took off 10% for paying cash and when he took of my mother’s scallops due to the waitress calling her a liar she said «but she got her scallops!»
Sadly when we came her two years ago it was the best food we had and I raved about this place and recommended it since and this was to be our highlight meal of this trip.
Never again! Save yourself the aggravation and go elsewhere because everything you read in the poor reviews is spot on.

I’m sorry to say that our most recent visit here was frustrating and disappointing. We remembered this restaurant as being a happy secret with spectacular local flavor. When we saw that they now take reservations, we were thrilled, since the wait was the only challenging aspect to prior experiences. However, our 7pm reservation resulted in being seated an hour later, and only that early because several parties in front of us on the reservation list left – angry – without food.
The explanation was that two servers called off, and the inattentive staff did seem overwhelmed. But the kitchen also seemed outmatched, and while the food was good (the cornbread was amazing), it wasn’t worth the annoyances. We essentially only got our entrees once every other diner had left the restaurant, at about 9:30pm. By that point, they had run out of dessert, which capped off the evening appropriately.
Our waiter, Antoine, was promoted on the spot from a lesser position to help out, and tried very hard. And I’ll note that the manager adjusted our bill considerably, and came across as genuinely interested in our experience. And maybe some nights are better than others. But with so many great options on the island, they need to get their act together to make it worth the trouble. We won’t be back.

Very happy with the delicious and healthy options. All fish can be prepared grilled, blackened, or fried (I think there were other options too). My grilled Vegetable Salad was fantastic — I loved the peas and asparagus the best (it was May — I’m not sure if they added them because they’re in season or not. At my request, they added
the soft-​shell crab appetizer on top and it really made the meal. We all lived the alligator (grilled) — tasted a bit like lobster. Fantastic service. They take reservations. No alcohol served! But free corkage so bring your own. Very casual. They do take reservations for groups of 4 or more. It’s busy, so it’s recommended!

I was in Hilton Head for a conference and went here with one other co-​worker. On initial look it is a cute place tucked away from the main road. There was not much of a wait when we got there.
We were suggested to order «roastfish and cornbread» which we did. We also got some oysters on the half shell which are not on the menu but you can ask them if they are serving them that day.
They got a little busy during lunch, did not have enough staff so our order took quite awhile.
The oysters tasted fresh can’t beat getting them right by the coast.
The fish was also fresh which I appreciated greatly but it was a little bit lacking in flavor. It simply tasted like plain fish, fresh… but plain. They also forgot to bring out the cornbread for the dish… which considering it’s half the name of the dish I was a little annoyed by. It is also suggested on the menu that this a dish for sharing. But you get one small cube of cornbread to split. I would at least expect we each get our own slice of cornbread.
Staff was friendly, but service was slow. Cute place, décor is a little eclectic. Maybe my experience would have been better if I ordered something else on the menu, their shrimp burger did look intriguing.

Food was okay. I was disappointed with the sweet potato cornbread, bc it was very dry. I got a trio plate, and chose fried oysters, fish of the day, and crab cake. Everything tasted good, the oysters were fresh! The place is expensive for the portions they give you.
They ran out of their hushpuppies. :-(
The collard greens were sweet and sour, different. I wasn’t a fan.
Fried okra was very good!
The service was a bit slow, island slow, but everyone was very nice. The good thing is, they took $ 10 off our tab, bc my parents were with us, and gave us a senior discount.
When we visit HHI, we will probably check it out again.

REALLY wanted this place to be better than it was. It looks so fun and funky, the music is jammin’ and the people are nice. It was all the more disappointing when the food didn’t equal the ambiance.
Mid-​afternoon is not an excuse for things like dry sweet potato cornbread. The truck hadn’t arrived with the hushpuppies (?) or calamari (?), so much for homemade. It’s a seafood restaurant, so why we’re the adductor muscles still on the scallops?
Then there were the portions. Another disappointment. That’s all we need to say. Price them appropriately. The alligator appetizer was yummy, but cost far more per bite than we expected. Tiny $ 3 side orders, really?
We’re glad to have tried it. Don’t need to go back. (No TVs though. That saved a star.)

Not bad but not great either. We were seated very promptly as there were only few occupied tables around early afternoon on a weekday. The service was very friendly. We ordered alligator for appetizer, port royal platter, and whole roasted flounder for mains. The fried alligator tasted like a cross between calamari and frog legs. It was ok but I probably wouldn’t order it again. The port royal platter was simple and fresh but needed a bit of salt. They did a good job roasting the seafood but it really lacked any seasoning. Just a bit of salt goes a long way! The flounder at a price of around 23 was steep. I didn’t taste any of the mango that they described on the menu. Again it needed just a touch of seasoning…
Everything was fresh but very bland, and the price is steep for such a casual and simple cooking. Good to try once.

I heard about this local restaurant from a friend (thanks Mai!) with a glowing endorsement. I came in on a Friday night and got the fairly predictable message that I’d have to wait 45 minutes for the next table. I didn’t have anything else to do that night, so I drove around the island, did a few errands, and returned to the restaurant. Btw, they don’t take reservations here.
The waitress was patient, descriptive, and helpful. If you were expecting some sappy, syrupy service here, you’re not going to get it. Sadly, the restaurant did not have alligator available. I had the seafood trio of crab cake, blackened flounder, and blackened scallops. The crab cake was a little bit tasteless, small, and limp. The flounder, while not the best presented, tasted excellent. It wasn’t overcooked and the chef did a good job with a delicate fish. The scallops were cooked perfectly. The only gripe I might have with the blackened seafood is that it was a bit too salty for me. Go lightly blackened if you get the chance.
The sides were a mixed bag. The restaurant ran out of mac n’ cheese, to my chagrin. So I went for the collard greens, sweet potato fries (recommended by the waitress) and their well-​known hush puppies. The collard greens, while I’m not an expert on them, were gross. I know enough to say that collard greens should not be sweet and sour, but rather, smokey. The sweet potato fries were okay, though I’m not really much of a fan of sweet potato to begin with. You get a pretty sizable portion of them.
The jewel of the sides by far were the hush puppies. They were definitely fresh out of the fryer, and were delicious. The hush puppies had real corn inside, and had a soft cornmeal texture. The sweet potato cornbread was okay. While I liked the flavor of it (the cinnamon was a nice touch), the texture… was a little dry, which I didn’t expect from cornbread.
The décor is kinda trippy and is definitely interesting. The restaurant is rather small, and if you can’t eat outside, you’ll likely be waiting for a while.
The good outweighed the bad, and with the seemingly dearth of good local restaurants in the area, this one’s definitely worth a visit, especially if you like seafood.

After much debate– we’ve settle on this place for our final meal in HH.
Got there at 12:30 on a Thursday and had a 5 minute wait for a group of 6.
Décor is really unique and whimsical — hand painted murals cover the walls.
Waitress was hoarse and had lost her voice– but was very friendly. (saw the pregnant waitress and she looked incredibly unhappy)
Attempted to order the sweet potato hummus– they were out. Tried to order the Shrimp burger… also out. Ended up getting the veggie poboy and it was very mediocre.
What was stellar: the hush puppies, fried okra, conch fritters, roasted flounder with crab stuffing.
What was pretty good: the blackened port royal platter, sweet potato fries
What was good but nothing special: the sweet potato cornbread was mushy and too sweet. Also, the brisket.
The kids meal was a great deal– tons of fresh fish nuggets and fruit for $ 6.
The Indian lemonade is made with cayenne pepper, brown sugar, and honey. It was SOUR!!! If you like sour-​this is your drink!
Then we tried to order dessert and were told that they were out of ALL desserts. Uhm… really? At lunch time?
I would definitely come back. I would definitely recommend to a friend. This was hands down the best meal we had on this trip.