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1:00 PM
Susie Gorsline
New and improved??? Not so much.
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| Remodeled Bar Area |
An anchor in the bevy of restaurants in Charleston has
always been Sermet’s. This casual,
unpretentious locale has recently undergone a remodel and we were excited to
see the “new look”. It did not
disappoint.
Gone is the heavy, wood-laden look which is replaced with
a beautiful, contemporary interior. The
restaurant is now full of light, gorgeous light fixtures, white pillars and
ivory clothed seating. The difference is
like night and day.
We dined with our friends Dennis and Ginger from Carolina
Coastal Properties and they too, thought the place looked magnificent. We hoped
the experience would be equally enticing.
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| New Dining Area |
From the beginning of our meal our server was “on the move”. He was quick to take our beverage order, recite
the specials at a rapid pace and then take off. This was probably the most we
saw of him the entire evening.
The four of us decided to split two “starters”. One was the sautéed Calamari tossed with
Capers, Orange Zest, Tomatoes, Basil, Pesto and Fennel over Spinach. This arrived piping hot, but lacking its
friend, the other starter, Sashimi tuna with pineapple. So we waited, and waited, and waited – no
tuna.
About ten minutes later the tuna arrived. It was delicious as was the calamari, but the
timing was seriously off. No sighting of
our server either… (Note the pattern emerging).
As the restaurant filled with patrons the energy
increased and although this is a small place, it has a ton of potential to be a
great spot.
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| Sautéed Calamari tossed with Capers, Orange Zest, Tomatoes, Basil, Pesto and Fennel over Spinach. |
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| Sashimi tuna with pineapple |
Our meals arrived and that’s when the wheels fell off of
the bus. My friend and I ordered shrimp,
mussels, calamari and chorizo sausage sautéed with a shaved fennel in a mild
Sambuca-tomato sauce tossed with linguini pasta. We were delivered a seafood pasta dish served
over couscous. Since there are 2 dishes
with shrimp on the menu, our waiter clearly placed our order for the wrong
seafood dish. Luckily the manager was the person serving our meal and she
quickly removed the erroneous dishes and said it would be a few minutes before
our correct entrees arrived. In case
you’re wondering our server continued to be MIA. In hindsight we should have
stuck with the dish originally served.
We encouraged everyone else at the table to enjoy their
meals as we waited for ours to arrive.
The Grilled Salmon over Baby Green with Grilled Pears, Crumbled
Gorgonzola and apple with Champagne Vinaigrette was delightful. The salmon was a very large portion served
over a fresh, crisp salad and as I waited for my pasta I must admit I had salad
envy.
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| Grilled Salmon over Baby Green with Grilled Pears, Crumbled Gorgonzola and apple with Champagne Vinaigrette |
The Grilled Bone-In Pork chop braised in sweet tea and
served with Gorgonzola Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes and accompanied by a sauté of
cabbage and apple with smoked bacon was disappointing. The pork chop, though moist, was incredibly
overcooked. Mind you our waiter said the
chef recommends medium, which we requested. The mashed potatoes were cold and
topped with a pile of crumbled gorgonzola that couldn’t melt on a dare. The cabbage with apples and bacon was a nice
add, but hey, who doesn't like bacon???
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| The Grilled Bone-In Pork chop braised in sweet tea and served with Gorgonzola Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes and accompanied by a sauté of cabbage and apple with smoked bacon |
Our pasta dishes arrived quickly but these tepid dishes
were really nothing to write home about.
Did we mention that we’d still not seen our server…?
The pasta dish was marginal at best. How could this dish be lukewarm if it was
supposed to be “rushed” for us? And then…
the answer came to us.
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| The MIA pasta dish... |
After we were finished and waiting for our check there
seemed to be a commotion two tables down from us. One of the patrons was served our exact pasta
dish only it looked exquisite. It was
this heaping mound of pasta and people around her were commenting on it. It wasn’t the “hint” of pasta with lukewarm
seafood that we’d received. It was a
mile high pile of linguini that was steaming hot and the seafood appeared to be
standing at attention. Now I had mad
pasta envy.
I only wished that Sermet’s had taken the time to rectify
the situation with us correctly. It
appeared that they may have taken another patron’s entrée, split it in half and
rushed it to our table. Although I
commend the speed of service, I would gladly have waited for a great entrée to
be served.
People that read this blog mention that I should speak up
when things go wrong. I get that. Unfortunately we never saw the server again
(even our water glasses were empty…), until we asked for the bill.
Sermet’s is a gorgeous place, not too expensive, but
needs a lot of work. We’ll wait a bit
until we return.
1 comments:
The New Look is AMAZING! Same great menu- so you went and maybe your server was a bit off... why the harsh review? I think you should try it again- we love this place and it is a staple to downtown Charleston going on 18 years of service.
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