OPENINGS
TOP DAWG TAVERN OPENS AT SHELTER COVE HARBOUR & MARINA
Top Dawg Tavern, a family-owned and operated casual dining restaurant, opened its fifth location. The latest spot is at Shelter Cove Harbour & Marina on Hilton Head Island. Top Dawg Tavern serves lunch and dinner seven days a week and brunch on Sundays. Top Dawg Tavern’s first restaurant opened in 2013, just outside Athens, Ga.
THE SMOKEHOUSE REOPENS
Hilton Head eatery The Smokehouse recently reopened. An island staple since 1999, The Smokehouse at Palmetto Bay Road burned in a fire in 2019. The Smokehouse’s menu includes barbecue, ribs, wings, and chili.
ACCOLADES
BLUFFTON BREWERY WINS
Lot 9 brewing co., a Bluffton-based nano-brewery, won a bronze medal for its Blonde Ale in the 2021 U.S. Open Beer Championship, a news release said. The U.S. Open Beer Championship judges more beer styles than any other competition in the world. This year, more than 8,000 beers representing over 140 different styles were judged from breweries from all over the country.
They also won Best of the Southeast for its “Mai Lord Mai Bock” beer in the United States Beer Tasting Championship. The brewery also received two honorable mentions for “Dana’s Big DIPA Imperial Hazy IPA,” as well as its “Lil’ Slice of Hefen Wheat Beer.” The competition analyzed 775 beers from 177 breweries across 18 different beer categories, a news release said.
POSEIDON NAMED AMONG TOP RESTAURANTS IN THE UNITED STATES
Hilton Head-based Poseidon was ranked among the country’s top restaurants in the Trip Advisor’s “Traveler’s Choice 2021 Best of Best” lists. Poseidon was 18th in the “Top Everyday Eats” category. Located at Shelter Cove Towne Centre, Poseidon offers coastal cuisine.
NOW OPEN
Craft Kitchen
Craft Kitchen has been a mainstay in the Old Town Bluffton Historic District since the fall of 2020. The restaurant with a cozy atmosphere puts a spotlight on its passion for market-fresh ingredients, honest cooking, and an enjoyable environment.
The food menu, which includes hand-breaded fried chicken and delicately seasoned burgers, features a selection of dishes made in-house. The beer menu is curated to feature independently owned craft breweries.
“We make nearly everything from scratch here,” said Vincent Kull, who owns the eatery with Desi Kull.
Craft Kitchen, which is a craft beer and wine gastropub, offers a rotating list of ales, lagers, ciders and wine from craft breweries and wineries from around the country. There are also many local favorites.
The restaurant serves an all-day lunch and dinner menu that includes bar snacks, small plates, sandwiches, and mini sweet treats made in-house that use seasonal and local ingredients.
Craft Kitchen is at 7 Johnston Way, Bluffton. Open Wednesday to Sunday from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. craftkitchen.online. 843-815-7755.
Lucky Rooster
Lucky Rooster Kitchen + Bar re-opened in April with a focus on fresh local ingredients and regional favorites. The upscale eatery welcomed the addition of executive chef David Landrigan.
Formerly of Circa 1875 and La Scala Ristorante in Savannah, Landrigan is a classically trained chef who has been carrying on the restaurant’s signature style, adding his own subtle (and enormously delicious) spin on each dish. The menu changes throughout the seasons based on ingredients, tides, and the inspiration of Chef Landrigan.
Clayton Rollison opened Lucky Rooster in 2013 and reached an agreement with Leffew Restaurant Group to keep the tradition moving forward. Hilton Head residents and operating partners David and Carrie Leffew are intent on preserving Lucky Rooster’s passion for food and service.
“It’s still Southern American-inspired food, it’s just prepared in an elevated way that brings out the quality,” said David Leffew, who has more than 20 years of hospitality experience.
Lucky Rooster has expanded to include lunch and brunch hours along with dinner.
Lucky Rooster Kitchen + Bar is open Tues.-Sat. 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun. 10:30 a.m.- 10 p.m. 841 William Hilton Pkwy Unit A, Hilton Head Island. luckyroosterhhi.com. 843-715-3215.
NEW RESTAURANT
TÔRO
Asian and Latin fare make for the perfect marriage at TôRō. The new restaurant on North Forest Beach Drive is the brainchild of George Casalicchio and his partner and executive chef Eric Golden.
Casalicchio is a Long Islander, and Golden is a San Diego native with a Korean heritage who grew up in a region with a heavy Latino influence.
“We come from different backgrounds, but we both love to play in the culinary sandbox and challenge our diners to expand their palettes,” Casalicchio said.
Meat eaters will enjoy the Bulgogi Sandwich (sliced korean marinated ribeye, greens, onion, grilled pineapple, bulgogi sauce, garlic aioli, pretzel roll), and, if you’re more surf than turf, ahi tuna (coriander dusted seared tuna, shredded cabbage, japanese lime-crema & sweet peppers), Grilled Garlic Shrimp (pepper slaw, habanero coulis, bean sprouts) and the Poke and salad bowls are particularly delightful.
And Casalicchio says you must try the Peruvian-Thai ceviche of the day. He said. “It’s our brand on a plate.”
Desserts include tres leches cake, flan and “Mexican hot” chocolate pot de crème. And the craft cocktail concoctions such as the 1902, Caipirinha and Mary’s Berry Bomb, are equally innovative as the main dishes
TôRō has a lively atmosphere and offers entertainment for all ages from Trivia to Dancing and much much more!
TôRō is located at 2 North Forest Drive across from Coligny Plaza on Hilton Head Island. 843-931-8676. torohhi.com. Open seven days a week. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
