Long wait for service and menus. The oysters that we received were very gritty. When I asked the waiter about it he said he would get back to me - never saw him again. The rest of the meal was brought by a different waiter - the food was good not great.for the price. At the end of the owner asked how we liked the meal and we honestly told him of our experience. He apologised and took the price of the oysters off our check and offered us free drinks but we were tired by that point and just wanted to leave.
Review Source:Amazing poor considering the other reviews. Â We are local and look forward to trying new restaurants. Â It is loud like their other restaurant "Stars". Â But the food was worse and poor. Â Crab cakes were very heavy - lacked spice and flavor and were overcooked and dry. I did not eat more than a couple bites. Â I pointed it out and waiter shrugged and said he would 'mention' it to the chef. We tried three different relatively expensive fish entries - one good, two bad and since when is "pink" snapper local? Risotto was weird. Two of the fish were sauce heavy so little fish flavor - trigger fish overwhelmed. Â Only good dish was the shrimp "corn dog" which was interesting. Â Wine list is minimal and expensive. For $250 for 4 Cypress, Magnolias or Blossom better choice. Service was so so -- wine list minimal - complaint resolution no existent. Â Poor food and poorly handled complaint. Poor service and food spreads by word of mouth -- your only hope is that the tourists keep coming -- we won't be back -- Peter
Review Source:Relaxed atmosphere, great food & drink selections. We had the broiled triggerfish and the crab cakes, peel n eat shrimp, she-crab soup and the peach/blueberry cobbler. Only thing we would change is that there is no ice cream for the cobbler (not whipped cream fans).
Also, the berry mojito was a big hit!
Ate at Amen for my birthday on 6/29/13. Â I have always enjoyed their oysters but wanted to comment on their salads. I have eaten their salads and have been very impressed. Â They always have very fresh lettuce (many varieties) and add very good fruit in season along with things such as candied pecans, and cheese types you do not see as often. Â I added a crabcake and it was one of the best I have had. Â Very meaty, spicy and with little filler. Â The she crab soup was also very good...different from what you normally see. Â It was thinner than some but was seasoned very well with a spicy kick that I enjoyed a lot. Â Service was very good.
Review Source:We were able to get in quickly for lunch on a Saturday. Â We tried the sampler platter and some kind of appetizer dish that was like a fancy oysters rockefeller. Â The oysters were super fresh, and it was cool to taste the different varieties. Â The crab soup and caesar salad were also great. Â Our waiter, Brooks, Â was very friendly and attentive. Â We had hoped to go back during our visit to try some other things on the menu, but didnt get the chance. Â We will definitely go back if we're back in Charleston!
Review Source:While visiting Charleston we went to Amen for dinner based on Yelp reviews. Overall it was a great dinner. We had a reservation and we were promptly seated in a big booth in the front of the restaurant which is very open and bright. Â Our server was very attentive. We shared some local oysters, shared a delicious salad that was a special that day, and shared one of the fish entrees. Â And although we did not request this, apparently the server asked the kitchen to split the entree for us which was very nice. Â We also had a very nice cocktail from their cocktail menu. Â Would definitely go back.
Review Source:This was my second visit to Charleston (and my first time to Amen Street). Â I will definitely be back next time not only for the food (I had the raw sampler plate and shared the creme brulee) but also for the friendly/down to Earth service (Beck was our server, and she was great)! Â See you soon! Â -Alice & Nancy
Review Source:My honey and I were looking for a nice dinner in Charleston on a Saturday night. A tour guide had informed us that most restaurants were probably booked because of some major events in town. She was right. Amen Street was one of the only places I found on opentable, and we couldn't get in until 9:15. I wasn't happy about that, but I can't fault them for being a popular place - and they got us seated right away at our reservation time.
I love the low-light ambience. The noise level was just right - lively but not loud. Service was great, very friendly and attentive.
I ordered crab cakes and my guy got the fried seafood platter. Both were great. Would definitely eat at this place again next time I'm in town.
Very mixed review and here's why - I loved the GIANT oysters I had for happy hour. Not only were they inexpensive, but they were GIANT. Mine were, but not my co-worker who ordered the same thing. A dozen oysters each and the variant in sizes were dramatic. She was left with little, wimpy, oyster while I had the biggies! The other mix of my review is the 45 minutes it took to get served. After being directed to the bar for the happy hour (I had sat down) the bar keep/waitress took a very long time to provide service. After placing orders it took at least 45 minutes to receive the plate of food. Sadness. It should never take that long for raw food!!!! Nice sized bar and restaurant, and probably the best deal in town for oysters. Just beware of the variations in serving sizes, and time!
Review Source:A venue that caters to the oyster obsession. Wait time for our party of three without reservations was 2 hours around 6 pm on a Saturday night. The oyster variety was tremendous and did not disappoint. Â Hungry after hours of strolling through historic downtown Charleston, we devoured 2 dozen raw oysters, half a dozen raw clams, and tuna carpaccio finished off with oyster shots and a mojito. Â The she crab soup lived up to the hype, very creamy and rich due to the roe. Â As a testament to the freshness (and that I may have an iron gut the size and strength of a whale), I did not suffer any repercussions from consuming so much raw shellfish in one night. Â Great food, location, atmosphere, and pricing.
Review Source:I've eaten here twice for lunch. Â Both times I had the she crab soup and shrimp corn dogs. Â Both are sooooo good! Â I would love to try something else but I can't bring myself not to order the shrimp corn dogs. Â Took off a star because it's a touch too pricey and the service the first time I came in was really disappointing (food didn't get rung in and when it finally was, I had to sit at the bar staring at my food while it sat in the window). Â If I didn't make it blatantly obvious, yes to the shrimp corn dogs.
Review Source:Yooooo!!!! This place was great. Really good beer selection and the Oyster selection is fun. We live in LA so we have our pick of gulf shore oysters every day. I've also lived in the NE so I know the difference b/t gulf and fresh water oysters. This place has oysters from all over the world that you can mix & match as 1 or 1/2 dozen. We got 1 dozen gulf (cheaper) and 1/2 dozen mixed fresh water so we could take the difference of the oysters from NE and NW region. We also got a burger and some bacon covered calamari. All of it was great! Everyone also says to go with the She Crab Soup - Super good!
This was a great experience. 4 stars = overpriced
This was a great restaurant that had excellent outdoor cafe seating for Great People watching. Since we found few outdoor cafes, this was the Winner!! The service was fantastic. Danielle was extremely attentive and knowledgeable. Â My friend had the raw oysters and loved them. We also enjoyed great Southern fare including Fried Green Tomatoes with delicious Okra and Pimento Cheese Sauce. The roasted oysters were good only while fresh out of the oven, so eat them while they are Hot! Highly recommend checking this place out on a warm Spring afternoon for enjoyable food, service and ambiance.
Review Source:came here on a recommendation from our server at another restaurant. suggested it for good drinks and oysters, and he was absolutely right.
i loved how bright and airy it was. the day was gorgeous outside but we needed to stay out of the sun since we were a little burnt from the rooftop bar before lunch. so this was a perfect compromise bc we could still enjoy that it was a beautiful day out while being inside sitting at a bar watching the Masters.
i had the frozen bellini which actually wasnt very good. but that was more my fault for agreeing to a floater on top so it tasted very strongly of rum. they had some nice local craft beers on tap. and gave us some good recommendations about which oysters were their favorites.
all the other food that came out looked and smelled good. and was reasonably priced. this was a perfect afternoon bar for us.
Not sure how I feel about this place. The food was good but the service was inattentive and clueless.
Inattentive in the fact that our server would leave for long periods of time or come back to us 30 seconds after asking if we were OK. His internal timing was way off. His complete lackadaisical approach certainly did not help.
Clueless is the bigger problem. My wife is vegan-curious right now. She is trying to eat vegan. After ordering the berry salad, the waiter suggested a "vegan" side dish. My wife, being new to all this, had a few questions that were met with satisfactory answers so she tried it. At first bite, it was very obvious that this dish had cheese, egg and some other type of binder as well as veggies. When she mentioned it to him, he argued that it was definitely vegan because it did not have meat in it.
Wait for it... yep, that is what he said.
My wife is very cautious about not being overly righteous when it comes to this new eating habit so she shared a little bit of information. Of which, our waiter continued to say/argue that it was vegan (back to the no meat thing) and could not understand that there was a difference.
Overall, the food is good but I would be especially careful if you have eating preferences (vegetarian, vegan) or even worse if you have allergies to foods. I may suggest speaking with a manager first.
By the way, no manager came over nor did the item get taken off our bill - even though my wife did not eat it.
It is too bad, because this place could seriously be a great spot and I am sure there were multiple people that could have helped us much better than our waiter.
Wow, this place has it all. Â Great food, service, and cocktails. Â Cold water oysters as an app were great (SC, RI, MA, BC). I had the crispy seared tilefish which is very Thai Esq and ridiculously good. Â In fact best meal out I've had in sometime. Â Had a couple of their specialty cocktails and both were home runs - cucumber pimms cup and spicy dirty martini. Â The only thing that wasn't lights out was the she crab soup. Â Not bad by any means but didn't touch a good Md cream of crab. Â I'd tailgate this place waiting for the doors to open next time.
Review Source:It's virtually impossible to surpass the meal we had here.
The oysters are fresh, plump, and delicious, and the menu tells you where they're available from, so you can select different regions (Nova Scotia, Washington, Gulf Coast, etc). Our waitress really took the time to talk to us about the different flavors of the regional oysters, and checked in on us to see how we enjoyed them. It's increasingly rare to see that kind of service, and it was so appreciated!
We also had she-crab soup, which was rich and delicious, and I had fresh salmon served herb grilled. All the food was fantastic.
I enjoyed my dinner at Amen Street and nearly came back for a second visit during my trip. Â I had the she crab soup - thick, creamy and tasty with a splash of sherry and a caesar salad with fried oysters. Â It was a different spin on caesar salads I've had in the past - it was a big chunk of romaine cut into chunks but arranged in tact sort of like a wedge salad. Â The dressing was good and it was topped with a crouton and a couple of fresh anchovies. Â The oysters were served to the side of the main salad, which I think is a good idea. Â Service was friendly and good though the place was relatively busy.
Review Source:Terrific happy hour with a menu including raw oysters on the half shell, crab cakes, fried green tomatoes, etc., all of which were extremely well made. The happy hour prices are very reasonable and the ambiance is classy yet relaxed. Â The chandeliers are pretty cool as well.
I have had their she crab soup as take out and it was really tasty, too. Â I will have to go for dinner next.
If you're looking for a non-touristy place that locals recommend, check out Amen Street. We stumbled in here on a getaway to Charleston and we were really glad we did! (It's not on Amen Street though!)
It's on the pricier side, but seems like Charleston is pricier in general. The good news is it was actually worth the price!
It happened to be Restaurant Week when we were there - my husband decided to order from that menu, but I ordered off the regular menu. He had the She Crab Soup (ohmygod, so good), the Shrimp & Grits and the Chocolate Crème Brulee. I had something off the fresh catch menu (that changes daily). I wasn't sure what I wanted, but the waitress was super knowledgeable and helped me pick a fish I'd never heard of and I loved it! I had the Herb Grilled Wreckfish with a risotto cake - it was fantastic!
We really loved this place, the service and atmosphere were great and the food was absolutely delicious!
Rude service and bad shucking.
The oysters and atmosphere at Amen Street are pretty great but this unfortunately does not make up for the fact that their shucking skills are awful! So bad that a large piece of shell cracked and damaged my tooth.
When I mentioned this to a waitress she shrugged it off and walked away. I wasn't looking for a free meal or anything but was concerned about their other guests' chompers.
If I return to Charleston I will not visit Amen Street. Just down the street is Pearlz Oyster Bar. Maybe the best Oysters I have ever had and great service!
A friend who's culinary opinion I trust did not lie when she suggested this place. Amen St was a fantastic pick for a great cocktail and delish seafood lunch!
Little neck clams- cannot go wrong here. Fresh and inexpensive.
Fish tacos, yummmm. You could actually taste the fish. It wasn't fried to the point you didn't know it was fish like many places. A healthy portion of cabbage slaw and lime crema balances it out. My husband ordered the salmon arugula salad. Soooooo good!! (the runner tried serving me the salad, I'm guessing since I'm the woman, no thank you - fish tacks please! A slight stereotype I'll choose to overlook).
And to drink- I had some sweet tea vodka drink with basil and lemon. Yummmm perfect midday cocktail.
Definitely a winner. I was surprised by some of the not-so- favorable reviews. Our experience was great and we'd definitely go back next time we visit charleston.
**went back again and had the fried seafood platter. enough for 2 with an appetizer... DELISH and fresh. 2nd time and another GREAT experience!!
I know... five stars are reserved for crazy good. Â I have to hand it to them! Â Well done Amen. Â Well done.
This isn't a place I would go to often because it's incredibly easy to run up one heck of a tab, however we go every time we are in Charleston. Â We went to a wedding in the spring and made sure we left a couple hours to spend there before going to the wedding. Â
A must... The Shrimp Corndogs. Â Sounds random and sounds so simple. Â It is. Â And it's amazing. Â Take that fresh seafood of Charleston and combine it with one of the best foods available on a stick. Â That's right. Â Mind Blown. Â It's great and you have to try it.
We also have had Raw Oysters, Scallop Ceviche (insanely nom nom), Bloody Marys, the special dirty martini, fish, and one of the best burgers I've had in Charleston. Â They allowed me to build my own (compliments to the chef)... Medium Rare with Pimento Cheese, Bacon, Fried Green Tomato. Â Oh yes, it's that good. Â And I photographed it!
We went twice that weekend. Â Can't wait to go back.
SKIP IT.
My friend and I had an afternoon bite there and wish we had gone somewhere else. With all the good restaurants in Charleston, there are better options than this.
We had just arrived in Charleston and wanted some apps and a drink to tide us over before going to the hotel to shower & get dressed for dinner at Macintosh (loved it!). Â I had the she-crab soup & we ordered the fried green tomatoes & mussels to share. The fried green tomatoes were boring and I did not care for the picked okra it comes with. The mussels had a strange flavor. Not that they weren't fresh but like the sauce they were cooked in was with old/stale wine. I can't pin point it but something was off. The she-crab soup was ok. Not great. Very heavy and creamy. It was the best thing I had there but still not great. Nothing we ate was particularly good.
Again, with all the restaurant choices in Charleston. Go somewhere else. I felt like we missed an opportunity for great food by going here.
Their oysters were decent and their cocktails were standard, but a place that lacks apt service or attention is a 1 star in my book.
My S.O. and I ordered the dozen Louisiana oysters and 2 cocktails. The waitress was snooty with us from the beginning, but nothing too horrible to note.
After finishing the plate, my boyfriend walks to the bathroom and quickly returns. One of the oysters cracked a piece of his tooth off.
Seeing as we're polite individuals and don't cause trouble, we mentioned to the waitress that for future customers, the oysters really should be cleaned off before serving and then we mentioned the cracked tooth. She stared at us and curtly said 'sorry' and turned her back on us.
Now, you'd think a decent restaurant like that would hire people with a sense of tact. Either give a sincere apology for something your restaurant was responsible for (not cleaning the shells), or refund the plate. Not only is it painful but now we have to invest in fixing what damage was caused by their lack of shucking skills.
Shame on that waitress and shame on the restaurant for expecting people to shell out money for food that's going to damage your mouth.
Ridiculous.
I read a great article in Southern Living Magazine about Amen Street Fish and Raw Bar about 18 months ago, but never had the chance to go there. Â We had made plans with friends of ours to have dinner this weekend, but they cancelled and we decided to forge on. Big mistake.
Upon our arrival we were cordially seated by the hostess at a table near a rear door. Â The table that we were seated at was sticky and throughout our meal a constant parade of fruit flies/gnats flew by our table, not the best of atmospheres...
The restaurant itself is very simple - a shot-gun style interior with a few jazz posters doting the brick walls. Â I got the feeling that they were trying to emulate the feel of a New Orleans style restaurant, but other than the posters and a few menu items, the message wasn't that clear.
As we looked at the menu I started with one of the restaurant's specialty cocktails, a Peach Bellini topped with a float of Myers Dark Rum. This sounded interesting and it was delightful. The serving however was very small and not worth the money.
Our salads were by far the best part of our meal. Â I can say that my beet salad with blue cheese and walnuts was delightful. Â The light, sweet beets accompanied by a blue cheese with a strong bite and lightly flavored walnuts were terrific.
My husband's heirloom tomato salad with hearts of palm and goat cheese was very attractive, but the tomatoes could have been riper and the salad needed more than the one small piece of goat cheese that was served. Â Can a brother get some goat cheese for goodness sake?
I don't know what I was thinking when I placed my entrée order.  I have been working in Boston lately, also home to great seafood. During my time there I have enjoyed occasionally splurging on fried seafood, especially during the summer months. Amen Street also seemed like the perfect place to splurge.  So it was the Fried Seafood Platter for me. My husband ordered the Lobster and Shrimp Risotto, which was my second choice and from the menu description, looked enticing.
Our entrees were served shortly after our salads were cleared. Â The pace of our meal and our service overall, was quite good. Â We looked forward to the "wins" continuing with our meal.
No Labron James here though... Â
The Risotto was chock-full of seafood, but the sweet onions used in the preparation were so overpowering that you could barely taste the fresh seafood. It was billed as a mixture of seafood, herbs and parmesan, but no seasonings or cheese could be tasted. The fact that it was incredibly gummy did not help the dish.
My seafood dish looked terrific, but it was also not as expected. Â The oysters were cold, the hushpuppies dry, tepid and the "Napa Slaw" was a small pile of lettuce. Â I sent some of the items back to be redone. I will say that the fresh creamed corn and shrimp were very good.
As is usually the case, by the time my oysters and hush puppies returned my husband was done with his meal and he waited for me to eat. I really dislike the "installment plan" of eating a dinner together.
Easily the size of golf balls the newly delivered hush puppies were over cooked, dry and flavorless. Â Is there supposed to be a specific hush puppy flavor? Â I don't know, but whatever it is, it was missing.
The oysters, though very hot were unbelievably watery and also lacked flavor. So much for my splurge.
As we paid our bill with tip it was $85.00. This was for a cocktail, sparkling water, salads and entrees. I thought it was quite steep for what we received.
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