This summer, while spending our week at the beach, we decided to have lunch at Beaufort Grocery Co. Now, we have been to Beaufort and love the historic area and the shopping, but we have never eaten at the Beaufort Grocery. I know of the stellar reputation of the restaurant and their chef/owner Charles Park and I was excited when we decided to eat lunch there. The décor was clearly sea based. The artwork and metalwork covering the walls were themed around the sea and are available for sale. The ceiling has hanging tapestries reminiscent of sails. It really was a cute restaurant, but the tables seemed cramped together with people literally standing over us, as we were near the door. While this is a testament to the popularity of the restaurant, it detracted from our experience with the other customers constantly hovering. 
I ordered the Ms. Abby’s Crabby Sandwich with a pasta salad side. My crab cake was rather thin, making me believe that it was made with claw meat since lump would be too big for the ½ inch thick patty. The crab cake was predominantly crab with very little fillers and then sautéed to a slight crispiness. It was topped with provolone, lettuce, and spicy remouladé sauce (no tomato per my request) and put on a fresh croissant. While I was unimpressed with the size of the crab cake, there was no doubt about the flavor and quality of my sandwich. With the creaminess of the melted provolone and the spicy tinge of the remouladé added to the crispy crab, the combination of textures was excellent. My pasta salad was very uninspired though. The small, almost condiment-cup sized pasta salad was almost only pasta with little vegetables. In addition, there was so little dressing on it that it was borderline dry. 
Megan ordered the Sumpin’s Jumpin’ daily fish special. It was a grilled Mahi wrap topped with mango salsa and slaw. While the Mahi was grilled perfectly and tasted great, the rest of the sandwich detracted from Megan’s experience. Her wrap was drenched in liquid. Every time the wrap was picked up, liquid would drip out both sides. Given the different consistency of the drippings, I would guess the slaw had too much oil and the mango salsa was too watery. The combination made the wrap virtually uneatable, which is why Megan took the fish out to eat it. Her pasta salad was equally as bland as mine and also lacked in vegetables. Normally, Megan would have ordered the potato salad (as potatoes are her favorite food), but our server dissuaded us from the potato salad and recommended the pasta. Next time, we won’t listen to him. Oh, and he didn't refill our sweet teas, strike two. Overall, I can see how the Beaufort Grocery Co. has been one of the best restaurants in the area. I believe our experience would have been better had we ordered slightly differently. While I was a little taken back at the cost of our meal, I have to realize that everything is overpriced at the beach. I look forward to going back during a dinner service to see just how creative Chef Park can be.
Category | Scale 1-5 stars |
Food Quality |  |
Food Creativity |  |
Service |  |
Atmosphere | |
Value for the price | |
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