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Restaurants Columbia Should Have


sonofaque86

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Hey Chi2, You should check out Little Mexico on St. Andrews. The food is great, and they have Mole Chicken on the menu! I had it a couple of years ago. It's a little more expensive than Monterrey or San Jose, but still very affordable.

Za's is very good as far as pizza goes. Also, try Brix in Lexington. It may be a little too "suburban" for your liking but the pizza makes up for the atmosphere, in my opinion.

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Is there another tapas place I'm missing? Why did Meritage close?

Chi2, nice post. I think you would like Gervais & Vine, on Gervais Street just off Pulaski in the Vista. IMO, it is much better than Meritage. I like the atmosphere and the food better than Meritage. It is somewhat pricey, but I have always enjoyed the tapas and the wine there. My sign of whether a restaurant is good or not is how long I want to stay and socialize after dinner is over and Meritage gets an "A+" in that department.

P.S. Try the pizza at Al Amir; I don't go there for pizza, but it is so good, sometimes it is just irresistible. Other good pizza is at Schiano's and Labrasca's (inexpensive) and Villa Tronco (intermediate). For good, but less expensive Thai than Baan Sawaan, try Thai Lotus on St Andrews Road. They aren't the fastest, but the food is good and the menu huge.

As far as Meritage, it wasn't my favorite place, but they say they closed because of the extended period of construction on Lady Street. I blame it more on the inconsistent food and service. That's why I stopped going there.

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I think you would like Gervais & Vine, on Gervais Street just off Pulaski in the Vista.

P.S. Try the pizza at Al Amir; I don't go there for pizza, but it is so good, sometimes it is just irresistible. Other good pizza is at Schiano's and Labrasca's (inexpensive) and Villa Tronco (intermediate).

I forgot about Gervais & Vine - we actually considered going there for our anniversary but being vegetarians, Meritage seemed to have a bigger veggie selection. Although if G&V is as good as you say, I'm sure they can accommodate us - will have to try it sometime.

My co-worker introduced us to Schiano's just this weekend - I agree it was very good, basic pizza. Also good garlic bread / marinara sauce. I've been to Al Amir, but not for pizza - that's an interesting recommendation for pizza, though!

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I forgot about Gervais & Vine - we actually considered going there for our anniversary but being vegetarians, Meritage seemed to have a bigger veggie selection. Although if G&V is as good as you say, I'm sure they can accommodate us - will have to try it sometime.

My co-worker introduced us to Schiano's just this weekend - I agree it was very good, basic pizza. Also good garlic bread / marinara sauce. I've been to Al Amir, but not for pizza - that's an interesting recommendation for pizza, though!

Schiano's is overated, maybe its just cuz im not crazy about NY style pizza.......but they used to have these pepperoni breadsticks at the Columbia Mall location, they would like put pepperoni and twist the breadsticks around them, omg they were so good......but the best pizza in Columbia IMO is Tony's Pizza(Parkland Plaza) and definately Zorba's St. Andrews/and Two Notch! YOU guys MUST try both! Both Greek owned! :D

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Good NY style pizza, the best in Columbia, is at Pops...It just opened up in Five Points across from Harpers...Very good!

I agree, Pop's is good and the atmoshphere is great especially on a friday night after 11! I also enjoyed a pizza from the vilage idiot...but you gotta get one fresh made! i cant stand those warmed over slices that some places try to serve up. my favorite is carrabbas though...chunky and cheesy :rofl: ! okay im getting hungry now!

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Well I have been to Santorini Grill twice and I have yet to enjoy it. -_- The first time, around their opening, wasn't too bad. I just didnt care for the sauce on the lasagna. But the second time closed the deal for me.

Upon entering my guest and I were met by a hostess who simply stared at us (standing right in front of us) for a quite some time. :huh: After about 2 minutes without the hostess saying a word, my guest initiated interaction by saying "table for 2." The hostess's demeanor and tone was less than appealing. Attempting to look past the bewildering lack of a greeting, and the 5 minute wait for a table, while there were numerous empty tables, we decided to remain and give the place a chance.

Our waitress was quite nice and accomidating which made up of the difficulty had with the hostess. Unfortunately however, our waitress failed to bring out our salads until after I inquired about their exsistance when she presented our entrees. She offered to bring them out, but the difficulty I had with that concept was that our entrees were there. She offered to place them under the heating lamp while we partook of our missing salads, but seriously "who wants food thats sat around for a while :sick: , especially when one has the opportunity to enjoy it fresh from the oven?" The waitress could come to no other solution besides bringing out the salads, which we finally agreed to. There was no offer to take it off the check, no offer of a dessert or anything in its place, and I rufused to ask because it is the waitress's duty to offer ideas to make up for her mistakes.

Finally the food was lackluster. I wasnt moved by the flavors or the presentation (my dish was the seafood combo or something to that effect). Essentially, I had high hopes for this establishment. The ambiance and interior design were all great, but the food and moreover the service was not up to standard in MY book!

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;) I also recently tried the Red Bowl Asian Bistro at the Village at Sandhill. The place was well decorated and the service was good. The staff was quite attentive to my table and the other guest. The food was hot, flavorful, and the tea was sweet! :D The waitress was also helpfull in making suggestions to our entree selection. I have to say I enjoyed my experience at this restaurant and plan on returning. We are one step closer to P. F. Changs. Lets keep'er going! :yahoo:
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;) I also recently tried the Red Bowl Asian Bistro at the Village at Sandhill. The place was well decorated and the service was good. The staff was quite attentive to my table and the other guest. The food was hot, flavorful, and the tea was sweet! :D The waitress was also helpfull in making suggestions to our entree selection. I have to say I enjoyed my experience at this restaurant and plan on returning. We are one step closer to P. F. Changs. Lets keep'er going! :yahoo:

I think we should have a "Carolina King restaurant reviews column" on UP. What do y'all think?

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I have a brother and his family who live in Columbia. They have lived in Brazil in the past for a couple of years and have traveled there as well. I believe I have heard them mention driving to Charlotte to a Brazilian restaurant. I think it will be great for Columbia to have more ethnic restaurants. I know there are already quite a few good ones there now, and I think a lot of good ethnic restaurants give a city a good cosmopolitan feel and a great culinary experience for its residents and visitors!

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^ I've been to the Brazilian restaurant in Charlotte. It is called Brazas Brazilian Grill and which is a southern Brazil barbecue style restaurant (called "churascarias"). There is also one like it in Atlanta called "Fogos do Chao" (much better than Brazas IMO). It's a great place if you love meat. Waiters go around with different kinds of meats (some exotic) on skewers, and as long as you set the indicator on your table to green, they will keep coming. There is also a buffet with salads and sides which is all included. It's a bit expensive but worth the experience.

Although I think Columbia has a good bit of ethnic restaurants for a city this size, I can see more restaurants like that doing well here.

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^ I've been to the Brazilian restaurant in Charlotte. It is called Brazas Brazilian Grill and which is a southern Brazil barbecue style restaurant (called "churascarias"). There is also one like it in Atlanta called "Fogos do Chao" (much better than Brazas IMO). It's a great place if you love meat. Waiters go around with different kinds of meats (some exotic) on skewers, and as long as you set the indicator on your table to green, they will keep coming. There is also a buffet with salads and sides which is all included. It's a bit expensive but worth the experience.

Although I think Columbia has a good bit of ethnic restaurants for a city this size, I can see more restaurants like that doing well here.

The guy that owns Liberty Taproom is opening one of these Brazilian steakhouses in Myrtle Beach. Hopefully he'll choose to put one in Columbia if the concept goes over.

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The guy that owns Liberty Taproom is opening one of these Brazilian steakhouses in Myrtle Beach. Hopefully he'll choose to put one in Columbia if the concept goes over.

I hope he does open one in Columbia. Columbia is a remarkably international city for a city its size and I know there is a Brazilian population there. My brother and his wife enjoy speaking Portugese with them.

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That one where the waiters walk around serving meat sounds good to me! :D

Thanks for the vote of confidence for me as a restaurant reviewer, I thought about that once before.

I do tend to eat out alot. Mainly because cooking for a single guy, who doesn't care much for left-overs is not that great of an idea in my opinion. It does become expensive at times, depending on the restaurant of choice, but I am a strong believer in the saying "you are what you eat" :thumbsup: so why be afraid to spend a little extra money on the things that you are composed of. Plus sometimes there can be a lack of activities that interest my friends and I so having a meal and a few drinks at a restaurant tends to become entertainment.

I have been many places outside of Columbia and experienced what many restaurants have to offer. With this experience I compare new places that I try. The fact that when it comes to food I am a bit of a purist also helps in my evaluation. By this I mean that I don't douce my food with condiments. Not that it is bad, for to each his own, however I want to taste the composition of the meal and not ketchup. I feel if a food requires the addition of tons of condiments and other flavor boosters, the cook needs to try and do a better job of bringing out the foods natural flavor.

Essentially, I try to be unbias when judging restaurants that I visit. And when I offer my opinion on them its just to help others and get feed back for others on their experiences.

One thing I have noticed and many others have testified to is that South Carolina as a whole tends to have slack service (in restaurants and in general). We all know that this is a rather relaxed state so this opinion is not soley based of of timeliness, but I have noticed quite often that many servers tend to let their personal problems affect their work. I'm generally consider a very nice person and I make an effort not to exude negative energy to others, so when I visit an establishment I don't expect to get attitude from the employees. Is it the costomer's fault that you don't like your job, or some other aspect of your life? I noticed that in most other places the staff is excedingly helpful and attentive to the costomer's needs. Red Bowl Asian Bistro met to this standard, as do several places here in SC. For those that don't it's time to make a change, other wise no one will want to return. -_-

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Since we started talking about ethnic food, let's list all of the ethnic restaurants we can think of in Columbia. I won't list all that I know of, since I eat out all the time, but I'll list a few of my favorites.

Thai: Baan Sawaan

Eastern European: Euro Cafe

Ukrainian: The place on Dreher Road, the name escapes me

Greek: Bullmarket

Italian: Villa Tronco, of course

Asian: M Cafe

Japanese: Sakura

Vietnamese: Golden Chopstix

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There is a new Thai place in W. Columbia that you might want to try. Highway 378 headed west from Columbia, before you get to I-26. On the left there's an old strip mall with a new Groucho's.

Thai Dish is there. I found their food to be quite good. Very fresh. Excellent service.

Am I the only one who has tried the cioppino at Mangia! Mangia!? That meal absolutely blew me away!

Oh - Little Mexico IS good food, but last time I was there - couple weeks ago - service was abysmal. I said something to the manager and he made excuses but didn't apologize...

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^I love Thai food, will have to try it out.

I was walking down Gervais on my lunch break and next to Gillian's and Club Ra was a zoning sign for a new restaurant. Steak and Sushi Grill or something like that. Does anyone have a clue about this establishment? Sounds good.

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^I love Thai food, will have to try it out.

I was walking down Gervais on my lunch break and next to Gillian's and Club Ra was a zoning sign for a new restaurant. Steak and Sushi Grill or something like that. Does anyone have a clue about this establishment? Sounds good.

Is that the whole name?; no "Mr Yamaguchi's Wax on, Wax off Steak and Sushi Grill" or something cool like that? I did a search and didn't find anything.

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Thanks, Ellen, for pointing out the new Thai restaurant. We ate there tonight and enjoyed it. I do wish that there were more ethnic restaurants downtown. Most of them seem to be further out in the burbs.

My favorite Chinese restaurant is Sun Ming on St. Andrews, past Harbison Blvd. They have an incredible range of green Chinese vegetables (many that are not generally known in the typical American-Chinese restaurants, such as "Dou Miao", "Choy Sum", "A-vegetable" and "Hollow Stem Vegetable") Ask for the special Chinese menu. They also have "regular" Chinese-American food for the less adventuresome.

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Is that the whole name?; no "Mr Yamaguchi's Wax on, Wax off Steak and Sushi Grill" or something cool like that? I did a search and didn't find anything.

Not sure if that's the correct name, should've paid attention more, but I know it contains steak and sushi in it

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