Breakwater Restaurant & Bar

We had dinner at Breakwater Inn last night and it was delicious. I had the fried chicken which was the best chicken I have had in a long time. The skin was light and crispy and the chicken was very moist. My partner had the Wagyu sliders which were cooked perfectly. The service was terrific and the ambiance was very nice. I would highly recommend Breakwater Inn when you visit Beaufort.

It was our first night in Beaufort and we were looking forward to a wonderful meal with some Southern flair. The atmosphere was very lively, but the décor was simple and minimalist which didn’t really add anything to the dining experience. Greeting and seating were swift and friendly but sadly the rest of the evening was full of apologies from our server about the delays in getting our courses or our drinks to the table. Someone needs to hire more staff.
The compressed pear salad was the only standout of the evening. It was perfectly dressed and had the right balance of sweet from the fruit and candied pecans, and the right amount of salt from the gorgonzola pieces scattered though out the artisan lettuce. I couldn’t taste any beet per se in the «roasted beet vinaigrette» but the dressing worked perfectly well with the other components. The addition of thin but large slices of country ham to the Caesar left us shaking our heads. The dressing was naturally salty from the standard ingredients, why introduce another salty element to the mix?
When the complimentary mini corn muffins and biscuits with their homemade orange butter arrived at our table our eyes grew big. In need of some carbs with our drinks, this seemed like the perfect addition to the party. Any Southern kitchen offering these items surely should have these ubiquitous breads mastered. Nope not here… dry and tasteless. No amount of the wonderful citrus compound butter could save these tiny hockey pucks.
Our entrees finally arrived and I was quite surprised at my generous serving of duck leg confit, duck fat potatoes and a small salad Well my jubilation was short lived. The spuds were burnt and blackened, and it was just sheer luck that a server had arrived to inquire about our meals. Since the potatoes burned or not, didn’t taste good I accepted the suggested offering of fresh cut fries. For the first time in the evening, my side came out in record time. I figured I was getting someone else’s order. That was confirmed when our main server arrived ten minutes later with a plate of fries. By then I had picked at my entrée and was more or less done as I wasn’t enjoying it much. Don’t offer duck if you can’t prepare it properly. It was luke warm and the skin was dark but there was no crispiness to be found. My first knife cut took the entire skin off the protein. There was no shattering crust, just a rubbery intensely brown casing. My partner’s special of mahi mahi left him shrugging his shoulders. It was neither great nor terrible. We visited Saltus River Grill the next night and had an exceptional meal. My mahi mahi special was one of the best versions I’ve ever had. We have no reason to come back to Breakwater. I’ll pay the extra bucks and go to Saltus.

Breakwater is consistently great. Try their meatloaf, I don’t even like meatloaf but I love Breakwaters. And their scallops are to die for. It gets a little loud in the front rooms but overall the experience is delightful. Eat at the bar, it’s not as loud as the front rooms and the service is excellent!

Great restaurant in downtown beaufort, conveniently located next to our hotel.
We both started off with their bourbon cocktail which was similar to a Manhattan.
Next, both the Caesar salad and the compressed pear salads were great.
The southern fried chicken was two boneless breasts battered and deep fried with red skin mashed potatoes, green beans and gravy. The bf devoured every morsel.
My Scottish salmon was pan-​fried and nicely seared in a grand Marnier reduction over chive potatoes answer sun chokes. Perfect portion and delicious.
We were to full for dessert, but did get expresso and coffee.
Service was excellent, if possibly, a bit too much so. Our orders were taken and bread dropped off to the table. Within a few minutes, the salads arrived. If we hadn’t asked, our entrees would have been presented as soon as we finished the salads. This was the only thing that we didn’t like here. We are expecting to enjoy more than an hour when dining at a fine establishment.

It was a pleasure to see such happy faces, attentive bar staff… however past that I can’t say I would return except for a drink, and that may be a stretch. The food was sub par, there are… cooks-​ish people, management cook-​ish like people… I never want to not like to give any neighbor a derogatory review. Hopefully this experience changes, another chance…

Meal was 4 stars, ambience was 2 – 3 stars (modern in a cold and non-​cozy way).
What I can recommend (which was everything we ordered):
— stuffed mushrooms. I should have ordered 3 of these and made it my meal ;)
— scallops… I went with the tapas size (2 large scallops). Entrée size is 3 – 4 (by weight)
— fried chicken. Though perhaps a little heavy on the breeding-​to-​chicken ratio, extremely delicious.

Breakwater is a more classic option for dining in Beaufort. This is a great spot for couples to be able to talk and enjoy the evening. Food is well prepared and there are specials nightly. My wife and I dined here on one evening while in Beaufort based on Unilocal reviews. To start we ordered a salad and ribs that were super tender. Great asian flavor. My wife ordered the scallops for her entrée which came out perfectly seared on top of a corn risotto with a hint of mint. Creative and very flavorful. I ordered a burger that was half kobe beef and half mushrooms. A «better» burger of sorts. The chef was experimenting with this combination. It was very good, surprisingly juicy. It needed salt however.
The ambiance is contemporary and relaxing. Not much noise as the bar is separate from the dining room. Service was a little slow and not too attentive. I find this to be a problem in smaller towns. We had to ask for service a few times and they were not that busy. The quality of the food made up for the service issues. All in all I thought that Breakwater did a nice job, I would probably go for 3.5 stars but I am rounding up to 4 stars.

The staff was very friendly. I requested for vegetarian and they made delicious stuffed pepper. Their French fries are also very fresh and tasty. My husband has the Lamb Meatloaf and really enjoyed it. I would definitely recommend this place

Dianne and Jen know how to make a cocktail. The food was excellent and the whole team made it a great experience!

We adore this Restaurant!
We came 2 nights ago, & fell in love so we came on our last night here before going home tomorrow
«Life, it’s not the amount of breathes you take but the moments that take your breath away».
Thanks Donna

We went here for dinner while vacationing in Beaufort. We sat at the bar and had a couple of drinks before our 8PM dinner reservation — reservations available on OpenTable. The place lost a star for 2 reasons: the first being the bartender did not have much knowledge on the beers or wine he was serving, the second being during dinner our waitress was MIA most of the meal. We had the hostess ask us if we were okay/​fill up our water more than our actual waitress. If this place really wants to step it up, they need to hire more waitresses — could most likely get people in and out quicker as well and not have to turn people away. For our meal we had the southern sampler for app, pork chops and mahi mahi for entrees. Everything was amazing and brought out quickly. We would definitely come here again, but will be expecting the lengthy dining time.

We ate here for the first time the week after Christmas. I give Breakwater 4 stars because I am definitely a fan and very much enjoyed my dinner, but I will say the service was not up to the par I expected.
First things first, call for a reservation. We went on a Tuesday night and saw people turned away from the dining room because they were booked. There is a bar area where you can get full service. Also, a wine room that can be rented out for private parties. The dining room, bar, and wine room are not that large, but just enough to serve this bustling restaurant.
Our dinner was great! Stuffed mushrooms and calamari as appetizers. The calamari was delicately fried and not too chewy, the mushrooms were overflowing with a delicious bacon-​y stuffing. I would have like to seen more than three mushrooms on the plate though. Even one more would have made this app more shareable. The seasonal salad was delicious with a house made vinagrette and a goat cheese fritter. We had a variety of entrees over the table and each was to die for. The NY Strip with mushroom and baked tomatoes, veal meatloaf (OMG!!!), and the pasta special. I had the Blackened Mahi which was AH-​mazing, but I did sub the cheesy grits instead of the mashed potatoes. Do the same! It’s a much better pairing. Desserts: do it! Chocolate molten cake, pecan tart, Salted Caramel Apple Bread Pudding. Whoa!
The one place we felt our dinner lacked was the service. We didn’t get a lot of attention from our server. She rarely came to our table and when she did she butted right into our conversations. My water was empty through most of the dinner. And she never came back to check on us after dropping food. Just not the type of service I would expect from one of the few fine dining restaurants in Beaufort. (Maybe I’m spoiled by the Charleston foodie scene.)

Excellent servers!!! Our waitress Caitlynn was terrific last night! This restaurant is lucky to have her on staff! The food was great as well!

The ambiance, food, and service is always top notch. Call for a reservation because this place can get busy! The bar area is awperate from the dining area, which is nice. The bar has a few tables and a really nice lounge area.
The menu is great and has seasonal items as well. The pimento cheese and salads are amazing. The fresh catch and lamb meat loaf are sensational for dinner. Anything you get will be great. They also have an extensive wine list!

Food was excellent but for the price it was definitely not worth it. Left hungry and had an appetizer and an entrée. Won’t be returning

My parents ate here the day before we got to Beaufort. We wanted to eat here also. Upon the restaurants recommendations to my parents we took our family, with children, on Friday, not Thursday due to large parties. We arrived shortly after they opened, also their recommendation. They offered us a high top table, which would not work due to we have a 6 month old, 4, and 7 year old boys. They took us to the table, then walked away. We stood around contemplating if the table would work. The mgr came out and could see that this was an issue, we also told her that the table would not work because of the kids. She said sorry, would not allow us another table, and watched us walk out the door. I believe there were 2 other seated tables at the time of our arrival. I would like to add, that we tried to use the link on their website to set a reservation, but said they were offline. I called 1 – 1.5 hrs before they opened 2 times, and just after they opened as well, trying to make a reservation, each time I went to voicemail, asking to leave info, and they will call back-​not any way to make a reservation.
Our children are very behaved, and have eaten at much nicer restaurants than this, such as Bones-​in Atlanta, on a few occasions, and were actually complimented on their behavior.

Enjoyable. Very good food and a very polite staff. Parking was also convenient. A little loud but not enought to be a problem. I would certainly return the next time I am in town.

Very casual atmosphere, although white table cloths, with live music. The food, one entrée of diver scallops with sweet corn risotto and haricot verts, and one of fried chicken breasts (2 boneless breasts) with buttermilk mashed potatoes and haricot verts, was excellent! Dessert of pecan tart with bourbon ice cream and caramel also delicious. Very nice wine list and fairly priced cocktails. Live music was excellent but a bit loud in the main dining room. I found it nice but see where others wanting a more intimate dining experience could be bothered.
Overall a wonderful dining experience with excellent service provided by Diane. Definitely recommend Breakwater. Many options for tapas and entrees. Thank you!

Perfect meal that invited us to savor the experience. We started with the charcuterie plate, which offered heavenly meats, cheeses, mustard, and fruit relishes. My scallops were expertly prepared and paired with a lovely risotto. Spouse had the lamb meatloaf, to which he awarded high marks. Service was attentive and friendly. When I asked a question about two wines, the server brought me tastes of each without my even requesting it. Nice atmosphere — can’t wait to go back!

We placed a take out order because we have 2 small children. The locals provided friendly hospitality & awesome dinner suggestions. The homemade drop biscuits with the pineapple butter were a treat. This place was a wonderful dining experience! The lamb meatloaf, tuna tartar, calamari & apple salad were great.