Peninsula Grill

I love the Coconut cake. Please try it. I dropped by just to get some cake. The lady who helped me was so sweet. I had a gift certificate and she helped me out. I forgot her name but more ladies like her are needed in the hospitality profession

So my coworker and I came here during a business trip and the food was really good! Our waiter was the worst though. He made us really uncomfortable and questioned everything we asked him. It was like he was making a deliberate effort to make us feel dumb. Whatever.
Besides that, the food was great! My friend had the trio sampler for the soup and she really enjoyed it, despite the soup of the day (onion) being really salty. The pumpkin sweet potato soup was so amazing!
I was not that hungry, so I opted for the lump crab salad (with fried green tomatoes!!!). That was probably the best crab I’ve ever had. Absolutely decadent.
My friend regretted getting an entrée because we were so full at that point (portions are small but filling). She got the jumbo shrimp entrée and it again was so good. Vegetables were perfectly tender. Mushroom grits and whipped potatoes for sides– grits were so yummy. We had wanted to order the coconut cake but we were stuffed.
fDespite our mean waiter, the rest of the wait staff was so polite.

Pan seared scallops with a side of asparagus and mushroom grits, served with a glass of Riesling, and a shared slice of the famous coconut cake… It was an ultimate foody heaven. I felt like I consumed my days worth of calories in one meal! I never had grits up to that point, and I wanted to keep eating even though I knew that a ton of butter was probably put on top to make it. There is definitely a great class and gesture from the service we got, and the server told us we had the table all night as long as we needed it. To his word, we had great conversations and spent almost 3 hours there.

New dessert at the Peninsula Grill flourless cake topped with a bird nest of chocolate with hazelnut crisp hazelnut ice cream with a mandarin reduction they call Chocolate Marquee

I’d had high expectations and this place didn’t disappoint. Outstanding food and service. I would highly recommend starting with the lump crab fried green tomato spinach salad. This was the perfect starter dish, so good we almost got it again as our main. Can’t go wrong with either the scallops or the shrimp. As good as everything looks, you have no choice but to get the coconut cake — it’s perfect! If you like coconut you will be in heaven.

We had Christmas dinner this year at Peninsula. My sense of this restaurant and what people’s reactions to it in town is that Peninsula is a stable restaurant with a solid history. Our meal was very good as expected. I had the Swordfish, which was cooked well. For sides I had the spinach and goat cheese mashed potatoes. The spinach, while good was very very salty with the garlic. The potatoes were awesome. Our waitress was very attentive, as was the manager. Service is obviously a part of their appeal.
Two things:
1) Their bread isn’t worth it. Very average, dry sort of bread.
2) The hostess stand is horribly placed. It is between the bar and the main dining which makes it not comfortable on a busy night.

Incredible! We have been coming to Charleston for years and have sampled nearly all of the «must go to» places in the downtown area. However, we always passed on Pennisula Grill thinking it would be stuffy. Oh what a mistake. We had the most wonderful meal and best service we have ever had in Charleston — and we have been to dozens of 4-​stars. The Oyster Stew was fantastic. Pumpkin Sweet Potato Bisque was divine. Steak au poivre was perfectly prepared. Spotted Bass Chef’s special was too good to be true. And of course, the infamous coconut cake lived up to its legendary reputation. Service was impeccable — Thanks Michael. We cannot say enough great things about our amazing supper.

Adore this place. The menu is delicious and the chef does amazing specials. Sommelier is outstanding. GO HERE. You won’t regret it.

Gluten Free Review
+No Gluten Free Menu
+Our waiter had to «check with chef»
+Some items can be made gluten-​free however
My third day in Charleston I wanted to experience some quality food and excellent service, and from I read on Unilocal about Peninsula Grill it had both. Made a reservation, arrived on time and walked through the back entrance which is beautiful and leads you through a quaint garden with trees and a water fountain. Found the hostess and asked to sit outside and bam we teleported outside to a beautiful patio with candle lit white linen tables. After a few minutes an older gentlemen looked at us and said hi would you like some waters and started to walk off again and I told him I’ll take a cocktail/​wine menu and he lethargically agreed while he was walking off. I felt as if we were being treated as Charleston College students who weren’t going to tip nor be polite.
Let him know I was gluten free and he had no idea on the menu what was gluten-​free but whatever I ordered he would check with the chef… so I couldn’t just pick the entire menu and tell him to go ask the chef, so I was unsure of what I could order in fear of him coming back and it being not gluten free. Anyways they did prepare me some gluten free bread which is some of the best I’ve ever had in my life to accompany the normal dinner bread served. Menu Selections below.
Wine: Château Clarke Listric 2009– Excellent wine
Appetizer: Foi Gras– eh, I’ve def had better, real strong game flavors.
Soup: Pumpkin– this was best part of the meal and GF.
Meal: Seared New York Strip au Poivre– eh,
the New York Strip was some real crappy quality beef, I’m from Texas and I was like you can’t tell me this is what Charleston serves for $ 40… It was tough, chewy and had no seasoning nor flavor, I should have sent it back thinking about it now.
None the less decided to get a cappuccino which was good then bail out somewhere else for dessert.
This was a let down of a restaurant and way the hell overpriced. I don’t mind paying for quality food, but the prices are not on point with the quality at the time of my dining experience.

The Peninsula Grill is quite charming with an outside dining option. We chose to dine indoors. The wait staff were very attentive encouraging us to enjoy the dining experience. I started with a well presented peach and heirloom tomato salad the sommelier recommend a lovely cab that complemented everyone’s meal. I then ordered the center cut filet (medium). When presented with my dish it was unfortunately under cooked more like a medium rare to rare. Apologies followed and they returned the dish to order. The meal was finished off with a chocolate extravaganza cake topped with chocolate ice cream. Outside of the blip with my filet everyone else’s meal was to perfection. (Not sure why an experienced grill chef would not know how to cook a medium filet). All in all a good dining experience that I would still (despite my blip) would recommend to diners

In a word? Divine. I went to graduate school in Charleston, and the Peninsula Grill was definitely my go-​to restaurant for fancy occasions that you want to celebrate with a memorable meal. I’d go out of my way now to fly down to Charleston for the coconut cake alone.
The staff is also always impeccable to boot.

We ate here last night and this place lived up to its reputation. Service was amazing. Like ninjas they sweep in before a crumb can hit the table. Perfect manners on an expertly trained crew. The food is expensive but worth it. A true fine dining experience. My wife and I started with the field greens salad with pecans and a basil vinaigrette. Clean refreshing and delicious. My Daughter started with the gazpacho which was outstanding. The hot bread and butter were simple yet addictive. On to the entrees. I started with the swordfish grilled perfectly with a tomato and asparagus in a champagne vinaigrette served with truffled egg salad. Spectacular sums it up. My Wife and Daughter each had the seared sea scallops with lobster and mashed potatoes which they both demolished. My youngest daughter had the strip steak with fries which was cooked to perfection. On to dessert. My wife and I got the famous coconut cake which was the best I have ever had. Every bite heaven and the portion was huge. My daughters got the salted crème brûlée which they said was amazing. So in short if you want that kind of special night of great food, fine dining,
and southern hospitality then book at the Penisula Grill.

We had such a lovely evening. This place is expensive, but it is well worth it. The service was excellent and the food was delicious. The décor was sophisticated and the restaurant was clean.
We were served warm bread rolls. They tasted fresh and were nice and soft in the inside. We were also served a small bite of diced fresh vegetables, compliments of the chef. This was a great starter because it really woke up the palette.
For my appetizer, I ordered the Sampling Trio of Soups. I loved them all and I was pleased at the size of the samplings. I expected a shot glass portion of each and I received about a cup of each. The Lobster & Corn Chowder with Basil Butter was creamy, but light. The basil complimented it very well and it had nice pieces of lobster. The Chilled Split Pea and Mint Soup was so light and fresh. This is the perfect summer soup. Lastly, The soup of the day had a spicy kick to it and was topped off with cheese and truffle crumbs. I also enjoyed this soup. I would say this was the heavier of the three.
For my entrée, I had the Roasted Breast of Duck. This was perfectly cooked and was served with baby bok choy and a sweet corn flan. The sweetness of the flan paired nicely with fattiness of the duck.
Lastly, I had to indulge in their Ultimate Coconut Cake for dessert. This was an extremely rich and decadent cake. It is very sweet and had the flavor of coconut throughout.
Final Thoughts:
Great restaurant to go to for a special occasion dinner.

They were closed when we arrived but the woman who I believed was the manager greeted us. She said they wouldn’t be opening for another 30 minutes but asked if we were there for the coconut cake. Actually, yes. Yes, we were.
We spent our entire time back in Charleston eating. I wanted a slice of the their $ 100 coconut cake but felt a little guilty about going to just have cake and was relieved that I was going to get exactly what I wanted. She offered to pack up a slice to go.
Is it worth $ 100? I wouldn’t say so. Is it good? Yes. Would I come back for it? Probably not. Let me explain. This coconut cake was loaded with coconut, it didn’t disappoint. The icing was perfect, not too sweet as to overpower the coconut. The only thing keeping it from being perfect is more of a personal preference. The cake, although delicious, is not what I want from a coconut cake. It’s dense, similar to a sour cream cake (which I adore separately!). I like my coconut cake to be lighter. Now, I know, rich and heavy is usually the name of the game so I’m not knocking this cake at all. 3 stars for the cake, an extra star for being kind enough to pack up a slice and selling it to me even when closed. That’s great customer service and will bring me back to Peninsula Grill!

Elegant place. Incredible service. Filet was perfect. Lobster 3 way, and the bay scallop apps excellent. Very nice place. Glad we got to go for special occasion. Prices are extreme.