Private Property

Always hate giving low reviews to local places butt have to be honest. Went for lunch and was hugely disappointed. My wife is from New Orleans and i have spent many years eating her food and eating around New Orleans. I can see why people could like it if they never experienced great Cajun cuisine. Because this was very bland. Please if ever in New Orleans try New Orleans Seafood and Spirits. Locally just compare the gumbo and Po-​boy to fast food chain Lost Cajun and you will see a huge difference. Should also be a $$$ not $$.

I’ve only been there once, so the review is of this one experience. We started the meal with she crab soup. Full of real crab, a hint of sherry, etc. The best I’ve had, including what I’ve tasted in Charleston. I had the blackened redfish, and my companion had the crawfish étouffée. The waitress said the chef spent time learning from Paul Prudhomme, and used his recipes. It showed. So many times blackened fish is just something baked with seasoning in it, only mildly, and timidly, spiced. This was great, as was my dining companion’s crawfish. As was the bread pudding made on the premises. If the rest of the menu is as good as this, I say go now before word gets out about this place and you’ll have to reserve weeks in advance. Yes, based on one meal, it’s that good.

This is a delightful dining experience. You must have the pimento cheese appetizer. Thank you for such delectable food!

I’ve been wanting to go to Private Property since finding out this was an actual restaurant. I remember driving past it for weeks to months, wondering what the white house with the neon Open sign was.
Eventually we figured it out, and my wife had made a few trips for lunch. I absolutely love seafood, and creole food, and have been dying to try this.
Unfortunately a few weeks ago we opted for Lost Cajun on 378 instead. I wasn’t impressed.
Tonight we had time for dinner while the kids attended a church event.
I’m not going to go through a step by step of our experience. What you need to know from me is simple.
I have eaten at some fine establishments. The Oceanaire Room in Washington, DC (and charlotte, once), peninsula grill in Charleston and dozens of others there of high quality (not typical tourist traps), new York city landmarks, the finest and freshest seafood restaurants in Florida and the keys…
Tonight I got the fried oyster jambalaya. It may in fact be one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten. The oysters were better than any I’ve ever had. The sheer quantity of oysters, shrimp and sausage left me so full, and so happy with my choice.
My wife only got she crab soup. Again, maybe the best I’ve ever tasted.
I have uploaded a picture of my dinner here. I have a healthy appetite and rarely get full. This meal filled me up.
All I can say is, this is my first review of a restaurant for Unilocal.after being a member for a long time. But this place deserves a good review.
My suggestion to the owners, put a sign on the street, on that big white wood placard!!! It’s so hard to know you’re even there, or that the name doesn’t signify a private club.
If you’ve never been here, go.
Simply amazing.

Not the first time visiting but seriously not impressed. The food is delicious if your server gets it to you on time, which ours definitely did not. We waited 20 minutes to get our drink order taken and by then we ordered appetizer and entrée. Everything came out at once but you could tell the food had sat there waiting for the server. We then waited for another 15 minutes after eating with empty drinks and waiting on the check. Once she dropped the check off and I put my card on it she left it there for another 15 minutes at the edge of the table. I felt like we were purposely getting ignored and I hope Kristie enjoys pocket change for a tip. Being treated like this makes me sad because I’ve had amazing servers here before and amazing fresh food but it’ll be a while before I come back or recommend the place in the hopes they’ve gotten new servers.

Awesome environment, but over priced. Food sub par, understaffed, had party reservations for 5:30 and were rushed out because they booked a 7:30 party.

Hard to find no sign on the main road. Passed it several times but was definitely worth pursuing. Was voted best restaurant in South Carolina last year and it is superb. Cajun southern cooking in a historic 1890 house. The Jumbalaya was superb and had an amazing oyster po boy. Very nice menu and prices are reasonable. If you are a foodie and heading this way don’t miss it.

Worth every penny! The best creole cooking in Columbia hands down! I’m so glad we tried this spot– I hope they stick around. Try the Cajun egg rolls and French quarter martini too!

Dined here on Saturday night with a group of 6.
First of all, this place is SO cute! It reminded me of Charleston because it is an old house that has been flipped into a restaurant. There are multiple private dining areas, big and small, as well as a small private bar.
We were sat right away in the back room by the window. We ordered drinks; I got one of the special martinis that was really good! To eat I ordered the Seafood Jambalaya that came with andouille and shrimp over a bed of rice, it was spicy and fantastic! For my first jambalaya experience I’d say they hit it out of the park. The rice was creamy, there was plenty of vegetables and the shrimp were cooked perfectly. My husband ordered the shrimp and grits which were also delicious, the tasso cream sauce was different than any tasso sauce I’ve had, it was divine. The grits were incredibly creamy and so yummy.
Everyone in our group enjoyed their meals and I cannot wait to go back! I don’t know if the back was open when we went but we would love to sit out there!

We’ve been looking for a local place to bring visiting out of town guests. This is the place. Excellent food, great customer service, and a perfect location for a special lunch or dinner.

Beautiful and charming inside and out! We had the shrimp and grits, which were the best I’ve ever had, and the shrimp po boy, which was good, but not as good as the shrimp and grits!

Really enjoyed lunch here. Very friendly staff even if there weren’t enough people working on a busy Friday. Food was nicely done. Pasta dish was the best we had. Drinks took ages, but being friendly made up for the delays and over crowding.
Looking forward to trying dinner some time.

Good Cajun & Creole food. We were told one of the owners is from Louisiana, so food is the real deal.
Just don’t expect much from the wait staff. Our young waitress was clearly thrown out there with little to no training. Be patient and try not to let this be a distraction your party.

Had the crab cakes as a lunch special. Plenty of crab and the sauce was really spicy but very good. Fortunately the sauce was served on the side. Restaurant has a different layout due to the nature of the building. The service was excellent.

Finally, good creole food in the Midlands! Reasonably priced and a place I have already recommended to several folks.

Food this good often evokes a kind of hyper-​critical mentality, where reviewers resolve to find a flaw with anything in the preparation or presentation to impress upon other Unilocalers what an extraordinary amount of culinary erudition they possess.
STFU and eat this food. You’ll be glad you did.
In total, we had
the fried pimento cheese with crushed pecans (so savory and tasty, spread upon the most delicately buttered & toasted Leidenheimer bread)
spare ribs (very peppery, maybe a little overcooked but good)
crawfish etouffée (delightfully spicy)
seafood gumbo (over rice, one bite and it was bliss, but I had to take this home),
Cajun egg roll (a gift from another table– delightful and also taken home)
Seafood Jambalaya (with Andouille sausage and shrimp, running out of superlatives)
bread pudding (no raisins, nice texture, not too sweet, gorgeous glaze)
pralines again, not overly sweet.
However, the star of the evening for me was the shrimp and grits. I’ve never had grits like this and the shrimp/​sausage combination was so sublime, I wish to be buried in it (in them?) and eat my way out… thrice, at least. I risk public shame and ridicule because, of all things, I chose the most humble menu item to extol. I would gladly die a martyr proclaiming the Gospel of these grits.
The service was personable and the bill surprisingly modest. Unless you have a personal chef that cooks for Martha Stewart or can only consume 700 calories a day, get over here before there’s a monthly waiting list and the Food Channel has the road blocked off.

I believe this was one of my favorite meals ever. We had a couple of Hurricanes which were great. A little strong for me, but I don’t believe anyone else would probably complain about that. Started with the Cajun Popcorn, which is fried crawfish tails. So very tender and full of flavor. My entrée was the Oyster Jambalaya. OMG. Fried oysters on top of sausage and shrimp jambalaya. Good Lord was it good. And such a generous amount, I brought plenty home for lunch. My date had a cajun spiced steak. I had a few bites of it and it actually melted in my mouth. Our waiter was the best. He was a cutie that was full of personality. We sat outside in the backyard. They have lights strung overhead and it was just a beautiful atmosphere. It actually felt like I was back in New Orleans in a little courtyard. We had quite a wait, so a reservation is best. Enjoy!
********Additional Note: I will add that the hostess told us that since we did not have a reservation that it would be an hour or more until we could even be seated, if at all. Seemed like she was trying to get us to leave. I’m glad we didn’t do that! It was nowhere near that length of time.

Went for lunch. The shrimp poboy was excellent. Service was good and attentive, though felt very matter of fact and a bit awkward. Definitely recommend… if you can find it.

Yum, yum, yum!!!
I went there with my parents, who are in from Chicago, for the first time this evening. We reserved a table on OpenTable (because we could, not because we needed to) and found the house/​restaurant easily — if you’re looking for it.
We were seated in one of the front rooms away from the bar. There was a great ambiance that felt cozy. We ended up talking to the people around us throughout the night, which brings additional entertainment.
We ordered the egg rolls, which had a great flavor while the crab cakes fell apart since there was more crab than breading. What a rarity! The sauce had an excellent flavor that complimented the cakes.
For dinner, we were sold on the ribeye. We went in for more traditional Cajun food but when our server, Johnny, explained the specials. This was FANTASTIC! We all had the ribeye, creamy mashed potatoes, and fresh green beans with spices. What a meal! They seat the steak on a hot cast iron pan before baking it in the oven. It was awesome! In addition, the sides were so tasty they could have been a meal in itself especially since the green beans were locally grown and tasted fresh.
Everyone in the room murmured their appreciation of good food even though we all had something different. Excellent food, service, drinks, and everyone (including a part-​owner as well as the cook who both visited our table) was enthusiastic about good food! Private Property is highly recommended!
Don’t forget to grab a martini while you’re at it! The Mardi Gras was my beverage of choice!

If you are fortunate enough to find the location, then you will be amazed at the beauty inside. It is a white tablecloth, elegant, pristine, chic and spotless venue. The service is off the chart friendly! (I mean seriously you don’t get more friendly.) They are really passionate about the quality of their food and all of the staff members were up to snuff on their ingredients and unique food offerings. Actually «unique» would be the optimal word to describe this place so if you are looking for something different then look no further.
On the other hand, they do not offer any vegetarian items (and don’t have anything available on hand to accommodate even a lacto-​ovo vegetarian) and the only healthy items on their menu was a plain salad. Everything else is butter, mayo, cream, fried, sodium laden, etc. However this is traditional Cajun cooking. So personally I won’t be able to eat there, but I will definitely return to have some drinks (decent drink menu) at the gorgeous bar just to enjoy the atmosphere and service.