The Bistro at the Barge dining experience was amazing -- like nothing else in Charleston. Service was top notch. Delcious duck egg rolls, best caesar salad I've ever had, and I don't even know how to describe the mussels and shrimp. Incredible. You MUST try this place.
Greatness is an understatement. Chef Marshall dazzled my family's evening with an elegant journey though his gastronomic vision. The dishes were decadent, the service was phenomenal and Marshall is the Chef that is on the summit of culinary perfection. Barge Restaurant is now my vote, for a business dinner or an Intimate evening basking in my wife's smile.
Wonderful dinner on a snowy December eve. 13 of us, with very different tastes and interests, at big table towards the back. Service was knowledgeable and accommodating, drinks were great, pace comfortable - don’t expect fast food timing, thank God. Appetizers and salads spot on - Oysters Rockefeller rocked, as did pork bellies and Caesar salads. Steaks, salmon, duck entrees yummy. Try it; we’ll go back, May see you there.
The bistro is incredible. Whatever changed here they did it right. Service is best in the city. Highly recommend this place.
Great overall experience! The Bistro atmosphere was exceptional and the food was fantastic! Best place to dine in Charleston in my humble opinion. We will make it our new place for real food in Charleston. The bar and grill is also great! Very fun to set on the water and listen to good live music and eat upscale bar food. Thanks for reopening the Barge!
Do NOT waste your time or money in this foul smelling greasy spoon on the water. What a disaster. The service was so slow. It took over 25 minutes just to get humans in a bowl w pita chips from a bag. Not pita bread as the menu says. The veggies were sparce and the celery had bad spots on it. Then another wait for the entrees. After another 35 minutes they were horrendous. The oysters were dripping in grease and over cooked. As were the onion rings. My family's meals were just as bad. Just too greasy. The dining area smelled like raw sewer. It was awful. If the food had been up to par then the costs would have been just a little high. As is the food is not worth the price. Just a waste.
We did not have a positive experience with the Bistro upstairs. Host discouraged us from being seated as they had a lot of reservations. One larger group and lots of empty tables were visible and wait staff looked good. Finally seated us. We ordered appetizers and entrees. 60 minutes for appetizer to arrive with numerous apologies and excuses and offer to comp. appetizers. Then when entrees were nowhere in sight after 20 additional minutes we left. 80 minutes and we had beverages, 2 rolls and appetizers with lots of apologies and excuses. Nice ambiance but production of food needs work. Lots of empty tables the whole time. Oh well. Good luck. I hope they can improve.
Very small menu. Over priced. $44 for 2 salads, a water, a lemonade, and $12 fries that tasted and looked like they had just been pulled out of the microwave. Staff was nice but everything has a "white trash" feel. Gangster rap blasting and kitchen staff walking around the dining area with their pants sagging below their butts. Views from the kitchen doors swinging wide open enough to watch kitchen staff prep food, bend down and wipe down floor the floor and prep table sides and front with the same rag they use to wipe off the top of the prep table, stand around with their hands in their pockets and scratching their faces, and then continue prepping food. NOTE: all with the same pair of gloves on. Grilled chicken tasted and smelled like burnt rubber and glasses were empty on a regular basis as employees were too busy standing around the bar talking with each other. Will never go back.
Great weather for a river front dinner. The wife and I both ordered burgers, shared an order of fries. Great food. Service was friendly as well. Mindy was our server, she did a fantastic job. The restaurant seems to be a bit under staffed and a bit frazzled. Overall a great experience. We will return for another great meal.
Mara was our server. She made the experience awesome. It seemed many other customers were frustrated with the service, but she communicated any delays we experienced. She was friendly and energetic! Btw, the deck area looks very nice.
I know they just opened, but there is definitely some kinks that still need to be worked out. We waited for 40 minutes for a table, there was no seating so you stand on the dock the whole time while you wait. Our table asked for water since we were all planning on having mixed drinks as well and it took her a good 10 minutes to bring us glasses and a pitcher. We had to ask the hostess to get us silverware since none of the waitstaff would stop long enough to acknowledge us. The menu is really limited (build your own sandwich, basic apps, oysters, and salad). I ordered an asain salad ($10) that just has lettuce, carrots, and a couple fried noodles sprinkled on top, to add chicken is an extra $5 even if you ordered a small. The small ($6) salad was the size of a side salad so I couldn't justify spending $11 for a saucer sized plate of lettuce. The calamari and onion rings were good, my hard lemonade was good too but not strong enough to be $11 (literally lemonade and a shot of tequila). I may be back, but probably not for a while.
The place just opened last Friday and left us with a bad impression. Grossly understaffed (probably due to the beautiul weather today) and many customers, including us were left waiting and never was able to order food. I can appreciate when an establishment finds themselves short staffed with too many no-call, no-shows, but the owner or manager could have done damage control by checking on constumers waiting to order. Wait staff should awknowledge customers around them and ask if they have been able to place orders yet and at the very least let them know they will get to them as soon as possible. Simply zipping by tables and taking orders only when gursts are calling out your attention is not good business. Poorly managed and in need of some help which is a shame because spending lunch on the water, on a nice sunny day is always fun. Best of luck to this place, its a rocky start to your re-opening.
Has been closed for several years.. and still closed
A kind out of the way spot overlooking the river. The restaurant is built on a small pier and has indoor and outdoor seating. There is even a dock were people in boats can dock and get a drink or a bite to eat.
The food is not bad. It is a good menu with a moderate price. Most items are between $6 and $12. If you enjoy an adult beverage they have a nice selection to choose from. While we we there the crowd was a mix of Bikers, Middle Class, and Upper Middle Class. So it seems to appeal to most all types. The big draw is the decks (Upper and Lower) that sit over the river.
A little hard to find but it is worth the trouble if not for the food but the river and scenery. With a GPS you should have no problems finding it. If in the Charleston, WV area you might just want to there.