So let me tell you about my new favorite restaurant. I’ve eaten some wonderful meals (High Cotton, Rue de Jean), but there is just something about Hank’s that goes above and beyond just food. It has that
something.
Just from the exterior you can tell it is a neat place. The sign is painted on, and there are a couple of little ad-like spaces around the entrance. It feels very 1940s, with the style and the patina of the paint being in less than perfect condition. Walking in, the old style is kept up. The restaurant is one big room, with high ceilings held up by distressed cast-iron columns and magnificent dark-wood beams. The floors are huge antique heart-pine boards that were salvaged from the old high school. The bar stretches almost the length of the restaurant and is beautifully appointed. One side of the dining area even has those crescent-shaped booths. It’s very Old-Hollywood.
Hank’s is one of those places where you look at the menu, then look again, then look one more time, until the waiter is finally hovering around. Everything looked so wonderful. I was torn between about six different entrées. To appease myself, I got an appetizer of crispy fried shrimp and calamari ($8). I ordered it for the calamari, which was excellent, but the shrimp was some of the best I have ever eaten. It was lightly battered, slightly spicy, and perfectly cooked. For the main course, I had a big, heaping bowl of bouillabaisse ($22). I had been waiting to try this for ages, and this seemed like as good a time as any. WHAT HAVE I BEEN MISSING??!! I was so good, I almost cried. I could have bathed in it!! It was overflowing with steamed clams, oysters, mussels, shrimp, scallops, and a big hunk of crab meat. The broth was perfection. It was indescribable.
My parents both had combo plates with fried oysters, crumb-fried shrimp, and crab cakes ($18). They are served with these wonderful sweet-potato chip-like things. They sound weird, but were wonderful. They both said everything was great. For dessert, we had a slice of peanut butter pie ($6), which was so rich, I had to take it home and eat it in waves.
So the food is great, but it is served in a setting that is not only beautiful but comfortable. The place is lavish and luxurious, but somehow also manages to be laid-back and casual. We were wearing jeans and the people next to us were wearing suits, but everyone was fine with it. It is unusual to find somewhere like this in Charleston, so I certainly suggest you try it. I can’t imagine you will be disappointed.