A surprising number of new restaurants have opened in the Hilton Head Island/Bluffton area in the recent past, in spite of the challenges provided by our economy. We have described seven of them here. Additional restaurants that have opened in the last year or two are listed on our website at hhidining.com. Our website also has information about additional matters of interest concerning dining on Hilton Head. Please note that, although we believe this material and that throughout Restaurants Magazine to be accurate, we rely on the owners of restaurants for much of it.

HANA SUSHI & JAPANESE FUSION

“We will introduce a very unique option for Japanese dining. We will use the freshest ingredients available from around the world, including an extensive variety of seafood from the Tsukiji Fish Market in Japan.

“Hana Sushi & Japanese Fusion will provide an exquisitely balanced fusion of traditional Japanese cooking techniques and our own modern touch. We will also serve carefully selected Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese cuisine. Our original dishes are artfully designed by chefs with years of experience.

“Hana Sushi & Japanese Fusion will strive to be the premier Japanese restaurant in the area. We want our guests to have a wonderful overall experience when visiting us. Not only will they receive a great meal, but they also will be provided with a fun atmosphere. We want their dining experience to be as pleasing to their other senses as it is to their palates!”

“Above all, our number one ingredient is “Kokoro” (heart). We will strive to share our passion for great food, so guests also can experience what we love the most. Our knowledgeable staff will make sure patrons have a dining experience that won’t soon be forgotten.”

The extensive menu at Hana Sushi & Japanese Fusion includes sushi and sashimi, appetizers, salads, nigiri, rolls, habachi dinners, entrees, noodles and much more.

Executive chef/owner Dee Wang brings numerous years of experience to his new endeavor. Although he has personally created many of the menu items that are offered, he learned the basics of his craft at the famous Nobu Japanese restaurant and at Iron Chef Morimoto in Los Angeles.

General Manager Ezron Daley has been associated with several of the area’s better dining establishments.

Hana Sushi & Japanese Fusion restaurant is located 1534 Fording Island Road (Bridge Center), on the “south” side of Highway 278, about a minute west of the bridge to Hilton Head Island. It is scheduled to open the second week of December.

Lunch and dinner are served seven days a week. Reservations, a children’s menu and take-out are available. For a summary of Hana’s menu, their schedule and more information, please call (843) 837-3388, or visit hanasushifusion.com.

SUBLIME PRIME STEAKHOUSE & WINE BAR

Originally from Savannah, GA, Executive Chef Jonathan Hagins graduated from the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY in 1995, and has spent the better part of the last twenty years in award winning restaurants. As Chef de Cuisine at Kiawah Island Resort, he achieved the AAA Four Diamond Award three years in a row.

Chef Hagins also worked as Chef de Cuisine for the well known Cloister Hotel at Sea Island, Georgia. More locally, he was Executive Chef at Antonio’s fi ne dining restaurant on Hilton Head Island, again achieving the Four Diamond Award.

Sublime Prime uses the fi nest ingredients, including Certified Angus Prime Beef. They hand select their beef, which is cut and managed “to their very specifi c criteria of marbling and aging.” Their seafood is packed as it is caught, and shipped to them by the next day.

The full menu offers choices from “steaks to seafood and everything in between.” Patrons also may order from an appealing tapas menu and from an attractively priced selection of fine wines and craft beers.

Servers at Sublime Prime were chosen based on their food handling knowledge and “above and beyond” serving skills. Both kitchen staff and front of the house work together, we are told, to make sure every detail works for their customers’ dining pleasure.

The Goldberg family, owners of Sublime Prime, are from Charleston, South Carolina, and love the Lowcountry area. They have owned and operated several successful restaurants and hospitality businesses over the course of many years, and “are especially proud to put our name on Sublime Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar.”

Sublime Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar is located in intimate premises at 163 Bluffton Road (Hwy. 46), in Bluffton, set back from the road near Bluffton Pharmacy. Dinner is served Tuesday-Saturday, from 4:30 pm until 10:00 pm.

For more information, please call 815-6900 or visit www.sublimeprimebluffton.com.

SAKE HOUSE

In addition to serving excellent Japanese cuisine, Sake House also is spacious and unusually attractive. There is a large, separate sushi bar, a pleasant dining room in which patrons enjoy sushi, sashimi and traditional Japanese cuisine at their tables, and a large room fi lled with hibachi/tappanyaki tables. There also is an attractive bar in which patrons may enjoy libations of many kinds. All are arranged around a large, good-looking fountain, the fi rst thing that you see as you walk in.

The menu at Sake House is extensive. Patrons may choose from lots of hot and cold appetizers, salads, cooked and raw hand-rolled sushi, and more individual items. They also may select among numerous sushi, sashimi, hibachi and bento box dinners. Most dinners are served with accompaniments, such as the hibachi shrimp appetizer, Japanese clear soup, house salad, a vegetable and fried or steamed rice offered with hibachi dinners.

Family owned and operated Sake House is open continuously from lunch through dinner seven days a week. It offers a children’s menu, take-out, and reservations.

Sake House is set well back from traffi c at 1017 Fording Island Road (Hwy. 278), on the north side, less than fi ve minutes from the mainland end of the bridge to Hilton Head Island. If you are traveling from the island, take the second right curb cut after you pass Home Depot. If you see Best Buy on your right, immediately turn into the parking area, because you have gone too far. Sake House is in the same shopping area as Best Buy.

If you are coming from further inland, make a “u turn” just after Best Buy, then turn into the parking lot at your first opportunity. For more information, including a summary map, please call (843) 706-9222.

MELLOW MUSHROOM

The new Mellow Mushroom boasts a beautiful new covered patio, a long curving bar, and 22 plasma tv’s (many really large!) both indoors and outdoors for watching sporting events. Much of the warm wood in the charmingly funky indoor dining areas is from old pickle barrels “imported” from Ohio.

There also is lots of good-looking and interesting art work. If you are looking for something a little different, ask to sit under one of the big mellow mushrooms, and have someone take your picture!

The Mellow Mushroom is an affordably priced, kid-friendly, fun and lively place that is very attractive to lots of folks! All pizza is made with spring water dough, prepared fresh every day, and made with lots of healthy ingredients. Crusts are buttered, and then sprinkled with parmesan cheese. Vegetarian and other heart-healthy selections are available. Gluten-free pizza is available.

The same menu is offered for both lunch and dinner, with continuous service beginning at 11 am every day of the week. Take-out and catering are available.

The new Hilton Head Island Mellow Mushroom is located about 100 yards from its previous location, in a free-standing building at Park Plaza, 33 Offi ce Park Road, facing Harris Teeter groceries.

For more information, please call (843) 686- 2474, or visit mellowmushroom.com/hiltonhead.

NEW BLUFFTON LOCATION

Bluffton’s new Mellow Mushroom is located at 878 Fording Island Road (Highway 278), at its intersection with Simmonsville Road, behind Walgreen’s Pharmacy. Belfair Village is across Fording Island Road from the area where Mellow Mushroom is located.

Bluffton’s Mellow Mushroom has much in common with its Hilton Head Island location, but has been designed with Bluffton very much in mind. The menu, the charming yet funky decor, and overall fun atmosphere are very similar. There even is a very extensive selection of draft and bottled beers available at the full bar!

Please call (843) 706-0800, or visit mellowmushroom. com/bluffton for more information.

ORIGINAL PAULIE'S COAL FIRED PIZZA

Paulie’s pizza recently was awarded Fourth Place at the 2011 Las Vegas International Pizza Expo, after competing with 65 contestants. Pies were judged on crust, sauce, cheese, toppings, overall taste and visual presentation.

Paulie’s uses anthracite coal from Pennsylvania to cook their pizzas because, we are told, it gives off a great fl avor; is really hot, resulting in fast baking and fresh ingredients retaining their fl avor; is environmentally friendly; and is part of their Italian pizza making heritage. They follow the practice of making everything possible on their menu fresh from scratch, just the way their family has for generations.

The new Paulie’s Coal Fired Pizza restaurant is located at 1034 William Hilton Parkway, on the west (landward) side, just a short distance from Sea Pines circle. The premises are spacious, thoroughly rebuilt, and very attractive. Folks who have been in the building before will hardly recognize it!

Hilton Head’s Paulie’s is open from lunch though dinner Sunday through Wednesday, and until late Thursday through Saturday. Reservations, catering, a children’s menu, and takeout are available.

For more information, please call 785-3510 (Hilton Head) or 757-3500 (Bluffton).

>ELA'S BLU WATER GRILLE

Patrons dining as the day is ending enjoy excellent sunsets from the sunset side of the restaurant. After dark, the twinkling lights of Shelter Cove Harbour are charming, and last for the remainder of the evening!

The food at ELA’s would be well worth a visit even if its location were not so appealing. Chef Rabadi serves beautifully prepared and presented seafood, plus an appealing selection of beef and other choices. Almost every day, we are told, he greets local fi shermen to select the freshest catch for his evening creations.

Chef Rabadi prepares many menu items with an Italian twist, refl ecting his New York City culinary background. Ribadi is a graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America.

When we asked proprietor Earl Nightingale if he considered any items on the menu to be “signature” choices, he suggested ELA’s calamari appetizer and their scallops and grouper entrees. We can attest that the calamari and scallops were outstanding The calamari are cut into strips, as opposed to the rings served by most restaurants, dusted with a mild batter, and lightly fried. The result is unique in our experience, and superb. ELA’S scallops were large, perfectly prepared, and delicious!

Owner/operator Earl Nightingale, who is a very gracious host, is a 40 year veteran of the hospitality industry. He previously managed the Hilton Oceanfront Resort, and also has served in various management capacities with Hyatt Hotels. Has been responsible for orchestrating matters at numerous restaurants. He enthusiastically proclaims that “a sensational dining experience is our goal!”

ELA’S Blu Water Grille is located on the premises occupied by the Harbourmaster restaurant for many years, and more recently by Ocean Grille. All three levels of the restaurant have been remodeled. The interior has a classic new look, and provides an excellent setting for the paintings of local artist Peter Karis. ELA’S can seat about 160 people on its three levels, and offers excellent venues for private parties, special events or rehearsal dinners, as well as for couples and small groups.

To reach ELA’S, follow William Hilton Parkway (Hwy 278) to the main entrance to Shelter Cove, on the west side directly across from the entrance to Palmetto Dunes Resort. Proceed toward the harbour, and make the fi rst possible left hand turn, onto Shelter Cove Lane. Continue for just under a mile all the way to its end (there are signs pointing the way), and enter the parking lot directly ahead. ELA’s is in the building directly on Shelter Cove Harbour on your left. Park your car, and use either the stairs or elevator to reach ELA’s.

ELA’S Blu Water Grille serves dinner seven days a week, starting at 4:00. Reservations, a children’s menu and take-out are available. Ask about entertainment on Fridays and Saturdays. For more information, please call (843) 785-3030, or visit www.hhidining.com or www.elasgrille.com.

PATTY'S PIG 'N' PIT

Chef/Owner Richard Spine, a 1981 graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, has been cooking since his high school days. He lived and worked on Hilton Head in the mideighties as Chef of The Old Fort Pub and of Skull Creek Marina and Restaurant, leaving there to open the InterContinental Hotel in Port Royal Resort. Chef Spine has been at the helm opening numerous hotels and also served as Executive Chef at the Country Club of Rochester, one of the nation’s oldest private clubs. While there, he had the opportunity to prepare food for many corporate and governmental leaders, including past Presidents. For the past 18 years, he was Corporate Chef for a major food distribution company, where he also served as Director of Training.

Owner/Manager Patty Randazzo, Chef Richard’s partner, also brings years of restaurant experience, and will orchestrate dining room activities. Patty, for whom the restaurant is named, has opened numerous restaurants in Ohio. She is a very pleasant, hospitable person who will make sure guests feel welcome and greatly enjoy their visits to the restaurant.

The name Patty’s Pig ‘n’ Pit probably is a little misleading concerning what patrons will discover. To be sure, there are lots of wood-smoked BBQ items on the menu, including six house-made regional sauces from which patrons can “sauce their own” daily. However, there also will be numerous salads, soups, steaks and seafood offerings to be enjoyed, including several nightly seafood specials, plus burgers, sandwiches and “stuffed taters”.

Patty’s does not look like your typical BBQ restaurant. It offers lots of space, a very attractive bar, and tablecloths topped with butcher paper. Patty very likely summarized it best when she observed that their restaurant will offer a “fi ne dining experience with all the comforts of BBQ!”

Patty’s will be open continuously from lunch through dinner Tuesday through Sunday. A Children’s Menu and take-out will be available, and patrons can dine either indoors or on the spacious patio. Reservations will be available. Ask about Early Bird Dining and Happy Hour specials, available daily!

Patty’s will be located at 32 Offi ce Park Road, in the same space formerly occupied by Stripes restaurant for many years. Opening was scheduled for Mid-May, shortly after Restaurants Magazine went to press.

For more information, please call (843) 842-5555.