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.
HUGO'S - Bluffton
Hugo Arrieta truly can be called an Island institution. After a short stint with Sea Pines’ Plantation Club, he spent a remarkable 28 years orchestrating matters in the dining room of Fitzgerald’s Restaurant on South Forest Beach Drive. During his tenure, Fitzgerald’s evolved from a fi ne dining, relatively formal establishment to a more casual restaurant similar to many others on Hilton Head today.
“I was fortunate enough to make friends from all over the world. Some I see frequently, while others only when they come to visit each year,” Hugo says.
When Fitzgerald’s closed in 2005, Hugo observes, it was the end of an era...but “for me it was the realization and beginning of a dream. I decided to start a restaurant with unique qualities, but keeping the same Island tradition of Low Country dining so many came to enjoy for years and years.”
Hugo’s at Wexford, which opened for business in early 2006, has enjoyed great popularity from the very beginning. It offers a continental menu with all soups, sauces, desserts and much more prepared “from scratch.” Hugo’s cuisine is accompanied by a carefully selected list of wines from Italy, France, Argentina, Australia and California.
Now Hugo, joined by his son Brandon and business associate David Warren, has opened a second Hugo’s in Bluffton. The new Hugo’s serves largely the same great food that has been so popular on the Island, but in much larger, even more attractive premises.
Bluffton’s Hugo’s is located in the thoroughly redecorated premises formerly occupied by Blake’s restaurant, near Home Depot. It boasts three fountains, lots of beautiful wood paneling, an expansive bar, and wine racks attractively displaying Hugo’s excellent selection of wine.
Hugo, who is one of the more personable folks on the Island restaurant scene, emphasizes that his primary concern is his customers. He promises “to serve good food, provide good service, and to do it in a very pleasant atmosphere.” His food will be consistent, as in the past, he promises.
When we talked, Hugo’s fi nal comment was that he was going to devote 100% of his time to making sure his restaurant is the way his customers want it to be!
The new Hugo’s at Gateway Village, Bluffton, was scheduled to open for business just as we were going to press. Hugo’s will serve lunch and dinner every day of the week, and brunch on Sundays. Service is continuous from lunch through dinner. Reservations, a children’s menu and take-out are available.
For more information, please turn to pages 40 and 41,
call 757-4846, or visit hugosatwexford.com.
FANCY Q SUSHI BAR AND GRILL - Hilton Head
A cheerful chorus of “eulashaima say!,” which means “welcome!” and “how are you?!,” is the fi rst thing you hear when you walk through the door into Fancy Q Sushi Bar & Grill. Being greeted so enthusiastically makes you feel very welcome, and look forward to your meal!
In addition to being friendly on a personal level, Fancy Q’s portion sizes and prices also are very friendly!
Patrons may choose from an excellent variety of appetizing sushi, sashimi, hibachi fare, tempura, terriyaki and more. Food always will be very fresh, we are promised, and largely prepared to order. “Service will be fast and friendly,” we are told.
Lunch is especially appealing from a price and generous portions standpoint. All entrees, mostly costing less than $10, include soup and a salad, plus steamed or fried rice. Chef Eddie also likes to surprise his guests with a special mini-appetizer which, when we visited, was “Crab Eddie.” The combination of crab and “Eddie Sauce” was outstanding!
Dinners are accompanied by soup, a salad, vegetables, and steamed or fried rice.
As is true of many sushi-oriented restaurants, presentation of food at Sushi Q is very attractive!
Fancy Q Sushi Bar & Grill is owned an operated by restaurateur “Eddie” Qiu, who recently relocated to Hilton Head from St. Simons Island. He opened and still owns Fancy Q restaurants on Amelia and St. Simons Islands.
Fancy Q is open from 11:00 am until 10:00 pm Monday through Friday, and from 5:00 pm until 10:00 pm Saturday and Sunday. Reservations, a children’s menu and take-out are available.
Fancy Q Sushi Bar & Grill is located in Northridge
Plaza, in the attractively redecorated premises formerly
occupied by DiVino (which moved to Moss Creek Village
in Bluffton). For more information, please turn to page 129
or call 342-6626.
CAPTAIN WOODY'S - Bluffton
Captain Woody’s, at Palmetto Bay Marina, has long had a reputation for being a great place to eat. Great food, great prices, a great location, and friendly owners and staff add up to a great result!
Medium-size, casual seafood-oriented Captain Woody’s restaurant has been tucked away at Palmetto Bay Marina for over 25 (!) years, making it one of Hilton Head’s oldest restaurants. It is a favorite of boaters and locals, as well as visitors to the Island. The patio, overlooking Broad Creek in the distance, is an especially pleasant place to eat.
Now Captain Woody’s has a sister restaurant of the same name in nearby Bluffton.
Many things are the same as at the Island location. Everything still is fresh! Signature items still include Grouper Melt, Oyster Po-Boy and Shrimp Po-Boy Sandwiches, and their big Seafood Platters. Just tell them what you want on your platter, and it’s yours!
The menu is basic: Seafood, Land-food and Platters. Captain Woody’s specializes in shrimp, clams and oysters, which you can get freshly shucked, raw or steamed. There also are lots of appetizers, soups and, especially, sandwiches to choose from.
The premises, however, are very different from Hilton Head. The building is new, but has been designed to look old. The combination of its design and substantial use of recycled building materials has added up to an unusually pleasant result.
There is a large dining area and bar downstairs, where the walls can be raised garage door-style when the weather is right. Like on Hilton Head, there is a large outdoor patio area. Upstairs, there is another bar and dining area that is both indoors and outside, overlooking St Joseph’s Park.
Captain Woody’s in Bluffton serves their complete menu from 11:00 am until 10:00 pm seven days a week. The rooftop bar, where you can order from an appetizer menu, is open from 4:00 pm until Midnight. Brunch is served on Sundays.
The new Captain Woody’s is located at 17 State of Mind Street in The Calhoun Street Promenade, in “downtown” Bluffton. Happy Hour is from 4-7:00. A kid’s menu and carry-out are available. It is worth noting that Captain Woody’s is very family oriented in some areas, but also is a good place for adults. It just depends on where you sit!
For more information, please turn to page 148, visit captainwoodys.
com, or call 843-757-6222.
DRYDOCK SEAFOOD GRILL & SPIRITS - Hilton head
It always is a pleasure to report that a long-time Island favorite has moved to a much more attractive location, and celebrated its move by making its menu more appealing, too!
Locally owned DryDock Seafood Grill & Spirits, formerly called The DryDock, was at its previous location on Executive Park Road near the Sea Shack for almost 16 years. It recently moved to 21 Offi ce Park Road, Suite 105, Sapelo Building which is located near the main gate of Sea Pines.
The new DryDock offers an attractive dining room, and a separate bar and lounge area that is tastefully decorated in offshore fi shing motif. There also is a pool table, and a shuffl eboard table. Patrons may enjoy a spacious outside dining and bar area that is a great place to be when the weather is good.
The DryDock’s kitchen serves a wide variety of food, ranging from really good “tavern food” and fresh made salads to excellent steak and seafood dinner entrees. The lunches are a great value, and the staff promises that you will not leave hungry!
Lots of Island sports fans enjoy watching their games at the DryDock. It offers seven fl at screen TV’s, including four high defi nition plasmas. They offer the NFL DirectTV package, ESPN’s College Game Plan Package, as well as MLB Baseball package and March Madness College Basketball.
The DryDock also provides catering and the use of their facility for special events, meetings, and charity fund raisers, as well as wedding receptions.
The Drydock is tucked away at 21 Offi ce Park Road, which extends from its intersection with Pope Avenue, at the fi rst traffi c light east of Sea Pines Circle, at one end and its intersection with Greenwood Drive at the other. Its Pope Avenue intersection is directly opposite the south end of New Orleans Road. There is a CVS Pharmacy on the corner.
Just turn onto Offi ce Park Road, and turn into the fi rst parking lot entrance on the left after the road curves to the right. The DryDock is around the far corner of the fi rst building on your right!
The other end of Offi ce Park Road begins in front of Park Plaza and Harris Teeter Groceries. The DryDock offers a Happy Hour from 4-7:00 Monday- Friday, a children’s menu and take-out.
For more information about DryDock Seafood Grill &
Spirits, please turn to page 29, contact them at drydock@
hargray.com, or call 843-842-9775.
ISLAND BAGEL - Hilton Head
We love bagels, and all the good stuff that you can put on them. Of course, cream cheese and smoked salmon probably are the traditional favorites. But bagels can be the start of sandwiches, breakfast-style sandwiches, and much more. And that traditional cream cheese can be fl avored all sorts of ways!
The Island Bagel Co., which recently succeeded Woody’s Darn Good Bagels at South Island Square, serves really great bagels, as might be expected of a restaurant that makes its bagels from scratch (the only place on the island that does). However, they serve much more than bagels, have added numerous new items to their menu, and plan more for the future.
For example, patrons may enjoy breakfast sandwiches, a wide variety of baked goods, “Seattle’s Best” excellent coffee and lattes, soups, salads, and more. They also cook their own turkeys and prime rib in house.
New items will include a larger selection of salads, new “homemade” soups, and a choice of panninis. Please note, though, that almost everything from the Woody’s Darn Good Bagels menu will continue to be available.
Island Bagel Co. is open for breakfast and lunch from 7:00 am-3:00 pm Monday-Saturday, and until 2:00 Sundays. The entire menu is available from opening until closing. Catering and offi ce deliveries are available. Take-out is a specialty. Call-ins are welcome.
Island Bagel Co. is located at South Island Square, about a mile south of the entrance to Palmetto Dunes, near Longhorn Steakhouse, next to Cafe St. Tropez. There is a “sister” Island Bagel Co. at Sheridan Park, in Bluffton.
For more information, please turn to pages 76 and 82,
visit hiltonheadbagels.com, or call 686-3353.
BLUFFTON LIVE - Bluffton
There’s a new restaurant and live music hall coming to Bluffton in December that sounds like it will please lots of folks who enjoy great food and live music!
Bluffton Live, located next to the new Hugo’s in Bluffton (see description in this section), will feature gourmet pizza, fondues and assorted tapas, plus live music as you dine. Different kinds of music will be offered, from shag to swing to soft rock to blues, all in an atmosphere that is intended to remind you of great music revues. There even will be a large dance fl oor for when it’s time to dance!
The gourmet pizza menu at Bluffton Live will allow you to pick toppings and sauces to make your own custom pie. Fondue specials, creative light entrees, and many other choices will round out the menu.
The folks at Bluffton Live invite you to join them for a “toe tapping good time!”
If all goes as planned, Bluffton Live will be open for lunch Monday-Friday, and for dinner seven nights a week. Reservations and take-out will be available. Large parties will be welcome. Call and ask about happy hour specials!
Bluffton Live will be located just off Highway 278 in Bluffton, next to Bluffton’s new Hugo’s, in the thoroughly redecorated premises formerly occupied by Blue Coyote. It is in front of Home Depot, which is just across the parking lot.
Bluffton Live’s planned opening is in late December. For
more information, please call 815-LIVE (5483).
MORE NEW RESTAURANTS
