3. Congaree Grill

Wow, what an experience for the value. Major improvement all around from first visit. My wife and I went for dinner and had two of the best dishes we've had in Columbia. We eat out about four times a week and this was by far the best meal we've had in a while. I had the shrimp and grits, which were amazing, and my wife had the blackened bbq salmon. Another great dish. We also had the low country eggrolls which had collard greens, fried chicken, andouille sausage, corn and cheddar cheese. It come with a gorgonzola cheese sauce and pineapple chutney. The combination of the two sauces were simply amazing. The best thing was the price. We walked out spending $50 with a bottle of wine. I highly recommend this restaurant. The new chef is very talented.

As a single woman, I dine out by myself on occasion, and I assess restaurants by how they serve a solo diner. This restaurant did everything wrong. When I entered, the hostess was involved in a personal conversation with a young man, and ignored me for almost two minutes. When she finally deigned to pay attention to me, she proceeded to seat me in the worst seat in the house, right by the kitchen, where I could hear the wait staff chatting about their escapades, and where I had a lovely view of the cash register. (By the way, the restaurant was almost empty.) Then they proceeded to serve me the absolute worst shrimp and grits I have ever had. Undercooked onions, overcooked shrimp and a horrible, thin sauce with no taste whatsoever. Oh, and to top everything off - I was ignored by the wait staff and was never offered a refill on my iced tea. That one is the kiss of death. One hopes that this restaurant will improve, but I won't be giving them a second chance.