Built on the site of an old ramshackle bait shop across the road from where the Civil War-era Hunley submarine launched, The Boathouse at Breach Inlet was designed by Reggie Gibson to emulate a typical turn-of-the-century coastal South Carolina building. Bucky Greenlish and Lawrence Waring masterminded the interior with help from owner Richard Stoney. The woodwork, which incorporates over 10 different kinds of wood from mahogany to teak, was assembled by Matthew Montgomery, a local craftsman from Goat Island. The boats that decorate the ceilings are authentic vintage rowboats, many of which are nearly 100 years old. They were sourced by Stoney, who traveled the East Coast in search of the perfect sub models which reminded him of his childhood, during which he grew up on South Carolina’s waterways.
Drawing from passed-down recipes scrawled on cards in Southern family kitchens, The Boathouse serves diverse and delicious seafood derived from nearby rivers, lakes and oceans.
Starters include fried green tomatoes or pickled okra, pimento cheese, crab fritters, Old Bay-seasoned shrimp cocktail, sweet corn hushpuppies, crispy fried calamari, P.E.I mussels, oyster Rockefeller or burrata with herb-roasted plum tomatoes, tomato fondue, balsamic glaze and basil pesto oil. Alternatively, the chef’s nightly special is steamed snow crab legs with lemon and clarified butter. Another option is the raw bar, which offers a rotating oyster selection and a Dory tower, the chef’s choice of 18 raw oysters.
For the main event, select from either grilled or blackened shrimp, Atlantic scallops or salmon, mahi-mahi, swordfish or halibut. Add a sauce such as beurre blanc, roasted corn salsa, remoulade or lemon basil aioli. Fried seafood options include shrimp, oysters, flounder or a combo of all three. Boathouse favorites include the poached seafood combination with lobster tail, shrimp and scallops, crab cakes, steak and crab cakes or the chef’s trio of filet medallion, crab cake and butter-poached lobster tail.
Every Monday-Friday from 4-6 p.m., happy hour at the bar celebrates oysters for $2 each. Cocktails made with house liquors are on special for $4, domestic beer such as Bud, Bud Light, Coors Light, Miller Light and Michelob Ultra are $3 and house white, red or champagne are $5 a glass.
The kid’s menu includes chicken fingers, fried shrimp or fish, steak and pasta with butter and cheese or marinara.
To reserve a table, visit boathouserestaurants.com or drop in for a bite at 101 Palm Blvd, Isle of Palms, SC 29451.
By Sarah Rose
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