on our last night in charleston, we chose blossom, a somewhat contemporary eatery downtown, advertised to feature a variety of small plates and fresh, local seafood. upon arriving, the entryway was inviting, but we could instantly hear the overflow of noise from the gigantic dining room. we were seated toward the back of the room at one of the numerous tables that lacked a tablecloth interspersed with those that were covered. had the table been somewhat aesthetically pleasing, this would have been acceptable, but the surface off of which we were expected to eat resembled a cafeteria table and most likely fell victim to a tablecloth shortage.

once we looked past the lack of crucial decoration, our waiter greeted us and we chose an appetizer. the dish we selected was a mussel hors d’oeuvre made with the shellfish in a salty tomato broth. the mussels certainly were not bad, but left us reaching for our water glasses after just one bite.

for my entree, i decided on one of the “small plates” from the menu and received the perfect amount of food. the dish featured three seared scallops nestled in creamy corn chowder with chunks of tender potatoes, all topped with crisp sweet potato chips to contrast the otherwise mushy plate. the scallops were cooked very nicely, but every few bites i encountered the unpleasant grit of sand, revealing that the mollusk had not been thoroughly cleaned. womp. the chowder surrounding it was, like the mussels, a little too salty, but satisfied my craving for something creamy. the sweet corn floating about in it cut the salt effectively, though. also, by alternating with bites of potato, i was not overwhelmed by the briny broth.

not helping the very average food, was the disappointing service we received. none of the food we ordered was brought to us in less than thirty minutes and multiple different waiters tended to our table throughout the night. also, the waitstaff had very little regard for the typical pattern that a dinner usually follows; we received sides after our meals were mostly finished.

all in all, i was not super impressed with blossom. the food was not necessarily bad, but did not measure up the the reviews it had received or the prestige of the other restaurants, magnolia’s and cypress, in its restaurant group.

a+ for presentation though…

xx gabby