Saluda's Restaurant -…read more Hands-down my favorite restaurant in Columbia. Saluda's never misses. The menu strikes the perfect balance: an excellent selection of small plates (the crab cakes and fried green tomatoes are addictive) and truly outstanding entrées. Whether you're craving a perfectly cooked filet, fresh seafood specials, or one of their thoughtful vegetarian options, everything comes out flavorful and beautifully presented. Portions are generous without being overwhelming. The bar program is top-tier; cocktails are creative, balanced, and made with premium spirits every single time. The wine list is equally impressive and fairly priced. Service is the gold standard: attentive and knowledgeable without hovering, genuinely warm, and quick to offer great recommendations. They make you feel like a regular even on your first visit. On a nice evening, grab a table on the patio overlooking Five Points. People-watching, string lights, and that lively-but-not-chaotic energy make it one of the best outdoor dining experiences in town. Saluda's is always my answer when someone asks where they should eat in Columbia, whether it's date night, celebrating something special, or just a really good meal with friends. Consistently excellent.

Birthday dinner for my boo, located in 5 points, limited parking or I just don't know where to…read morelook. The only signage is on the door that leads up the stairs for 2nd level dining. The ambiance is modern elegant with indoor or outdoor seating balcony view below/around 5 points. Our server and service was good although drink refills could have been more swift. We had appetizer Pork Cheeks, entrees braised pork chop & scallops. Dessert pumpkin cheesecake. The appetizer was really enough to fill both of us, it was slow roasted tender pork with a potato base. My wife really enjoyed her pork chop because it had the flavor of jerk chicken, full of meat very little fat with large shell macaroni light cheese. I had 4 scallops with rice and peas in middle, the scallops tasted salty to me would have preferred less salt. The pumpkin cheesecake was the perfect blend of each without overwhelming flavor. A great option for a special occasion or stopping in for lunch/drinks.

Booked a last minute reservation on resy for a table of 4 and was seated immediately. We had the…read morepleasure of getting Rachel as our server. Rachel was quick, witty and so sweet and had a way with the kiddos my daughter loved her. We started off with the cast iron goat cheese as the appetizer- solid and even the kids loved it. For our main course my daughter went with the grilled cheese from the kids menu that came with fries and a coke, my son just got a burger with everything but tomato from the regular menu and devoured the entire plate, I was torn between the Mediterranean bowl or the Baja bowl however Rachel recommended the honey harissa bowl with a crab cake and let me tell you it was amazing! Literally tasted so fresh and delicious, my husband was going to go with the steak however they unfortunately were out so he went with his second choice which was the creole shrimp and grits which he cleared the plate but that too was sooo delicious. All in all this place was a solid 5 stars all the way around from, service to atmosphere and flavor and just the freshness of the ingredients they use here. We live just 10 minutes away so I'll definitely be back.

I met one of my girlies here for dinner the other night and it was such a good experience. We sat…read moreoutside and the weather wasn't completely terrible, just a little chilly. Our waiter recommended drinks for us to start off. I had looked at the menu already so I knew I wanted to try the tuna tostada for an appetizer and my girl got the brick oven broccoli. The tuna was so fresh and melted in your mouth and it was perfect with the chili lemon mayo and capers, giving it a nice pop and spice. The tostada was cooked perfectly and had the nice crunch. The broccoli was cooked well , not hard but not soft and had some spice to it. I ordered the hanger steak with sweet potatoes instead of fries and omg it was so good. I got my steak cooked medium well, and it was perfectly cooked and seasoned. I loved the Parmesan on top of the sweet potatoes. It was the perfect pair. The drink I got was a white sangria which was sweet but not too sweet. You could def taste the wine and all the fruit flavors. My girl go the oven brick salmon and that didn't miss either. This experience was a 10/10 for me.

Aesthetics, food, and drinks--10/10! The drinks were amazing, and somehow the food was even better…read more Gabby was my server and made sure I was taken care of the entire time, very attentive. This was my second visit, and I'll definitely be back again!

Service from. battener Summer was excellent she provided excellent tasting drinks and educated me…read moreindifferent drinks to help me decide on my drinks selections I love talking with her and getting the knowledge of different drinks

We stopped in, and you should too. After a bit of a slow start due to their staffing issues, our…read morewaitress was personable and attentive. The menu has great choices that I haven't seen elsewhere. I ordered chicken salad in a bread bowl, and it was really delicious. The bowl is topped with cheese and popped in the over, so it arrives hot. The bread bowl had a wonderfully crispy crust and tender inside, and the chicken salad was warm and tasty. I've had soup bread bowls, but not hot and crispy, and of course, not chicken salad. The sides menu is a long list; I chose onion rings. They were plentiful, crunchy, and very flavorful - as far from the heavily breaded limp onion rings most places serve as you could get. We ate in the late afternoon, but the place still had several parties like us. We liked the vibe, casually upscale, and unpretentious. Go!

We had 8 members from our lunch group here today for lunch. Great service...waitress set up a high…read moretable for eight and took our drinks quickly. We had three orders for the Madarin Chicken Salad, two pizzas, a prime rib sandwich, a hamburger, and a chicken wrap. Also had a side order of the truffle parmesan fries. The fries were great and everyone liked them. The Mandarin Chicken Salad was also very good, loaded with mandarin oranges, crisp lettuce, nuts and tons of other goodies. The salad dressing was fabulous. All three of us liked it. Pizzas were great and so was the hamburger and wrap. All in all it was one of our top rated lunches this year. We rate everything on a 10 scale so it ended up with a 9.25 average...so half to give it a 5 based on the Yelp 5 star system.

As a group, we decided that this was our favorite restaurant of our four day trip. Southern cuisine…read moreat its finest and it is incredibly well done there. The bar drinks were great the wine list good and service Top Notch. Love the style of the place too, and I would highly highly recommend this. You would not be disappointed.

Got to visit this gem during a trip. I believe the menu can rotate here so I was looking forward to…read morethe menu for the day. I ended up going with the pork chop and checking out one of their sour beers. Both were great. If I'm around the area again I would try it again.

We went for my sister birthday in November, we had a blast!! The food & the vibe was everything!!…read moreThe dj is awesome!!!

I went 2 weeks in a row, the first weekend was for my birthday brunch and the second was for a…read morefriend's birthday. Let's start with my birthday weekend- I made a reservation and was sat promptly for my birthday brunch. The restaurant had music playing and the decor was nice. It took awhile for the server to come to the table and take our order. Once placed we didn't see her again. My party flagged down whoever was passing at the time for assistance. Once the food came out, it was COLD. I don't recall how long it took to come out, but by the time it did, I just ate it. It was well seasoned though. The DJ was the best part of the entire day and the reason why I gave 2 stars. I even went and gave him props. My friend's birthday weekend- I swore that I wouldn't return back, but I went the following weekend to celebrate a friend and it was a repeat of service and food. My friends ordered a hookah and it took almost 2 hours for them to get it. I work in the service industry and understand that at times it gets busy, but 2 weeks in a row with the same service, I can assure you I'll never step foot in that establishment again.

The bar is everything I look for from a cocktail bar - spacious yet cozy, dark with enough light to…read moreread what's in front of you, and quality drink. The cocktails were the star of the night - ranging from $11 to $13 - both their classics and house creations were well balanced and worth trying. Table service was provided with attentive wait staff who weren't overbearing. The only miss for the night was the food. While certain items like the fries and the Brussels sprouts were great, other items like the burger and duck tacos didn't hit the mark with a burger that was too dry and overly charred and the tacos which were too gamey and could have used a some more acid. For a drink I'd certainly visit again, but would likely pass on food.

We came here for dinner and drinks on a date night. The environment is nice and cozy and when you…read morewalk in you see a beautiful dessert display! We of course had to try a slice of peanut butter cake. My husband loved it (he picked the dessert). I picked our drinks and they have an excellent drink variety. We started our meal with the queso tots and they were delicious! Wiped them out! I ordered the lobster mac and cheese and he got the philly cheesesteak. He absolutely raved about his sandwich and said it was the best he ever had. I wouldn't order the lobster mac again but it was presented beautifully. I look forward to going back and trying the mussels. I saw many of those orders coming out and definitely looked so good! Great spot to check out for drinks, desserts, and a bite!

Love this place! From the cool sign out front to the amazing interior and the exceptional food. I…read moreenjoy everything this place has to offer. Everyone in our group raved about their food. I highly recommend starting with the pimento cheese board and the Brussels sprouts. Word of caution on the Whole Crispy Flounder- they can vary drastically in size. Two of us in our group ordered this entry and they were very different in size. One looked plump and full of meat and the other looked emaciated. When I brought it up to the manager he told me that's how they come. Having a menu item at Market Price being a roll of the dice is unacceptable to me. They did end up making it right by bringing another one that looked like the other person in my group which I appreciated. Not sure why they made me feel like I was in the wrong. This experience won't detract me from coming back and everything else about the service was acceptable for a busy Saturday night.

The braised beef was perfect. 10/10 perfect. It was extremely tender and I surprisingly didn't…read moreexperience palette fatigue. The Strawberry Mojito was great too. Not dangerous great but it hits. I just added a picture of the bread because I liked the presentation. The bread itself was a little under done so it wasn't really breaking as well. Service was good and the restaurant itself is a vibe. Would take a group or SO here for sure.

We went here for brunch on Sunday. It's a nice clean restaurant they also have patio seating for…read morepet friendly area. Which was nice , the food was great . The breakfast burritos were delicious, the yogurt bowl was yummy plenty of fruit. The S'mores latte was delicious. The service was good , nothing exciting. So for this part of the review everything was good. (I had ordered the tres Leche pancakes because I was intrigued. When I got the tres leche pancakes I very disappointed there was no taste of tres leche anywhere on those pancakes , all I could taste was regular plain pancakes with syrup , it does come with plantains those were pretty good . I had thought that maybe they would put some tres leche in between the pancakes themselves. But no they were very dry. And the waiter didn't even give me the bacon that came with my pancakes ,I had to ask for it and if i didn't get the bacon.I would have been charged for the bacon . Waiter needs to be more aware of what comes with the plates. Anyway don't order the tres leche pancakes you will be disappointed. No stars for this experience) Overall the restaurant was nice and the other food we got was good.

Publico was fine, but it wasn't really my favorite Mexican experience. The chips, quesadilla,…read morefries, and tacos I got were pretty average as compared to other Mexican restaurants, and nothing about them really stood out. In addition, my waitress was nice, but I would've liked it if she was a tad more attentive. Although I didn't drink on this occasion, I've been to Publico in the past, and I will say that their margaritas are much better than comparable Mexican places. So, perhaps if you're looking for a Mexican place that has good drinks rather than great food, Publico seems like a nice option. As for the ambiance, it was a cool place. It was dimly lit, and they had TVs all over the back wall where you could watch the day's sporting events. The bar looked like it had a cool vibe as well, and they have a back patio that's perfect for outside dining. All-in-all, I'd probably go back and recommend Publico for drinks and ambiance, but would likely head elsewhere if I'm looking for great Mexican food.

Love this spot for many reasons, the classic and modern pinball machines, the rotating different…read moregames, the classic arcade style games like Galaga, the vegan menu options, the affordable food and drinks, the vibe it has in general. My wife and I enjoy date nights here as it's close to the jazz / live music spot that's right next door. They always have fun tunes playing if we step outside for some air. The bartenders are pleasant and the seating is first come but finding a spot is not that difficult most of the time.

The food was amazing. It was a fun place to hang out at the bar and I meant interesting people…read more Plus, the games are very interesting and they have the classics as well Pac-Man centipede and pinball.