AMAZING!!! We have lived in Columbia for a few years so I can't believe we had not heard of City Grit until recently, but we will make up for lost time. Our first experience was outstanding and we will return...OFTEN! For starters, our server was a professional. She is working on her 3rd level certification as a sommelier so it was truly a pleasure talking wine and food with her. Her recommendations were spot on all night long. Next, the menu is the most creative in Columbia. This restaurant is more Charleston-like or big city like with its menu options. Our biggest challenge of the night was deciding what to order. My wife ordered the Gnudi with brisket and is still talking about it. I rolled the dice and decided to try the squid ink pasta with lobster as a test, and I can honestly say they got an A++. I've eaten squid ink pasta in some of the best restaurants in New York, Boston and other major cities, and this was the BEST I have ever eaten. I almost didn't write this review because I selfishly don't want to have to fight for a reservation when this place gets busier, but I DO want it to flourish. Columbia needs more restaurants like City Grit. My only suggestion for them is to offer Valet parking because I had to park so far away that I was sweating by the time I walked all the way back to the restaurant after dropping off my wife.Otherwise, this is a fantastic dinner experience!!! read more

I would like to say my service was excellent here. I found City Grit after visiting the wonderful sister coffee shop next door. The host was so nice and welcoming. The waiter was so attentive and kind. The ambiance is beautiful.. The restaurant was kind of hot and the wine I chose was hot as well. They were able to chill I quickly but I ended up getting a different wine. I ordered the crab farro, the lobster eel pasta, whipped feta, baked chicken, and wine. I don't think this is a bad restaurant. Maybe I should have tried brunch vs dinner. The smoked chicken was some of the best chicken I have ever had. Tender, Smokey, and bursting with flavor. I did not enjoy the crab farro, I believe it was more grain than crab. The whipped feta was a little tangy for my taste. I am willing to try this restaurant again. Maybe brunch as that was most of the photos I saw. read more

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Excellent service and every time visited the food was outstanding. A lively atmosphere for dinner or special occasion

There was plenty of street parking available near the restaurant. Atmosphere was nice and server was very friendly. We ordered roasted cauliflower, gnudi, and la Bella farm moulard duck breast. My favorite was roasted cauliflower but everything tasted amazing. read more

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My friends this is the best dinning experience in Columbia, SC. I travel for work and came across this hidden gem for dinner. Parking was a bit crazy but well worth the food and wine selections they offer. I personally recommend their Gnudi dish which features ricotta dumplings over slow cooked brisket with red pepper flakes. The dumplings were light and the brisket was tender. Put away the pepper and salt shaker because the chef has perfected the menu. Service was top chef and they performed at a Michelin level anticipating your every need. This place would be perfect for special occasions and events. They offer 25% off take home bottles of their special collections of curated wines. Also, there restaurant does not accept gratuity and donates any cash tips toward the World Central Kitchen. Thank you for setting the bar and I will definitely be back each time I'm in town! read more

City Grit - Gnudi - Wine Bars Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

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Absolutely love the brunch here! The staff are always wonderful and the food is excellent. We love to grab coffee from Small Sugar and then eat at City Grit out on their beautiful patio space, it's consistently great. Highly recommend it! read more

Hands down, the best restaurant in SC. If you are ever in the area and you are a foodie, you need to stop in! The menu is rotating, but they have some staple items. All of the staff here are extremely knowledgeable about the menu and wine pairings. Truly can't go wrong with any menu item, if you see the ribeye on the menu definitely go for it. The caviar service was delectable, very hard to find an experience like this in Columbia. read more

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Great location I wish I'd have found sooner. Came here for Valentine's Day dinner. Love the ambiance. Hunter greeted us at the door and was cool and very funny. The wait staff was aces. The food was excellent. I had The brusselsprouts / beets appetizer which was very good choice. I had the pork chop which was cooked perfectly and they even accommodated my request for a side of braised cabbage which was also very good. I didn't have dessert. Yes I'd come back! read more

The restaurant set up is super unique, it feels like a cute coffee shop in the front and then as you go in it feels like a trendy restaurant. Service was great and all tips are included in the prices. The patatas bravas and scallops were incredible! The sunflower cavatelli was a bit too salty imo but my fiancée loved it. The ceviche was not traditional ceviche, the shrimp was cooked and it was a little disappointing. Overall definitely recommend giving it a try and I will definitely come back! read more

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This quaint spot in the Vista offers a variety of tapas along w a great wine selection. Our server, Daulton, offered to surprise us with a selection of tapas along with paired wine, which we took him up on. We started with some bubbly which was paired with Shrimp Ceviche, crudo, boquerones (anchovies), steak tartare, and pan contomate. My favorites were the crudo and tartare. The boquerones were not my favorite, but I think I may just not like anchovies. While we finished up the first course, we had a light white wine which I enjoyed. For the second course, we had a chilled red wine which was paired with the lobster raditori, smoked half chicken and patatas bravas. Of the second course, the lobster raditori was my favorite. We then asked for pepinos aplastados (cucumbers) to finish out the main food. For dessert, we had a moscato, which wasn't too sweet, along with bombas and mousse. Everything was delicious and the wine was well paired with the food. Would definitely recommend if you are looking for an elevated dinner in Columbia for great food and service read more

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Food and service were both AMAZING. We were treated with amazing service by everyone we came across. Special shoutout to our server - Alisa! The patatas bravas is my absolute favorite. Will be back. Love the vibes of the restaurant as well! Video of restaurant on @lexgeteating read more

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Upscale dining you will want a reservation for dinner. But they do take walk ins and if you just want drinks and oysters they have comfy chairs in the middle of restaurant here. Check out my pictures we tried almost everything they had to offer on several occasions this year. read more

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Literally can't go wrong at this place. It's a great spot to share a bunch of different plates. The menu changes occasionally which I enjoy. Staff is so helpful and provide great service. The food isn't like anything else you can get in Columbia. It's unique and very well done. read more

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We loved our experience here! Our food and our wine came with beautiful thought and explanation from a very knowledgeable server and wine steward. Can't wait to come back. I hope they add more sofa seating areas for after work gatherings. Hopefully that's coming soon. read more

One of the best sandwiches I've had in a long time I'm not local to the area was in town visiting a friend and I will dream about the short rib sandwich until I'm back! read more

As I walked into City Grit Wine Bar, I was initially impressed with how open it felt -- there was a decent amount of seating without it seeming cramped -- and the modern decor gave the restaurant a nice atmosphere . Unfortunately, the good vibes were eventually replaced with the frustration of slow (and sometimes forgotten) service. It started with our server needing a reminder to bring out a glass of wine that was missing at our table. Then there were waits for different courses to be brought out and for the server to bring out more silverware sets because they took our previous cutlery (which also required extra reminders from our table). And finally, another wait to get the check. On the food side, our group tried the Pan Con Tomate, Whipped Feta, Chorizo, Pepinos Aplastados, Patatas Bravas, Steak Tartare, and Bombas. The ingredients were fresh, the food presentation was nice, and the dishes were solid, though not the best we'd ever had. Overall, I'd give the food 4/5 stars. But the slow pace of service spoiled an otherwise good dining experience. Maybe City Grit is understaffed, or maybe it was an off-night, but I'm unlikely to return for another visit. read more

Everything was amazing! The food was absolutely delicious, we ordered a few different plates and not a single one disappointed. Crab dip was yum, can we talk about those tasty crackers it comes with! Don't remember the exact name of the potato dish, but those things were crispy and tasty! We had a few other things, all super yummy! The staff is just as amazing as the food, everybody is super friendly and welcoming. I wish we didn't live so far away, because I'd be dining at city grit at least once a week! read more

Nice atmosphere, helpful waiters, tiny portions, not the best in taste, very high price. I do not recommend this restaurant.

What an outstanding dining experience the wine selection is phenomenal. The food is top quality. The service is fantastic. A great spot for a date night or a special occasion. read more

Wonderful dining experience. We opted for a selection on shared plates. Menu had some outstanding dishes from Spain. Everything we tasted was outstanding. Wine selection is great as well. We went with a white wine from the Basque region. The best white wine I have ever tasted. The service was great. Friendly, knowledgeable staff. Highly recommend this restaurant. If you are in Columbia, SC do not miss this place! read more

My new favorite restaurant in Columbia! This quaint bistro is EXCEPTIONAL. I'm from Boston, and it feels like something straight from the south end. 10/10! The food is freshly made and delicious. The ambiance is warm and inviting. The service is top notch (Dalton is the sweetest!) and don't even get me started on their wine selection! Absolutely amazing. They also have a fabulous retail section with high end candles, spices from around the world, and unique gift ideas. I would highly recommend checking out City Grit!! read more

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We tried it for lunch. The employee was very helpful and made great suggestions. My sandwich was ok. The bread was amazing but even with the perfect toast on it the inside of the grilled cheese was half cold and not gooey enough for me. There was also something that was very bitter like burnt garlic or something. My friend got the Cuban which was delicious but in desperate need of pickles. The fun sodas were delicious. The atmosphere was a lot of fun. I would give it another try. read more

By far my favorite place in Columbia! I highly recommend going here and bringing all your friends and fam. Have a wine night with some amazing tapas and dessert. The food quality and flavors were beyond amazing and fresh. The service (aka Randy) is the BEST. Randy knows the menu and what wines would taste good with the meals very great at pairing and gauging what the customers would like. Randy helped choose our sides and entree I'd give them all a 10/10! Nothing disappointed me at all. I want to come here and bring everyone I know every week. The interior has such a cool vibe/concept. Pretty nice space to bring friends or a date. There is parking up front street parking and parking towards the side and back of here. We ordered the chorizo, tuna on an amazing baguette, the mushroom carbonara which was to die for and the cucumber salad with this Chile vinaigrette & can't forget the basque cheesecake with a berry compote. The best cheesecake I've had. Highly recommend making a resy I heard they get busy for dinner! read more

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Went here for dinner with a friend and our overall experience was good! The inside had a nice intimate feel to it. It does share its space with a store/ retail portion up front for food and pre made meal purchases; which I always love in these market restaurants. Our waiter was kind and gave us great recommendations from the menu and for the wine. The menu is small but the servings for the entree dishes were a great size. I ordered the stuffed ricotta dumplings and a dessert wine. Both were excellent. My friend had the same and we also shared the goat cheese spread with grilled sourdough as an appetizer. It was all delicious. I do feel our waiter could have been more attentive and he made the mistake of charging my card for another table but he fixed it immediately. Which could have been avoided since it wasn't so busy to make such a mistake. Also the prices are on the expensive side. My 1/3 glass of dessert wine was $16 and our ricotta dumpling dishes were $36. The prices are explained on their website and on the menu but it's still expensive in my opinion. In order to pay their wait staff a decent wage instead of working for tips. I do understand and support the concept. I will definitely come back to try other menu items and browse their market items. read more

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Food and service is awesome! I'm always getting the lunch counter. Food is well worth the price. read more

City Grit - Menu - Wine Bars Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

City Grit garners rave reviews from diners, with their pricing intentionality to providing their staff with a living wage (read, no tipping required), we had to try it out. Our first time dining was for afternoon tea. Having made reservations, seating was smooth. The ambience has been described by others as upscale wine bar meets bistro meets coffee shop and all in all, it is indeed inviting. Our afternoon tea experience was somewhat stilted, not in terms of service, which was attentive enough, but in terms of food quality. We started off with options of either watermelon gazpacho with feta, tomato bisque, or a garden salad. Next up- fried chicken and waffle "sliders" which were served on blini-like waffles. Unfortunately, these were significantly dry and room temp. Recognizing that afternoon tea elements are not traditionally served warm, the choice of room temp fried chicken waffle sandwiches was less than optimal. The other savories were traditional cucumber sandwiches on white bread, smoked salmon mini sandos (very cream cheese heavy, sadly, so the mouthfeel was more greasy than pleasant) and a zippy pimento cheese which went well with drop biscuits brought to the table. The patisserie juxtapositions included flaky croissants, a light poundcake with lemon glaze, madeleines, and scones. The highlight though was the Sakhar 4 oz jam for each table, and the tea selection- chai with cardamom and rose petals for the win. All in all, it wasn't the best inaugural dining experience. Having said that, will definitely try some of their other offerings in hopes that what other diners rave about may be our next experience. read more

Absolutely incredible experience last night celebrating my graduation at City Grit! Our party was beyond impressed with the experience provided by the staff, and enjoyed their knowledgeable insights to the menu and wine selection. The food was absolutely incredible, and we are all still talking about it. We even ordered another round of multiple dishes, they were that good! We left with full bellies and hearts, and plans to return to City Grit on our next trip to Columbia. Absolutely outstanding experience, bravo! read more

I tried City Grit for the first time today while visiting Columbia, SC with my sister. The food, ambiance and service were all amazing! Every one was extremely kinda and the in house baker made the best fresh croissants that same morning. When I say delicious, I mean it! The brisket usually comes on a panini but we asked for it on the fresh croissant and they made it for us. So delicious. 10/10 recommend! read more

City Grit - A Brisket Croissant - Wine Bars Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

City Grit had quickly become one of my favorite stops in town and go-to girls' night out/date night spots. Amazing food (Mediterranean-style tapas), great wine list (always unique & changing options) and the absolute best staff (so friendly & approachable). Added bonus is they pay a living wage to their employees and support a variety of charities. Stop by for happy hour, dinner & now lunch and check them out!! read more

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This picture does not do it justice! Everything was sublime! I also had the shrimp amazing! The bread may have been the best bread I have ever had! Thank you and thank you Randy for such a welcome to Columbia! I'll be back! read more

City Grit - Blistered, Shishido's, and anchovies! Beautiful! - Wine Bars Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

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Ok...so I am not a fan of EVERYTHING Chef Sarah Simmons does but this place is outstanding. I can only hope there will be more operational hours in the future. But for right now...be sure to make a reservation and plan on leaving by 9 PM or shortly thereafter. While the name City Grit would lead u to believe it may be more "southern" in style, its actually more of a tapas style restaurant, heavily influenced by Spanish cuisine. The aquid ink pasta was one of our favorites and was a special for the evening. Our wine selections were a perfect pairing. The Blistered Shishito peppers with parm were excellent and not overly spicy. We tasted the manchengo appetizer...also delicious. The clams with chorizo broth which was light & flavorful. My absolute favorite were the bocquerones prepared in the traditional Spanish style with vinegar and oil. The Jamon with melon was delicious and the Gambas were perfectly spiced and served with the head on..also a European flare. And we truly enjoyed the heads! Luckily all this was shared with friends and we finished with a perfectly caramelized flan and the Churros with Nutella..by far my favorite dessert. The churros where doughy and covered in sugar with a Nutella and sea salt dipping sauce. So good. My hope is that this place becomes packed on the daily because this is probably the most exciting thing to happen to Columbia in a while by one of the top two female Chef's in the city. Just gp there...you won't be sorry! And I didn't even get to speak about the top tier funkY kitchen supplies and food items you will find in the market portion of the building. read more

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This was not my first time at city grit but it is my first time reviewing. We were having lunch at small sugar, and they advised that City Grit was having an open house. No the establishment is not new and I'm thinking this is another rebranding attempt. Firstly, customer service is always impeccable. The staff is very friendly and they've got some pretty interesting items. If you are a foodie however, it's a little hard to find pricing on a few of the items. Please don't assume something is priced in a certain manner. example I purchased a small bag of flat bread crisps. When I got home, my partner said he paid $16 for a bag of flatbread crackers!!!! There are also some other items that I purchase that were marked up about six or seven dollars more than it was when I looked for them online. I'm not sure if they have the same motto as small sugar they do aim to pay their workers fair wages, which is why the prices are a little higher. But now the good part all of their prepared food items are absolutely delicious! The marinated cucumbers are hands-down, the best cucumber side that you will ever experience. All desserts, vegan and regular are absolutely divine. I would highly recommend checking out city grit, but I would also recommend getting a price check before heading to the counter but they have plenty of options that are priced decent. Because the cucumbers, roasted veggies and a few other items have me on a chokehold I will be back! read more

New York feel. Interesting tasty food, great wine selections. Owners are welcoming and knowledgeable. No tipping, which is reflected in the prices, but a welcome change. Great space! Fun night, will return and bring friends. read more

At first blush the menu is pricy. But after following the recommendations of Daulton, it was well worth it. Found out all of their food is super fresh, made in house and they support local projects to feed the poorer areas around the community. Service was amazing and the ambiance was perfect for the great meal. Would do back. read more

We had a wonderful family dinner at City Grit on Saturday night. The restaurant is beautifully decorated and every dish we tried was delicious. Our favorites were the Boquerones, the Shrimp, the Mushroom Carbonara, and the Ricotta Dumplings with braised Short Rib. Will definitely be back on our next visit to Columbia. read more

City Grit - Patatas Bravas - Wine Bars Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

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Great spot for a delicious and affordable lunch. The staff is so helpful and the food is amazing! read more

City Grit - Curry Chicken Salad....Salad & Pimento Cheese. - Wine Bars Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

Just when you think you can't love a place and its people more than you already do, City Grit says "hold my beer (er, wine?)!" Sarah and Dalton and this amazing food experience just made our night! We had wonderful and creative food with a new pork dish that was cooked and served perfectly with a coconut rice (pudding?) and apples two ways. It's hard to describe, but I just wanted to eat and eat it all. Reminded me of a dish from Paris that I have been dreaming about for close to 10 years. Sarah, being the incredible person that she is, knew my bday was last week and had the most generous box of culinary goodies for me. We are so lucky to have a place like this in Columbia, and we can't wait to go again and introduce more people to this gem! read more

We really enjoyed our dinner here! It's a super cute, classy lil joint with a shop in front-sort of a baby gourmet shop vibe. Our waiter was super knowledgeable about wines and brought my non wine drinker friend a wine she actually enjoyed. We tried a bunch of tapas with the standouts being the whipped feta, mushroom toast and the patatas bravas. As I was splitting the check with a non meat eater we did not try any of the meat dishes. We did try the mushroom carbonara which I would skip next time as it didn't have as much flavor as I would have liked. Otherwise it was a wonderful experience and we will definitely be back! read more

City Grit is an interesting concept of gourmet market + bakery + tapas. The wine & beer menu has many noteworthy selections and the staff is friendly. However, the no-frills atmosphere is similar to a delicatessen. We were not dazzled by our meal--which included the papatas bravas + boneless short rib + pan con tomate + chorizo/goat cheese tapas. Overall, the fried potatoes & short rib were well seasoned, albeit salty. The chorizo/goat cheese spread appetizer was lackluster and needed toasted baguettes or pita points on the side. The Pan con tomate was recommended by our server and was absolutely tasteless/inedible--consisting of soggy country bread saturated in olive oil and a cold tomato compote. As a James Beard nominated restaurant, City Grit was incredibly disappointing. If you are looking for delicious tapas in Columbia , there are far better options than City Grit (i.e., Lula Drake & Ratio). read more

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Good food with great service. Loved the small plates we shared as a table. My wife loved the patatas bravas and I really liked the mushroom carbonara. read more