Restaurant on Charleston peninsula opens new raw bar

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Popular Charleston restaurant Fleet Landing has unveiled its new raw bar.

The addition marks the beginning of a year-long celebration, as the restaurant looks ahead to its milestone 20th anniversary this November, according to a news release.

Located inside Fleet Landing, the raw bar features a traditional U-shaped bar with 16 seats overlooking the Charleston Harbor, the release stated. The menu features items like oysters on the half shell, fresh fish dishes, seafood towers, shrimp cocktail and more.

“Crafting this menu and experimenting with recipes has been a highlight for me and the team in bringing the raw bar to life,” Executive Chef Andy McLeod said in the release. “We’re thrilled about the opportunity to introduce new items to a restaurant that has been a staple of the Charleston community for 20 years. The addition of the raw bar signifies the expansion of our culinary offerings and blends seamlessly with our Fleet Landing staples that guests come back for time and time again. We cannot wait to welcome everyone in to experience the updates.”

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The raw bar introduces a modern style to Fleet’s design, elevating the restaurant’s atmosphere and giving customers a new way to experience the landmark establishment, the release stated. The interior renovations were helmed by Lennon Construction and include updates to the entryway, dining room, restrooms and kitchen.

Visitors can expect an updated entry foyer with sleek merchandise cabinetry and a new host area, as well as updated partitions between booths, and a complete restroom renovation. New lighting has also been introduced throughout the restaurant, adding a fresh, bright feel to the interior, the release stated.

In addition, the raw bar features specialty, artistic lighting designed and installed by Bryan Redniss out of Vail, Colo., the release stated. Redniss currently serves as the chef and co-owner of The Rose in Edwards, Colo., using his knowledge as an operator for design services that seamlessly blend fresh perspectives into the spaces of his restaurant clientele. Redniss created the roped light fixture that hangs above the raw bar, tying into Fleet Landing’s nautical design.

The new menu, crafted by Chef Andy and Raw Bar Manager Lucas Hanagriff, includes items such as shrimp cocktail, crab claw cocktail, and chilled oysters, according to the release. Customers can opt for a Seafood Tower, serving two to four guests, with split cold-water lobster tail, snow crab claws, oysters, and shrimp cocktail, as well as a choice of smoked fish dip or crab dip, and a choice of ceviche or tartare.

The new raw bar menu features local, sustainably sourced seafood. Fleet Landing is a longtime partner of the South Carolina Aquarium and an active participant in its Good Catch Program, which recognizes local restaurants, seafood purveyors, retailers, and caterers committed to observing local and sustainable seafood sourcing practices, the release stated.

For example, the local white shrimp on the raw bar menu is provided to Fleet by family-owned Marshland Seafood, and delivered fresh from the boat to the restaurant, the release stated. The caviar served is sourced from Marshallberg Farm, which aims to reduce emissions and waste caused by imports by offering sustainably produced Osetra caviar from its family-owned and operated farms in the U.S.