The Ordinary on GQ's List of 2013's Outstanding Restaurants

[Photo: Landon Phillips]

Well, that didn't take long. Less than two full months into 2013, and Mike Lata's tribute to seafood The Ordinary is on GQ's list of 12 most outstanding restaurants, compiled by Alan Richman. Here's how he sets up Charleston's new hotness:

The room puzzled me at first. The Ordinary seemed too big, too towering, too hollow, yet another valiant try at filling the excessive emptiness of an abandoned bank building with a restaurant. Then the people started showing up, initially the raw-bar crowd. I began to feel at home, so friendly was everyone, so easygoing the atmosphere. The customers didn't look or dress alike, but they all seemed to know one another. It's the French-brasserie concept idealized, everyone happily jostling everyone else."

But he examines more than just the scene. He writes the fish is expertly cooked, gushes over the sunchokes and writes "Mike Lata's intelligently conceived and exquisitely executed seafood creations."

· The Perfect Night Out: The 12 Most Outstanding Restaurants of 2013 [GQ]
· All Coverage of The Ordinary [-ECHS-]