Critic Discovers Zero Café + Bar is a Hidden Gem in Downtown Charleston

Chef Vinson Petrillo has but a scant 110-square-foot kitchen to work in at Zero Café + Bar, but is impressing dinners and critics with his diminutive menu. Charleston magazine writer Jeff Allen visits the dining room nestled in a space at boutique hotel Zero George. Allen finds the space inviting, and suggests grabbing a drink to take it all in.

If you sit at the bar, there are snacks. If you reserve a table, the full coterie of Petrillo’s weekly menu will tempt your senses

For those wanting more than a Manhattan for nourishment, Allen recommends sampling the beef cheeks — to such a great degree that he urges readers to make reservations right now if the "meltingly tender" dish is on the menu.

Allen is impressed with Petrillo's cooking, and somewhat wishes Zero Café + Bar to remain a secret (easier to nab a seat that way), but this winning review will squash those hopes.