'Service Is a Crap Shoot' for Critic at James Island's Cure

While Charleston food critics don't always agree on whether a new establishment is good, they usually make similar observations. In the case of James Island restaurant Cure, both Charleston Scene and City Paper reviewers agree that agree that the menu is far from contemporary — in fact, the dishes like oyster Rockefeller are downright "retro." While critic Hanna Raskin called Cure the "return of pleasant, all-ages dining" in March, critic Vanessa Wolf calls it out on the unreliable service and overcooked prime rib.

"Service is a crapshoot," writes Wolf as she witnesses a table go without food for over 45 minutes, while her server is speedy. For the critic, the food is equally unreliable. The Cure Salad is "inventive and original," but the mozzarella on the caprese salad is "dry" and "flavorless." The Kansas City strip is "simple, satisfying, red-meat perfection," but the prime rib falls "short on execution."

The old school menu doesn't charm Wolf as much as it did Raskin, as Wolf concludes,

Between the dishes and the clientele, Cure feels like a steakhouse that has weathered many decades without a single change to the menu. Perhaps I'm just not the target audience, but when a perfectly prepared steak and inventive salad are the goal, I've finally got a non-Halloween destination for my vintage leisure wear.