The Colington Cafe

My husband and I are in our late 20s and rarely go out to eat. When we do, we like to go to nice places with great food. We made a reservation that day, and arrived 10 minutes early knowing that we would still have to wait. When we got there, literally everyone was 50 years of age and up. When we got to the host, they had a very condescending response "Well, you're early and its great to be early, but you will have to wait." We then ordered some wine while we waited, which we never got and they completely forgot about. We also waited 30 minutes past our reservation, so we suspect that we were completely forgotten. They apologized and explained that they were understaffed. When we were seated, our server had no idea about the forgotten wine as it was never communicated to her so we re-ordered it. The decor is very out-dated, and not in a "adds character" way, and we were all piled on top of each other with limited personal space and large sheets of paper on the table--not what I would expect for the price. Our server was good, but I noticed that she spent time getting to know other tables while she was fairly short with us. My suspicions were that we were younger and she expected not to get much out of us even though we ordered wine, and appetizer, two entrees, and dessert. There was also no effort made to correct the fact that we were forgotten in the beginning. The food was amazing, but I would not pay this much to put up with this service again. Overall, I think that if you are 40+, this place is great for you, but if you are younger, don't expect to be taken seriously and don't waste your time. Very disappointed and I strongly feel like we were a victim of age discrimination by the staff we came in contact with.

Located on beautiful and remote Colington Island, the Colington Cafe is a surprising bit of bistro heaven inside a restored Island house. Diners enjoy sitting in the former living and dining rooms, nestled close to original fireplaces and Victorian trim work while some of the best trained wait staff in the area tend to their needs. This is the place where locals go to celebrate special anniversaries and those big-number birthdays.



Serving local, sustainable produce, seafood and meat products, the emphasis at Colington Cafe is on exellent cuisine at affordable prices. Try the Scallops Rumaki for starters: fat, succulent firm scallops wrapped in savory bacon smothered in an unexpected teriyaki ginger sauce. For your entree, the Carolina Crabcakes with a homemade caper horseradish sauce, the Seafood Pasta with scallops, shrimp and smoked salmon (a highly unusual addition!) or the Filet De Mer, a petit fillet with grilled shrimp topped with a demi-glaze cream sauce will have you coming back for more. And more.



My problem is, I rarely get past the specials list to really give the menu a decent run. Creative, intriguing and reasonably priced, the chalkboard specials are where the chef's genius-meets-freshness finds its place on your plate.



This is where you'll find me next month, celebrating our 30th anniversary. We always save the best restaurants for the best occasions, and the Colington Cafe is it.