Another one of my restaurant week stops was with my Irish friend Sheena at Lana Restaurant & Bar, a mediterranean and southern-style restaurant downtown. The space is pretty small, and we were tightly packed in. Like, really tightly.
Basically the seating arrangement version of this.
After placing our orders, our waitress brought us some bread served with probably the best olive oil I’ve ever had. I don’t know what made it so good, but you could definitely taste the quality.
Apparently the greener, the tastier.
To start, I ordered the lamb spanikopita (ground lamb, spinach, goat and feta cheese, wrapped in phyllo, tzatziki, tomato–mint relish, $10.00), even though it wasn’t on the restaurant week menu. It came out more like a Greek-inspired lamb egg roll, but it was still pretty freaking delicious. I would definitely order that again.
I like most things in egg roll form.
For the RW appetizer, Sheena and I both opted for the Gnocchi con Piselli (Sweet Peas, Ricotta, Garlic, Cream). Not sure if this is on the regular menu, or if it was special for RW, but this was some of the best gnocchi I’ve had in Charleston. The sauce was perfect, and the gnocchi were nice and light–they practically melted in your mouth. Mmmm…
Yes. They consider this an appetizer.
The menu was really nice at Lana. They didn’t limit you to just the restaurant week main courses–you basically got to choose any main course you wanted. I stuck to the RW-specific offerings, as I wanted to try something new. I opted for the braised short ribs with roasted potatoes, roasted vidalia onions, and arugula romesco sauce. The ribs were a little dry, and it weirded me out that there wasn’t actually a bone, but they were delicious. I thoroughly enjoyed my main course.
Except I’m still not sure how I feel about Romesco sauce.
Sheena ordered off the regular menu and got the duck (seared duck breast, leg confit, corn, summer beans, leeks, peach glaze, $24.50). The confit was a little salty for my liking, but that breast was out of this world (that’s what she said??). I would recommend this dish for the duck breast alone. I also was a huge fan of the summer bean succotash thing they did.
The breast is the part that’s all cut up, in case you were confused.
For dessert, I got the chocolate cake (devilish chocolate cake, espresso gelato). It was ok. Nothing special.
Yep. Looks like chocolate cake.
Sheena got the olive oil cake (lemon olive oil cake, warm berry compote). Now that’s a dessert. I don’t know if it was just because they used that awesome olive oil, or what, but I loved this cake. It was sooo yummy. The berry compote was a great accompaniment and the flavors did a great job of complementing each other.
And plus it looks like a little castle!
I was really impressed with Lana, especially given the fact that it was Restaurant Week. That makes me want to go back again to see how they do on a normal night. I think when I go back I’ll try the pork (scaloppini pork tenderloin, tomato-caper butter, parmesan risotto, $20.00), which I think sounds outstanding. I love pork scaloppini.
A welcome entrance!
Lana Restaurant & Bar
210 Rutledge Ave
Charleston, SC 29403
(843) 720-8899
