Jack H.
Yelp
Hilton Head Island in the last decade has seen a number of entrants into the category for modern American cuisine, with WiseGuys being one of the latest.
We dined as a group of 4 on Christmas Eve, with reservations around 5:30. We were promptly seated in a booth which we found comfortable, if a bit cramped (the table was quite close to both sides of the booth). We were greeted by an INCREDIBLY enthusiastic server who demonstrated excellent knowledge of the menu. While I found his joking style somewhat off putting and a bit overly familiar, there was no question that he was very familiar with the menu and was able to make recommendations, including wine pairings.
To start, we ordered the babaganoush (a grilled eggplant dip, for the unfamiliar). This took some time to come out, and did not come out until after we had asked where it was when we were served our soup and salad. Though the babaganoush was good (and served with extra pita bread, on our waiters suggestion), this mishap was somewhat disappointing, but forgivable on a busy Christmas Eve.
Our party ordered lobster bisque and a Caesar salad for our first course. The Caesar salad was unremarkable, and the lobster bisque portion (a cup), seemed rather small relative to other restaurants in the area at similar price points.
Dinner remained unremarkable, with no member of the party particularly excited or disappointed by their meal. My mother ordered the prosciutto and fig jam pizzeta. While enjoyable, I found it overly sweet compared to a similar slice of pizza I had had recently at L'Industrie in Brooklyn. My father had the delmonico, at the waiters recommendation. He found the steak overly chewy, though cooked at the proper temperature. He seemed satisfied with the jacket potato, but that is a bit of a "gimme", to use a golf term. My sister had the lobster risotto which was also acceptable, if not memorable. Finally, I ordered the Fruit of the Seas pasta, which I found to be average compared to similar dishes I had had before. Of note, the octopus in the dish was quite chewy, which I did not enjoy, while mussels served in shell in pasta have long been a pet peeve of mine.
Dessert was the highlight of the meal, with the table sharing pineapple upside down cake along with the Crème Brûlée flight. Both were great, and would certainly be a recommendation if you find yourself at WiseGuys. The crème brûlée flight in particular was a lot of fun for the table, and though not the first time I had had something like that, more creative than most desserts you'll see on the island.
Overall an acceptable experience, though not one we will hurry to repeat. In diagnosing what went wrong with the experience, one should look to the menu. WiseGuys has a wide variety of small plates, pizzettas, soup and salad, about a dozen entrees, rotisserie meats, and steak. This strikes me as a case of the classic "jack of all trades, master of none" scenario. Perhaps WiseGuys could be improved with a more focused menu, but in its current state could use a lot of work in ensuring that everything is at a high quality worthy of the price points on the menu. Perhaps my father put it best in describing the meal: "expensive Outback, but not quite as good."
