French bistro opens in former sports bar on Hilton Head. Here’s what’s on the menu
If the thought of a French bistro seems romantic, there’s a new one on Hilton Head that tells a love story set in the Lowcountry.
Chez Georges opened on July 26 in the space that used to be home to Casey’s Sports Bar and Grille on New Orleans Road.
Owner George Casalicchio is from Long Island, New York, where his family was in the restaurant business. He worked in restaurants all over the world, but eight years ago, during a food and beverage stint in Sea Pines, he met the woman who would later become his wife.
A few jobs and a few moves later, they ended up back in Beaufort County, living in Old Town Bluffton.
“We always talked about moving back to the place that we loved and where we fell in love,” Casalicchio said.
The restaurant
Work to transform a classic sports bar into a cozy French bistro for fine dining started back in March, before the coronavirus changed the way restaurants operate.
In retrospect, Casalicchio said, “I probably wouldn’t pick 2020 to do this.”
Still, he pressed on toward his dream of owning his own restaurant and couldn’t pass up the space along a street known for dining by tourists and locals alike.
“When I first moved to the island, Casey’s ... was a great bar. It had great energy always,” he said.
Casey’s closed in early 2019.
The new restaurant kept the position of the bar but changed everything around it, adding new floors, brass fixtures, white marble-topped tables and a stylish floral wallpaper. The kitchen also was refurbished.
The menu
Chez Georges’ menu, executed by chef Burns Sullivan, formerly chef de cuisine at Farm in Bluffton, includes classic French dishes married with Lowcountry influences.
For example, Casalicchio explained, the bouillabaisse ($38) is made with South Carolina clams, blue crabs and shrimp simmered with a house-made Old Bay seasoning and corn grown in Hampton County. It’s bouillabaisse that echoes with the flavors of Lowcountry boil.
“It’s a French bistro, yes, but there are flavors from the South,” Casalicchio said. “There are many parallels.”
The menu is small but focused and will change seasonally.
Hors d’oeuvres include classics like onion soup ($15) and escargots ($16) but also steak tartare ($17) served with chips instead of crackers.
Entree options start with fresh seafood like North Carolina sole ($35) plated within 24 hours of being caught, Steak Frites ($34) or Chateaubriand for two ($85).
Casalicchio is proud of the wine list he called “approachable but ... sophisticated at the same time.”
The restaurant’s first two weeks have given its owner a lot of hope.
“There’s always much room to improve,” said Casalicchio. But “it’s probably the most warm reception I’ve ever had with a restaurant.”
If you go
What: Chez Georges Bistro and Bar
Where: 37 New Orleans Road, Suite J, Hilton Head Island
Hours: Open daily at 4:30 p.m.
Phone: 843-785-3200
Website: www.chezgeorgeshhi.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/chezgeorgeshhi
