Lowcountry Food: Boondocks Restaurant laid back and family friendly
By Stepahie Venz | Boondocks ( noun ) – rough, remote, or isolated country. Yep, the restaurant name reflects their location. Honestly, I would never have even noticed Boondocks restaurant had I not been given my “foodie” assignment here. Yet it seems like everyone on Saint Helena Island knows about Boondocks as almost every table in the entire restaurant was taken… on a Tuesday night! Why so popular? I think it comes down to three things: a laid back atmosphere, a family friendly attitude, and local fresh seafood.
My friend and I started off by ordering a blackened shrimp appetizer and a Greek salad. The shrimp was fantastic as it was cooked to perfection and the rub had a good hit of spice to it. The salad was a little disappointing as it was more like a garden salad than a Greek salad. It was missing the key ingredients of kalamata olives and chunks of feta. Saying that, it was still a nice, fresh side salad.
For our main courses, I ordered the broiled shrimp basket, which came with fries and hush puppies (oh so Southern). Everything was simple and tasty, and once again the shrimp was cooked nicely. My friend ordered the Boondocks Dinner Salad with grilled chicken. The serving portion was quite large, and she said that the chicken was moist and nicely seasoned, and the salad fresh. All of our meals came out at different times, however I am not sure if this is a regular occurrence or purely because they were busy on this particular night. The price points are very reasonable for seafood, averaging between $10-$20 per meal.
The service at Boondocks was attentive, especially so seeing as they were extremely busy. The restaurant itself exudes a laid back atmosphere and has a nautical theme throughout the different rooms. The walls are adorned with different aluminum sea creatures and sand dollars that are also available for purchase. I consider the restaurant to be kid-friendly because you are able to easily wipe down everything from the tablecloths to the menus, there is a good kids menu and the décor is fun and colorful.
I suggest you make the trip out Boondocks if you are looking for a quick, casual and fresh meal out. They claim to specialize in seafood, steak and ribs, however I can only vouch for the good seafood, as I have yet to try the others. Please do not expect anything fancy, as Boondocks is a simple dining experience.
Boondocks Restaurant is open for lunch from 11am, 7 days a week. Dinner and daily specials start daily at 4:30pm until close. The restaurant is located at 1760 Sea Island Pkwy, Saint Helena Island and you can call to make a reservation on 843-838-0821.
They also have a newly renovated sports bar that is open every night if you just want to head out for a cold beverage.
See more about Boondocks in our Restaurant Guide.
You can always see more of Stephanie over on her travel & style blog at TripsandTrends.com.