A week before the Spring Holiday, I had an appointment set up to meet the designer who put the St. Helena’s Tour together. Living in Charleston and having parents in Beaufort, I offered to meet her in her town and she suggested this lovely little restaurant called Wren. Little did [...]]]>

Wren in Beaufort South Carolina

A week before the Spring Holiday, I had an appointment set up to meet the designer who put the St. Helena’s Tour together. Living in Charleston and having parents in Beaufort, I offered to meet her in her town and she suggested this lovely little restaurant called Wren. Little did we know that a spat of bad weather, a round of early morning lectures, an impromptu client meeting and a voice mail box that had yet to be set up on a fairly new cell phone (mine) would cause us a bit of confusion and no meeting!

Finding myself without an appointment, I called my parents and they had stopped their day to meet me at Wren to have a quick visit and a great lunch. I had a sandwich and some tea and they had wine and a dessert. (It was 2.20 pm by the time we were seated and they had had lunch already.) The desert ordered was a triple chocolate mousse that was just wonderful! (Mom shares a few bites with me.) If I get to go there again, I am saving room for that choco-treat!

The restaurant was surprisingly busy and bustling even on that dreary day. Many couples in Beaufort out and about enjoying a casual lunch tete-a-tete, in small groups or tucked in having a bar lunch while watching a game or a show with Gullah subtitles.

On the design side I felt that I walked into neutrally schemed, urban and sophisticated West Coast meets South Carolina farm. The drapes are of seagrass, rough hewn benches and mixed in with metal chairs of the forties or fifties sans the paint with drink tables that looked like they might have been in a wood workshop or a potter’s studio. These were set on a shiny floor of terrazzo with exposed brick walls and ceiling with metal trusses and HVAC systems in aluminum and steel. The pillows on the long bench and tall chairs were done in burlap. The lighting had the feel of utility and function accented in steel and glass. The bar seats also had a woven theme. At the entry, the table was wrapped in hemp rope displaying a minimal flower arrangement while the bistro seating, across the way was set up with wooden crossed-backed chairs and crisp white table clothes. The other side was more formal with banquet seating separated by the bar and kitchen from the bistro side holding a deli and a small collection of wine for sale as well as the restrooms. Behind the bistro area was a great big chalk board with the Wren logo drawn in chalk. Dare I ask the designer again and chose the same spot? I would really like to get that triple chocolate mouse all to myself while networking and talking design.

Entrance at Wren