A Fresh Take
Walk through the glass door of Market Street’s high-end steakhouse, Burwell’s Stone Fire Grill, and up the staircase to dine at one of Charleston’s hidden gems. Balao, created with a relaxed vibe in mind, is a secluded rooftop restaurant with minimalist decor that immediately invokes an intimate experience for diners.
Decorated with elegant string lights, the patio features just a handful of tables and a gorgeous wood-topped bar. While Balao may be physically connected to Burwell’s, it is in fact a completely separate restaurant with a radically different menu and two chefs of its own—Nathan Davenport and Matt LeBoeuf.
Burwell’s and Balao owner Ken Emery had long thought about converting the rooftop into a unique space independent from the downstairs steakhouse and spent about a year discussing the idea with Davenport before Balao came to fruition.
“He didn’t really want to serve high-end steaks outside,” says the chef. “So, he started thinking about reasonably priced lighter fare, which led to the idea of a seafood-orientated restaurant, and Matt and I just built off of that.”
Always interested in cooking, Davenport began his career at a restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee, where he met Sean Brock who discussed his plans to open a restaurant in Charleston—Husk. Davenport decided to make the move back home, working alongside Brock during the restaurant’s opening.
After five years at Husk, Davenport joined Anson Restaurant where he met Balao’s second chef, Matt LeBoeuf, who had worked for several seafood restaurants in the past, including Tides Folly Beach restaurant, BLU, and Rappahannock Oyster Bar. Two years later, when Emery offered Davenport an opportunity to open the secluded rooftop restaurant, he was quick to get his co-worker and friend LeBoeuf involved in the project.
“We like to work together,” says Davenport. “And, I know I can completely trust that he’s only going to serve dishes here that I would serve myself. Plus, his experience with fish and seafood made it the perfect fit, so it just made sense.”
Each chef creates individual dishes based on what’s fresh and available; they often combine their talents to develop dishes together. The menu is regularly rotated—depending on how the chefs are feeling and which items are available. Select dishes will be added or taken off the menu throughout the week, but after about two weeks, Balao guarantees a completely new set of offerings.
The potential for constant change is one of the factors that most attracted Davenport and LeBoeuf to this opportunity.
“We love being able to do the changing menu,” says LeBoeuf. “It keeps us on our toes and gives us the chance to be creative in our work.”
Since the restaurant’s opening in April, the chefs agree that one of their favorite and most unique dishes to have come out of the kitchen was a twist on the Charleston staple meal shrimp and grits developed by LeBoeuf.
“Essentially, I changed it to have black grits. I was inspired by this black sauce we had when I worked at Rappahannock, which covered the shrimp,” he says. “I thought, ‘Why don’t we make the grits black?’ instead to make people think of being out in the ocean or near pluff mud. Then you have the shrimp in the gravy, and I love duck as a protein, so I replaced the usual tasso ham with tasso duck.”
Though the unique nature of the delicious food and the clear dedication of the chefs are reason enough to visit Balao, the restaurant’s focus on sustainable, local seafood gives them an environmentally conscious edge. Sourcing most of their seafood from Charleston-area businesses like Lowcountry Seafood, Crosby’s Seafood, Abundant Seafood and Tarvin Shrimp, Balao serves refreshing dishes including ceviches, crudos and oysters.
“First and foremost, it’s about the product. We want to serve the best product possible, and by getting it locally, it was usually caught that day or the day before, so it’s always fresh,” says Davenport. “Even if prices are a bit higher with fresh, local items, we know it’s difficult to make a living fishing or clamming, so we believe any way we can give back to the community is great.”
With just Davenport and LeBoeuf manning the kitchen every night, each dish is thoughtful and executed to perfection.
“From the time the product comes into the restaurant to the time it hits your table, it’s just me and him working on everything,” says LeBoeuf.
“Most places have kitchens full of people,” adds Davenport. “There aren’t any line cooks preparing your food here, there’s just us two passion-driven chefs back there preparing every dish. And while it can get a little hectic, I don’t think we’d have it any other way. Not many chefs get to say that they’ve put their hands on every single dish that comes out of the kitchen.”
