Having never been to Summerville and being completely in the dark as far as their dining scene is concerned, I chose to follow the advice of my Patch.com column readers and try Eileen’s. Thank you for your recommendations.
The Atmosphere
Eileen’s is an intimate, dimly lit restaurant. With only 28 seats by my estimation, it’s ideal for a romantic date night or breaking bread with close friends over a dinner that lasts for hours. The darkly painted booths, napkins and accents only add to Eileen’s languorous atmosphere.
The Service
Perhaps it was the drop in temperature, but I have a hunch that our less-than-warm reception was the fact that the combined ages in our party was lower than that of the other patrons. Aside from our initial greeting, the service at Eileen’s was, well, down tempo. We weren’t ignored, but we were the last on the wait staff’s list of tables to check on. Then again, I believe this simply how things work here. Eileen’s wants you to stay and spend a good amount of time breaking bread and drinking wine.
The Food
As a special on Wednesday nights, Eileen’s offers five courses, three of which include wine pairings, for $30. The courses are pulled from Eileen’s Mediterranean-inspired menu. Not quite hungry enough for five courses, we opted for starters and entrées.
As a side note, I must applaud the barkeep at Eileen’s. I have never been served a lime so large or freshly cut anywhere. It makes all the difference in a gin and tonic.
Never one to turn down organ meat of any kind, I couldn’t pass up the Sautéed Chicken Livers with Prosciutto and Caramelized Onions ($8) as starter. The plate of chicken livers arrived and my jaw dropped; there were at least five petite chicken livers.
Liver, if overcooked, changes from supple earthiness to grainy, gray matter. There should be someresistance but liver should ultimately succumb to the pressure of your fork. There’s someone in the kitchen at Eileen’s who loves liver just as much as I do and knows how to cook it just right. The accompanying prosciutto was intended for bacon-like crispiness but unfortunately didn’t reach that point. The caramelized onions, a nice twist on the traditional liver and onions combination, were great. I only wish there had been more of them. My only complaint had to do with the red wine sauce thickly pooled at the bottom of the plate. It tasted faintly of wine but most reminiscent of a Chinese take-out restaurant’s “brown sauce.”
As an entrée, I ordered a half portion of the Orechiette with Peas and Proscuitto ($8) in cream sauce. I absolutely love that Eileen’s offers full and half portions of their pasta entrées at dinner. The small pieces of orechiette pasta were cooked to toothsome perfection. Shaped like small little shallow bowls, the orrechiette scooped up the dish’s light cream sauce. The way the ham tasted didn’t make me believe it was actually prosciutto—no matter, everything was quite good nonetheless.
The Verdict
Eileen’s is a good place for dinner. The Mediterranean and predominantly Italian-inspired menu does play it safe, but it isn’t boring. As such, Eileen’s offers dishes to please every palate while still bringing the residents of Summerville back for more. It’s a restaurant made for conversation, whether between a group of friends or just the two of you.
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