Hilton Head Island Paul V. Hartman Hilton Head Island has over 200 restaurants and many are very good. You can find restaurant reviews in magazines from the island, and on several commercial websites. They are all written by someone with a promotional interest. I have none. I do not know any restaurant owner or chef on the island. These reviews are my own opinion, slightly influenced by comments made by others at my table. B O N E F I S H     G R I L L Mid island, Hilton Parkway, at Fresh Market (843)341-3772 Casual. Medium pricing. Ready parking. Reminds us of Charlie's Crab (without the water view) in that several delightful seafood items are matched by land fare so that everyone in your group should be well accomodated. This is a chain which came to life in Sarrasota several years ago. In season, there is always a line out the door. On a recent visit, the place was almost over-staffed, with college-aged persons pitching in. Has this restaurant formed a relationship with USC? The wine choices by the glass covered a good range; I counted 38. More choices by the bottle. This place does not advertise, and probably will not have to. It's that good. Dinner from 4:00pm till after 10; after 11:30 weekends. Seven days. R E D F I S H South island, on Palmetto Bay Road at Archer. (843)686-3388 Seafood with a Cuban theme.   Casual; medium pricing. A venture by three Hilton Head men with two other successful area restaurants who decided a Cuban-themed seafood place might be a winner, and it is. Our group of four ordered different seafood entrees and then did round-the-table sampling, pronouncing everything delightful. Mango and coconut are two condiments used here-and-there in tracing the Cuban inspiration. An adjacent bar and wine shop also has a few tables for those who would like to dine amid walls lined with upscale (and pricey) wines, from which you can select a bottle if you find the very nice wine list inadequate. (Doing so, however, results in a $10 "corkage" addition to the bill, which is too much for wines already priced above the usual retail level.) We finished with a banana bread pudding in a light cheese sauce which was very nice. Lunch Mon to Sat, and Dinner from 5:30pm, seven days. C A F E'   ST   T R O P E Z Mid island, in South Island Square. (843)785-7425 French; fancy; expensive. (Formerly known as La Normandie.) Upscale French cuisine in the classical style - arguably the finest dining on the island. Nice wine list. Attentive staff. We have loved every seafood item they have prepared at this place - obviously they make a special effort in this category. A must stop for visitors. Reservation recommended. C H A R L I E ' S   L ' E T I O L E   V E R T E 8 New Orleans Road (843)785-9277 French; no dress code - anything goes; nice ambience; moderate to expensive. Back in the late 90s, this place was, arguably, the finest restaurant in town. Reservations, in season, hard to obtain. Then they moved from cramped quarters (where you had to walk through the kitchen to reach the rest rooms) to the former site of Charleston's - possibly the best interior decor on the island. What they got: much larger space, larger parking lot. What they kept: a great wine list, fine wait-staff, and the daily change in menu. What they lost: the great food. "Average" is the only way to describe what is served now at Charlie's. Even Slick Willie would be unimpressed now. One more thing: we watched some of the worst dressed people on the island (ragged cut-offs, flip-flops, t-shirts) being seated for dinner in plain view of the rest of us. Mercy! Lunch 11:30 Monday to Friday;   Dinner from 6:00pm Monday - Saturday. Reservation suggested. H H   PRIME Hilton Hotel, on the beach at Palmetto Dunes (843)341-8058 American; casual; moderate to expensive. This may be the best hotel-based restaurant on the island. They took out "Mostly Seafood", which had a good reputation, plus a large lounge, which had a seedy reputation, added a second story to both, and produced a very nice, and elegant, place to dine. The wife (great chef) and I chose to go for the Early Bird (5-6pm) which is strictly prime rib, but with a nice salad, and choice of side and dessert from the regular menu, for $25. Yes, you can find "early birds" for less, but not this good! On the way in we walked by the large open kitchen, which was very impressive. The emphasis here is on Aged Prime Grade beef. (Competitors are offering "Black Angus" - a very good, but inferior grade.) They evidently kept the upscale seafood, which looked delightful arriving at nearby tables, some of which had extraordinary presentations. Very nice music at dinner hour. There are over 200 fine restaurants on this island and you don't expect the hotels to have any of them, but here is one you should visit. For me, I can walk to this one and will do so often. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner all day long, 7 days a week. T A P A S North island, in Northridge Plaza (843)681-8590 Continental; bistro ambience; casual; moderate. A few other up-scale places on the island offer "small plates" - appetizer portions along with regular sizes - but at Tapas, small plates are the raison d'etre , and here, culinary institute graduates crank out lots of them. Can't decide between the Tournedos Vernoff and the Venison Chasseur? The're small - have them both! Several wines by the glass allow your group to turn the night at Tapas into a prolonged tasting adventure. We love this place. Dinner only, Monday-Saturday, from 5:30pm. M A R L E Y ' S   I S L A N D   G R I L L E South, near Harris Teater, at Sea Pines Circle (843)686-5800 Caribbean; casual; moderate. I would describe this as "Intense Caribbean": there is an ice cream bar adjacent, and the patio between them has a Reggae band going full bore, and lots of people hang around. Inside, the Caribbean "ambiance" is also full bore. Tourists love it, but you will, too, since a number of items here are well prepared. The wait staff knows its stuff and aims to please. Our group had the Voodoo Shrimp and loved them. Wood-fired grill. Dinner from 5:00pm, seven days a week. J U L E P ' S South Central island; Gallery of Shops, near Sea Pines circle. (843)842-5857 Continental segues into New Orleans; moderate to expensive. Interesting variety of entrees, elegantly presented. Try the crabcake with shrimp and scallops on angel hair pasta, or the very nice poached salmon. Large wine list. Reservation suggested. Dinner 7 nights, 5:30 to 10:00pm. S T R I P E S South Central, near Sea Pines Gate. (843)842-5857 American regional; grill ambience (dressy casual); moderate/expensive. Menu changes with the seasons. Open kitchen. CIA chef/owner. Food this good is usually served in small portions, but they lay it on you at Stripes. Excellent wine list. (Wine Spectator award). Reservation suggested. Dinner 7 nights, 6:00 - 10:00pm. There are several more reviews from Hilton Head Island: * I am nobody special. If the owner of an upscale restaurant recognized my face, I very much doubt they would move me ahead of You, if you had the earlier reservation, or make any special fuss. And that is the way I want it. My reviews are worthless if they know who I am and do something unique for me and my guests as a result. I want to catch them at their "average".