FAQ
Basics, Details & Myths
…BASICS…
LOCATION: 99 S. Market Street, Charleston, SC 29401. Entrance door looks like the entry to the bathrooms off the Courtyard of PORT OF CALL. We are 1 block East of Meeting. One Block West of Church. Just to the left of the 5 & Dime when looking at it with your back to the Market. DIRECTIONS VIA GOOGLE MAPS
PRICES: The price for a seat at Raw Lab varies based on the day of the week. The base prices of $225, $250 or $275 are for Thurs, Fri and Sat. This covers food and beverage. It does not include, state & local taxes and credit card fees (15% total) or gratuity (20% on food & beverage only).
REFUNDS: New polices on this now that we’ve moved to a pre-paid, ticketed seat model can be found on our POLICIES page.
TIPPING POLICY: 20% is our minimum gratuity. We can certainly appreciate that there are folks out that would disagree with this.
DISCOUNTS: We do not discount for those who don’t consume wine but we do offer elegant NA options with advance notice. We’ll need notice to make arrangements for that. If we have empty seats (as we do from time to time) we may offer a Buy One Get One or BOGO. Keep an eye on our Instagram Stories for that.
PURCHASE SEATS ON RESY HERE
FAQ MISSION WHAT IT IS & ISNT IS IT FOR YOU VALUE PROPOSITION PRICING POLICIES DISCOVERY
RESERVATIONS: Can be made only on RESY. If you only see “Notify” for a date, there are no seats. Add yourself to the notify list for 1 or 2 dates you think would work for you.
LARGE GROUP RESERVATIONS: Can now be made on RESY for up to 13 guests per night (if seats are open). If you’d like to have more than 13 we can accommodate up to 18. Call us and we’ll help you find a day that works so you don’t have to search for that endlessly. 843 580 7729
OPERATIONS: Thurs - Sat, sometimes we add a Wed or a Sunday service (especially on holiday weekends).
TIME FRAME: Seating time is 6:37pm. Service runs 3.5 - 4 hours. Think of it as the same 4 hours you’d spend doing Dinner & A Show, without the hassle of getting from dinner to show.
MENU: There isn’t one that we stick to. We published a MENU at the very beginning and it’s still a very good representation of the species used, preparations and presentations, generally. Things do change from time to time but we keep to the core principles of MARINE CUISINE and WHOLE, LIVE, RAW & BIO-AVAILABLE. Expect 9-12 courses and a full meal featuring hot and cold dishes that is nutrient dense, colorful, delicious and interesting. Get excited for the finest raw oyster experience ever consistently delivered, anywhere. The same is true of our caviar service. Finally, our wine service features up to 15 different wines from all over the world to enjoy (small pours of each) as pairings with the various courses. Wines are always coming and going with a few exceptions of what we’ve found to be a perfect pairing.
SHELLFISH ALLERGY: A of June 2024 we no longer welcome those with allergies to more than one of the following species we typically feature in our service. Lobster. Salmon. Crab. Shrimp. Oysters. Caviar. f you are allergic to just oysters, well, that’s OK, as that is just one course. You can skip it. Skipping more than one course is not something we want to see happen anymore.
KIDS: We are 21+ only. At some point we may offer a “Take Your Kid to RAW LAB” service on a regular basis but when haven’t started this yet.
SUBSTITUTIONS: We are very limited in our ability here. The size of our space, storage, service style and other factors severely limit our ability to substitute dishes. We can offer double portions of some dishes, however. If you are allergic to shellfish (oysters, clams, scallops, caviar, crab, shrimp, lobster or salmon, its not a good spot for you. Dairy, nut or gluten sensitivities are easily managed, however.
REVIEWS: Speak for themselves. Focus on RESY which has been the result of 3 years of service and 500+ reviews from people WHO HAVE BEEN to RAW LAB. Be very, very wary of YELP and GOOGLE as many 1 star reviews posted by those who’ve never been or sabateurs have taken our average way below what the truth is. RESY is the truth!
CREATOR, FOUNDER, OPERATOR & OWNER: Kevin Joseph, Master Mermmelier
PURCHASE SEATS ON RESY HERE
FAQ MISSION WHAT IT IS & ISNT IS IT FOR YOU VALUE PROPOSITION PRICING POLICIES DISCOVERY
…A FEW DETAILS…
RAW LAB is, essentially, a FUSION CONCEPT…a FUSION of…
An Ancient, Oriental (Japanese) SERVICE STYLE (OMAKASE) which means “To Entrust” in Japanese.
A Modern, Occidental (European/American) CUISINE (RAW BAR) which focuses on certain species, preparations and presentations
We are a STAND ALONE RAW BAR, and NOT just an OYSTER BAR, NOT a SUSHI OFFERING and NOT A SEAFOOD RESTAURANT. We are not a restaurant at all as we have no tables. We are a bar, a RAW BAR.
We offer MUCH MORE than the standard American RAW BAR offering and, for most we can be a delightful alternative to even your favorite seafood restaurant.
We have disrupted / changed the Seafood Restaurant / Raw Bar model in a way that offers some real advantages. We TOOK THE RAW BAR out of the SEAFOOD RESTAURANT THAT ALSO HAS A RAW BAR and ELIMINATED THE SEAFOOD RESTAURANT. This has allowed us to specialize in, expand the offering of and improve the value proposition for what a RAW BAR could be, on several metrics. While we do have to abandon some of the elements of style for the standard fine-dining restaurant model, we’ve found that our guest does not miss them. Instead, what we’ve done in this new paradigm seems to create a host of advantages that are more valuable to the modern Epicurean. The basic things to understand about this model are:
This is not an appetizer. Courses are not tiny. This is not a tasting menu, this is an EATING menu. You will leave feeling like you ate a full meal. But it’s not a Sushi Experience despite our Omakase-Style of service. More on that below.
You will learn, A LOT, about A LOT of things because your fellow diners are going to be asking great questions and your chef is going to to be answering them. You’ll see, touch and taste things you never have before. You’ll be EDU-tained and you’ll love it.
NOT EVERYTHING WE SERVE IS RAW OR SERVED CHILLED. About 1/2 our menu is Raw/Chilled/Cold. About 1/2 of our menu is NOT RAW, served cold/chilled and one item is served hot.
Our Oyster Service and our Caviar service are each worth the cost of admission because you’ll understand and appreciate and enjoy both oysters and caviar on an entirely new level, for the rest of your life. Our unique business/dining/experienc model delivers on this ever time. They serve not to make us look smart or superior but to deliver to our guests THE TRUTH and THE OPPORTUNITIES to enjoy both, much, much more, for the rest of their lives.
Doubt any of this? Here’s a way to dip your toe in the pool: Try LTLE FISH. Come enjoy some wine while you watch others dine on dishes, a la carte, that are, in fact, RAW LAB’s greatest hits. If it’s not your jam, you’ll have simply wasted some time over a glass of wine.
OMAKASE-STYLE SERVICE
Often consumers confuse our adoption of an Omakase-Style of service to mean that we deliver an Omakase Sushi Experience. It’s understandable as Omakase was synonymous with Sushi (from a Master Sushi Chef) for 3000 years. So, an “Omakase” in America, means a Sushi Offering. We use the term “Omakase-Style” for a host of reasons. 1. It applies ONLY to our service style, not our food. 2. Our guest does not choose courses or pairings and “Entrusts” the chef which the meal. 3. The price is fixed. 4. Most of the food is seafood and most of it served raw or cooked/chilled. So, while some of the similarities with the ancient tradition of Omakase are embraced, others are adapted. We find opportunities to feature (and tweak) American Raw Bar standards as well. Therefore, in the end, RAW LAB is an “Omakase-Style Raw Bar”
PURCHASE SEATS ON RESY HERE
FAQ MISSION WHAT IT IS & ISNT IS IT FOR YOU VALUE PROPOSITION PRICING POLICIES DISCOVERY
…MYTHS & FABLES…
MYTH: We NEVER refund if you cant make it…”ALL SALES ARE FINAL”.FACT: There are ways to get a refund. And you can always sell your seats, give them as a gift or transfer them to anyone you like. LEARN MORE AT OUR POLICIES PAGE
LOCAL: Our focus is NOT on “Local” product, although we do feature it as much as it fits with our other culinary ethics: 1. MARINE CUISINE & DelicaSEAS and 2. “Whole-Live-Raw-Bioavailable”. There are no local “Farm to Table” Lobster, Caviar or Salmon options in Charleston and, frankly, and these products are integral to our offering.
FARM TO TABLE: More often than not, this is really Farm To Fable! So much so that it’s HARD to find legitimacy in this ethic. Sure, there are some things that big restaurants buy direct from Farmers, but its commonly a fraction of what they serve. We buy oysters direct from Farmers, always. Shrimp directly from those who caught them. Caviar too. But that’s about it. It’s not our lane and, honestly, it’s just not possible. Almost everything moves through a chain of custody that is layered. The trick is to investigate that chain of custody and KNOW that the product you use isn’t being mis-managed along the way.
IT’S A TOURIST TRAP: Raw Lab was 100% locals for the first 6 months. Then it dropped to about 90% for about 18 months and now about 80% of our guests are locals. Many of whom are repeat customers returning with friends and family visiting from out of state. Anyway, we don’t get tourists at RAW LAB, we get travelers or visitors to Charleston. Very different demographic. So, in fact, we’ve NEVER seen a TOURIST. They’re over at Hyman’s. The tourist trap term has been used by the haters and those who don’t see how spending this much money could be worth it.
FRESH IS A LIE: The freshest fish is NOT the best fish! Ask any “REAL” Sushi Master. The BEST fish is the fish served at the right point in it’s decay. This is known as THE SWEET SPOT. Same is true of meat, wine, cheese…etc. And some fish is BETTER / SAFER if frozen properly. WATCH THIS short video of Anthony Bourdain explaining this principle. He get’s into it at 1:30. YOUR WELCOME!