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Gilligan's Steamer & Raw Bar is a Local Charleston area Restaurant chain with locations in Beaufort, Goose Creek, Greenville NC, John's Island, Lexington, Moncks Corner, Mount Pleasant, and Summerville. Gilligan's sprung from the original Gilligan's Oyster Factory that was founded in 1891. Gilligan's Steamer & Raw Bar is a local favorite which explains their growth. Cheryl & I ate lunch at the Moncks Corner location a few days ago. This isn't the first time that I ate there, and it isn't the first Gilligan's Restaurant that I have eaten at either. In fact, we usually eat at the Gilligan's location in Goose Creek. I eventually will revisit that one, but for now, this is mostly about the Moncks Corner location.

Gilligan's Steamer & Raw Bar in Moncks Corner is located on the banks of the Tail Race Canal near the bridge on Alt 17-A. It is a very charming Restaurant with the signature Gilligan's Rustic nautical theme, only this Gilligan's has dock seating and you can enjoy the scenery and watch the boats go by while you eat dinner. If it is too cold outside, you can still enjoy the scenery through the huge windows in the Restaurant. The ambiance in Gilligan's Steamer & Raw Bar is nautical and well lit. They have a large dining area, and a few tables in the Bar which which serves as the smoking area. They also have a medium sized banquet room for private parties. The Bar is small and tastefully decorated. It is used more for before and after dinner cocktails, and not really a Bar to hang out, but I'm sure they would let you if you wanted too.

As usual, the food was very tasty. I had the Fried Seafood Combo Basket. It comes with your choice of any two: Shrimp, Flounder, Oysters, Scallops, or Mahi-Mahi Fingers and two sides. I ordered my Combo Basket with Scallops and Mahi-Mahi Fingers. The Mahi-Mahi Fingers were fabulous. They were lightly breaded and very tender, tasty, and juicy. However, the Scallops were very tiny. So tiny in fact, I took a picture of one next to a dime. See photo. Now, don't get me wrong, the Scallops were also lightly breaded, tender, tasty, and juicy too, but they were so small, I thought I was being punked! I'm not sure what the deal is here, but this must be strictly for Lunch because when I have dined at the other locations for dinner, the Scallops were always normal, quarter sized pieces. The next time I go to Gilligan's Steamer & Raw Bar for Lunch, I'm going to order the Mahi-Mahi Fingers Basket, and forgo the Scallops. Cheryl ordered the Shrimp Basket. She said that the Shrimp were cooked perfectly, and they were also lightly breaded and tasty too. Accompanying every meal is a small basket of tasty Hushpuppies too. we were a bit disappointed with the service. The Restaurant wasn't overly crowded, but it took a long time between appearances from the waitress. It took about 5 minutes between seating and taking our drink orders, and when it was time to pay the check, it took a while too.

Overall, the Moncks Corner Gilligan's Steamer & Raw Bar is a nice dining experience, they run specials all of the time, so each night is a little different. The ambiance is relaxed, and the prices aren't cheap, but they are not out of line either. I recommend Gilligan's Steamer & Raw Bar, but mostly for dinner.