Local restaurants are starting to turn away from the rigid menu structure of appetizers, entrees and desserts. Instead, diners are seeking more unique experiences through dishes designed to be shared. Often called family-style dining, this format has been embraced by an array of cuisines.
“These past couple years, it’s always been pushing towards more of a shareable setting,” said Xo Brasserie chef Michael Chanthavong. “A lot of menus say ‘small plates, big plates,’ and move away from appetizers, entrees.
“It’s definitely the direction a lot of restaurants are heading at the moment. I’m a big fan of that type of eating, so I’m just excited to see what the future holds.”
Xo Brasserie leans into family-style dining, serving Cantonese dishes intended for the table to share. Chanthavong designs his menu with this shareability in mind.
“One of the most important things I think about as I’m creating a dish is the approachability. I make sure everybody is able to share, and it’s not too fussy or complicated when sharing it.”
For example, the Hong Kong roast duck, available in a half or whole preparation, is deboned, sliced and served with steamed pancakes, herbs, Boston lettuce, five-pepper sauce and chili cucumbers making it easy to share and experiment with different flavors and toppings. Other menu items like the build-a-bao or youtiao burrata allow for a similar chance to mix and match sauces and toppings while interacting with the food and your companions.
“It’s very fun, very interactive,” said Herman Ng, the restaurant’s owner. “You explain how to enjoy [these dishes] to people, and then you see them doing it, and they’re talking to each other, explaining how they’re eating it, what sauce they’re using. It’s different.”
To further encourage sharing, Lazy Susans decorate the middle of larger tables in Xo Brasserie, making it easier to pass around dishes. Family-style dining may be unfamiliar to some, but for Ng, this approach is embedded in his upbringing.
“It’s something that reminds me of my parent’s restaurant,” Ng said. “We had multiple large tables that had Lazy Susans. And I remember during Chinese New Year, during Christmas, my dad with the chefs would make all these dishes, and then we would all sit down around the tables, and everyone would keep spinning the Lazy Susan. It’s so fun and communal.”
Experiential dining
That communal experience of family-style dining is one root of the format’s popularity. Millennials and Gen Zers are known to value experiences over material possessions. As more members of these generations frequent restaurants, their drive for deeper societal experiences may spill into how they prefer to dine.
The shareability of family-style dining is about more than sharing food — it’s sharing time, space and conversation, an opportunity to commune.
“It’s a culture shift,” said Anthony Marini, owner and chef of The Pass and The Italian Boy after dark. “The stuffiness of the app, entree, dessert format now has gone a little bit by the wayside. You’ve got more groups going out, younger people are going out … and people want to share more.”
Marini’s latest concept, The Italian Boy after dark, transforms his daytime sandwich shop The Pass into an intimate, elevated dining experience. An Italian-American from Philadelphia, Marini wanted to bring some of his heritage to Charleston. He describes The Italian Boy’s cuisine as “row home-inspired dining” that is “kind of like a dinner party in an Italian-American’s home.”
The space fits 12 guests, enhancing the intimacy of the evening. Each dinner comprises five to seven courses, some plated, some served family-style, and lasts about two hours. Courses include an antipasti of meats, cheeses and accouterments, a course of bread and dipping sauce, a crudo of either fish, meat or vegetable, two types of sandwiches, and a pasta dish.
The tight quarters and format of particular courses encourages sharing, and Marini offers complimentary amaro with dessert served from an amaro cart, giving guests the chance to sit and chat with each other and their host after a big meal, much like the experience of dining in an Italian-American’s home.
Other restaurants are noting the trend towards shared plates and its popularity in elevated dining environments. Chef Zach Woody, who recently began a new permanent kitchen residency, Lark at Coterie, designed Coterie’s new menu as “a tasting menu broken down into an a la carte format,” he said.
Traditional tasting menus seamlessly transition each dish from one to the next with flavors intentionally playing off and pairing with each other. Woody uses his training in French cuisine and previous experience in fine dining to create a menu with the synchronicity of a tasting menu without the preplanned coursing.
“No matter what the guests choose, the flavors within each dish will pair perfectly with the next, creating a unique experience that the guest created without even realizing it,” he said.
Woody recommends ordering four to five dishes for two people and says the menu will change seasonally and incorporate local ingredients, which may mean some dishes only appear for a few weeks depending on seasonality.
“Family-style [dining] is better for trying new things and opens up the conversation at the table,” Woody said. “It creates a more harmonious experience with the people you’re dining with.”
A taste of cultural significance
Family-style eating may be fairly new to the world of fine dining, but for many cultures, communal dining is standard. Enjoying a meal as it’s traditionally served can give diners a deeper understanding of the culture and its cuisine.
Cantonese and Italian cultures frequently share food when dining with friends and family, putting Xo Brasserie and The Italian Boy’s dishes into a greater cultural context.
Marini of The Italian Boy pays homage to his heritage in many dishes but particularly the bread-and-sauce course called “scarpetta.” It translates to “little shoe” but refers to a tradition of using bread to soak up remaining sauce on a plate or saucepan.
This expression has roots in Italian traditions, Marini said. He recounted a bygone era when, after a large meal shared among many family members, men often smoked cigars and played bocce outside while women gossiped in the kitchen over bread they sopped in sauce that remained in the cooking pots.
“That’s kind of how they did things back then,” he said. “A little dated, I understand that, but it’s still a very cool concept.”
A cool concept, indeed. And one that demonstrates the social and cultural importance of sharing even something as simple as bread and leftover sauce.
Many Italian restaurants offer some variation on family-style dining because of its place in the culture. Indaco on King Street has a “for the table” three-course family-style meal to share multiple courses including pizza, pastas, appetizers and dessert.
But many other cultures embrace this dining format, too.
At downtown Filipino restaurant Kultura, owner and chef Nikko Cagalanan incorporates a Filipino variation of family-style dining during the Kamayan Sunday Feast. “Kamayan” means “with your hands” in Filipino and describes a style of dining where food is placed on top of banana leaves that cover a large table. Large groups gather around the table and enjoy the array of dishes with their hands — no plates, no silverware.
“It’s communal, and it revolves around our Filipino culture,” Cagalanan said. “So diners get to embrace what a Filipino gathering is like while eating with your bare hands. … You don’t get to touch your phone while you’re eating. You’re just focused on eating the dish and talking to your party. I think you get to enjoy more and experience the food and culture with your loved ones.”
The feast is only available on Sundays, alongside the regular menu, and consists of four to five savory dishes, some vegetables and fruits and a dessert dish. Cagalanan wanted to offer a unique, authentic experience, so the food is served on banana leaves on a tray instead of plates and utensils provided.
“People have embraced eating with their hands,” he said. “Like they’re intimidated at first, and then they try the food, and then they’re like, ‘Okay, this is fun.’”
Cagalanan switches out dishes as the regular menu changes, but some dishes he’s served during the Kamayan feasts include chicken adobo, spring rolls and longanisa, or breakfast sausage.
The Kamayan feast is an introduction to a different way of eating, he said, and it offers a unique alternative to a traditional dinner setup.
As Charleston’s food scene continues to grow and diversify, chefs can experiment with more communal dining formats to offer a window into the culture of different cuisines and experiences.
Help keep the City Paper free.
No paywalls.
No subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations.
Help support independent journalism by donating today.