In a city filled with prime sidewalk real estate — and a city that restricts its buildings’ heights, no less — it can be hard to remember to simply look up. But once one does, it’s hard not to keep staring. Sure, the Holy City’s steeples are pretty spectacular and the spray of palmetto treetops is attractive.
But the city’s rooftop bars really catch our eyes. And The Watch Rooftop Kitchen and Spirits, seated squarely atop the Restoration Hotel, has been catching tourists’ and locals’ attention since 2016.
Chef Daniel Nightengale, the corporate director of food and beverage for the Restoration, talked to the Charleston City Paper about the evolution of The Watch’s offerings during its almost decade-long stint on Wentworth Street.
The sky’s the limit
Recently, The Watch has added some shade covering to its front terrace, adding longevity to the rooftop’s appeal, which diminishes a bit during those brutally hot summer months.
“We’re really excited to see some of the growth in that aspect, because we’ve never really been able to utilize those areas in June, July, August, September because it gets so hot,” Nightengale said.
He added that helping seating capacity during those “vital” four months is a gamechanger.
It’s all part of running a business in a saturated food and beverage market.
For Nightengale, the year is broken up into busy and less busy seasons, demarcated by popular holidays and long-running Charleston events, like SEWE, Charleston Wine + Food and the Cooper River Bridge Run.
“I can look at the year now, knowing and [having been here] when we’re going to be busy,” he said. “Knowing what the market [will bear] and how the leisurely travel is going to come here is really beneficial because you can start to look ahead and game plan.”
As part of a hotel, The Watch has its built-in, visiting customers — but it’s always held a lot of appeal for locals, too, hosting weekly and monthly special events from a poetry series to rooftop yoga classes.
In a September 2024 interview with City Paper, The Restoration’s corporate director of sales and marketing, Karen Winn, said that the hotel has always worked to integrate itself into the surrounding neighbourhood.
“The thing that really attracted me to this hotel was they were trying to enhance the neighborhood, not just be visitors from out of town,” she said.
The Watch looks to incorporate local flavor, too, and Nightengale described the menu as “American brasserie with Lowcountry influences.”
The seafood-forward entree offerings emphasize the rooftop’s proximity to the sea, with dishes like a shrimp and chorizo bowl, seared scallops and a honey glazed fresh catch.
“We’re changing the menu anywhere from four to five times a year just for seasonality,” Nightengale said. New, spring-inspired menu items include the toasted cous cous bowl, made with cous cous, arugula, broccoli, mushrooms, tomatoes, garlic, onions and basil aioli. The bar program is lightening things up, too, adding several new drinks and even a spritz flight.
The Restoration recently expanded to Asheville and the food program at its mountain counterpart has more of an Appalachian influence “to cater to more of the locals,” Nightengale said.
“We listen to what the guest is saying,” he said. “But we also try to have fun with the food, whether it’s local shrimp, crab, mussels, a fresh catch from the Southeast or from the shores of North Carolina. It all varies.”
The evolution of dining
“I think that as a leisurely traveler, when you go to places now, you are constantly looking up stuff whether it’s Google, TripAdvisor, Instagram,” Nightengale said. “And everyone says, ‘the phone eats first.’ ”
Needless to say, The Watch’s reputation precedes it.
There are few spots as Instagrammable as The Watch’s rooftop, which is the highest rooftop south of Calhoun Street with an almost 360 degree view of downtown. The rooftop’s height is both a boon and burden — when folks know it’s there, they scurry to take pictures, but if they don’t look up from their navigation of nearby boutique stores, they may just walk right by.
Still, if you can get up to The Watch, it’s worth the elevator ride.
“To be able to still be outside and enjoy the atmosphere of Charleston [and] see it from a different angle — it’s different when you’re looking at it seven stories up and you can see everything that you get told about,” Nightengale said. “To see it in a panoramic setting is very cool.”
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