2 days Ago
MOUNT PLEASANT — Warren Johnson, Chad Besenfelder and chef Eric Milley were intentional about the experience they wanted to create at Saint Urban’s, an intimate wine bar in the I’On neighborhood of Mount Pleasant . When an insurance agency departed the pint-sized space next door to Milley’s restaurant, The Shellmore , the trio set out to open a wine bar with a curated glass and bottle list, refined aesthetic and neighborhood vibe. They strived to offer restaurant patrons a place to grab a drink before or after dinner.
New pizzeria from the owners of Graft to open on Charleston's King Street next year Eventually, they hoped Saint Urban’s , 357 N. Shelmore Blvd., would develop an identity of its own.
Over the last 16 months, the new wine bar has established a core group of regulars, Johnson said. Many surely walk over from their homes in I’On, but others cross the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge from downtown or Ben Sawyer Bridge from Sullivan’s Island, he said.
Saint Urban’s is located at 357 N. Shelmore Boulevard in the I’On neighborhood of Mount Pleasant. “Our location is fabulous,” he said.
“We’re really drawing from a number of directions.” The space itself was meant to feel European, drawing on the group’s travels to places like Spain, France and Portugal, where cafés and wine bars occupy a small footprint. Saint Urban’s, for its part, only counts 360 square feet to its name.
On any given Tuesday through Saturday, guests crowd into the tight candlelit space, draped in European leathers and fabrics. They slide into banquettes with velvet pillows and converse over aperol spritzes, negronis and bottles of wine. Those with empty glasses usually say “yes” when asked if they want a second.
Cars mosey by outside, where more tables fill a gravel brick-lined patio. Some nights, Saint Urban’s staff whips out a raclette wheel, which produces creamy, decadent cheese for guests to enjoy with their beverages. The bar’s food program, tight and curated, is headlined by charcuterie and cheese, stored in an Italian chiller that’s 18 inches deep.
Sliced-to-order farmhouse cheddars, creamy buche de chevres and soft-ripened blues can be a prelude to more substantial bites like pigs in a blanket and chicken croquettes. Charleston wine bar, owned by experienced NYC transplants, finds its groove with new chef Saint Urban’s is located at 357 N. Shelmore Boulevard in the I’On neighborhood of Mount Pleasant.
Wines, sourced primarily from Italy and France, are clean with low intervention, Johnson said, and most are less than 14 percent alcohol by volume (ABV). They’re meant to be paired with the wine bar’s delicate cheeses, tinned seafood and sweets like Mexico City ’s bean-to-bar Casa Bosques Chocolate , made from heirloom cacao beans sourced from small ranches in Mexico and Latin America. “We have to take great, great care to make sure that every single glass in our space is really delivering,” Johnson said.
The wine bar has become a pre-dinner destination for diners visiting The Shellmore, which offers a daily changing menu of seafood and fresh pastas like mushroom ravioli with lamb shank ragout. Saint Urban’s guests unfamiliar with The Shellmore have also discovered the next-door restaurant after visiting its sister wine bar. As Johnson put it: “It just compliments the space so well.
” Saint Urban's is open from 5-10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
For more information, visit sainturbans.com . Independent US wineries are struggling.
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