Zero George’s sister restaurant opened on the ground floor of The Jasper apartment building late last year
The best dining experiences lift you out of the everyday, offering a respite that’s simultaneously relaxed and stimulating; where the toughest decisions are inconsequential because the menu is seemingly devoid of weak points. Costa, which opened on the ground floor of The Jasper apartment building in Harleston Village late last year, checks those boxes and more. Bookended by an elegant bar and the high-energy open kitchen, the space is glamorous and sweeping (albeit loud later in the evening). Arched floor-to-ceiling windows, round-edged hardwood trim, and Deco-style light fixtures conjure the posh dining room of a circa-1920s ocean liner. The gracious service is also a throwback: nary a table crumb is left behind or water tumbler unfilled.
That each dish was a revelation on a recent visit should have hardly been surprising given the wide acclaim of Costa’s sister restaurant Zero George, where executive chef Vinson Petrillo has been overseeing a tasting menu out of a kitchen the size of a small garden shed for going on a decade now. By contrast, the kitchen at Costa is expansive—it’s mesmerizing to watch the well-oiled machine of Petrillo’s brigade here—but the offerings are restrained and tightly curated. Billed as Italian-inspired seafood, the menu kicks off with several crudo plates, including a bright and briny scallop with passionfruit, avocado, and finger lime. Still, terrestrial dishes are every bit as solid. Adorned with lemon, chile, and a soft egg, a cluster of maitake mushrooms is woodsy and succulent; a tangle of candele with anchovy, lemon, and Parmesan lets the perfect pasta shine; and the ever-so-thin-and-crispy pork Milanese, served simply with a squeeze of lemon, puts its trendy schnitzel cousins to shame.
It’s clear the beverage team is in lockstep with the kitchen, presenting a list as thoughtful as the menu—from an aperitif lineup heavy on the spritzes to signature twists on classic cocktails such as the Vespa with a kick of Calabrian chile. The 350-bottle-strong wine list draws heavily from Italy, as do the wines by the glass. What’s more, zero-proof cocktails, like the Dante with notes of citrus, ginger, and pine nut, are satisfyingly complex rather than conciliatory. Fittingly, pastry chef Brooke Lindsay puts a cherry on top of the whole affair with her tiramisu, a transcendent take that raises the bar for all others, like Costa itself.
320 Broad St.
Tuesday-Saturday: 5-10 p.m.
costacharleston.com
