BLU Restaurant and Bar

Restaurant of the Holiday Inn at Folly Beach re-energizes and re-invents itself

Holiday Inns are not usually associated with fine and fun dining experiences. BLU Restaurant and Bar in the newly refurbished Holiday Inn at Folly Beach is about to change all that.

Both the hotel and restaurant emerged this spring after extensive remodeling. Enter the spacious foyer and the walls are washed in colorful LED lighting. A natural sculpture of driftwood anchors the guest services area and a small reef tank filled with anemones, coral, damselfish and other sea beauties sets the stage for the calming influences of the dining room now known as BLU.

Kudos to the interior designers who let the oceanfront setting command center stage and arranged the tables so everyone has a view. The color palette of sand, azure, turquoise and white calms and restores. It feels like a chic beach house.

Banquette seating is sheltered by gauze-like fabric panels fashioned with the pattern of sea coral. Fragile dried sea grass stands at attention in metal vases the color of the winter ocean. The fabric of the place mats coordinates with that of the dining chairs. Style in tandem with sophistication.

An aquamarine wall of water ripples at the bar where tear-shaped lights appear suspended in space. The repetition of the form of the chambered nautilus and the use of the elements of nature give the impression that the Fibonacci Sequence was used to build and design BLU. Be sure to notice the staircase.

The bar "chefs" have had fun creating a menu of the Folly Peach ($6), Shipwrecked ($7) and a Watermelon Martini ($8).

Chef Jonathan Hagins and his staff use local ingredients when possible and focus on regional seafood such as shrimp and grouper. His precise salad menu offers an heirloom tomato "tower" with blue cheese vinaigrette and baby arugula ($9) and a simple "wedge of America" on the menu topped with buttermilk ranch and peppered bacon ($7). There also is a beet salad ($9) and seasonal greens tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette ($7).

Seven entrees are presented. However, you may not want to leave the Sharing Menu where a tapas-influenced assortment holds court. Guests on the oceanfront deck were seen polishing off order after order of fried potato chips with a Point Reyes blue cheese dip ($6). A perfect antidote to a day at the beach — salty, crunchy chips and the creamy, full-flavored tang of a farmstead blue cheese dip.

Hagins takes the familiar and ratchets the flavors with his own personal style. A bruschetta of local shrimp ($8) were presented in a bowl of a warm paste of cilantro pesto, thinned with Limoncello and a side of warm ciabatta slices. Plump mussels were jazzed with chorizo and fennel seasoned the broth ($7).

Shrimp and grits ($8) are finished with a saffron and lobster cream sauce, gilding the lily of this Charleston favorite.

Plump Maine scallops ($8) top crunchy polenta cakes in a wake of stewed tomatoes. Grouper ($9) is crusted with crumbs seasoned with andouille sausage and served with a sweet marmalade of pale, green tomatoes. It's a great play on textures, heat and sweet. It just needed a bit of salt to bring all the flavors together.

Duck "Shooters" ($8) should be renamed or reformulated. Our expectation of "poached duck wontons" shooters was won-ton wrappers filled with duck meat poached in a soy-infused broth presented in a shot glass. What were served were little ramekins of braised duck meat, a twist of cold soba noodle salad, a mound of sesame-seasoned crispy slaw and two fried won-tons. It was a good dish, just not what the menu "read."

The kitchen travels to Spain, Indonesia, the USA, and the Mediterranean via ingredients.

The pricing of the menu is fair and, considering its location, a bargain. Entrees range from $16 to $25. Enjoy a local grouper with a sweet corn risotto ($23), Kurobuta pork chop ($24), tuna Nicoise-style ($23) or a beef shoulder tenderloin ($25), a cut with flavor and tenderness.

Save room for dessert. They are all made in-house and won't disappoint.

It was refreshing to have a waiter who knew his way around the menu — ingredients, preparations, seasoning levels. He took the time to define most of the menu's liberties. Our overall service experience was solid. The staff worked in consort to manage the guests' experience.

The party just got started, but for the staff at BLU it just may be relentless.

Folly Beach Holiday Inn BLU Restaurant and Bar

Cuisine: American/Global.

Category: Neighborhood Favorite; Night Out.

Phone: 588-6658.

Address: 1 Center St., Folly Beach.

Food: *** 1/2

Service: ****

Atmosphere: ****

Price: $$

Costs: Soups and salads $6-$10, sharing menu $6-$13, entrees $16-$25, desserts $5-$14; lunch — salads $7-$12, small plates $8-$10, sandwiches $8-$10; kids' menu $5.

Vegetarian Options: Yes, including a daily vegetarian pasta special.

Bar: Full-service bar, specialty drink menu; beach bar opens at 11 a.m.

Hours: Breakfast 7-11 a.m., lunch 11 a.m.-3 p.m., late afternoon 3-5 p.m., dinner 5-10 p.m., late night menu 10 p.m.-until.

Decibel Level: Moderate to animated.

Wheelchair Access: Yes.

Parking: Holiday Inn lot.

Other: Reservations not accepted; suggest calling for large parties. Oceanfront bar and dining deck; full service restaurant and bar, catering, special events, live music. Same menu served inside and outside. Twitter to receive updates on small plates and dining specials. www.blufollybeach.com.