‘223 S. Elm’ is not only a great place to eat, it’s also easy to find-considering that its address is its name.
Toting themselves as having “innovative Southern cuisine”, 223 S. Elm prepared thoughtful, artful dishes while complimenting the flavor of the meats and seafood. With prices ranging from $5-13 for appetizers and $14-25 for entrees, 223 S. Elm is not a cheap restaurant. But you get a bang for your buck, as my dining companion and I found out.
Located in the heart of downtown, the restaurant is beautiful, with cathedral ceilings and art deco stained glass windows. Unfortunately, the acoustics are not good-when busy, the restaurant is loud. It is very close to a few cool bars, so one might make an evening of dinner and bar-hopping.
Hot bread arrived almost immediately and came with a delicious herbed butter spread. The drinks we ordered from the bar (a virgin bloody mary and one regular) did not come until we were served the appetizers. One of the drinks was complimentary, but we were offered no explanation for the delay, which was about twenty minutes.
While we waited for the drinks, we had a chance to look around. Potted plants dotted the dining area, while jazz music played in the background, adding to the enjoyment of the atmosphere.
We started out with two appetizers: pesto grilled shrimp with ambrosia salad and chilled watermelon bisque ($10), and roasted oysters with apple wood bacon, corn bread stuffing topped with a chive hollandaise ($11) The shrimp had a wonderful flavor, but could have been cooked a bit less-they were on the tough side. The watermelon bisque was an interesting side note with heavy coconut accents. The roasted oysters were incredible. They were just the right consistency and went very nicely with the rich bacon flavor of the stuffing.
For our entrees we ordered sauted N.C. Rainbow trout with tomato crawfish risotto and habenero passion fruit buerre blanc ($17). Also, the herb-grilled Angus ribeye with lima bean smoked bacon piccalilli and sweet potato fritters ($21). Both entrees came with a beautiful presentation. The trout was incredible-its mild flavor contrasted nicely with the sour-sweet sauce, and the tomato-based risotto complimented each bite very well.
My ribeye was cooked according the specifications (rare) and had a wonderful beef flavor. Delicious sweet potato fries were thin and crisp with just the right amount of salt to balance out the sweetness. I wasn’t a fan of the lima bean piccalilli-it had an odd mix of flavors. Others might enjoy it, though.
My only complaint about 223 S. Elm was the inconsistency of service. It took an exceptionally long time for our waiter to come to our table. The food and drinks also took too long to come, and when my shrimp came there was no spoon for the bisque.
I recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a nice place to eat with an innovative menu. There are a couple of vegetarian options (tempah veggies served over green tea noodles was one of the choices) but the overall theme of the menu is seafood.

223 S. Elm is open M-F for lunch and seven days a week for dinner.