The Best of Both: Land and Sea Delivered With a Spirit of Teamwork
By Kristyn Winch and Ettie Newlands
At Carolina Seafood and Steak, you don’t have to choose.
“We give you both: land and sea,” says restaurant owner Tevos Zatikyan.
The Myrtle Beach eatery, located along Restaurant Row, specializes in surf and turf combination plates, serving up fresh seafood and USDA choice, hand-cut steaks.
“Sometimes you go into a restaurant and you don’t know what to choose,” Tevos says. “We make it easy for you.”
Carolina Seafood and Steak just rolled out a new menu this past February, with dishes created by executive chef Charif Arabe.
“We are proud of what we’re serving,” Tevos says.
Charif has helped simplify the menu, focusing on creating a strong identity for the restaurant while continuing to provide the highest quality meals. The chef is working with local vendors including Lee’s Farms and Benjamin’s Bakery to bring fresh ingredients to the table each day.
Fresh seafood comes from local fishermen out of Charleston and McClellanville.
Charif plans to change the menu seasonally and offer a modern twist on from-scratch favorites. He will feature daily specials, including a pasta dish of the day, and a seafood catch of the day for customers to try something a little out of the ordinary.
The new menu will also showcase the restaurant’s brick oven, with delicious flatbreads as a popular option. Other features will include a sauté station and a ‘from the grill section.’ Charif also aims to provide more vegetarian and vegan options for customers.
“We want to accommodate our customers’ needs,” the chef says. “We can create things on the spot and offer substitutions.”
Charif has been cooking for eighteen years and has won awards locally and nationally, including second place in the 2018 South Carolina Seafood Challenge, and Judge’s Choice at Souper Supper in 2017 and 2018.
He is originally from Morocco and has worked in restaurants in France and the United States. He says his multicultural culinary background helps him to enhance flavors.
“I like to let the ingredients shine,” he says.
Charif enjoys staying up-to-date with new trends in food and loves to step outside of the box in the kitchen.
“I love to show creativity in food,” he says.
Tevos has operated several restaurants on the Grand Strand including City Pizza, and, at the same location as Carolina Seafood and Steak, Italian La Festa. Back home in Armenia, he owned an Italian restaurant.
Tevos, who’s lived in the United states since 2006, is married, and he and his wife, Aksana, have three children.
“I came to this country and opened restaurants because it is what I know and what I like,” he explains.
Tevos played professional volleyball for many years, and he brings the importance of teamwork to his work in the restaurant.
“I lead my staff to create a mentality where we work together,” he says. “We cannot go forward without it. I am a team player. We help each other and have fun.”
When you eat at his restaurant, Tevos and his crew aim to provide quality customer service.
“We want to give our guests the service we like to get when we go to a restaurant,” he says. “I put my heart and soul into my restaurant every day.”
Carolina Seafood and Steak is a member of the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce, and Tevos is actively working with the community to be a vital asset to the Grand Strand Area.
Ingredients don’t get any fresher than the ones used at Carolina Seafood and Steak because many of them are picked right from the restaurant’s garden. Tevos grows cabbage, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, broccoli and watermelon as well as herbs like basil, thyme, dill, oregano and rosemary. The restaurant’s early bird menu is a favorite among visitors and locals alike. Happy hour specials are also offered in the bar. The restaurant currently serves lunch and dinner.
Located in close proximity to several golf courses, the restaurant is a favorite spot for golfers before or after a round of golf. The restaurant also is a great spot for date night.
The 14,000 square foot historic building includes the main dining room, a sunny garden room with a glass roof, the bar, the wooden room with natural wood walls, and the Carolina Lounge and Bar, which is open from 5-9pm nightly. The lounge includes a dance floor and can be reserved, equipment and DJ included, for private parties. The restaurant regularly features live entertainment with a variety of musical genres represented.
The building that houses Carolina Seafood and Steak was built in 1969, and contains many beautiful remnants salvaged from the former Ocean Forest Hotel— Myrtle Beach’s first hotel.
The magnificent wooden arches, built in 1927 and now dividing the restaurant’s rooms, and the actual bar, were originally part of the historic hotel. The stunning stained glass on the ceiling in the bar and the glass behind the bar were salvaged from a church in Spain.
“The restaurant is kind of a golden location,” Charif says.
The restaurant’s large kitchen makes it possible for Carolina Seafood and Steak to host large parties, wedding receptions and other gatherings. The restaurant can provide à la carte meals or buffet-style dining for your event.
Carolina Seafood and Steak
9911 N. Kings Hwy., Myrtle Beach, SC 29572
843-945-9288
Facebook @ Carolina Seafood and Steak
Call or visit Facebook for information about their entertainment schedule.
