Lowcountry Cafe / Yesterday's / Thai Lotus, 612 Saint Andrews Road Suite 7: April 2013 14 comments
Somehow I've never gotten around to trying Thai food, though I think I might like it. Thai Lotus on at the top of the hill on Saint Andrews Road is no longer an option for that though. The online reviews look mixed, but the place lasted for a good while. In fact, if you look through the foyer window, you can see *two* payphones, which tells you something about the vintage. Most places ripped them out a good while ago, leaving either odd little alcoves near the bathrooms or bereft cables on the wall..
I quite like the picnic terrace on the left side of the building. It has a nice tree growing up through it, and overlooks the activity farther down the hill.
(Hat tip to commenter Nobody.)
UPDATE 22 April 2013: Added Lowcountry Cafe and Yesterday's to the post title based on the comments and the 1985 phonebook (Yesterday's).
UPDATE 28 January 2020 -- Now Steve's Classic Burgers:
14 Responses to 'Lowcountry Cafe / Yesterday's / Thai Lotus, 612 Saint Andrews Road Suite 7: April 2013'
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Nobody
22 Apr 13 at 12:52 am
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Thai Lotus was never anything impressive. They had a lunch buffet that really had more in the way of Chinese food than Thai. And their Thai food was overpriced and unimpressive.
For good Thai food, the Thailand restaurant on St. Andrews (near CiCi's) is an option, but for incredible Thai food, you must go to Golden Chopstix in Cayce. Holy man it's good. I've never been to Bangkok that Nobody mentions, but I'll surely try it now.
As an aside, I suspect one day soon the Thailand restaurant I mention will be on this website. It's good but never full of people.
Mike
22 Apr 13 at 5:10 am
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In the late 1980s, this was a "Yesterday's." Then, for several years in the early 1990s, it was the Lowcountry Cafe.
badger
22 Apr 13 at 6:04 am
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My wife and I ate here probably once every other month for the five years or so we lived off of Jamil. I never really liked it mainly because the service was really, really slow and never waited to set aside two hours for dinner. That said, my wife is Vietnamese and she really liked it, especially the Pad Thai if I remember correctly.
Justin
22 Apr 13 at 7:11 am
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I remember Lowcountry Cafe. Always enjoyed eating there. I will HIGHLY recommend Bangkok!! Trouble is for us, I almost have to pack a lunch in order to get there. Takes about an hour. However, if we're ever coming back on 378, I'll stop. I don't think they're open on Sunday, though. Their Pad Thai is unreal.
We used to eat at the place on St. Andrews. They had a "C". This was 10 years ago. It could happen to anyone. That originated as a Golden Skillet. Will try St. Andrews again. They had a good buffet.
jonathan
22 Apr 13 at 12:34 pm
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I ate a Thai Lotus once and was not highly impressed. It seemed that they tried to have a 'sampling' of all Asian cuisines on the menu and none of them were done exactly right. The other comments made about slow service are so true. I ate there with a friend and there were only a handful of people in the restaurant with us at the time. Service was molasses slow. I took a good two hours from the time we were seated until the time we received the tab.
Homer
22 Apr 13 at 10:30 pm
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Badger is close in their recollection. Let me fill in some gaps.
This shopping complex was built in 1985 (which explains the payphones--they've always been there) on the site of what was a Dairy Queen. Yesterdays (in this location) was the original tenant here. One of the owners, Scott Macrae, was our next door neighbor in the mid-1980s, and gave me my first job. I started bussing tables at Yesterdays in June of 1986, and worked their continuously until 1990. In the early, glory, days, we had a line out the door on Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday mornings after church. For a long time Yesterdays was the place to go eat in Saint Andrews.
Business petered off around late 1989, which is when I learned just how fickle Columbia residents are--the hot new thing is quickly forgotten once some other hot new thing (restaurants, stores, clubs, what have you) opens. I recall Yesterdays closing here around 1994, but by the time it did I was living elsewhere in town and not following it as closely. I had some great times in that building, and made a lot of money for a high school/college student. Like all good things, it had to change sooner or later.
59 Ford Wheelman
23 Apr 13 at 6:14 am
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Is the Yesterday's mentioned in this post, the same Yesterday's that is now in Five Points on Harden Street (corner of Harden and Devine - across from Harper's)?
James
24 Apr 13 at 5:24 pm
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Same owners. There was also a Yesterdays briefly on Two Notch.
badger
24 Apr 13 at 7:28 pm
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That would be here.
ted
25 Apr 13 at 12:54 am
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I only ate at Thai Lotus once. My wife and I went there for lunch one afternoon. For the reputation the place seemed to have, i thought the interior was a little shabby. The waitress was dressed in what i assumed was some sort of culturally relevant garb, and giggled anytime i said anything. Not real giggling, but like practiced insincere giggling. It was cute the first couple of times, but by the end of my meal it was just annoying, and slightly uncomfortable given that my wife was right there too.
The food was pretty good though. I dont remember what i got, but it was a beef and pepper dish with cashews on it. Pretty tasty.
Also, i remember this location being some sort of pirate themed chinese buffet for awhile. Maybe The Pirateship or something.
IrmoJeff
27 Apr 13 at 1:20 pm
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The busboys and the hostesseseses were the awesomest thing about this juke joint. God knows the wait staff was a royal mess, that which we hired. Me n Dunca McDiDiDiDiego & his cute parrot tried real hard to get the staff to love our customers. We sure had the personality to make it work, so its not our fault, you know? Okay times... r we still having fun yet?
John Fastest
4 Sep 14 at 10:10 pm
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I worked at Schianno's (Front of the shopping center) in and around the same time Yesterdays' was there. Jim LeBlanc would play acoustic in the bar area. One of the biggest wodden bars (Like a cowboy saloon) I have ever seen. They also had a closed box phone booth in the bar area. I used to get some kick ass loaded nachos with a pitcher of beer cheap. I like the side enterance to the bar.
Doug
12 Nov 14 at 4:47 pm
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I remember Schiano's having a spot at Columbiana Station when it first opened in 1998/99 but it was gone by 2005ish. Their former space is now occupied by Firehouse Subs...the location Doug references predates the one I'm able to remember...I know something is being built on the site of hte former Edwin Watts Golf making me ponder if Schiano's will occupy it (but haven't heard any details)...
If anyone wants Schiano's they'd have to venture over to Forest Drive (across from Trenholm Plaza) or North Pointe at Two Notch & Sparkleberry...
Andrew
12 Nov 14 at 8:34 pm
I finally tried it a few years back because everyone kept telling me it was great. But when I got around to it, they were committing the greatest sin a restaurant can, inconsistency. Sometimes the food was great, other times terrible. And for what they charged, it always needed to be great. If you want to try Thai food, go to Bangkok on Garner's Ferry. No BS frills or presentation that they charge extra for, like the others in town. Just good food at a fair price.