Scoundrel was opened in October of 2022 by Greenville native Joe Cash.  He wanted to create a French bistro like he’d find in NYC or LA.  It’s a good-sized place that’s divided in half by curtains, with the bar and its seating on one side and a long bench seat facing small tables on the other side.  Opposite those tables are semi-circle booths with larger tables and padded seating.  Music was in the background and lights were lowered, supplemented by spots on some of the tables.  Wood floors, exposed ductwork above, and art featuring the ‘scoundrel’ cover the walls.  they have 2 unisex bathrooms and one is marked with a warning that it is not ‘family friendly’ due to the provocative photos on the wall.  I’m betting the notice was posted after several comments were posted about it on the trip advisor reviews.  The full bar offers lots of options but the wine list was mostly uninspired.  Noise was not a problem here maybe due to spacing or design but that was nice as was the excellent and friendly service.

Set-Up

 

Food

We started with a Tom Collins cocktail.  I remembered having those in my youth and haven’t revisited it.  I asked our server since I didn’t want to end up with a sweet drink and he offered to have it made on the tart side.  That worked nicely for me but it was still a much less potent drink than my usual martini.

 

Deviled Blue Crab was served on ice in a crab shell and included chilis, bay leaf and sweet cream with the picked crab.  It was a nice mix with just enough seasoning to highlight the crab and not overshadow it.  The cream was an interesting change from a mayo-based dressing.   I liked it but my husband would have preferred mayo.  It came with a plate of butter crackers that were coated with blackening seasoning.  While I didn’t like them with the crab, because they did overwhelm it, they were tasty on their own.  Flakey with lots of layers they were crisp with a bit of zing.

 

Steak Frites with sauce au Poivre was available with 3 different cuts of beef and came with duck fat fries.  We chose the 8-ounce filet mignon that came with a bourbon pepper sauce.   The beef was cooked just as ordered, rare with a warm center and came out with a lovely blackened pepper crust.  The sauce was on the side so you could add as desired.  It had a good beef flavor and was super tender but did need that rich sauce as tenderloin doesn’t have the fat to give it juiciness on its own.  The duck fat fries were a small cut and deliciously crispy and well salted.  They had a great flavor and made it a fabulous plate of food.

 

Desserts were an oral menu but we asked the server for a recommendation and he liked the chocolate cake, so we tried it.  It was a 4 layer, dense, moist cake with chocolate ganache icing and topped with a dollop of creme fraiche.  The cake was almost brownie-like in texture.  It apparently was the chef’s family recipe.  It was delicious and plenty to split for 2.   A wonderful end to an interesting meal.