This chef’s first restaurant with an international flair has opened on Restaurant Row
Opening his first restaurant in the Restaurant Row area of Myrtle Beach, Andrew Bookout wanted to separate himself from the many surrounding eateries.
He believes he’s done that with a menu that is influenced by his business partner, Stella Ivanova, a native of Bulgaria who has lived on the Grand Strand for three years.
The cuisine at Kingston Bistro, which opened on Dec. 10, is American style with a Bulgarian flair, as Bookout and Ivanova are combining their heritages in the food.
“It’s more American with a hint of Bulgarian,” Bookout said. “I try to do a Bulgarian flair on just about every item we sell. We kind of took my signature dishes that I do, and with her being Bulgarian I gave it that Bulgarian flair to it.”
Bookout is a native of Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., and was recently the chef and food & beverage director at Avista Resort in North Myrtle Beach, where Ivanova was a manager and banquet director.
“We decided we wanted to open a restaurant and go out on our own,” Bookout said.
The Kingston Bistro menu
Kingston Bistro, which serves lunch and dinner, doesn’t have a freezer. “Everything on our menu is made from scratch,” Bookout said.
Bookout believes lunch favorites will include a bruschetta burger, fish and chips featuring haddock, salmon caprese, and ribeye steak tips and potatoes with a horseradish cheese sauce.
Dinner entrees include a feta and spinach pork, beef short ribs with a red wine sauce, gyuvech, a Bulgarian-style beef stew topped with melted cheese and egg that is served in a clay pot, and a New York strip steak with a blueberry sauce.
“It’s something a little bit different than you typically see. You usually don’t see any fruit sauces with that type of steak, and it’s been selling very well,” Bookout said.
Seafood offerings include haddock, grouper and red snapper, as well as calamari and oysters on the half shell appetizers. Other starters include fried brie, fried green tomatoes and Bulgarian-style meatballs, and there are multiple salad and salad dressing options.
Lunch entrees range from $10-$16 and dinner entrees are between $14 and $33.
“The big thing, especially going on Restaurant Row, is trying to make ourselves stand out from everybody else down here,” Bookout said. “I think with the menu I’ve done that.”
Fulfilling a chef’s dream
Bookout, who celebrated his 30th birthday Thursday, said he has been in the hospitality and F&B industry since he was 13 and was previously the chef at Sea Trail Golf Resort and Conference Center in Sunset Beach, N.C., before moving to Avista.
“It’s always been a dream to open my own restaurant and my goal was to have one open before I was 40, so we did it before I was 30,” he said. Ivanova said she is living out the ambition of her father, a restaurant employee in Bulgaria who has wanted to own his own eatery.
They took over the building, which was most recently Vine Bistro, on July 7 and completely remodeled the interior. They hoped to open in September but were delayed by permitting processes and supply chain delays for equipment and building supplies.
Kingston Bistro has a full bar with about a dozen seats, signature cocktail menu, large wine selection and a Happy Hour from 4-7 p.m.
It has four televisions and will host live entertainment on occasion as well as special events such as an ugly sweater party from 4-9 p.m. Friday with a prime rib special and full menu available.
New Year’s Eve will feature a set four-course menu and live music from 7-10 p.m. Reservations can be made by calling 843-808-9607.
Locals and hospitality workers receive a 15-percent discount off everything but alcohol and Happy Hour prices, for both dine-in and takeout.
The restaurant serves lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and dinner from 4-9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and those hours will likely expand as the summer approaches. It is closed Sundays.
This story was originally published December 27, 2021 at 9:00 AM.
