Bareo provides a unique downtown lunch experience
For $32, you can feast on Filipino and Japanese cuisine.
This is Chit Chat from Cooter Soup — rundowns of new and old spots — what to expect, what to order, what to skip, and maybe even what to wear when you go. It’s opinionated, but don’t call it a review.
Bareo is the second restaurant from the group behind award-winning hangout Kultura. The new-ish spot on Spring Street combines chef Nikko Cagalanan’s Filipino heritage with Japanese street fare. The menu is a paper checklist that you hand back to the server.
The interiors at Bareo are funky with folding screens hung from the ceiling, colorful anime on the walls, and glowing neon signs. It feels very different from when the space was Kultura, though it maintains the same layout: a large chef’s counter, a few tables inside, and outdoor seating.
Bareo can serve as a laid-back lunch spot, a pre-game dinner before a night out on King Street, or a chance to try a cuisine not often seen in Charleston.