New Charleston restaurant dishes Instagrammable desserts, dumplings and more

CHARLESTON — An avalanche of shaved ice is tinted orange from a sweetened syrup drizzled down its soft sides. A cloud of whipped cream floats on top, with juicy chunks of fresh mango wedged into the soft peaks.

When patrons order the mango float kakigori at Bareo, a new restaurant on Spring Street, the phone will likely eat first, for this dessert is about as Instagrammable as it gets.

But those who visit the downtown destination will quickly find out that, for all the whimsy behind the offering, the food and beverage programs are driven by technique and tradition. 

At the heart of the operation is an elusive element that diners are increasingly seeking out in restaurants: Fun. 

Bareo opened Feb. 13 at 73 Spring St. It’s led by Nikko Cagalanan and Paula Kramer, who operated Kultura at this address before moving the lauded Filipino restaurant to 267 Rutledge Ave. last fall. 

The reimagined space on Spring Street has been wrapped in black-and-white wallpaper and a matcha green floor. Decor nods to the pint-sized bars and streetside eateries in Shinjuku, a bustling neighborhood of Tokyo.

Chic Shoji screen-style ceiling panels with spider lighting are positioned diagonally above the patio door, giving depth to the small former bakeshop. A mounted glowing red Bakinawa, Japanese comics and hand-drawn elements, completed by Agatha Strompolos of Denver-based Agatha Jane Interior Design, add to the modern, playful aesthetic. 

When it comes to the food, Bareo specializes in hand-rolled dumplings and kakigori, a Japanese shaved ice dessert that made its way to the Philippines in the 1940s during Japan’s occupation of the island country, where Cagalanan was born and raised. Bareo serves four types, from the mango creation highlighted above to another made with coconut and pandan, a glossy tropical plant commonly used in Southeast Asian cooking. 

If you find yourself drawn more to savory than to sweet, there is no shortage of options. Pick up a miniature pencil and mark down your selections on a slim sheet of white paper, as you would at a sushi restaurant. 

Raw fish comes in the form of hand rolls and onigiri, a triangular rice snack that, at Bareo, is stuffed with everything from tuna and yuzu to crab and mango. Each order is served with a few rectangles of nori so that guests can create their own little sushi rolls.

For larger plates, patrons will find a dumpling-filled egg noodle soup and a bento box featuring miso salmon, braised pork, potato salad, house-made pickles, miso-sinagang soup and a boiled egg. 

Bareo’s beverage program features miniature pots of tea, beer and sake, with nearly a dozen bottles of the rice wine on the menu. Guests can also order one of five refreshing mocktails, from the coconut and peppermint Matcha Grasshopper to the citrusy Coconut Calpico. Each can be transformed into cocktails with the addition of sake or Cocchi Americano, an aperitif wine produced in Italy’s Piedmont region. 

Bareo is open from noon-10 p.m. daily. For more information, follow the restaurant on Instagram @bareocharleston.