New restaurant with Congaree River view opens this week

A new West Columbia restaurant opens Tuesday touting views of the downtown Columbia skyline.

The Black Rooster will open its doors at 5 p.m., the restaurant announced on social media. The “Frenchish” restaurant boasts a rooftop bar at 201 Meeting St. facing the Gervais Street bridge and taking in most of the capital city’s iconic skyscrapers.

The restaurant is still developing its menu, and hosted an invitation-only “soft opening/training run” this weekend. The restaurant is part of the Brookland development that also includes apartments overlooking the Congaree riverwalk.

Columbia chef and restaurateur Kristian Niemi previously told The State that the Black Rooster is inspired by French brasseries and bistros, and previously held a pop up dinner at 701 Whaley. Niemi also owns the Bourbon whiskey bar and Cajun-Creole restaurant at 1214 N. Main St.

This story was originally published August 5, 2019 at 3:04 PM.

Bristow Marchant

The State

803-771-8405

Bristow Marchant covers local government, schools and community in Lexington County for The State. He graduated from the College of Charleston in 2007. He has almost 20 years of experience covering South Carolina at the Clinton Chronicle, Sumter Item and Rock Hill Herald. He joined The State in 2016. Bristow has won numerous awards, most recently the S.C. Press Association’s 2024 education reporting award.  Support my work with a digital subscription