Story &amp; Photos by Becky Billingsley
East Grill &amp; Pub at Wachesaw Plantation East Golf Club in Murrells Inlet opened in Spring 2014, and the restaurant has an extremely appealing Cuban theme.
The tropical influence is evident in the ambiance, décor and menu. Inside, tables are spaced far enough apart to allow for relaxed dining and conversations. Chairs are upholstered in soft brown and light blue fabric, and the blue is continued in the wall color. Recessed lights provided a pleasant muted glow, and the well-stocked bar has a cigar humidor and several beers on tap, including Sam Adams seasonal and Guinness. Autographed golf memorabilia will spark memories and conversations.
Outside, those cigars and beverages can be enjoyed on a roomy and beautifully landscaped patio with a covered bar, fountain, plants and flowers, palmettos and plenty of seating that includes rocking chairs facing the golf course.
The menu is all about Coastal Cuban Cuisine, and an explanation is given why Wachesaw East chose to have a Cuban theme in its food choices.
“In 1962,” the menu says, “shortly after the Cuban Missile Crisis, Fidel Castro and fellow revolutionary Che Guevara played a round of golf at Varadero Golf Club. Guevara, who had been a caddy in his native Argentina, beat Castro. The following day, Castro, a famously sore loser, had the journalist who wrote of his defeat fired and proceeded to convert Cuba’s other golf courses into schools and military bases. Due to Castro’s lack of sportsmanship, and his disdain for what he viewed to be a bourgeois sport, no new golf courses were built in Cuba for fifty years.”
No such restrictions exist in the Grand Strand area, and that freedom is celebrated at East Grill &amp; Pub with appetizers like Havana hot crab dip, black bean salsa with chips, chorizo sausage and beef sliders with guava barbecue sauce, and Cuban wings.
The tasty theme continues with a Cuban Cobb salad topped with slow-roasted pork and crumbled queso fresco; The Hemingway sandwich with roast beef, Cheddar, fried onions and horseradish sauce; a trio of tacos where corn tortillas are filled with pork or grilled mahi-mahi; and the Bay of Pigs, which is a burger topped with apple wood smoked bacon, Cheddar and Cuban mojo sauce.
The pub’s signature sandwich is a classic Cuban that contains tender pulled pork, ham, Swiss cheese, dill pickles sliced lengthwise and mustard contained in pressed Cuban-style bread that’s delectably crispy. I had the half-sandwich, and the portion was in two large pieces. A whole one could easily feed four people.
Those who enjoy cigars can order the “Cuban and a Cigar” special, which is half a Cuban sandwich and a premium cigar for $16.
East Grill &amp; Pub is open daily from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and grab-and-go choices include packaged pastries and sandwiches, chips, pretzels, crackers, nuts, candy bars, cookies, granola bars, fresh fruits, coffee, juices, energy drinks and more.
Wachesaw Plantation East is at 911 Riverwood Dr. in Murrells Inlet, and the phone number is (843) 357-5252.

Wachesaw Plantation East Golf Club Serves Cuban Flair

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Wachesaw Plantation East

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