BearWalrus in Rock Hill

Brisket and Oysters Share the Same Table

“Those are literally my two favorite food groups,” owner Phillip Spencer told Emily Havener of The Local Palate.

He meant oysters and Texas-style barbecue. Spencer told Blake Alsup of The Post and Courier that he had been cooking Texas-style barbecue for about a decade, while family photos had him eating raw oysters at around three years old.

BearWalrus brings those two longtime interests together in Rock Hill without treating either one like a side act. You can come for sliced brisket and ribs while somebody across the table works through a plate of oysters, and neither order feels out of place.

Phillip Spencer Brings Years of Experience Home

Spencer is a native of Smyrna in rural York County and had spent nearly three decades in the restaurant business by the time BearWalrus came together. His career took him through restaurants from Charleston to Orlando to New York City before bringing him back home.

He also opened LongBottom Meats, a Rock Hill butcher shop that remains connected to the restaurant. LongBottom Meats sausage appears right on the BearWalrus menu, and local diners got early tastes of Spencer’s cooking through the butcher shop and pop-up events.

“We’re trying to do something that’s a little different,” Spencer told Alsup. “I think the people of Rock Hill are ready for it.”

Texas-Style Barbecue Fired With South Carolina Oak

Spencer’s barbecue has a Texas foundation, but the firewood is local. Havener reports that BearWalrus smokes brisket, wings, and other meats on a Texas-built smoker using South Carolina white oak.

USDA Prime brisket leads the regular barbecue lineup and can be ordered chopped or sliced. Pulled pork, turkey breast, chicken, and spare ribs cover plenty of familiar ground, while Chatel Farms Wagyu beef cheek, smoked and finished in tallow, gives the menu a less-common option.

Two- and three-meat plates make it easy to sample across the board. Specials have also included beef ribs, pastrami, wings, and smoked prime rib when they are in the rotation.

BearWalrus Menu Goes Beyond Barbecue Plates

Both lunch and dinner feature a dedicated BBQ section, so anybody coming specifically for smoked meat can keep things simple with brisket, pork, ribs, turkey, chicken, or a combination plate.

Lunch gets a little more playful. Chopped brisket comes with pickles and onions, while the Fully Dressed Pork adds mustard sauce, slaw, and an onion ring. Smoked turkey becomes a Hot Brown with cheese, bacon, and tomatoes.

Then there’s the smoked bologna sandwich with BBQ mustard, pickles, mayo, Fritos, and American cheese.

Smoke turns up elsewhere, too. Cheshire Farms pork belly burnt ends get a sweet-tea glaze, brisket lands in poutine and chili, and LongBottom Meats sausage comes with pimento cheese, pickles, and crackers.

Dinner adds dishes such as smoked fried chicken and a smoked pork chop finished over the wood grill. Even the bar gets involved with a Brisket Old Fashioned made with smoked-brisket-fat-washed bourbon.

BearWalrus has also served a four-sauce flight featuring Carolina Gold mustard, Alabama white, a vinegar-based sauce, and a tomato-based barbecue sauce. Heidi Finley of CharlotteFive specifically praised the smoked turkey paired with the restaurant’s South Carolina-style mustard and Alabama white sauces.

The sides stay close to barbecue territory: mac and cheese, collard greens, potato salad, slaw, baked beans, Frito pie, tallow fries, tallow chips, and onion rings.

Spencer summed up the kitchen’s approach with a line that sounds very much like BearWalrus: “We’re going to make everything we can in-house, with the exception of mayonnaise because Duke’s does a pretty good job with that.”

Oysters Get Equal Billing

The oyster side of BearWalrus is every bit as intentional as the brisket.

Raw oysters are one of the restaurant’s calling cards, joined by chargrilled and fried preparations. Menus have also featured oyster stew, fried oyster salad, shrimp and grits, crab cake, lobster roll, and fresh fish.

That makes BearWalrus an easy choice when everyone at the table isn’t after the same thing. One person can settle into brisket, ribs, and collards while somebody else heads straight for the shellfish.

It isn’t a seafood section added simply to broaden the menu. Oysters are half of the idea Spencer had in mind from the start.

Rock Hill History Is Part of the Room

BearWalrus occupies a historic building next to the former Rock Hill Printing and Finishing Company, an area with a personal connection for Spencer. His grandparents worked nearby.

“Right where they worked is where I work now,” Spencer told Havener.

The restaurant kept much of that history in place. Original brick remains, while wood from the building was reused for the long community table, bars, and liquor shelves. Old church pews line parts of the room, and handwritten recipes from Spencer’s grandmother hang on the walls.

A neon “Smoke ’em if you got ’em” sign fits the mood. The room is polished, but it doesn’t take itself too seriously.

BearWalrus says it “strives to purchase locally and ethically,” and Havener reported that the kitchen works with products from roughly 40 local farms.

The menu names producers where it makes sense, including Chatel Farms for the Wagyu beef cheek and Cheshire Farms for the pork belly, while Spencer’s own LongBottom Meats supplies the sausage bearing its name.

Community Built Around the Table

“I want this to be a community spot that people can come in, they can let go for a minute and have a really good time,” Spencer told The Post and Courier.

That community idea shows up in the long communal table. So does a menu where Prime brisket, raw oysters, Frito pie, and cocktails all live comfortably under the same roof.

BearWalrus feels less like a mashup than a restaurant built around the foods Spencer actually wants to eat. For barbecue fans, there is plenty to make a meal of: brisket, ribs, pulled pork, turkey, chicken, beef cheek, familiar sides, and several styles of sauce.

The oysters just mean everybody at the table doesn’t have to agree on barbecue.

What Folks Are Saying

Google Review

Among the many Google Reviews, Local Guide Robert Williams is a regular at BearWalrus:

Hands down, the best restaurant in Rock Hill! Everyone that works there that we have met are attentive, friendly, and just wonderful to be around. We have visited every week since they have opened, enjoying the daily specials as well as many menu items, with everything being absolutely delicious.

The prices are reasonable for the high quality of food received and generous portion sizes. Toni, Corbin, Mike, Jake, Tiffany, Matt, Carly, and Philip are amazing and make every trip in enjoyable. We love this restaurant!

Yelp Review

Over on Yelp, Shannon P and his wife shared their experience at BearWalrus:

This place is amazing...wife and I tried several of the appetizers and loved them all...Hushpuppies, San dip and shrimp cocktail were wonderful. Their turkey, brisket, and pulled pork was amazing and the sides-fries, mac and cheese were on point. We loved it so much we made reservations for a large party dinner here after our son's graduation in May.

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Note: Menu prices and options are subject to change over time. Contact the restaurant for the most up-to-date information.

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