King Street
167 Raw
Twelve seats, no reservations, and a Maine-meets-Charleston raw bar that locals will queue half an hour for. Lobster roll, tuna poke, and oysters from yesterday morning's tide.
Twelve seats, no reservations, and a Maine-meets-Charleston raw bar that locals will queue half an hour for. Lobster roll, tuna poke, and oysters from yesterday morning's tide.
A French bistro on the lower end of Upper King — escargot, steak frites, a bar that's always busy. The kind of place locals send out-of-towners who say they want 'somewhere Charleston' and don't quite know…
A North Charleston institution and a James Beard America's Classic. Smothered pork chops, lima beans, and rice that tastes like four generations of practice. Lunch only, cash king.
A weather-beaten oyster shack out past Folly. Wood tables, paper bags of oysters, fried shrimp by the dozen, and a view of the marsh at sunset that no white-tablecloth room can buy. The drive is the…
Italian desserts on East Bay — tiramisu, cannoli, gelato, and an espresso program that takes itself seriously. The patio out back is one of the easier early-evening hangs downtown.
A tiny converted Cannonborough house with twenty seats and a daily-changing menu of five things — two starters, two mains, one dessert. French, ingredient-driven, and the most quietly excellent room in Charleston for a date.
Hand-painted bonbons, sea-salt caramels, and the kind of chocolate-truffle program that quietly makes its way into Charleston's best gift baskets. The shop on Society is the original. Worth the walk over.
A French Quarter cocktail bar that pairs serious drinks with serious oysters. The room is small, the music is good, and the drink-and-dozen-on-the-half-shell move is one of the best ones in the city.
A brewery, brewpub, and full-on restaurant under one roof, with a beer program serious enough that locals book the brewery tour alone. Burgers, wings, brisket, and a back patio that gets better as the day goes…
Mike Lata's neighborhood standard-bearer for two decades. Seasonal, ingredient-driven, and the kind of place where the fish stew alone justifies the booking.
Family-owned, white-tablecloth, and the warmest greeting in the city — the Halls family genuinely meets every guest at the door. The wagyu is famous; the Sunday gospel brunch is legendary.
A 1920s-era warehouse turned the kind of fish house that feels like it's been there forever. She-crab soup, seafood platters, and a bar where the regulars know your name by the second visit.
Explore the Menu & Make a Reservation “Equal parts neighborhood gathering place for locals and bucket list dining destination for travelers, Husk is as elegant and welcoming as the city it calls home, where life moves…
A late-night dessert bar — towering layer cakes, pies, espresso drinks, and dessert cocktails. The 11pm coconut cake-and-a-Manhattan move is a Charleston rite of passage. Open after most of the city has closed.
A converted body shop turned the kind of place you want to spend a Tuesday afternoon. Char-grilled oysters, fried chicken, frozè, and a backyard that hums until last call.
The grandfather of contemporary southern cooking. Shellfish over grits, fried green tomatoes, and the dining room locals book when they need to impress out-of-towners.
An 1888 Victorian house turned beloved brunch spot. The biscuits are the size of your fist. Allegedly haunted by Zoe St. Amand. We say: stay for a second mimosa and decide for yourself.
A serious cocktail room on King Street. Small, candle-lit, and the kind of bar where the bartenders ask you what you're in the mood for and mean it. The seasonal menu is the move; ask for…
A five-course prix-fixe in a tiny twelve-seat room. Chef cooks in front of you. Menu changes nightly based on what came in. No two visits are the same. Book three weeks ahead and bring your appetite.
A pastry case to lose an hour in. Croissants the size of softballs, scones, danishes, a daily quiche, and coffee good enough that locals come in just for that. The window seat is the seat to…
The standard-bearer for upscale Lowcountry cooking since 1993. Open kitchen, big-windowed dining room, and a menu that's been quietly perfecting one or two dishes a decade. Order the shrimp & grits and the Maverick grits.
A tiny Cannonborough bakeshop with cupcakes locals make pilgrimages for, lavender macarons, and a coconut cake that's been quietly winning hearts since 2007. Seasonal flavors, neighborhood feel, sit on the bench out front.
A two-floor cocktail temple — lounge downstairs, rooftop bar up top. Garden-driven drinks (the herbs are grown on premises), serious craft cocktails, and one of the better rooftop perches on King Street.
Sandwiches, coffee, the breakfast of running into your friends. Smoked-salmon toast, the daily quiche, the avocado-anything, and a courtyard that turns over twice in an hour. Neighborhood-grade.
A small, low-lit cocktail bar that takes its drinks more seriously than most. Hand-shaken, classics-leaning, the kind of place where you order an Old Fashioned and watch them make it. Twenty seats. No menu English major…
A Sullivan's Island temple to coastal Italian. Wood-fired pizzas, handmade pastas, and the kind of Sunday lunch that should be the last meal of a long weekend. Reserve, then walk the beach after.
Mike Lata's other masterpiece: a bank-turned-fish-house with marble columns and the freshest raw bar in town. Sit at the counter and let them feed you.
An all-day cafe on the corner of Hampton Park. Avocado toast and shakshuka in the morning, burgers and rosé in the afternoon, dinner under string lights at night. The kind of place neighborhood regulars build their…
On top of The Restoration hotel. Steeple views, a tight cocktail program, small bites that punch above their weight. The sunset move, and the move just after sunset when the light goes pink and the cocktails…
Champagne, vintage cocktails, and a room that feels like it was lifted out of a 1920s Paris hotel. Small plates if you're staying for dinner, but the bar is where you want to be.
Asian-inspired comfort cooking out of a former gas station. Char kway teow, dumplings, okonomiyaki — a menu that makes you reconsider what Charleston dining can be. A cult favorite that doesn't take itself too seriously.