🏙️ Where to Eat · Charleston, SC Restaurants
Restaurants in Charleston, SC
56 real, currently-open restaurants across every category — fine dining, seafood, Lowcountry classics, bars, and neighborhood favorites — so you can plan around what you actually want to eat instead of scrolling a generic list.
🏆 James Beard & Michelin-Recognized
✅ Verified Open
Affiliate Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you book through these links, at no additional cost to you. Our rankings are based on independent traffic data, market share, and editorial testing — never commission rates.
🐟 Waterfront
🦀 Seafood
🌚 Lowcountry
🍸 Bars
🍔 Casual
🥞 Breakfast
🍕 Pizza
🌐 International
🤐 Bakeries
🏖️ Islands
Tips
FAQ
Charleston’s dining scene punches well above its size, with more James Beard Award winners and nominees per capita than almost any American city — FIG and Husk anchor the fine-dining end, oyster bars and seafood houses cluster around the peninsula and Shem Creek, and neighborhood spots on Upper King and in Cannonborough-Elliottborough handle everyday eating. We checked each restaurant directly against its own official site and current status rather than a generic aggregator list, and left off several well-known names that have closed in recent years.
Award-Winning Kitchens
FIG
New American restaurant from James Beard Award-winning chef Mike Lata, focused on seasonal Lowcountry ingredients.
Husk
Modern Southern cuisine restaurant, part of the Neighborhood Dining Group, Michelin-selected.
Chubby Fish
Chef-driven seafood restaurant with Lowcountry ingredients and global influences, James Beard-nominated.
Wild Common
Fine-dining restaurant featuring live-fire cooking and a globally influenced tasting menu.
The Restaurant at Zero George
Fine-dining restaurant inside the Zero George boutique hotel, serving contemporary American cuisine.
Peninsula Grill
Four-diamond New American fine-dining restaurant at the Planters Inn, known for its coconut cake.
Harbor & Creek Views
Fleet Landing
Seafood restaurant and raw bar built on a former Navy pier overlooking Charleston Harbor.
The Wreck of the Richard & Charlene
Casual dockside seafood restaurant on Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant.
Red’s Ice House
Waterfront seafood restaurant and bar on Shem Creek.
Bowens Island Restaurant
Rustic marsh-front seafood restaurant on James Island, a James Beard America’s Classics winner.
Oyster Bars & Raw Bars
The Ordinary
Seafood hall and oyster bar in a former bank building on Upper King Street.
Leon’s Oyster Shop
Fried chicken and oyster restaurant in a converted auto-body garage.
Amen Street Fish & Raw Bar
Seafood and raw bar restaurant on East Bay Street.
The Darling Oyster Bar
Seafood restaurant and oyster bar on Upper King Street.
Hyman’s Seafood
Long-running seafood restaurant in the historic French Quarter district.
Charleston Classics
Poogan’s Porch
Southern restaurant in a converted Victorian house on Queen Street.
Slightly North of Broad (SNOB)
New American/Lowcountry restaurant known for its open kitchen.
Magnolias
Upscale Southern restaurant on East Bay Street, a longtime Charleston dining institution.
82 Queen
Southern restaurant in the French Quarter known for she-crab soup and a courtyard patio.
Lewis Barbecue
Texas-style whole-hog and brisket barbecue restaurant.
Circa 1886
Fine-dining Lowcountry restaurant in the carriage house of the Wentworth Mansion.
Bertha’s Kitchen
Longtime soul-food diner in North Charleston, a James Beard America’s Classics winner.
Craft Cocktails & Historic Pubs
The Gin Joint
Prohibition-era-styled craft cocktail bar in the French Quarter.
Prohibition
Restaurant and speakeasy-style cocktail bar with live jazz on King Street.
Blind Tiger Pub
Historic pub in a converted 18th-century building on Broad Street.
Everyday Charleston Eating
Xiao Bao Biscuit
Asian-fusion restaurant in a converted gas station in Cannonborough-Elliottborough.
Little Jack’s Tavern
American tavern known for smashburgers and craft cocktails on Upper King.
Home Team BBQ
Barbecue restaurant and bar with multiple Charleston-area locations.
Tattooed Moose
Casual sandwich and burger spot in the Park Circle neighborhood.
Biscuits & Diners
Toast! All Day
Breakfast, brunch, and lunch restaurant with multiple locations.
Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit
Biscuit shop and breakfast counter, Charleston-founded.
Early Bird Diner
Classic Southern diner in West Ashley, featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
Wood-Fired & Neapolitan
Renzo
Wood-fired pizza restaurant and natural-wine bar in the NoMo (North Morrison) neighborhood.
French, Italian & Spanish
Malagón Mercado y Tapería
Spanish tapas restaurant and market.
Indaco
Regional Italian restaurant from The Indigo Road Hospitality Group.
Pastries, Coffee & Gourmet Markets
Sugar Bakeshop
Small-batch bakery known for cupcakes and cookies in Cannonborough-Elliottborough.
WildFlour Pastry
Bakery and cafe known for cinnamon rolls, with a West Ashley location.
Caviar & Bananas
Gourmet market and cafe with multiple Charleston locations.
Ted’s Butcherblock
Butcher shop, wine market, and cafe on East Bay Street.
Mercantile & Mash
Gourmet foods emporium and cafe on East Bay Street.
Outside-Downtown Favorites
Poe’s Tavern
Casual American tavern and burger spot on Sullivan’s Island, Edgar Allan Poe-themed.
The Obstinate Daughter
Eclectic Southern-Italian restaurant on Sullivan’s Island, Michelin-recognized.
Gilligan’s Seafood Restaurant
Casual seafood restaurant chain with a Johns Island location.
Beardcat’s Sweet Shop
Ice cream and dessert shop on Sullivan’s Island.
Dining Tips for This Area
- Book fine dining well ahead. FIG, Husk, and Chubby Fish routinely book out weeks in advance, especially for weekend dinners during Spoleto season.
- Upper King Street is the newer food corridor. Renzo, The Ordinary, The Darling Oyster Bar, and Proof cluster there, distinct from the Market Street/French Quarter tourist strip.
- Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant is worth the short drive. The Wreck and Red’s Ice House are casual, dockside, and a different vibe from downtown.
- Charleston’s dining scene changes fast. Several long-running favorites have closed in recent years — every restaurant above was checked for current open status, but call ahead to confirm before a special trip.
What is Lowcountry cuisine?
Lowcountry cuisine is the coastal South Carolina/Georgia culinary tradition built around rice, seafood, and Southern staples — she-crab soup, shrimp and grits, and Frogmore stew are classic examples, and it draws heavily on West African, French Huguenot, and English influences.
Where should I eat if I want a classic Charleston restaurant, not a trendy new one?
Magnolias, 82 Queen, and Poogan’s Porch have been Charleston institutions for decades and are still open, alongside newer James Beard-recognized spots like FIG and Husk.
What happened to McCrady’s, Hominy Grill, and Butcher & Bee?
All three have closed. McCrady’s closed in 2020, Hominy Grill closed in 2019, and Butcher & Bee’s Charleston location closed with the brand now operating only in Nashville — we’ve left them off this guide since they’re no longer open.
How does NME choose which restaurants to feature?
We verify each restaurant directly against its own official site and current open status rather than relying on aggregator lists, and we exclude anything we can’t confirm is still open. Read more on our methodology page.
Know a Restaurant We Missed?
If you know a great restaurant in the Charleston area we’re missing, email us and we’ll take a look.
Heading to Charleston?
See the full trip guide — where to stay and things to do, organized the same way, by category.
