Charleston - South Carolina - City Guide - Find. Eat Drink.
Charleston, SC, South Carolina, Travel Guides, City Guides, Where to eat, where to drink, what to do, restaurants, recommendations, chefs, bakers, sommeliers, wines, bars, Cajun, Creole
GLASS ONION
Chef Sean Brock eats at the Glass Onion because “I can go in there with a baseball cap on and sit there and not worry about anything and eat beautiful ingredients, prepared by honest people. Just the simplest form of cooking.”
1219 Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC 29407, T: 843.225.1717
Trattoria Lucca
Simple fresh Italian food served in a casual, small room located in an emerging neighborhood. According to The Lee Bros. chef Ken Vedrinski is serving superb antipasti and house-made pastas, all made with local ingredients. They recommend eating here when you’ve had enough of Southern-fried and sweet tea. It’s also recommended by chef Mike Lata.
41-A Bogard Street, Charleston, SC 29403, T: 843.973.3323
FIG chef / owner Mike Lata may be a New Englander by birth, but he’s embraced Lowcountry cuisine like a native son. He describes his restaurant as part neighborhood cafe/part elegant bistro with an emphasis on seasonal and sustainable foods. Throw in a mix of straightforward Yankee technique with Southern charm and you can see why Charleston is proud to call him a local.
232 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC 29401, T: 843.805.5900
Charleston Downtown
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Bowens Island
Chef Mike Lata comes here for the fish and chef Sean Brock says “When you want somebody to feel the Lowcountry, you go to Bowens Island and you eat shovels and shovels full of roasted oysters.”
1870 Bowens Island Road, Charleston, SC 29412, T: 843.795.2757
Charleston Area
JANUARY
- Charleston Comedy Festival
- Charleston Boat Show
- Lowcountry Oyster Festival
FEBRUARY
- Southeastern Wildlife Exposition
MARCH
- Charleston Food & Wine Festival
- Garden Festival
- Festival of Houses & Gardens
- International Antiques Show
APRIL
- Flowertown Festival
- Festival of Houses & Gardens
- Annual House & Garden Tours
- World Grits Festival
MAY
- Charleston Greek Festival
- Spoleto Festival
JUNE
- Spoleto Festival
- Sweetgrass Festival
OCTOBER
- The Taste of Charleston
DECEMBER
- Annual Charleston Parade of Boats
Po Pigs Bo-B-Q
Per The Lee Bros. “It's attached to the only gas station on the main road (Hwy 174), which leads from the bridge to the beach. It's the highest quality Southern cafeteria in creation. They have all the classics on the line: pork barbecue, fried chicken, amazing veggie (but not vegetarian) dishes. If you need to walk it off, drive further on to the beach, park anywhere and pray that it's low tide! Shark's teeth and prehistoric deer bones are often found among the shells here. Hint: they're coal black.”
2410 Route 174, Edisto Island, SC 29438, T: 843.869.9003
Photograph courtesy of Hominy Grill
Shrimp Shack
You have to try the shrimp at place called the Shrimp Shack - The Lee Bros. order the shrimp burger.
1925 Sea Island Parkway, Saint Helena Island, SC 29920
T: 843.838.2962
POE’S TAVERN
For a terrific burger, The Lee Bros. head to Poe’s Tavern on Sullivan’s Island. “It’s a beautiful beach, with lots of public parking. It’s one of the only places in SC where you can order a hamburger rare. State law mandates that if you serve hamburgers less than well-done, you have to grind the beef to order, and most places don’t go to the trouble!”
2210 Middle Street, Sullivan’s Island, SC 29482, T: 843.883.0083
Gaulart & Maliclet “Fast & French”
The Lee Bros. recommend stopping in for a slice of pate and a bowl of gazpacho, if you’re walking around downtown south of Broad. When they are in Charleston, they go there virtually every day. The cheap lunch specials include a glass of wine!
98 Broad Street, Charleston, SC 29401, T: 843.577.9797
Hominy Grill
Looking for shrimp and grits in Charleston? Then look no further than Hominy Grill. The Lee Bros. think that chef Robert Stehling (James Beard Best Chef Southeast 2008) is doing great, updated Southern classics with a deep respect for tradition (and technique). They caution that weekend brunch is mobbed and note that there’s a nice outdoor terrace if the weather's good.
207 Rutledge Avenue, Charleston, SC 29403, T: 843.937.0930
Chef Sean Brock describes Husk: “It’s is like going to the farmers market, buying up all the beautiful stuff you can, without a budget, and coming home and saying what the hell are we going to cook? It’s the same exact thing we do at Husk. The idea is that we want to prove to the rest of the world that the South has the best food in the world. I’m talking about raw ingredients and tradition and history, and that is something I really believe.”
76 Queen Street, Charleston, SC 29401, T: 843.577.2500
MARTHA LOU’S KITCHEN
“It’s a soul food place,” says chef Sean Brock. He also notes that “it’s a cinderblock building, tiny, only has about 5 or 6 booths in it, a home stove and one employee, Martha. You walk in, she greets you, asks you how your day is, how hungry you are, and what you want to drink. You feel like you’re sitting in her dining room at her house and she’s cooking for you.”
1068 Morrison Drive, Charleston, SC 29403, T: 843.577.9583
Southern fine dining served in a building that is listed in the National Registrar of Historic Places and Landmarks. Executive Chef Sean Brock creates modern focused American cuisine based on food supplied from local food purveyors and farmers. It’s recommended by chef Mike Lata and The Lee Bros., who note that it’s Charleston's version of WD-50 with the avant-garde slightly toned down.
2 Unity Alley, Charleston, SC 29401, T: 843.577.0025
PENINSULA GRILL
For full-on Southern food with a decadent, high-end spin, this is where The Lee Bros. eat.
112 North Market Street, Charleston, SC 29401, T: 843.723.0700
The Wreck Of The Richard and Charlene HOME (“The Wreck”)
“A real local joint, just ten minutes from downtown but feels like another world, in a sandy lot on the shrimp boat docks of Shem Creek. The Wreck is basically a porch on the slab of an old shrimp refrigerator. The platters of shrimp, oysters, flounder, etc. are impeccable and boiled peanuts are on every table for nibbling. The #7 seafood platter with grits cake and sieva beans rocks. Anchor Steam and the very decent local Palmetto Ale are what to drink here.” Recommended by The Lee Bros.
Note:
- it’s cash and checks only.
- the other restaurants along Shem Creek are cut from a different cloth, avoid them.
106 Haddrell Street, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464, T: 843.884.0052
