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Restaurants in South Carolina

Best Restaurants in South Carolina 2026

How to eat well in South Carolina at every budget, and the local dishes you shouldn't leave without trying.

By Updated

The short answer: start with Husk, 167 Raw and The Ordinary. This guide profiles 25+ restaurants and places to eat in South Carolina, with prices, timing, and the practical notes that decide whether each one earns a place in your plan.

South Carolina blends antebellum grandeur with pristine Atlantic coastline, Lowcountry marsh landscapes, and vibrant culinary traditions. From the cobblestone streets of historic Charleston to the sprawling Grand Strand beaches of Myrtle Beach, the lush Blue Ridge foothills of the Upstate, and the primeval cypress swamps of Congaree National Park, the Palmetto State offers an extraordinary range of experiences anchored by legendary Southern hospitality.

South Carolina's culinary identity is rooted in Lowcountry cuisine — a distinctive blend of West African, Native American, and European traditions that defines dishes like shrimp and grits, she-crab soup, Lowcountry boil, and rice-based dishes inherited from the Gullah Geechee people. The Upstate offers Central and Western BBQ traditions (vinegar-based mustard sauce is South Carolina's signature), while coastal areas from Beaufort to Myrtle Beach celebrate local Atlantic seafood. Charleston consistently ranks among America's top food cities and has produced several James Beard Award winners. Locally sourced ingredients — Carolina Gold rice, Sea Island red peas, Ace Basin shrimp, and state-grown peaches — drive menus across price points.

Top restaurants

Handpicked picks for the best dining experiences.

Southern / New American

Husk

$$$4.7/5

Sean Brock's Southern-food showcase set in a converted Queen Street mansion, built around the rule that nothing on the menu comes from north of Virginia or south of the Carolinas. Cooking runs through a wood-fired hearth and cast-iron pans, giving dishes a smoky, rendered-fat richness rather than a delicate plating style. The dining rooms keep the house's original woodwork and porches, with seating spread across several small rooms rather than one open floor.

Known for: Seasonal Southern cuisine using only ingredients grown or raised in the American South

76 Queen Street, Charleston, SC 29401
Get infoFood tours nearby
Seafood

167 Raw

$$4.8/5

A tiny, always-busy raw bar just off East Bay Street, built around a marble counter and a short list of oysters and rolls rather than a full dinner menu. The kitchen leans New England as much as Lowcountry, which is why the lobster roll, not a shrimp dish, is the thing people line up for. Seating is limited and mostly counter-style, so it runs more like a market stall than a sit-down restaurant.

Known for: Raw oysters, lobster rolls, and fresh local seafood

289 E Bay Street, Charleston, SC 29401
Get infoFood tours nearby
Seafood / Hall & Oyster Bar

The Ordinary

$$$4.7/5

Mike Lata's oyster hall occupies a converted 1927 bank building on Upper King, with the old vault still visible and a long marble bar running down the center of the room. The menu is built around raw and lightly cooked seafood served in tiers and platters meant for sharing, a step more composed than a standard oyster bar. Ceilings are high and the room reads more like a grand hall than an intimate restaurant.

Known for: James Beard Award-winning seafood hall in a historic bank building

544 King Street, Charleston, SC 29403
Get infoFood tours nearby
New American / Farm-to-Table

FIG

$$$4.8/5

A James Beard-recognized farm-to-table dining room on Meeting Street that built its name on pared-back plating and produce-driven cooking rather than heavy Southern richness. The kitchen changes its menu with what Lowcountry farms are bringing in, so the pasta and charcuterie dishes shift by season even when the names stay familiar. The room is small and dimly lit, closer to a neighborhood bistro than a formal dining room despite the reputation.

Known for: Farm-to-table Southern ingredients with French technique; James Beard-nominated

232 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC 29401
Get infoFood tours nearby
Soul Food / Southern

Jestine's Kitchen

$4.5/5

A downtown soul food institution named after the Charleston cook who raised the owner's family, serving the kind of home-style plates - fried chicken, stewed vegetables, cakes - that don't usually get restaurant treatment. The menu leans on slow-cooked sides like lima beans as much as the fried chicken itself. It's a plain, bright, no-frills dining room built for turning tables at lunch, not lingering.

Known for: Classic soul food since 1997; fried chicken, lima beans, and sweet tea

251 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC 29401
Get infoFood tours nearby
Seafood

Leon's Oyster Shop

$$4.6/5

A converted auto body shop on upper King Street turned into a garage-doored oyster bar and fry counter, with picnic-style tables and a lot of the original industrial shell left exposed. The kitchen fries in beef tallow, which gives the po'boys and whole fried chicken a heavier, more savory crust than most seafood shacks. It draws a younger, later-night crowd than most Charleston seafood spots.

Known for: Fried oysters, whole fried chicken, and rotating oyster bar

698 King Street, Charleston, SC 29403
Get infoFood tours nearby
Gullah / Soul Food

Bertha's Kitchen

$4.7/5

A North Charleston steam-table lunch counter serving Gullah cooking - perloo, oxtail, smothered pork chops - the way it's cooked in Lowcountry homes rather than restaurants. There's no menu to browse at length; the day's steam table dictates what's available, and portions are large and rice-based. The dining room is plain, with a handful of tables, and it functions mainly as a lunch spot rather than a dinner destination.

Known for: Legendary Gullah cooking; the best rice and beans in the Lowcountry

2332 Meeting Street Road, North Charleston, SC 29405
Get infoFood tours nearby
Steakhouse

Hall's Chophouse

$$$$4.8/5

A family-run steakhouse on King Street with a clubby, white-tablecloth dining room and a live music bar upstairs, closer in feel to a big-city chophouse than a Lowcountry restaurant. The dry-aged porterhouse is the centerpiece of a menu that otherwise leans on classic steakhouse sides and a she-crab soup as a nod to Charleston. It's a large, multi-room space that gets loud and full on weekend nights.

Known for: Prime USDA dry-aged steaks with Charleston warmth; family-owned Charleston institution

434 King Street, Charleston, SC 29403
Get infoFood tours nearby

Restaurants by cuisine

Browse picks grouped by cuisine type.

American

American / Craft Beer

Edmund's Oast

$$4.7/5

A brewery and gastropub in Charleston's NoMo area that brews its own beer on site and pairs it with a scratch kitchen menu built around Southern ingredients. The dining room is industrial and open, with the brewing equipment visible and a long bar that draws as many beer-focused visitors as diners.

Known for: In-house craft brewing with serious American cuisine; 20+ rotating taps

1081 Morrison Drive, Charleston, SC 29403
Get infoFood tours nearby
American / Craft Beer

Two Blokes Brewing

$4.4/5

Known for: Local craft beers with rotating food trucks on premise

1544 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29201
Get infoFood tours nearby
New American / Farm-to-Table

Motor Supply Co. Bistro

$$4.6/5

A long-running farm-to-table bistro in Columbia's Vista district, set in a converted early-1900s tractor supply warehouse with exposed brick and a mezzanine dining area. The menu changes daily around what's available from regional farms, leaning New American rather than strictly Southern.

Known for: Menu changes twice daily based on local ingredients; Columbia's flagship farm-to-table

920 Gervais Street, Columbia, SC 29201
Get infoFood tours nearby
New Southern / American

Soby's New South Cuisine

$$$4.7/5

An upscale New Southern restaurant set inside a converted historic hardware store on Main Street in downtown Greenville, with exposed brick walls and a menu that reworks Lowcountry staples with French technique. It was one of the restaurants credited with anchoring downtown Greenville's revival into a dining destination.

Known for: Greenville's flagship fine dining restaurant since 1997; innovative New South cuisine

207 S Main Street, Greenville, SC 29601
Get infoFood tours nearby
American / Lowcountry

The Grill at Haig Point

$$4.5/5

The dining room inside Haig Point Club, a private residential golf club on Daufuskie Island, which has no bridge and is reached only by ferry. The menu leans into Lowcountry seafood served in a members'-club setting rather than a standalone public restaurant.

Known for: Dining on a car-free island accessible only by ferry; unique Lowcountry atmosphere

Haig Point Club, Daufuskie Island, SC 29915
Get infoFood tours nearby
Pizza / American

Mellow Mushroom Myrtle Beach

$4.3/5

This is a link in the Mellow Mushroom chain, set up as a casual, family-friendly pizzeria near the Myrtle Beach hotel strip. The kitchen turns out stone-baked pies with a chewy, slightly charred crust, alongside calzones and a hoagie menu, in a room decorated with the chain's trademark psychedelic mushroom murals and stained-glass light fixtures.

Known for: Family-friendly stone-baked pizzas near Broadway at the Beach

1109 Celebrity Circle, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
Get infoFood tours nearby

Seafood

Steakhouse / Seafood

Grill 225

$$$$4.7/5

An upscale steakhouse on East Bay Street in Charleston's historic district, built around dry-aged beef and a raw bar, with tableside preparations for some dishes. The room has a clubby, formal steakhouse feel with white tablecloths, suited to a special-occasion dinner rather than a casual meal.

Known for: Upscale steakhouse with spectacular harbor views and extensive wine list

225 E Bay Street, Charleston, SC 29401
Get infoFood tours nearby
Seafood / Contemporary

The Ocean Room

$$$$4.7/5

The fine-dining restaurant inside The Sanctuary resort on Kiawah Island, focused on seafood and steak with formal tableside service and views toward the Atlantic. It's positioned as the resort's special-occasion dining room, with a jacket-appropriate, quiet dining room rather than a beach-casual one.

Known for: Upscale coastal cuisine with views of the Atlantic from Kiawah Island

1 Sanctuary Beach Drive, Kiawah Island, SC 29455
Get infoFood tours nearby
Seafood / American

The Pink House (Gillian's)

$$4.4/5

Known for: Classic casual seafood and American fare on Hilton Head with beachfront location

1 N Forest Beach Drive, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
Get infoFood tours nearby
Seafood / Oysters

Bowens Island Restaurant

$$4.6/5

A rustic oyster shack on a working dock south of Charleston, built from cinderblock and covered inside and out in decades of visitors' marker-pen graffiti. Cooking is simple and direct - oysters steamed in bulk over an open roaster and dumped onto brown paper on long communal tables, plus a short list of fried and boiled seafood.

Known for: James Beard America's Classic — ramshackle waterfront oyster shack with roasted oysters

1870 Bowens Island Road, Charleston, SC 29412
Get infoFood tours nearby
Seafood

Amen Street Fish & Raw Bar

$$4.5/5

A Charleston seafood restaurant on East Bay Street near the Historic Market, built around a raw bar up front for shucked oysters and a courtyard patio behind for full seafood plates. The style is casual raw-bar-meets-seafood-house rather than fine dining.

Known for: Local seafood and oysters in the heart of downtown Charleston; great lunch option

205 E Bay Street, Charleston, SC 29401
Get infoFood tours nearby
Seafood

Pearlz Oyster Bar

$$4.5/5

A small, casual Charleston oyster bar on East Bay Street, built around a bar-forward room rather than a full sit-down dining room. The kitchen keeps things simple - shucked oysters, tacos, and a short fried-seafood menu - rather than an elaborate seafood-house spread.

Known for: Happy hour oysters $1.50 each (3-6 PM daily); excellent for solo diners at the bar

153 E Bay Street, Charleston, SC 29401
Get infoFood tours nearby

Lowcountry

Lowcountry / Southern

Virginia's on King

$$4.5/5

Known for: Classic Lowcountry brunch and lunch; shrimp and grits that locals swear by

412 King Street, Charleston, SC 29403
Get infoFood tours nearby
Lowcountry / Neighborhood

The Glass Onion

$$4.6/5

A neighborhood restaurant on Savannah Highway in Charleston serving Lowcountry comfort food made from scratch, including biscuits and pie crusts baked in house. The setting is a simple strip-mall storefront inside, but the kitchen turns out plate-lunch style Southern cooking with real technique behind it.

Known for: Neighborhood Lowcountry gem beloved by locals; sourced from SC farms and fishermen

1219 Savannah Hwy, Charleston, SC 29407
Get infoFood tours nearby

Bbq

BBQ / Pit

Rodney Scott's BBQ

$4.6/5

A whole-hog barbecue restaurant on King Street from pitmaster Rodney Scott, who built his reputation cooking whole hogs over wood coals in the South Carolina barbecue tradition before opening this Charleston location. Service is counter-style with trays, in a large, casual space built around the smokers.

Known for: James Beard Award-winning whole-hog South Carolina BBQ with vinegar sauce

1011 King Street, Charleston, SC 29403
Get infoFood tours nearby

French

French / European

Chez Nous

$$$4.8/5

A tiny French bistro tucked into a converted house near Charleston's Elliotborough neighborhood, with a single small dining room and a chalkboard menu that changes daily. There's no à la carte ordering - you eat whatever the kitchen has decided to cook that day, built around French bistro technique.

Known for: Tiny French-Spanish bistro in a cobblestone alley; the most romantic restaurant in Charleston

6 Payne Court, Charleston, SC 29403
Get infoFood tours nearby

Mexican

Mexican

La Hacienda

$4.4/5

Known for: Authentic Mexican cuisine popular with locals; best margaritas in Columbia

1201 Bush River Road, Columbia, SC 29210
Get infoFood tours nearby

Food tours & tastings in South Carolina

Eat your way through South Carolina with a guide.

Browse food experiences in South Carolina

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Street food

Local flavours at affordable prices.

Street food

Boiled Peanuts

Find it at: Roadside stands on SC-17, US-21, and rural highways

Price: $3-5 per bag

Street food

Lowcountry Food Trucks

Find it at: Marion Square area, Charleston (weekday lunch)

Price: $8-14

Street food

Gullah Soul Food

Find it at: Penn Center area, St. Helena Island

Price: $8-12

Food markets

Where locals shop and graze.

Charleston Farmers Market

Hours: Sat 8 AM - 2 PM (Apr-Nov)

Myrtle Beach Farmers Market

Hours: Sat 7 AM - 12 PM (year-round)

Columbia State Farmers Market

Hours: Mon-Sat 6 AM - 9 PM

Dining etiquette & tips

Navigate the local food scene confidently.

Tip

Make reservations at least 2 weeks ahead for top Charleston restaurants (Husk, FIG, The Ordinary)

Tip

Happy hour oysters at Pearlz Oyster Bar (3-6 PM daily) offer exceptional value at $1.50 each

Tip

Bertha's Kitchen in North Charleston is cash only — bring bills

Tip

Rodney Scott's BBQ sells out early; arrive by noon on busy weekends

Tip

Chez Nous only has 22 seats — book immediately when planning a Charleston trip

Food budget guide

What to expect at different price points.

Level Price Description
Budget $5-15/meal Street food, local eateries, and simple restaurants.
Mid-range $15-40/meal Sit-down restaurants with good service and varied menus.
Upscale $40+/meal Fine dining, international cuisine, and premium experiences.

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