18 Best Restaurants in Charleston, South Carolina

This perennial favorite inside Belmond's Charleston Place hotel provides what many regard as the city's highest gastronomic experience, with a menu divided into three parts: Roots & Stems, Waves & Marsh, and Field & Pasture. Chef Michelle Weaver creates the groundbreaking New South cuisine, while sommelier Rick Rubel stocks 1,300 wines in his cellar, with many served by the glass. The dining room is a soothing backdrop, highlighted by pale wood floors, flowing drapes, and elegant Queen Anne chairs. A jazz ensemble adds a hip yet unobtrusive element.

The menu may be nearly illegible, the space minuscule, and locating the tucked-away location like finding Waldo, but the food is almost always sublime. Each night only two appetizers, two entrées (like snapper with a vin jaune [type of white wine] sauce or gnocchi with chanterelles), and two desserts are offered. Sharing multiple dishes is a good option. Chef Jill Mathias writes down her menu daily, and her lovely calligraphy is often hard to read, but the attentive staff is happy to explain all the offerings. If the dining room feels too snug, head to the outdoor patio, perfect for dinner or brunch.

Spend an evening at this trendsetter for fresh-off-the-farm ingredients cooked with unfussy, flavorful finesse—the Food Is Good kitchen has produced two James Beard Best Chef: Southeast winners. The menu changes frequently, but the family-style vegetables might be as simple as young beets in sherry vinegar served in a plain white bowl. Main dishes get more complex: there's the must-have chicken liver pâté, slow-baked red porgy with Carolina Gold grits, and perfectly executed pan-roasted golden tilefish. The waitstaff is as inspired and informed as the masterpieces they serve.

The cuisine at this atmospheric establishment—combined with a staggering array of excellent wines and professional, caring service—makes Grill 225 a popular special-occasion spot. Take the opportunity to dress up; the elegant wood floors, white linens, and red-velvet upholstery call for it. If you enjoy red meat, indulge in the wet-aged steaks; the filet with foie gras bathed in a fig demiglace is equally excellent. Expect hefty portions, but save room for the pastry chef's shining creations, which include a contemporized version of baked Alaska with a nutty crust, flambéed table-side.

This spot is one of those delightful throwbacks—a drugstore with a soda fountain where the news of the day is discussed and young people share a Coca-Cola float. You can get a pimento cheese on white bread for $2.30, and if you want a scoop of ice cream to go with it, that'll cost you $1.50 (just remember: it's cash-only).

With an abundance of accolades, Husk serves an ambitious menu steeped in the South, and the South alone—everything is sourced regionally, barring exceptions like chocolate and coffee. A large chalkboard lists the ever-changing artisanal dishes available, as the menu sometimes varies twice daily. Supper favorites include seafood such as snapper, catfish, and flounder, frequently paired with heirloom vegetables. Try the fried-chicken skins or skillet of smoky bacon cornbread—both are terrifically popular. The building itself, balcony intact, dates to the late 19th century, and the freestanding bar beside the restaurant is lined with 100-year-old exposed brick and several Kentucky bourbons and whiskeys. If you can't score a reservation, Husk Bar next door is arguably just as good for intimate drinks and a burger.

Casual, quirky, and a tad Wes Anderson-y, this oysters-and-fried-chicken joint sports a kitschy ambience and blues-heavy soundtrack. Fried catfish, oyster, and chicken sammies come towering, dressed in fresh slaw or "comeback sauce" and nestled on perfectly prepared rolls. The oysters are from near or far, depending on the season. Don't forget to ask for a soft-serve ice cream before you go; you can grab it at the window outside the former auto repair shop.

Affectionately known as S.N.O.B., this former warehouse with atmospheric brick-and-stucco walls has a chef's table that looks directly into the open kitchen. Many of the specialties, including wild game and other less common meats, are served as small plates that are perfect for sharing. The $14 daily lunch specials are often memorable, such as mussels with spinach, grape tomatoes, and smoked bacon, or a hearty chicken pot pie.

Operating as a one-stop butcher shop and deli counter, Ted's sells beef, game, seafood, and homemade sausages to complement its selection of artisanal cheeses, wine, and other specialty foods. Among the lunchtime favorites are the house-roasted Wagyu beef panini and the ever-changing bacon-of-the-month BLT. On Friday nights there are wine tastings and a bargain prix-fixe dinner.

Executive chef and owner Kevin Johnson's outstanding restaurant sits in impressive quarters near the corner of Cannon and King Streets. The menu suggests a humble, considerate approach, as the dishes represent local flavors: the wood-roasted carrots come with feta, raisins, and pistachio crumble, while the wood-roasted whole fish is delivered with salsa verde. The high wainscoting and tall shelving filled with jams and jellies, pickled vegetables, and vintage kitchenware add to the earthy, unassuming presence.

Once the local darling among the Indigo Road properties, which also includes Oak Steakhouse and O-Ku, the Macintosh lost some of its luster over the years, but a string of new executive chefs put the one-time trendsetter on a path back to relevance. The menu is still rife with house classics, including gnudi, strip steak, and the Mac's ever-popular truffle fries.

Award-winning chef Mike Lata delivers every possible type of underwater delight here, from local littleneck clams to wahoo carpaccio. The two-story dining room of this former bank building fills up fast, but you can always belly up to the stunning bar while you wait and enjoy a variety of clever cocktails. Perhaps the best seat is at the oyster bar, where the freshest of bivalves await. And if you're looking for optimum indulgence, ask for the seafood tower. The triple decker will set you back $125, but spilling over with fruits de mer, it is worth every penny.

At first glance, the odd name appears to refer to this waterfront restaurant's exterior, topped off with a shabby screened-in porch (in actuality, the Richard and Charlene was a trawler that slammed into the building during a hurricane in 1989). Located in the Old Village of Mount Pleasant, the kitchen serves up Southern tradition on a plate: boiled peanuts, fried shrimp, and stone-crab claws. The best option is the most expensive—the mixed seafood platter with fried flounder, shrimp, oysters, and scallops. Get here early, as the place shuts down by 8 or 9 each night.