Charleston’s Colonial-era architecture with colorful Caribbean influence in soothing blues, pinks and yellows is one-of-a-kind. The small, walkable city has grown greatly in notable restaurants and bars the 16 years I’ve been visiting, far beyond its size in terms of the quality-to-size ratio. Its palmetto-lined streets are like stepping back in time. The city is by turns bright and vibrant, at turns a bit Gothic and moody, reminiscent of, but very different from, Savannah and New Orleans.
The city’s dark history as the South’s leading slave trade center are troubling and unavoidable, making you work for it as you wrestle with Charleston’s (CHS) complicated contradictions (an insightful recent article on just that in Condé Nast Traveler magazine).
Out of this darkness, one of the greatest gifts Africans forced to come here centuries past have given us is culinary. And South Carolina’s legendary, seafood-heavy, Lowcountry cuisine is unparalleled. West Africa, France, England and the Caribbean have come together as an only-in-the-US kind of mashup, its own cuisine evolved over the last few hundred years, with landmark dishes like she-crab soup, frogmore stew (sausage, shrimp, corn, potatoes, onions boil) and famed shrimp and grits. Alongside Lowcountry, Gullah Geechee cuisine also hails from West African slaves transported to South Carolina’s Gullah islands and “Gullah Corridor” coastline. Not only did they bring their farming methods, they brought crucial plants like okra, rice, peas, watermelon, peanuts, and beyond. Iconic dishes include okra soup, red rice and Hoppin’ John, a peas and rice “stew” or pilau.
Historically, I have been to most of Charleston’s notable restaurants (and bars). I catch up on newer spots and only occasionally revisit a few of the very best each visit. Per usual, I visit coffee shops, ice cream havens and the like in between meals. This visit, Bad Bunnies and Cafecito (for Cuban coffee and guava cheese pastries) stood out on the coffee side, and though more of a mixed bag (try flavors first), so did Off Track on the local ice cream side.
Alongside my hotel recommendation, the nine eateries below stood out, not always for good reasons, but the first few are among my top food recommends now in the “Holy City.”
WHERE TO STAY
I so wanted to be able to recommend retro-cool Dewberry hotel, where I had some rich tastings and tours in years past after it opened, and always dreamed of staying as a lifelong midcentury girl who dresses and decorates her home from that era. Design-wise, it’s “Mad Men”-esque vibes are my dream. But between inconsistent service, being able to (loudly) hear the person in the room next to us talking from our bathroom, to the unfortunate damage of some of my property by the hotel when we had to leave bags because we had no choice but to come early after checking out of our other hotel, I can’t say the Dewberry was worth the stress. Though they did take care of it eventually, waiting our entire stay, and many people asked later, to get an answer on how our damaged property would be resolved/reimbursed — and no real “making it up to us” otherwise — left a bad taste and added unnecessary stress the entire stay, despite those lovely, 1960s-chic small rooms. Citrus Club, their rooftop bar, is still one of my recommended Charleston bars and will be featured in my upcoming CHS bar guide in Distiller Magazine.
We had a far more seamless, happy stay at The Pinch, a few blocks from The Dewberry and easy walking-distance from many key restaurants and sightseeing spots. The intimate, luxury boutique hotel has sunny, modern design in lofty rooms, chic design elements and full kitchens down to lovely cocktail barware and sleek kitchenware. Of course, I didn’t come to CHS to cook in my room, but you could. Eating breakfast and having coffee in-room in the mornings playing jazz on their cute Marshall bluetooth speaker was an ideal way to start the day. Service was attentive and free bicycles easy to snag and run around town on.
WHERE TO EAT
“Whole Package” from Food to Cocktails: Chasing Sage
Opening in brutal 2020 in the Cannonborough-Elliotborough neighborhood in an 1892 building, Chasing Sage was one of the best meals of my latest return to CHS and a farm-to-table gem that reminds me of my SF Bay Area home, the birthplace of that movement… but with Southern ethos. Yes, it’s locally-sourced produce, seafood and meats, but there are surprises, like some of the best cocktails I had in CHS this return, with the same culinary, seasonal emphasis I’ve (again) known for over two decades at home in SF.
There’s also warm service and a glowing, cozy, wood-lined dining room. There are West Coast roots behind Chasing Sage, which explains a lot, including their quality coffee. While chef Walter Edward hails from Seattle and GM Maxfield Clarke from Oregon and San Diego, Walter’s wife Cindy is the farmer behind the restaurant’s ingredients and an SC native, running her family’s farm in nearby Smoaks where her family has been since the 1770s.
I heard they made their own housemade “Chartreuse” with herbs from their garden in the past. When I visited, I was delighted by their perfectly balanced, delicious cocktails, including the vegetal We Come in Peas (fresh spring peas, St. George Green Chili Vodka, Ancho Reyes Verde, lime, a touch of reposado tequila, Dry Curaçao) and vibrant, robust Strawberry Feels (strawberry-infused Carpano Antica Vermouth, bourbon, St. George Bruto Americano Amaro and pink peppercorn). Each of the four I tasted were notable, interesting and tasted of the season, while showcasing/playing off the booze base.
From a silky, cool asparagus terrine accented with mustard and green strawberry sauces, to a garden-fresh tahini hummus olive oil tart heavily layered in snap and snow peas, smoked fish falafel (yes, please!), radishes and green chickpeas, the food was consistently interesting and respectful of the season. And it was all damn delicious, too. Spring onion dumplings tasted like my heavily Chinese SF home in chile oil and white soy. Carrot cavatelli pasta is aromatic in tarragon pesto, nigella seeds and pecorino cheese, while a fried soft shell crab special was a must. Rhubarb jam curd and yogurt panna cotta is a tart-creamy, palate cleansing dessert, accented with ginger and lemon verbena meringues. We ordered a la carte, but their $70 tasting menu is a steal at what is now, over 16 years of research, one of my top Charleston restaurants.
// 267 Rutledge Avenue, Charleston; www.chasingsagerestaurant.com
A Truly Perfect Porchetta Sandwich: Da Toscano Porchetta Shop
I thankfully got a preview of Le Farfalle (a modern pasta restaurant I visited and wrote about pre-pandemic) chef Michael and wife Caitlin Toscano’s new Da Toscano Porchetta Shop before it opened this summer during my spring visit. This former pop-up is about proper Tuscan porchetta and whole hog cooking. Curing, brining and rotisserie smoking in-house, he seasons the pork with garlic, rosemary, black pepper, EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) and fennel and makes his own perfected focaccia baked fresh daily.
This is Italy-good porchetta in focaccia sandwiches layered in aged provolone and salsa verde. Served in-house on china at a walnut bar, for breakfast there’s the likes of focaccia with ricotta and a seasonal marmellata, egg sandwiches, pastries, cakes and espresso drinks on a La Marzocco machine. All day there are rotisserie meats, lasagna, meatballs, vegetables, salads, beer and wine. Most importantly, biting into this appropriately crusty-warm sandwich exemplifies what the best porchetta and foccacia should taste like. The salsa verde is lively with pickled cherry peppers, boquerones, parsley, mint, basil, Dijon mustard, garlic and EVOO. It all melds together perfectly. Toscano and team makes it with care, toasted to order… the kind of sandwich that should be iconic.
// 109 President Street, Charleston; www.dtporchetta.shop
Seafood Heaven: 167 Raw Oyster Bar
I must admit: visiting 167 Sushi Bar was such a disappointment this return to CHS, from fall-apart, subpar nigiri rice, to mediocre (at best) bao, dumplings and rolls, I wasn’t going to give the newer, larger King Street location of 167 Raw Oyster Bar a chance. I figured their quality had gone so downhill now that there are three CHS locations (plus the original Nantucket spot) of the once solitary, tiny oyster bar I adored so much since my 2015 trip to CHS. 167 Sushi disappointment was great, but thankfully our Monday afternoon flight home meant we needed an early Monday lunch not far from our hotel and 167’s oyster bar was on a short list that fit the bill.
I’m pleased to say the larger 167 Raw Oyster Bar is amazing and still one of CHS’ very best, even if their sushi bar is a no-go. There were crowds as they opened at 11am, but an efficient seating process and short waits since they don’t take reservations in the bustling space. We sat at the oyster bar, enjoying repartee with our server and their sharp knowledge of their rich seafood selection, ingredient sources and tight drinks that run from natural wines to a briny 167 Dirty Martini served on a rock, tequila-based, silky with Calabrian chile oil and a side oyster.
Certainly, oysters are a go-to here, but whether ceviche or a killer crudo of the day laced with shiso, pickled ginger, strawberry-hibiscus-rhubarb water, nasturtiums and jalapeño, the chalkboard holds much of the uber-fresh glories you’ll want to dig into. On the regular menu, a pastrami’ed swordfish sandwich on a pumpernickel bread is a highlight, while their bruleed key lime pie in graham cracker crust is the tart perfection I remember from years past. I’m glad to say 167 Raw remains one of my all-time CHS faves.
// 193 King Street, Charleston; https://167raw.com/charleston
Modern Pasta & Well-Done Salads: Vern’s
Open in July 2022 in a corner house, Vern’s is one of the more realized of the newer CHS restaurants I dined at this visit. The humble, wood-lined space is buzzy and packed. I ran into industry friends and I’m not even a local, confirming its belovedness in the food and drink community locally. It was also a James Beard nominee this year. Chef Daniel “Dano” Heinze was the long-standing chef de cuisine at CHS staple, McCrady’s, while Vern’s co-owner and wife Bethany ran the bar. They both moved to Los Angeles in 2016 to work for Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo (Animal and Jon & Vinny’s), returning to CHS in 2021 to open Vern’s.
The local ingredients–shareable plates approach is a California standard for decades, and while rusticity drives the menu, it’s all well made. Even a straightforward salad of bitter lettuces, fennel, herbs, breadcrumbs and confit garlic cucumbers reminds me of home in CA where salads are often exceptional and interesting, not afterthoughts with sad ingredients as they still are in much of the world. Dano’s signature escargot (snails) in buttery gruyere cheese and tarragon sauce is rich comfort, as is campanelli pasta with rabbit, generously doused in black pepper, piave vecchio cheese, ‘ndjua and egg yolk, a la Roman carbonara pasta. Bethany Heinze’s small producers wine list is solid and pairs well with the dishes, while low proof, seasonal ingredient aperitivo cocktails are welcome, like a F&T of Cocchi Americano, fennel, rhubarb and charred grapefruit tonic.
// 41 Bogard St. A, Charleston, SC; www.vernschs.com
Still An Oyster Bar & Cocktail Destination: The Ordinary
Housed in a 1920s former bank, high ceilings and lofty elegance flanked by a long bar have been the backdrop The Ordinary, one of a short list of places in Charleston I’ve made time for each visit since it opened in 2012, just as I’ve returned to its sister restaurant, FIG, since 2007. I rarely repeat as there are ever too many places to research: but in a city does oyster bars better than just about anywhere, The Ordinary is that good and one of Charleston’s all-time bests. So I have to return, even if for a light second dinner with cocktails. They surpass others with their expansive rum collection from a massive backbar, impeccable cocktails and knowledgeable service.
They’ve always made a mean classic daiquiri, sophisticated tiki and rum cocktails and pour quality wines to boot. Then there are seafood towers, oyster platters or locally caught stone crab on ice. Recently, there was yellowtail snapper and strawberry crudo in ponzu, rangpur lime and shoyu, or a fried oyster slider in nuoc cham and Fresno chiles mayo on a fresh baked Hawaiian roll. Fish entrees and specials like New Orleans-style BBQ softshell crabs in sunchoke purée and rosemary, weave through seasonally with cocktails made by bartenders who know and care about their craft and rum. Recent cocktail joys included a Barbados Slim of Mount Gay rum with Red Stripe Jamaican lager beer, nutty velvet falernum and clarified lime, or a unique Trini Breakfast of St. George Dry Rye Gin, toasted caraway, lemon and guava jelly. Con Cola was another killer cocktail this spring of Santa Teresa 1796 Venezuelan rum, Fernet Branca, beaujolais wine cordial, Coca-Cola and citrus zest.
// 544 King Street, https://eattheordinary.com
Still a Goood Time: The Darling Oyster Bar
In a town rife with stellar oyster bars, The Darling is a charmer of teal green banquettes and bar stools, black and white tiled flooring and a wealth of shellfish on ice. Compared to my initial visit years ago when it first opened, it can get (very) loud when surrounded by large groups/tables. But sweet service, fresh oysters and shellfish and uncomplicated sips like a Khaleesi cocktail (pisco, dragonfruit, Lillet, Giffard Pineapple, Angostura bitters) or a 2021 Marchese Luca Spinola Gavi del Comune di Tassarolo white wine, keep it breezy and fun.
Raw bar specials of the day are where highlights lie. I recently dove into local oysters (like small and briny Low Country Cups or briny, earthy Port Royals), stone crab, snow crab and scallop ceviche laden with blood oranges, Fresno chile peppers, onions and bell peppers in citrus broth with popped sorghum, scooped up by tortilla chips. A yin-to-the-Darling’s-raw-yang is baked blue crab dip, lush with cream cheese, fennel, onions, lemon and hot sauce. Another hearty, fun choice is fry baskets of 12 pieces of shrimp, fish or oysters — or a combo of all three, as I did, with hand-cut fries, kale slaw, cocktail and tartar sauce. A side of Marsh Hen Mill grits laced with sweet pepper relish confirms I’m in the South.
// 513 King Street, Charleston; https://thedarling.com
A Mixed Bag: Lenoir
Located in the Lindy Renaissance Charleston Historic Hotel, Lenoir has its own neon sign entrance. It’s a hotspot as North Carolina chef Vivian Howard is a James Beard semi-finalist, cookbook author and former TV host of A Chef’s Life. Dark green booths, bright yellow chairs around a center bar and a patterned tile floor are the backdrop for a very loud space (the intimate patio is the only place you don’t have to shout to be heard once its full).
With local friends, my experience was mixed. We had a kind server and they offer a solid wine list, heavy on Old World wines, but with a cross-section of New World. But cocktails are very basic and the modern Eastern North Carolina and Lowcountry food is hit-and-miss. We shared a range of plates and appreciated a smoked fish dip with pepper jelly but not what tasted like old, hardened sourdough bread to scoop it up.
A pork chop with sweet and sour beets was solid, while an air-dried pork sausage was juicy but very minimally touched with lemongrass, shrimp paste, chow chow and fried shallots, looking a little forlorn as a sole sausage on the plate. Cornmeal dusted catfish over tomato okra stew with charred lemon and sage pesto was more comforting and exemplified modern Southern cooking. Trying a range of sides, pink eye peas and butter beans were subtle but comforting in cream and bacon over jasmine rice. Given all the abundance of great restaurants in CHS, this wouldn’t be in my “whole package” experiences but has its moments.
// 68 Wentworth Street, Charleston; www.dineatlenoir.com
Breakfast All Day: Miller’s All Day
With a food truck and ever-packed King Street and James Island locations, Millers All Day’s teal and white, retro pharmacy soda fountain and midcentury-style vibe (down to their vinyl record collection) checks my boxes. Even if the food isn’t so much gourmet-nuanced as it is hearty and crowd pleasing, I love the breakfast/brunch all day concept (until 3 or 4pm) and that the name — my own — actually means they mill all their own grains for their restaurant and retail shop.
While some dishes were overloaded (field pea panzanella salad) and oversauced (a breakfast strata casserole of bacon, tasso ham, crumbled biscuits, pimento cheese, gruyere cheese in sausage gravy) and biscuits weren’t the airy-fluffy perfection I’ve had at the very best places in the South & at home, a fried bologna biscuit sandwich packed with American cheese, sorghum mustard, caramelized onions, scrambled eggs and herb mayo has that sort of childhood Midwest comfort I recall from my very young years in Kansas City. Massive comfort food breakfasts are the draw here.
// 120 King Street, Charleston, https://millersallday.com
Disappointed: Jackrabbit Filly
I so wanted to love Jackrabbit Filly. Their hipster Asian mashup cuisine with Southern touches and funky cocktails was just what I craved after a week of (wonderful but missing the diversity of home) LowCountry cuisine. The food had it’s issues, but it was service missteps that ruined the experience. Earnest servers didn’t come to explain why we still didn’t have even one small plate 30 minutes after ordering, while both tables on either side of us had received multiple dishes, despite being sat after us.
Then too many dishes came at once, growing cold before we could get to it all. Some, like the utterly bland, mushy potato leek dumplings, a one-note slushie cocktail or a far-from-legit okonomiyaki, were pretty inedible. Utterly disappointing on all fronts with no real fix offered for our bad experience other than to remove the one dish we only took a bite of from our bill.
I’m bummed I cannot recommend this quirky spot as there were highlights, like a dreamy brown sugar milk tea French toast doused in tapioca and coconut sweetened condensed milk, or a cheeky spicy tuna tartare that was nothing like tuna tartare, but actually a tuna salad in Southern mode laced with pickles, King BBQ mustard-Q and scooped up with crispy wontons. But we wished we hadn’t spent the high costs to Uber way out of our way, though the nearby Park Circle and neighborhood are well worth hanging out in.
// 4628 Spruill Ave #101, North Charleston; www.jackrabbitfilly.com