Charleston Foodie Guide: Top 10 Ways To Eat & Play
I am absolutely in love with Charleston, South Carolina, one of the most enchanting foodie cities in the entire United States! It checks so many boxes.
Yes, it’s a darling southern city that exudes charm, but it’s also bursting with incredible food and filled with friendly locals who love to dish out warm hospitality alongside irresistible deliciousness.
The culinary scene sizzles hotter than the city’s summer sidewalks, with the best restaurants serving up not only amazing dishes but great drinks and a good time too! With each visit, the chef in me is awed, the foodie wowed, and the party girl raring to come back for more.
If you’re looking to get the most out of this delicious city, let me help you find whatever it is you’re hungry for.
Charleston is home to amazing South Carolina BBQ!
Get the Lay of the Land
While the city of Charleston dazzles with its beauty and culinary offerings, there is also a constellation of surrounding charms that include North Charleston, Mount Pleasant, James Island, Sullivan’s Island, and Folly Island, among others.
So, to get yourself oriented in your new playground, do what I try to do first in any new city I’m visiting: Go on a food tour to get a taste of what the town has to offer and learn where to get what.
1. Take a Fabulous Food Tour or Two
While there is an amazing food scene in Charleston, it is a tourist town too, so the trick is to find the best places to have the best food and not to get suckered into the so-so. That’s why I love excellent food tours led by top-notch tour guides.
Charleston food tours will introduce you to the famous flavors of this foodie funland.
And that’s why you should check out our article on the 5 Best Charleston Food Tours. My personal favorite is the Undiscovered Charleston Tour. It features a great walk through the heart of Charleston with a beloved local chef who’ll introduce you to some of the city’s top sites and regale you with wonderful anecdotes about the city’s history. Then, he’ll make you a wonderful lunch, with wine included! What an incredible introduction to the Holy City!
But no matter which of our recommended tours you choose, you’re going to experience some of the richest flavors Charleston has to offer. You won’t just be learning about what to eat in Charleston, you’ll be eating it!
There’s no better way to explore the city’s legendary food culture than hanging out with some of the most knowledgeable food experts in town! Don’t forget to ask them about their top picks for whatever else you’re looking to experience during your stay.
Lean Into the Local
Although Charleston boasts a cosmopolitan culinary collage of offerings, I strongly urge you to concentrate on the outstanding local dishes featuring local ingredients. These offer vibrant flavors with a side of history and sense of place.
Frogmore Stew, Lowcountry Boil, Beaufort Stew, and Beaufort Boil—all names for the same seafood masterpiece.
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2. Focus on Cherished Charleston Foods
Located right on the water, Charleston abounds with fantastic seafood. This means raw bars brimming with fresh oysters and chefs ladling out delicious she-crab soup. Kitchens also create crab cakes that absolutely no one can crab about and shrimp and grits that are always among the town’s top hits.
Charleston also abounds with such South Carolina culinary classics as fried green tomatoes, hush puppies, Gullah Red Rice, Frogmore Stew, and a unique style of mouthwatering local barbecue. But these are just a few of the South Carolina staples waiting to become the shining stars of your stay in Charleston.
3. Indulge in the Remarkable Restaurant Scene
If exploring a city with far too many amazing restaurants to get to in just one trip is the kind of problem you enjoy having, Charleston is absolutely the place for you! The good news is that you can have an unforgettable dining experience at many different spots in town, and still have a fantastic excuse for coming back for additional visits.
Here are just a few of the best restaurants in Charleston to check out. (But be sure to discover other wonderful spots on your own.)
Dishes like this keep Husk on the list of Best Charleston Foodie Restaurants.
Leon’s
For me, Leon’s is the perfect spot to kick off a visit to Charleston. Near the northern tip of King Street, this wonderfully casual, comfortable, converted garage serves up some of my favorite things. There are tons of great oysters from their raw bar, fantastically fried fresh seafood, and one of my favorite fish dips from anywhere. (Have I mentioned I’m a fish dip fanatic? Check out my Best Smoked Fish Dip Recipe.) Leon’s fried chicken is also legendary.
Fleet Landing
Fleet Landing is another casual spot that’s a great place to dig into fresh seafood. Located right on the water at Charleston Harbor, this place dishes up a fun time and great views along with its wide variety of coastal South Carolina seafood standouts.
If you’re adventurous, save room for a Sm’oyster. This inventive dessert features an oyster topped with chocolate, marshmallow toasted tableside, and graham cracker crumbs. It’s so popular, even Food & Wine is “Aw Shucks” over it.
Husk
Located in a historic Victorian home downtown, Husk began reimagining classic Southern favorites back in 2011. Paying homage to the legacy of great Southern dishes while reworking some of their magic and insisting on sustainably produced ingredients is a balancing act that Husk has mastered. That’s why it remains one of the best and most famous Charleston restaurants!
Fig
Scrupulously sourced seasonal ingredients, a celebration of local Lowcountry cuisine, and exceptional service come together in the most delicious ways at Fig. Menu items change up often, but high quality is a constant.
4. Hit some Happy Hours
Dining in Charleston is delicious, but it can be pricy too. Luckily, indulging in worthwhile happy hours around town can stretch your dollar while still pleasing your palate. Here are some places to enjoy really good food and drinks without busting the budget.
Explore more of Charleston’s food-and-fun offerings by hitting a few happy hours!
Beautiful South
In Cannonborough Elliotborough, one of the hottest foodie neighborhoods in town, $10 specialty cocktails and similarly priced flavorful Asian snacks await you between 4 and 6 pm M through F.
Herd Provisions
Follow the herd to this excellent restaurant in the Wagener Terrace neighborhood. Between 3 and 5 pm every day but Sunday, you’ll find $8 margaritas and Old Fashioneds. Food favorites include tasty chicken wings and deviled eggs @ 50 cents per, hand pies, and 3 different sliders.
The Grocery
The Grocery takes the term “happy hour” quite literally, allocating exactly 60 minutes to the festivity every day that doesn’t start with M—from 5 to 6, at the bar only. But the rewards are alluring.
Discount drinks include the locally famous $5 tiny dirty green tomato martinis and beers. Foodwise, all pastas and produce plates are half off. This is great news because these dishes are delightful. My favorites include a great okra w/ gumbo gravy, wood-roasted peaches, and mafaldine and crab.
Babas on Canon/Babas on Meeting
Charleston boasts two Babas, and each offers a worthwhile happy hour. They run from 4 to 6 Tuesday through Thursday and offer drink specials that include a $5 tiny gin martini that packs a punch, some $5 beers, and bottles of wine at half-price.
But the best time to hit happy hour here is probably on Fridays and Saturdays. Hours expand to 4–10 at the Canon location and 4–8 at Meeting, and, as is the case in my favorite Milan aperitivo spots, during these times you get tasty free snacks with every drink you order.
5. Discover Local Breweries
Charleston has a vibrant craft brewing scene that bubbles over with great beer and fun times. Here are few of the spots my husband and I really enjoy, and we think you will too.
My very first Edmund’s in Charleston—we were meant for each other.
Edmund’s Oast Brewing Company
Edmund’s was the first beer that I ever had in Charleston, and I really enjoyed it. Today, this brewer’s taproom offers 20 types of Edmund’s beers made on the premises every day, along with wine and cocktails.
An all-day food menu offers plenty of yummy options too. The smoked fish spread and pastrami burger are definitely two fine choices. Happy hour runs every weekday, with all drinks half off and specially priced snacks available as well.
Revelry Brewing
Revelry Brewing likes to revel so much, they had to open a second location at Folly Beach to spread the good times out between downtown Charleston and Folly Island. Both locations are open every day, with downtown offering a roof top bar and Folly Beach offering a genuinely beachy feel.
There are plenty of beers and wines to choose from, with a happening scene at both venues. Things get even more pumped when local bands offer live music.
Holy City Brewing
At their digs in North Charleston, Holy City serves up more than 20 of its beers daily, along with ciders, wines, classic cocktails, and signature creations. Their kitchen cooks up typical taproom offerings, but also serves up a slew of solid sandwiches.
Wednesday through Saturday, there’s also a raw bar shucking oodles of oysters and offering peel-and-eat shrimp, ceviche, and other treasures of the deep.
Let’s Take This Outside
Charleston’s climate means plenty of opportunities to comfortably enjoy fantastic food and drink in the great outdoors.
6. Scout Out the Best Rooftop Bar
I love a great view, so I appreciate the fact that there are more than 20 rooftop bars in Charleston where you can sip and sightsee simultaneously. They’re all different, so you’ll have to find which rooftops resonate most with you—but testing them out is lots of fun! Here are a few of my faves to get you started.
How many of the Holy City’s steeples will you spot from rooftop bars?
Citrus Club
The 360° views here are tough to beat! If you love tropical drinks, this place has you covered on that score too!
The Rooftop at The Vendue
Mike and I stayed at The Vendue the last time we were in town, and I have to say that the sunset views of the city and the water from The Rooftop at this hotel are divine! Drinks are lovely, and they are surprisingly reasonably priced too. But they’re even further discounted at Happy Hour, 4-6, Sunday through Thursday.
Satellite Bar
Right in the heart of town on King Street, this place has a friendly feel, excellent views, and plenty of character. Its ideal location makes this a great spot for a drink before or after dinner, or anytime you’re walking along King after 5 pm.
7. Check Out Charleston City Market
From its humble beginnings more than 200 years ago, Charleston City Market went on to become the city’s Number 1 tourist destination today. Smack dab in Charleston’s French Quarter historic district, this market consists of both the Great Hall and three open-air sheds.
In addition to the traditional Gullah sweetgrass baskets that are a magnet for many visitors, there is a wide variety of other local crafts and souvenirs. The food scene includes a diverse selection of local eateries and shops. Here are some not to miss.
The entrance to Charleston City Market on historic Market Street
City Market Grocery
This grocery store with deli serves up gourmet coffee along with tasty breakfast and lunch options.
Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit
This delicious shop was started in 2005 by Carrie Morey, who was trying to replicate the fresh, hot, handmade, butter-laden, tender biscuits her mom made her as a child.
Today, Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit is arguably the most famous name in delectable Southern-style biscuits. Choose from the wealth of options available here and discover what the fuss is all about.
Gita’s Gourmet
This shop celebrates the best of Lowcountry cooking by offering cookbooks and all the ingredients you’ll need to recreate the best flavors of Charleston in your own kitchen once you return home.
8. Picnic at the Beach or Park
Although Charleston is famous as a foodie city full of gorgeous historical architecture, it is also a city that abounds with natural beauty. And one of the best ways to get in touch with this beauty is to pack a picnic and soak up the outdoors.
Joe Riley Waterfront Park is a must-visit destination in Charleston that’s great for picnicking.
Getting provisions is easy. For topnotch cheese in Charleston, visit goat.sheep.cow. If you rather pick up your entire spread in one stop, visit one of the 8 Harris Teeter grocery stores in town. They’re my favorite grocery outfit in the South.
Here are some of the many great picnic parks in Charleston:
White Point Garden
There is lots of oak-shaded green grass here, right on the water in the historic district, with outstanding views of Fort Sumter and Charleston Harbor.
Pitt Street Bridge
This historic bridge that was once the only link between Mount Pleasant and Sullivan Island has been converted into a recreation getaway perfect for walks, fishing, and picnicking. There’s plenty of grass, palm trees, benches, and water views.
Joe Riley Waterfront Park
Also called Charleston Waterfront Park or even just Waterfront Park, this extensive greenspace features lots of trees, the iconic Pineapple Fountain, another interactive fountain youngsters are invited to cool off in, and gorgeous views of Charleston Harbor.
Don’t Forget the Beaches
Charleston has too many beautiful beaches to mention, but a couple picnic favorites are Isle of Palms County Park and Folly Beach County Park.
9. Explore the Charleston Farmers Market
No matter what time of year or wherever I’m travelling, if there is a local farmers market open while I’m in town, I check it out. It gives me an up-close-and-personal insight into what fresh-from-the-fields ingredients area chefs are going to be highlighting in their meals while I’m visiting.
Foodies will love the bounty of the Charleston Farmers Market.
If I’m staying in a rental, I might grab some ingredients and whip up a simple local dish. No matter where I’m staying, I at least grab some fruit for healthy snacking back at the rental or hotel. As far as things to take back home, there are also almost always jams, oils, syrups, and honeys that are perfect as souvenirs or gifts for fellow foodies.
The Charleston Farmers Market is held every Saturday from 8 am to 2 pm from about mid-April to late November. This local jewel is conveniently located in Marion Square, in the heart of the city.
10. Stay at The Vendue, Charleston’s Art Hotel
I loved our stay at The Vendue in the heart of downtown in the French Quarter, just a few minutes’ walk from Charleston Waterfront Park. The location is wonderful! It’s so close to so many of Charleston’s major tourist attractions and marvelous bars, breweries, and restaurants.
For guests at The Vendue, complimentary breakfast means delicious food every morning.
In addition to The Rooftop at Vendue, the hotel also boasts Revival, its more formal restaurant. Here, dinners feature updated takes on Lowcountry classics that are both artfully prepared and pleasing to the palate.
But art at The Vendue is not confined to the dining room. More than 200 original works of art grace the hotel and are available for purchase. Staying here is like living in an art gallery that you can explore at any time—and then retire to your stylish, well-appointed room whenever you’re ready.
Check pricing and availability at The Vendue
Check Out Charleston!
Colorful Rainbow Row in Charleston, just one of the city’s myriad architectural attractions.
I hope I’ve given you a good sense of why Charleston is such an incredible destination for foodies, and what to do to fully immerse yourself in the fantastic flavors of this culinary wonderland. In short, if you are a foodie and ever have the opportunity, you owe it to yourself to check out Charleston!
Then, write me in the comments section and let me know what you loved about your visit. If you’ve already been to Charleston, let me know some of your favorite things about this city.
