Dishes Worth A Drive from Charleston
Okay, some of these restaurants are technically still in Charleston, but what they have in common is food that merits a trip outside the well-trodden tourist area. Get there however you can, but don't miss the extraordinary things—soul food, Chinese food, barbecue, French-accented local, whatever!—being cooked up in these remarkable South Carolina kitchens.
464 N Nassau St, Charleston, SC 29403, USA
It seems criminal that what many consider the best barbecue in Charleston comes from a Texas pit-master, but such is the nature of a global food scene in a thriving culinary city. John Lewis arrived in town with focus and intention, constructing...
1870 Bowens Island Rd, Charleston, SC 29412, USA
Bowens Island Restaurant has existed in one form or another since 1946. The original building, covered in Sharpie messages scrawled by diners over the years, burned to the ground in 2006. Owner Robert Barber rebuilt it...
2332 Meeting Street Rd, Charleston, SC 29405, USA
Albertha Grant never set out to win a James Beard Foundation award and win the adoration of international magazines and patrons—she simply cooked good food and served it to people in her North Charleston neighborhood. But amidst the last decade’s...
2063 Middle St, Sullivan's Island, SC 29482, USA
Chef Jacques Larson operates on the fringes, creating destination restaurants far off the Charleston peninsula, first with his Johns Island trattoria, Wild Olive, and now with this seafood-and-pizza-focused outpost on Sullivan’s Island. His...
1977 Maybank Hwy, Charleston, SC 29412, USA
Just through the heavy wooden doors of this Sichuan pop-up-turned-brick-and-mortar is the Pour House, an always-busy music venue where early evening soundchecks often fill the dining room with drum and bass noise. Even louder are the explosive...
237 Fishburne St, Charleston, SC 29403, USA
This quaint neighborhood corner joint, on Charleston’s rapidly gentrifying Westside, serves Charleston food with a French accent. That’s not nouveau fusion-and-foams French—it’s rich old-school braises, and buttery, mounted sauces over braised...
247 Congress St, Charleston, SC 29403, USA
Partly owned by part-time Charleston resident Bill Murray, Harold's Cabin is a nutty combination of Murray's sweetest comedic roles and Wes Anderson's cockeyed art direction. This former neighborhood corner grocery store (opened by the namesake...
The menu is simple at this quick-serve joint, probably because the chicken sandwich so so enticing, it’s difficult to consider anything else. The house sammie features a pre-brined breast slathered with pimento cheese, peach slaw, spicy mayo, and...
