Charleston is known as a foodie town, and for good reason! We had a chance to explore only a small handful of the wonderful restaurants you’ll find throughout the city of Charleston. All of the food was exceptional and has left me with a craving to return! I’m excited to share where to eat in Charleston with all of my readers.
Where to Eat in Charleston: Breakfast
I’m no luxury traveler, so we ate the free breakfast at our hotel most mornings to help keep our budget in check. We did venture out for Brunch on our Bull Dog Culinary Tour of Charleston one day.
Another Broken Egg Cafe
Add
ress: 99 Market Street, Charleston, SC 29401
Phone: 843-202-0417
Open: Mon to Sun 7am – 2pm
If I recall correctly, this delicious cafe branches off of a restaurant from Louisiana. You can stop by for breakfast or lunch to try out some low country cuisine. I highly recommend the grits and fried green tomatoes.
Grits with Cheese & Bacon
Fried Green Tomatos
Where to Eat in Charleston: Lunch
Cumberland Street Smokehouse
Address: 5 Cumberland Street, Charleston, SC 29401
Phone: 843.641.0131
Hours: Lunch & Dinner
If you’re looking for BBQ in Charleston, this is your place. You can get pulled pork and all the traditional sides here. Don’t forget to try the pork rinds if you’ve never had them before. They come out sizzling!
Pork rinds. They come out sizzling.
Collard Greens & Mac & Cheese
A mini sample platter, (clockwise) collared greens, mac & cheese, bread, cucumber salad, pulled pork.
Persimmon Cafe & Laundry
Address: 226 Calhoun Street Charleston, SC
Phone: 843.937.5399
Hours: Monday – Saturday: 10am – 9pm, Dine in, Take out & Delivery
So, laundry? Yes, this little family run cafe is part of a laundromat. It’s located near the local college, so it’s definitely a low key place where you’ll find students grabbing affordable gourmet sandwiches. It is not fancy, and seating is limited. A few seats finally cleared up by the time our sandwiches were ready. The food was delicious, but it’s probably a better option for takeout. If we had known about it, it would have been the perfect option for delivery while settling into our hotel!
Mozzarella Panini
Greek Salad
Shem Creek Bar & Grill
Address: 508 Mill Street, Mount Pleasant , SC 29464
Phone: 843-884-8102
Open: For Lunch & Dinner
This spot was recommended to me by one of our many friendly uber drivers. During our day trip to Mount Pleasant we decided to stop here for lunch before hitting the beach. Unfortunately it poured the entire time, so we couldn’t enjoy the view, but the waitstaff was incredibly polite and the food was scrumptious.
It would have been lovely to sit outside but the down pours ruined our plan.
Fried shrimp & Crab Cake with a side of grits and green veggies.
The famous fried green tomato BLT.
Where to Eat Dinner in Charleston
Poogan’s Porch
Address: 72 Queen Street, Charleston, SC
Phone: 843-577-2337
Hours: MONDAY – FRIDAY
BRUNCH: 10:30 – 02:30
DINNER: 5:00 – 09:30
SATURDAY & SUNDAY
BRUNCH: 09:00 – 02:30
DINNER: 05:00 – 09:30
Poona’s Porch is located in an 1888 Victorian home in downtown Charleston. The restaurant takes its name after a dog who used to reside on the front porch of the house. Diners can sit on the porch or inside the beautiful home to enjoy their meals.
This Victorian House was built in 1888, and converted into the restaurant in 1976.
It starts with the biscuit.
Shrimp & Grits
Classic Fried Chicken
Short Rib Ragout
The waiter described this decadent Oreo dessert with the evening specials before we ordered, so we knew to save room for dessert after our meal!
Low Country Bistro
Address: 49 South Market Street, Charleston, SC
Phone: 843-302-0290
Open: Lunch & Dinner, Weekend Brunch
This farm to table restaurant mixes Creole with French for a flavorful low country cuisine offering. Be sure to try the jambalaya and she crab soup if you make it to this casual dining establishment in the heart of downtown Charleston.
Pimiento Cheese Dip
She Crab Soup & Jambalaya
Corn on the Cob
Lobster Mac & Cheese
Chicken & Waffles, which actually originated in Harlem
Steak and Mashed Potatoes
Hominy Grill
Address: 207 Rutledge Ave. Charleston, SC 29403
Telephone: 843.937.0930
Open: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Hominy Grill was recommended to us by my tour guide at Boone Hall Plantation. This James Beard Award winning restaurant is located in a house in Charleston. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner serving low country cuisine from both land and sea to its patrons. Chef Robert Stehling calls Mac & Cheese a vegetable, so I knew this would be the perfect place for our last meal in Charleston.
Cheese Fried Grits. Not sure what I was expecting, but it certainly was an interesting side dish!
This is the nasty biscuit. It’s fried chicken, covered in gravy, served on a warm biscuit. A truly delicious choice.
Where to Eat Dessert in Charleston
Jeni’s King Street
Jeni’s is located on the bustling King Street in Charleston, South Carolina.
Address: 501-A King Street, Charleston, SC 29403
Phone: 843-212-5113
Hours: Mon to Fri 12pm to 11pm, Sat/Sun 11am to 11pm
Ranked as the #1 Dessert spot in Charleston on yelp and a short walk from our hotel, we decided to try Jeni’s on our last night in Charleston. Jeni’s is a chain, so check their website to see if they have a location near you. The fresh homemade cones were phenomenal. I could have eaten one of these without the ice cream! I opted for the new seasonal flavor of hard apple cider. It was an interesting choice, kind of tasted like frozen applesauce! My sister tried the delicious peanut butter flavor. Jenny’s uses fair trade ingredients in its ice cream, a major appeal when searching for restaurants.
Cheers! Except she better not touch my cone with those peanuts!! #nutallergy
So many delicious flavors to choose from.
Market Street Sweets
Address: 100 North Market Street, Charleston, SC 29401
Phone: (843) 722-1397
Hours: 7 Days 9am to 11pm
Market Street Sweets is part of River Street Sweets, which can be found in Savannah, Georgia. This sweet shop offers ice cream, fudge, candies, and most importantly pralines. Perfect place to stop in for a little snack or dessert, or to get some goodies to bring home.
Cookies’n’Cream Cone melting faster than I can eat it.
Wow, Charleston restaurants remind me so much of home (Louisiana); I guess that’s why SC is considered Southern! I recognized those City Grits at Another Broken Egg the moment I saw them. Aren’t they the best?
Wow! These are so yummy! Wish I could get a chance to visit South Carolina someday and try out these restaurants.The waffle w/ chicken is new to me. Was it a good combo?
God Bless!
JM Kayne | #InMyHeart♥
Wow! Everything looks so delicious! That lobster mac and cheese looks yummy! I seriously want to visit Charleston just to eat at all the great restaurants you mentioned. I love good southern cooking!
Wow! SO many wonderful places to eat in Charleston. I would definitely hit up Poona’s Porch. One, I love the Victorian architecture. Two, the food looks amazing. Three, I love how the name came from their furry friend. That fried chicken and biscuit is making me so hungry right now 🙂
Wow! Im on my way to SC and I can’t believe I came across with your post. I will definitely find out if any of these places are close to where Im heading. I hope so because all of them look great to eat. Everything looks delicious!
Where are you staying? We were a bit outside of the historic downtown area, but it was an easy uber ride in for us. Sometimes we would uber one way and walk the other. Hopefully I can finish my Mount Pleasant post before you go.
All this food looks so delicious, it made me water at the mouth!!! Charleston is one place I have always wanted to visit and hope to one day.
Nice tips, honey! everything looks sooo delicious! I would like to try everything!
Short Rib Ragout looks way too tasty! Great post and great pictures. Thank you.
My sister was afraid to order it, but in the end it was perfect for her.
My best friend lives in Charleston. I will have to share this with her to see if any of these are on her list of favorites. I really enjoy a place downtown by the water called Fleets Landing. I will have to try these other ones out when I am visiting her next.
There are so many good places. I’ll need to go back and explore them all!
Oh yum! I’m so hungry right now and the chicken and waffles isn’t helping matters! Plus, lobster mac and cheese. I’m from the UK but my Dad lives in Mississippi and I miss southern food so much. They try and do it over here but it’ll never be the same. Great blog! X
Charleston has the best food! The scenery is magnificent as well, Shem Creek views are amazing while enjoying some great grub!