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Places to Dine
There are many great restaurants around Charleston -
these are some of our favorites.
58 Line Street (Corner of King)
(843) 577-5393
Another recent addition to the Charleston Restaurant scene, Barsa offers small
plates in the Spanish tapas tradition, well executed and accompanied by a solid and reasonably
priced wine list. Pushing the upper King Street scene further North, the restaurant has a
large friendly bar which is reported to be quite the scene later in the evenings. We
particularly enjoyed the small Paella dishes but there are many good choices on the menu.
Check out their website and
menus here. 11 block walk.
Basil
460 King Street
(843) 724-3490
Thai in Charleston? You bet, and excellent. They have
their own style and it's all good. An easy walk from
Charlotte Street Cottage, this casual restaurant has great food
and an energetic but not hectic atmosphere. You can sit at a
table or at the food bar and watch your meals prepared
through the glass. No reservations but get a drink at the
bar and watch the crowd as you wait for a table. Now they also have
opened a tapas bar next door, named Chai. You can see descriptions and
menus here.
A 4 1/2 block walk.
Charleston Grill
224 Meeting Street
(843) 722-4900 Located
in the Charleston Place Hotel, this beautiful restaurant features
intimate fine dining for that special dinner when you want
everything just right. More formal dining with attentive
expert service, a top notch menu and great wines. 8 block
walk. You can see their menu here.
18 Pinckney Street
(843) 534-2434
We love this place and keep going back for their
excellent food and pleasant ambience. Tucked on a small
street near the market, it is in a wonderful old Charleston
row house and when the weather's nice you can eat on the
porch. Great spot for lunch while you're out walking the
downtown area - best burger in town. Go back for dinner -
everything on the small
menu is good. 8 block walk
232 Meeting Street
(843) 805-5900
When we want to take it up a notch, you'll find us at Fig. Great
space, nice bar and excellent service. Tuesdays they have live jazz, too.
Proponents of the slow food movement, the emphasis is on
fresh, quality local ingredients artfully prepared and
presented. The menu varies with the seasons to take advantage of what the
local farmers have to offer. Call ahead, they keep busy and plan on a longer
evening to savor the flavors. See the menu
here. 6 block walk.
3140 Maybank Highway
Johns Island
(843) 559-9090
Located on Johns Island, Fat Hen would be a great place to have an
early dinner or lunch on the way to or from one of the plantations.
Their
web site says it best: “Main dishes center around innovative
French classics with Lowcountry flourishes, sourced from the finest local
produce farmers.” This restaurant is well worth the 20 minute drive
from downtown. Click here for directions.
Fleet Landing
186 Concord Street
(843) 722-8100
Believe it or not, in a city surrounded by water,
this is the only restaurant where you get decent food while looking out over water!
Fleet Landing specializes in seafood, as expected, and does a pretty good job.
Large and busy but not hectic, you can go with a large party or just
the two of you. Small tables are outside directly over the water where
you can watch the pelicans working harder than you for a meal and you might
see dolphins if you are lucky. A mix of local fare and standards,
with soups, salads, a good burger, lots of seafood entrees including
the classic fried dishes, and kids and lunch menus. Great happy hour
to end the day. An 8 block walk. Read more on their
website.
Fulton Five
5 Fulton Street
(843) 853-5555 Friendly,
knowledgeable and
unpretentious service, great wine list, cozy intimate
atmosphere and excellent Northern Italian food speak for
themselves. Our friends were trying to get us back there and
they were right. Try the mushroom salad, the gnocchi, and
ask for some suggestions from the staff both for food and
wine - you won't be disappointed. They have a
website where you can
download their menu. 10 block walk.
434 King Street
(843) 727-0090 A
nother new entry in the growing Uptown restaurant scene. After
several good reports from our guests and friends, we had to sample
the steakhouse fare. We found quality steaks well prepared and
very attentive service at this family run restaurant. The rennovated
space is very warm and comfortable. Try the steak tartare.
A 4 block walk. Check out their
menu.
148 Civitas Street
Mt. Pleasant (I'on)
(843) 284-0840 A
cross the bridge in Mt. Pleasant, this small comfortable restaurant delivers modern
Southern cuisine with friendly service and reasonable prices. Serving a variety of dishes
from fresh seafood to locally produced meats, the starters are good and the wine list offers
great wines that will not break the bank. We have enjoyed every meal here and it is a good
choice if you are headed out to the beach, Drayton Hall or shopping. They serve lunch, too.
Here is their
menu and a
map.
La Fourchette
432 King Street
(843) 722-6261 This cozy upper King
Street spot is like stepping into a bistro off the Blvd. Saint Germain in Paris.
Simple French fare in a wonderful warm setting - the ambiance is the real star here.
Great pommes frites and a well executed cassoulet you can enjoy
with a bottle from their nice wine list. A four block walk. Check out their
website for a look at their menu.
Lana
210 Rutledge Avenue
(843) 720-8899 And when
we're not at Fig . . .
Another favorite located on the corner of
Spring Street and Rutledge Avenue,
Lana is a very
popular neighborhood spot. The food is excellent, the
service is friendly and attentive, with a great
wine list - reasonable prices and
lots of options by the glass. This is one of our trusted go-to
places we can always count on. Great lunch menu, too. A longer walk or
take a cab. Check out their
website.
41-A Bogard Street
(843) 973-3323
This new restaurant by Chef Ken Vedrinski serves delicious authentic Italian
trattoria food in a pleasant setting on the North end of downtown. Ken has cooked at some of the
best restaurants in Charleston including the much loved Woodlands in Summerville and his other
excellent restaurant on Daniel Island,
Sienna. Good service and excellent food and wine - a top
recommendation. On sunday their family style dinner is fun!
Here is
their website. A 13 block walk. We recommend a taxi or drive. See map.
Langdon's
778 South Shelmore Blvd.
Mt. Pleasant
(843) 388-9200
You have to drive over the harbor on the impressive
Ravanel Bridge to visit Langdon's for dinner but it is definitely worth
the 10 minute drive. Having a pleasant modern upscale decors with a great
bar in front, the dining room is comfortable and stylish. The menu is
eclectic and everything is good. They have a good assortment of excellently
prepared seafood and meats with tantalizing appetizers and salads. Service
is great and the wine list has a nice variety of good wine that is
reasonably priced. Specials are usually hard to resist. Look at the
website under
contact
for a map to get there.
45 John Street
(843) 577-5448 Draw straws to see who gets to stay in their jammies
and make the coffee while one of you hops on the bike to ride the 4 blocks to
this wonderful authentic French bakery. Get a couple of the croissants, maybe an almond pastry,
a small tart for later and a baguette to go with that cheese in the fridge. When you get back, close
your eyes and imagine you are on a Paris sidealk. Your tastebuds will conspire to make you believe the fantasy.
This is the real deal. Be careful. You may find yourself here daily. Check out their
website.
Market Pavilion Bar
225 East Bay Street
(843) 266-4218 Located
on top of the Market Pavilion Hotel, the Pavilion Bar offers fabulous views
of downtown Charleston with the harbor as a backdrop. Great place to have
lunch on a warm Spring day or to have a cocktail as the sun goes down, the
food is good and the bar has great cocktails that you can enjoy outside under
an umbrella. Popular early evening spot to meet your friends. Read more on
their
website. 8 block walk.
112 North Market Street
(843) 723-0700
All you need to know: this is the only Relais & Châteaux
member hotel and restaurant in downtown Charleston. That means a consistently high
level of service. Located in the Planters Inn on the North end of the Market, this
is probably the most beautiful dining room in Charleston. Excellent for a special
occasion, a quiet and elegant dining experience will be yours along with an extensive
and high quality wine list. Listen to the servers´ recommendations; they know
what they are doing, and by all means save room for the signature desserts. Here is
their website. 8 blocks
Rue de Jean
39 John Street
(843) 722-8881 We
send many of our guests here to start their vacation. Only a
three block walk from Charlotte Street Cottage, this French
bistro offers a spacious comfortable dining room, a great
bar and a varied menu for an easy dinner after a long flight
or drive. Great mussels, a plat du jours and great fries.
You can look at their
menus online.
S.N.O.B.
192 East Bay Street
(843) 723-3424
A popular spot on "restaurant row" in
the heart of the action, SNOB delivers consistently good
fare with a southern touch for lunch and dinner. If you've
been out all day and need to eat NOW before you walk back to
Charlotte Street, bet on this pick to welcome you out of the
madness and give you a solid dining experience. A 9 block walk.
They, too, have a
website.
Dave´s Carry-Out
42 Morris Street
(843) 577-7943
If you would like to see what the real charleston
cuisine is like, and/or you want to bring something back to the cottage
and eat lunch on the patio in the sun, check out Dave´s. The
little store front is actually a step up from their old location on
Rutledge. Much happier with their new landlord, they turn out basic
but delicious platters of fried fish and shrimp, fish sandwiches, wings
and other lowcountry southern cooking. Open Tuesday - Saturday, with
lunch specials through Friday, this is the real deal. We love the shrimp
and fish platter with fries. 7 Block Walk.
186 Coming Street
(843) 637-3722
Right next door to Dave's, this new neighborhood place recently opened and
we can't get enough. Owned and operated by a young friendly couple,
they have a constantly changing menu of simple, interesting and surprising dishes that
are uniformly delicious. Casual and comfortable, their breakfast menu continues all day
along with lunch and diner fare. Quality inexpensive wine and a variety of beers cap off the
choices. Here is
their website. 8 blocks
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