167 Raw moved from a tiny room at 289 East Bay Street, now 167 Sushi Bar, to a long narrow 19th century building on King Street with original brick walls and a walnut bar. It takes no reservations. City Paper readers voted it Best Oysters and Best Raw Bar in 2026, and on r/Charleston the tuna burger is the dish people name.
167 Sushi Bar is the sushi and yakitori room from the 167 Raw group, in the East Bay Street storefront where 167 Raw itself began before moving to King Street.
39 Rue de Jean is a French cafe, brasserie and bar on John Street just off Upper King, with exposed brick, a patio and a private room upstairs. Explore Charleston reported in spring 2026 that it was marking its 25th anniversary with themed wine dinners and expanded lunch. It belongs to Holy City Hospitality, a Charleston group, and City Paper readers voted it Best French in 2026.
82 Queen is the Lowcountry restaurant on Queen Street that City Paper readers voted Best She-Crab Soup in 2026. The top answer in a r/Charleston she-crab soup thread agrees. Opinion on the rest is split: it is offered as the most Charleston restaurant in one thread, and in the same thread a commenter says it is not as good as its reputation.
BellyUp! Charleston / Over 50
Good places to eat and drink in Charleston, minus the nightclubs. When a spot gets loud later or draws a lot of kids, the card tells you.
9 spots
A vegan, gluten-free and sugar-free bakery and cafe. The venue says it is best known for cookies, cake jars and other desserts, and also serves savory food: vegan chik'n, sandwiches and nachos. It calls the idea 'sweet abundance'.
Explore Charleston describes the aim as seasonal, local produce cooked to be nourishing, with a wide range of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free dishes and a staff trained to guide guests through allergens. There is a dedicated kids menu ... almond butter and jelly, veggie sticks, fruit bowls.
Courtney Colangelo started Cakette in her home kitchen during maternity leave, baking birthday cakes for friends, then ran pop-ups ... including a Friday tent outside Prophet Coffee ... before opening the bakeshop at Durant Avenue and Simms Street. She writes that Cakette exists in part to make maternal leadership visible in the independent restaurant business. The Post and Courier notes its vegan and gluten-free pastries. It is open four mornings a week.
D'Allesandro's opened on this St. Philip Street corner in 2006 and says it is family-run, with 10 percent off for active military every day. It has since added a second shop at Nexton in Summerville. City Paper readers voted it Best Traditional Pizza in 2026, in a tie.
A Sichuan kitchen attached to a music hall. City Paper's Top 50 for summer 2026 says it is set next door to the Charleston Pour House in the space once occupied by The Lot, and that nothing about it is subtle, from the food to the music to the chef. The menu is sorted into blocks labeled 'Loud', 'Hot' and 'Vibes', and the paper recommends starting with the crescent dumplings.
Ma'am Saab is a Pakistani restaurant owned by Maryam Ghaznavi and Raheel Gauba, at the Meeting Street corner that long held Jestine's Kitchen. The venue says its founder is from Karachi. Charleston City Paper readers have voted it Best Indian/Pakistani in 2024, 2025 and 2026, and it took part in Charleston Wine + Food in 2026. The menu marks gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan dishes.
Odd Duck's third shop opened in July 2026 in a former bank branch near Hampton Park, where the old drive-thru is now a walk-up ordering window. Owners Jared Hellman and Andrew Hare started in Park Circle; the venue says the pair ran Bubba Slye's deli in the early 2000s. It sells craft lattes, breakfast and lunch sandwiches, take-and-bake meals, ice cream and house-baked pastries, with a mural by Cara Fischer inside.
A family owned and run Southern restaurant on Coleman Boulevard serving breakfast, lunch, supper and weekend brunch, walk-ins only. Its signature is Ashleigh's Shrimp & Grits, which the restaurant says has been voted Best Shrimp & Grits ten years running. The family has since opened a second restaurant in Summerville's Nexton and runs a food truck in Moncks Corner.
A Vietnamese noodle room in a shopping center at the top end of Rivers Avenue. Its own site lists gluten-free options and a split day, closing between lunch and dinner. Nothing about the owners is published on the site.
The same over 50 spots, sorted by the reasons people actually pick them.
Recommendations from real Charlestonians, always attributed to whoever wrote them.
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