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.
7 spots
Fauzia Garner and her brother Mirwais Haris opened this in summer 2025 because the Charleston area had nowhere cooking the food of their home country. The dining room has about a dozen tables and serves mantu, the meat-filled dumplings, and bolani, flatbread stuffed with spinach and potato, along with kebabs. The venue says every dish is prepared to halal standards. A market beside it sells clothing, goods and groceries.
Coast calls itself a small, family owned craft brewery on an old Navy base, making beer with organic and local ingredients. The taproom has a full bar and kitchen and opens Thursday to Sunday.
Nathan and Chasity Brown opened the Reynolds Avenue shop on 1 January 2021, and Charleston City Paper included them that spring in a piece on Black restaurant owners, where Chasity said a lot of people in the community had stopped by. The bakery makes cakes, cupcakes, cake pops and cookies from scratch. It is a graduate of Lowcountry Local First's Community Business Academy and is listed in that directory as women-owned and minority-owned.
Joey Sakran moved from upstate New York in 2008, spent nearly two decades at Boeing, and retired to open the pizzeria he had wanted, with his daughter Rebecca, in December 2025. It sells New York slices and 14 to 18 inch pies, garlic knots, fried ravioli and meatballs from a family recipe. His brother Jason Sakran co-owns Bon Banh Mi and served on Charleston City Council. It is in the Shoppes at Montague Corners.
A family-owned soul food room on Dorchester Road. The city's tourism office says the family moved here after closing their downtown Charleston restaurant because of rising rent, and that the kitchen cooks soul food and Gullah dishes ... okra soup, seafood platters, bread pudding. The venue lists fried shrimp, catfish dinners, ribs with red rice and mac and cheese. The Local Palate called it a meat-and-three stop on a Black Food Fridays tour in 2022.
A lunch-only barbecue counter that calls itself the home of the Super Pig and also claims the best cheeseburgers in town. The tourism office describes it as family owned, serving barbecue, hash, potato salad and onion rings. It is open five days a week and closes at three.
Striped Pig has been distilling since 2013 and describes itself as a woman-owned, family-run distillery. The tasting room serves specialty cocktails, tours run Wednesday to Friday afternoons, and Ghost Monkey Brewery pours beer on the same site.
Live music some nights. Go before the band starts if you want to talk.
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