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.
12 spots
Delaney Oyster House is a raw bar and seafood restaurant in what the venue calls a quintessential historic Charleston home on Calhoun Street, with a second-floor porch. Elliot Cusher is executive chef. It belongs to The Neighborhood Dining Group, the owners of Husk.
Edison is owned and run by husband and wife Chef Joel and Chelsea Lucas, and the site says it is now in its tenth year on James Island. The menu is seasonal and changes. Dinner only, with a shaded patio the site calls secluded.
Chef Frank Kline owns and runs Grace & Grit, which he opened in August 2017. The kitchen works from local seafood and produce, and its calling card is the Grit Flight, a sampler of the house grits. Tables sit inside or under the oaks on a dog-friendly patio.
A small Folly Beach room with a courtyard out back that the street does not show. The saloon quotes Charleston Magazine on its own site: 'a haven for vegetarians, vegans and omnivores alike, with sidewalk booths and a sunny back courtyard'. City Paper's Top 50 for summer 2026 says co-owner and chef Lesley Carroll rotates the menu with the seasons, with dishes such as red curry mac and cheese and Tom Kha Gai gnocchi. The Post and Courier's food editor calls it his Folly Beach favorite.
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.
Le Farfalle is Chef Michael Toscano's Italian restaurant on Beaufain Street, a block off King. The venue describes a modern approach to authentic Italian cooking. The patio and bar stools are kept for walk-ins. Dinner only.
The Post and Courier's alphabet guide describes the approach better than the restaurant does: Maison is 'housed in an odd-looking blueish-purple building on King Street. Enter by walking through a quiet patio, guarded by a mural of the Eiffel Tour. Inside, a slim alleyway passes a bar on the left and booths to the right before the room opens up in the back.' Chef Vandy Vanderwarker runs the kitchen, and the paper ranks it alongside Chez Nous as the area's top French restaurants.
Malagón opened in 2019 as a neighborhood market and tapería from chef Juan Cassalett, his wife chef Jill Mathias, and Patrick and Fanny Panella, the same partners behind Chez Nous a block and a half away. The Post and Courier says it took over a former gourmet sandwich shop. Cassalett cooked at FIG and Xiao Bao Biscuit before this, per Charleston Wine + Food. The market side imports Spanish wine, canned seafood, cheese and charcuterie, and the wine and beer list is Spanish only. It earned One MICHELIN Star in the inaugural American South guide on 3 November 2025.
The newest room in the sector, open by late September 2026 on the roof of Storehouse Nine at Navy Yard Charleston, the redevelopment of the naval base that closed in 1996. It belongs to Charleston's Indigo Road Hospitality Group, the people behind Oak Steakhouse, Indaco and O-Ku. Executive chef Sean McMullen came from Luminosa in Asheville and cooks coastal Italian ... crudo, head-on shrimp, handmade pasta, whole fish, pizza ... with the Cooper River in view.
The room traces back to a casual neighborhood restaurant that first opened on this spot in 1988. It now runs as a modern fish camp led by chef and partner Jason Stanhope, whom the site calls a James Beard award-winning chef. He buys from Abundant Seafood, Kindlewood Farms, Tarvin Seafood and Lowcountry Shellfish. A side patio can be bought out for up to 24.
The Harlow calls its cooking Island-Americana ... Southern seafood traditions next to classic American dishes, led by Chef Brett Riley. There is a covered patio the site describes as kid-and-dog-friendly and an open-air bar that seats walk-ins first come, first served.
The Obstinate Daughter opened in 2014 on the second story of a building on Middle Street, behind a live oak, per The Post and Courier. The venue says the name honors 'the spirit, sass and determination of Miss Carolina Sullivan'. Chef Jacques Larson, a two-time James Beard nominee, cooks Lowcountry seafood through Italian, French and Spanish habits, with a wood-fired oven, a plancha and house pasta. The restaurant holds Green Restaurant Certification and buys from local farmers and fishermen. Beardcat's Sweet Shop is downstairs. It is the only Michelin-designated restaurant in the Charleston area off the peninsula: Recommended in the inaugural American South guide.
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