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.
15 spots
Babas on Wentworth is the newest room from the Charleston cafe that started on Cannon Street. Explore Charleston says it opened in January 2026 as a European-inspired cafe in a 1931 building with an outdoor patio. It runs from morning coffee into evening drinks. The group's Meeting Street cafe was reported closing at the end of September 2026, with a move to 1011 King Street.
The Blind Tiger is a pub on Broad Street with an outdoor patio. The site explains the name: blind tiger was the late 1800s term for an illicit drinking and gambling house.
Open late. Go earlier if you want a calmer room.
The Post and Courier describes casual American food with a reliable beer list ... soft pretzels, fried chili-spiced shrimp, bacon cheeseburgers ... and patio seating. City Paper readers voted it Best James Island Happy Hour in 2026.
The newest bar in a building with a long local memory. The Post and Courier reported in August 2026 that Dive In opened in June 2026 at 525 Meeting Street, a single-story building that was once home to the Black-owned Thunderguards Motorcycle Club and then to Palace Hotel, which closed in 2025 after less than two years at the address. Owners Fitz Gaines, Lamar Bonaparte and Tyler Wicker have been involved in Republic Garden & Lounge, Red Palm Tavern and Bourbon N' Bubbles downtown. Picnic tables sit on the patio in front.
Founder Aaron Siegel came from fine dining, per Destination BBQ, and Home Team cooks a multi-regional menu instead of one barbecue tradition: smoked wings, pulled pork, brisket, ribs, turkey. The frozen Gamechanger cocktail is the house drink. The venue lists a kids menu and a sauce list; wood species is not stated on the pages fetched. Charleston-born group, also in Columbia, Greenville and Aspen. The downtown room has a fenced gravel yard with chalkboards for children, a large bar and a big courtyard.
This is a music venue. It is loud when a show is on.
Founder Aaron Siegel came from fine dining, per Destination BBQ, and Home Team cooks a multi-regional menu instead of one barbecue tradition: smoked wings, pulled pork, brisket, ribs, turkey. The frozen Gamechanger cocktail is the house drink. The venue lists a kids menu and a sauce list; wood species is not stated on the pages fetched. Charleston-born group, also in Columbia, Greenville and Aspen. The venue describes West Ashley as rustic, with tin paneling and gas lanterns in the spirit of old honky-tonks, two outside porches, Monday team trivia, and says it is home to University of Georgia alumni on game days.
Husk has been cooking Southern food from local purveyors since 2011, and the Charleston room on Queen Street is the original; Nashville and Savannah came later. Sean Brock was the founding chef and is no longer involved, as The Post and Courier notes. Charleston City Paper lists Ray England as chef in its Summer 2026 Top 50. The Bar and Patio sits next door in a nineteenth-century kitchen house and pours a deep list of bourbon and Southern spirits, first come, first served. The Post and Courier ties the kitchen to biscuits, country ham and Carolina Gold rice. It is Recommended in the inaugural MICHELIN Guide American South.
A marina restaurant on the Intracoastal Waterway. The venue calls itself family-friendly, with direct access by boat, weekly live music and sunsets. Explore Charleston lists yard games, kid-friendly trivia nights and a full kids menu; the Post and Courier mentions corn hole on the spacious patio and says to start with hushpuppies.
Live music some nights. Go before the band starts if you want to talk.
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.
Pitmaster John Lewis serves Central Texas barbecue here, sliced to order at the counter from smokers he designed and welded himself, as the venue tells it. The Post and Courier says the Charleston original opened about a decade ago and has since spawned rooms in Greenville and Atlanta. It is known for smoked brisket, beef sausage and corn pudding with Hatch green chiles, and it has a large bar and a backyard patio. This is Texas-style beef barbecue, not a South Carolina sauce tradition. It was named a Bib Gourmand on 3 November 2025.
Locals is a sushi restaurant that is also a sports pub, with nigiri and rolls beside tacos, hibachi and wings, and a sushi rolling class on the third Thursday of each month. The Post and Courier notes a patio and a second-floor loft at the Folly Road room. City Paper readers made it runner-up for Best Sushi in 2026.
A Southern take on Southwestern cooking, with a wood fire in the kitchen, fresh-juiced margaritas and a long tequila list. The bar is built from a reclaimed cotton mill. Sunday brunch comes with endless mimosas. It is a small local group with other Charleston-area rooms.
Live music some nights. Go before the band starts if you want to talk.
A Front Beach restaurant and rum bar on Ocean Boulevard that pitches itself as a family friendly spot with patio views, craft cocktails and local beers. Moultrie News named Benj Farmery as owner or co-owner of Smugglers, IOPizza and Papi's Taqueria in March 2026, when he told the island's chamber that winter cash calls were heavy and argued against restaurants shutting for the season.
A Charleston-born taqueria group that also has rooms in Folly Beach, Summerville and Asheville. Explore Charleston points to the 100 percent vegan scratch-made guacamole, vegan black beans, build-your-own nachos, burritos and rice bowls, and the crispy avocado taco. The downtown room has a large back patio and a kids menu.
A bar and music room in an old ironworks on the upper peninsula. The venue says it is in the Ole Charleston Forge building and has served food, drink and live music since 2011, with the kitchen open until 1 a.m. every day. The Post and Courier's 2026 itinerary sends readers there for $5 pitchers of Miller High Life on a patio that faces the Ravenel Bridge, and City Paper (June 2026) points to the $13 disco fries and the $12 patty melt.
This is a music venue. It is loud when a show is on.
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