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.
10 spots
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.
Anson has been serving dinner a few steps from the City Market for more than three decades, by its own account. Dinner only, seven nights a week.
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.
Doar Bros. is a small cocktail bar on Meeting Street with a short snack menu that includes truffle popcorn with brown butter, scallions and parmesan.
Mike Lata and Adam Nemirow opened FIG in 2003 with a menu that changes daily, and it has run that way for more than two decades, per The Post and Courier. The venue describes itself as a neighborhood restaurant built on seasonal, locally sourced ingredients. The same owners run The Ordinary. Lowland's chef Matthew Dion and Malagón's Juan Cassalett both cooked here earlier in their careers. It is Recommended in the inaugural MICHELIN Guide American South.
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.
Muse is a restaurant and wine bar in a house on Society Street in Ansonborough, open Monday through Saturday.
Shiki is a sushi room on East Bay Street that Charleston City Paper describes as family-owned since 2001, with James Park behind the sushi. City Paper readers voted it Best Sushi in 2026 and the paper keeps it in its Top 50.
A butcher shop that turns into a dining room once a week. On Friday evenings Ted's serves a featured menu or custom steak house dinners and gives 10 percent of the Friday dinner proceeds to a quarterly local charity partner, with reservations recommended for dine-in and take-out. The shop says Ted was among the Charleston Wine + Food Festival's 2026 Community Impact Award honorees, recognized at a luncheon on 27 January 2026, and that Real Simple consulted him for its July 2026 steak grilling article.
The Restaurant at Zero George is the dining room of the Zero George boutique hotel in Ansonborough, and it works out of an unusually small kitchen. Chef Vinson Petrillo runs a tasting menu that The Post and Courier describes through technical dishes such as a liquid-nitrogen shrimp cocktail and wagyu over Japanese charcoal. The hotel also runs The Caviar Bar, which draws on Petrillo's time as chef de cuisine at Caviar Russe in New York, and a cooking school with chef-led classes. It is Recommended in the inaugural MICHELIN Guide American South.
The same over 50 spots, sorted by the reasons people actually pick them.
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