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.
13 spots
Annie and Jason Vieira spent more than two years baking breads and desserts for Charleston restaurants before opening their own shop at St. Philip and Cannon in 2026. The Post and Courier lists buttermilk pie, carrot caramel cake, key lime pie on a pecan cookie crust and biscuits made with butter and creme fraiche, with lattes flavored with pistachio butter or banana toffee. Seating is at stools inside.
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'.
The Post and Courier describes Baguette Magic as a French bakery and cafe with almond croissants, house-made Pop-Tarts, avocado toast and an Italian sub. City Paper readers made it runner-up for Best Bakery and for Best James Island Brunch in 2026.
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.
Carmella's is a dessert bar on East Bay Street serving cakes, gelato, sorbet and locally roasted coffee, plus sandwiches, pizza, wine and cocktails. The site's history section names Carmella Solari. It is open from 8am to midnight every day and has a second shop in Greenville. Charleston City Paper readers voted it Best Dessert in 2026.
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.
The bakery arm of EVO Pizzeria, selling cookies, danishes, croissants and muffins, with cinnamon rolls on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It pours coffee from King Bean and Foresight Coffee Roasters and sells Brandon's Bread on Fridays. The city's tourism office points people to its patio for a latte.
Girl Nextdough is a bakery from Caitlin Schumacher, formerly the pastry chef at FIG, that opened in October 2025 with doughnuts and bagels, per the Post and Courier. It keeps short hours ... Thursday to Sunday mornings only.
Allison Anspach opened Grit Bakery in May 2025 on the ground floor of the Meeting Street Lofts. Her sourdough uses a six-year-old starter, small-batch flour milled near Asheville and a 36 to 48 hour ferment. She also bakes for The Archer next door, Sightsee Shop and City Lights Eastside, and her pastries are sold at Luther's Market.
Harken is a cafe and bakery on Queen Street run by owners the site names as Greer and Cameron. The bakery case is built around a biscuit collection, including a ricotta biscuit, plus cookies and bars.
The Harbinger opened in 2017 on upper King Street and says it was named for 'something good to come'. It is a daytime cafe and bakery, a few doors from OK Donna, and the team has published a cookbook that also carries the name of its sister cafe Harken.
Welton's bakes naturally leavened pastries and sourdough bread, with a small lunch menu, retail provisions and what it calls its famous Honey Pie. It opens every morning and adds evening hours midweek. City Paper readers voted it Best Bakery in 2026.
WildFlour is a West Ashley pastry shop that posts seasonal menus ... a fall menu running 1 October to 29 November and a Thanksgiving 2026 order list were both up when this was checked.
The same over 50 spots, sorted by the reasons people actually pick them.
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