Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Charleston, South Carolina by diners

Written by:
June 18, 2024
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Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Charleston, South Carolina by diners

When you travel below the Mason-Dixon Line, you'll find some of the most mouthwatering, comforting cuisine in the U.S.: Southern food.

Southern dishes are a vital part of American cuisine, from hush puppies to ham hocks and beignets to barbecue. It's impossible to define a classic Southern meal, but a solid one starts with the sharp savory flavor of pimento cheese dip, followed by the delicious crunchiness of fried chicken or a spicy Louisiana étouffée, culminating with a sugary slice of chess pie that's best washed down with a tall glass of sweet tea.

What's unique about Southern fare is that multiple ethnic and cultural groups have influenced it. Spanish staples, such as potatoes and cocoa, are in many Southern dishes; the Acadians, who traveled to Louisiana from Nova Scotia and later became Louisiana Creoles, contributed their seafood to many Southern meals; African ingredients—okra, sorghum (an ancient grain), and black-eyed peas—became a part of the cuisine through the forced labor of enslaved people; French cooking methods, like braising and sautéing, are used for many Southern recipes; and Native Americans introduced corn to Southern recipes, yielding dishes like succotash and grits.

The Southern culinary scene is an explosion of cultures. To find out where you can sample some Southern offerings, Stacker compiled a list of the highest-rated Southern restaurants in Charleston using data from Yelp. Data is as of June 11, 2024. Businesses were selected using Yelp's ranking system, which calculates an adjusted rating value that takes into account the number of ratings as well as the rating score itself. Only restaurants with at least 10 reviews were considered. In an effort to highlight independent restaurants and local chains, restaurants with more than five locations nationally, based on the Yelp data, were not included.

Read on to find the perfect spot to get a taste of the South near you.

Note: The photos in this article are stock images and do not necessarily depict the specific restaurants listed or the dishes they serve.

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#30. Charleston Crab House

- Rating: 4.0/5 (1122 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 41 South Market St. Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: seafood, southern, american
- Read more on Yelp

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#29. Toast All Day

- Rating: 4.0/5 (318 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 453 King St. Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: southern, breakfast & brunch, american
- Read more on Yelp

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#28. Poogan's Smokehouse

- Rating: 4.0/5 (938 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 188 East Bay St. Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: southern, barbeque, smokehouse
- Read more on Yelp

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#27. Husk

- Rating: 4.0/5 (3272 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 76 Queen St. Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: american, seafood, southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#26. Bohemian Bull

- Rating: 4.1/5 (446 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1531 Folly Road Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: american, southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#25. Callie's Hot Little Biscuit

- Rating: 4.1/5 (1649 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 476 1/2 King St. Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: breakfast & brunch, southern, sandwiches
- Read more on Yelp

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#24. Poogan's Porch

- Rating: 4.1/5 (4499 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 72 Queen St. Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: southern, breakfast & brunch, seafood
- Read more on Yelp

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#23. Middleton Place

- Rating: 4.1/5 (227 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 4300 Ashley River Road Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: museums, southern, landmarks & historical buildings
- Read more on Yelp

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#22. 82 Queen

- Rating: 4.1/5 (1562 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 82 Queen St. Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: southern, seafood, breakfast & brunch
- Read more on Yelp

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#21. Eli's Table

- Rating: 4.1/5 (2045 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 129 Meeting St. Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: southern, breakfast & brunch, new american
- Read more on Yelp

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#20. Rodney Scott's BBQ

- Rating: 4.2/5 (1263 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1011 King St. Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: barbeque, southern, sandwiches
- Read more on Yelp

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#19. The Swamp Fox Restaurant

- Rating: 4.2/5 (372 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 387 King St. Francis Marion Hotel Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: southern, bars
- Read more on Yelp

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#18. Lenoir

- Rating: 4.2/5 (133 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 68 Wentworth St. Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: southern, new american
- Read more on Yelp

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#17. Leon's Fine Poultry and Oysters

- Rating: 4.2/5 (1280 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 698 King St. Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: southern, seafood, chicken shop
- Read more on Yelp

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#16. Gillie's Seafood

- Rating: 4.2/5 (428 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 805 Folly Road Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: comfort food, seafood, southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#15. Fleet Landing Restaurant

- Rating: 4.2/5 (3260 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 186 Concord St. Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: seafood, american, southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#14. Port of Call Food & Brew

- Rating: 4.2/5 (93 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 99 South Market St. Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: southern, breakfast & brunch, cocktail bars
- Read more on Yelp

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#13. The Grocery

- Rating: 4.2/5 (463 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 4 Cannon St. Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: southern, mediterranean, cocktail bars
- Read more on Yelp

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#12. Revival

- Rating: 4.3/5 (245 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 162 East Bay St. Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: southern, new american, seafood
- Read more on Yelp

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#11. Anson

- Rating: 4.3/5 (436 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 12 Anson St. Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: seafood, southern, american
- Read more on Yelp

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#10. The Glass Onion

- Rating: 4.3/5 (709 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1219 Savannah Hwy Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: southern, salad, sandwiches
- Read more on Yelp

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#9. Magnolias

- Rating: 4.4/5 (2990 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 185 East Bay St. Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: southern, wine bars, salad
- Read more on Yelp

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#8. Millers All Day

- Rating: 4.4/5 (1165 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 120 King St. Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: breakfast & brunch, bakeries, southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#7. Slightly North of Broad

- Rating: 4.4/5 (1783 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 192 East Bay St. Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: new american, southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#6. Iron Rose Bar & Restaurant

- Rating: 4.5/5 (140 reviews)
- Address: 115 Meeting St. Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: breakfast & brunch, cocktail bars, southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#5. Circa 1886 Restaurant

- Rating: 4.5/5 (356 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 149 Wentworth St. Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: new american, southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#4. Betty Lou's Bistro

- Rating: 4.5/5 (166 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 2408 Ashley River Road Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: southern, breakfast & brunch, burgers
- Read more on Yelp

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#3. Charleston Grill

- Rating: 4.6/5 (391 reviews)
- Price level: $$$$
- Address: 224 King St. Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: new american, southern, wine bars
- Read more on Yelp

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#2. Florence's Lowcountry Kitchen

- Rating: 4.6/5 (25 reviews)
- Address: 1271 Folly Road Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: seafood, southern, cocktail bars
- Read more on Yelp

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#1. VIP Bistro

- Rating: 5.0/5 (10 reviews)
- Address: 616 Meeting St. Ste A Charleston, South Carolina
- Categories: breakfast & brunch, burgers, southern
- Read more on Yelp

This story features data reporting by Karim Noorani, writing by Rasha Aly, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 143 metros.

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