Charleston, SC - ‘25
By far our most asked question is “what are your recommendations for Charleston?” Being a native of Charleston herself, Hannah absolutely loves answering this question for you. We hope that this guide will be a go-to for you, but nothing would bring us greater joy than being able to help you tailor recommendations to your groups needs and interests - so please still message us to ask!
If you are familiar with Charleston at all, you know how many restaurants pop up frequently. We anticipate this list to grow and change as the city does - hence the “2025 Edition” so stay tuned for more editions to come!
*drum roll* please
Beautiful hotels to rest your head:
The Dewberry: situated right on Marion Square in the heart of downtown this hotel contains two of our favorite bars in town. It was an old federal government building which was restored in its original mid century modern style. Bonus points if you stay there at Christmas time, as they have our favorite Christmas decorations year after year!
Charleston Place: located on the city block surrounded by King Street, Meeting Street, Market Street, and Hasell Street this hotel is absolutely stunning. There is a cocktail lounge, two restaurants, an amazing courtyard, and incredible shops all within its property.
Francis Marion: located on King Street on the other side of Marion Square, this historic hotel is in the heart of it all. For our wedding our guests all congregated here and loved its convenience to so much of downtown!
There are of course amazing boutique hotels, house rentals, and so much more to consider. For AirBNBs or VRBOs, only one area of town really has the majority of them to offer, as there are short term rental rules for the other areas of the peninsula.
To start your day off with some caffeine:
Harken: this adorable coffee shop is on Queen Street which makes it a perfect place to grab a coffee before you start walking around the historic district of downtown. Have to try their biscuit!
Sorelle Mercato: this coffee shop is located on Broad Street inside an incredible Italian restaurant, Sorelle. Their pastries and quiche are also incredible.
Island Provisions: a little closer to the house rental locations, this coffee shop is located on St. Philips, right across the street from Charleston Candle Company. If you like a bacon egg and cheese, let them step up your breakfast game and order the Boss. Bonus points because they use milk from Lowcountry Dairy Farm!
A heavier brunch for you party people - I recommend taking this opportunity to get out of downtown because there are so many gems off of the peninsula!
Post House: this is situated on Pitt Street in the Old Village in historic Mt. Pleasant, SC. Mt. Pleasant was the country back in the day, although now it is a suburb of downtown Charleston and has so much to offer! Grab some brunch and walk along Pitt Street to visit the adorable shops, grab a glass of wine from the Wine Shop, and continue down Pitt and into other areas of the Old Village to look at amazing houses boasting the lowcountry vernacular that we all know and love!
Sullivans Seafood & Bar (petitioning to change the name back to Sullivans Fish Camp!): this is located on Middle Street on Sullivans Island, one of the three main beaches in Charleston. Their lemon ricotta pancakes are so good and you have to pair it with one of their beachy cocktails. After you are done eating check out the stores right next to it and a few blocks down in the downtown strip of Sullivans. Then go walk on the beach or continue the day hopping around between Hometeam, Poe’s, Mex 1, and Dunleavy’s.
Marina Variety Store: this is a super casual standard breakfast place back in downtown, on Lockwood Blvd. on the Ashley River. They are a go to for us when we need a casual, old school breakfast to start our day!
Queen Street Grocery: this has been a staple since Hannah’s days at Charleston Day School, around the corner. It is known for their crepes, although they have a lot to offer.
Lunch time!
Leon’s: this is our go to for oysters and fried chicken. It is a perfect combination if some people in your group does not like seafood because they have amazing food all around. Their frozen gin and tonics hit the spot on a warm summer day and they are known for their baked oysters. This also is a great spot for oysters and cocktails before you hit one of the others in that area like Melfi’s or Little Jacks.
Porchetta Shop: over in the medical district, this New York themed / Italy inspired sandwich shop is incredible. They do everything right. There are no tables, it is a come order and stand at the counter and eat type place. But they do have coffee, beer, and wine, so they will become your best friends if you stay and hang out!
167 Raw: this is located on King Street and they do not take reservations. I highly recommend putting your name in here and at their sister restaurant around the corner, Bar 167, then shop around while you wait on your table. This place may sound familiar from our Nantucket write up, as this restaurant started on Nantucket! Their martini is an incredible take on the beloved classic. Definitely say yes to the oyster on the side.
Our go-to’s on a beautiful day to grab a drink and snack outside:
Hometeam: there are many locations for this beloved Charleston BBQ spot but our favorites are downtown on Williman Street or on Sullivans Island. They are known for their wings and game changers (a frozen cocktail with so many rums I have lost count) but we personally have to also recommend their BBQ nachos and the “standard operating beer” brewed just for them.
Revelry Brewing: located very close to Hometeam downtown, this is a rooftop brewery. When it is a beautiful bluebird day, this place is so much fun.
Citrus Club: this is one of the two bars at the Dewberry. This rooftop has amazing views, is decorated so beautifully, and has delicious fries. What more could you need!
anywhere on Shem Creek, a popular activity as soon as the sun peaks out is for everyone to flock to Shem Creek. You have lots to choose from:
Saltwater Cowboys, the largest outdoor area, lots of great appetizers, a beer brewed just for them, and usually live music. Be sure to get a table close to the water so you can be entertained by the dolphins, shrimp boats, and a lot of qualified captains.
Red’s Ice House: red basket seafood style as we call it. They also have tons of beer options and a crows nest style rooftop patio to watch football at.
Tavern and Table: the nicer option with amazing cocktails, like their black and blue mule, pimento cheese, and delicious flatbreads.
Water’s Edge: $5 margaritas for happy hour last time I checked… yes please!
The happiest hour of the day:
Babas on Cannon: much like you will find in Italy, Babas offers a traditional appertivo style happy hour. This means that if you buy a beer, wine, or cocktail, you get their snacks for free. And their snacks are so good!! Babas also is open all day starting as a coffee shop.
Graft wine bar: this is located also near Leon’s, Melfi’s, and Little Jack’s and there is a new pizza window next door as well, Tutti! Graft is so relaxing on the inside and has a few tables outside as well.
Husk patio and bar: located right next door to Husk as a main restaurant, this kitchen building has been transformed into a cute little bar and a huge patio. Their bartenders all get the chance to make a cocktail for their seasonally rotating menu, which is so cool. We love their classics - a martini, old fashion, and two cheeseburgers and fries, please!
We hope your’re hungry for dinner, we simply cannot cut this to just three recommendations!!
Melfi’s: let’s just start with the Italian all at the top of the list, because it’s our favorite. Melfi’s is apart of the group of our favorites (literally we are the owner’s biggest fans) along with Little Jack’s and Leon’s. They also have Jack Rudy’s cocktail mixes so if you went to Husk and got a martini, you supported him with the olive juice! Melfi’s feels like you have stepped right into Italy and their food is incredible. We love to get a pasta and a pizza and split them!
Le Farfalle: absolutely my favorite spaghetti and meatballs in town. It just feels like your Nonna made it fresh that morning. Also conveniently located across from Off Tracks for ice cream!
Frannie and the Fox: this is located inside the Emeline Hotel off the Market. Their burnt honey pizza is so good, we add pepperonis, and their caesar salad is my favorite in town. We love to go sit in their hidden room, the Den, on a Friday night and split both of these!
Chez Nu: This European inspired communal and small restaurant is unique in that the menu rotates daily and is hand written by the chef in both French and English. She draws inspiration from France, Spain, and Italy and uses local ingredients when they are in season and available. There are always two appetizers, two entrees, and two desserts, and we highly recommend just saying “yes, I want one of everything, thank you.”
Lowland Tavern: This is a fairly new restaurant to Charleston but we quickly fell in love. The menu is best accomplished family style and is organized from smallest dish to largest dish. This old home was converted into a restaurant but you genuinely feel like you are eating dinner in someone’s exquisite dining room or lounging in the parlor. Next door, and owned by them, you will find Quint Oyster Bar - which has small seafood bites, soft serve ice cream, and crisp wine. So good all around.
Little Jack’s: Our go-to and perhaps the winner of our “favorite” spot in town, you simply cannot go wrong with their Tavern Burger and fries, extra side of tavern sauce. This is a true tavern and we would sit in here all night if they would let us (they probably would if we kept ordering carafes of the house wine).
If you have a sweet tooth:
Off Tracks Ice Cream: downtown and way too close to our house… they have pup cups so you know Wellington loves it!
Beard Cats Gelato on Sullivans Island: underneath Obstinate Daughter, if you can get a highly coveted reservation you have to go downstairs for gelato after!
After dinner cocktails or after dinner dive bars:
La Cave is Hannah’s favorite spot to grab one last cocktail before heading home. It is beautiful on the inside and has small bites if you are still hungry.
Blind Tiger is Matthew’s favorite spot to grab a Guinness and hang out on their back patio with friends after a great day!
If you are still with me, I am sure you are starving now, but its time to talk about activities!
Of course there is the shopping scene, Hannah’s favorites start with Candle Fish, Anthropologie, and J. Crew on the Wentworth block of King Street, and stretches all the way up to Broad Street on King. There are so many great boutiques as well as the well known stores like Lake, Hill House, etc. Our good friends have owned Madison Matthews for years and now the second generation owns Chakeris Charleston which you can find in there as well!
Beach day on Sullivans Island: SI is our go to beach and always has been, but Folly and IOP both are unique as well and have amazing things to do and food to eat!
On Sullivans you can find Hometeam, Poe’s, Mex 1, Dunleavy’s, and Sullivans as our favorites.
There are cute beach stores such as Beachkrew, Makers Post, Gold Bug, etc.
Then of course you can walk on the beach, swim, and enjoy the beach.
There is a nature trail at Station 16, the lighthouse at Station 18 1/2, and Fort Moultrie at Station 13.
Our personal favorite is to watch sunset by going out to the beach to the right of Fort Moultrie (stations 12 and lower). Highly recommend bringing a blanket, a pizza, and enjoying the incredible view of the harbor, bridge, and downtown as the sunset paints the sky! If you plan far enough in advance, you can get a permit to have a bonfire on the beach as well!
We love being on the water and highly recommend a harbor cruise if you have time. There are ones for history lovers, ones to take you to Fort Sumter, or sunset cruises that go around the harbor.
There are incredible home and garden tours as well and they are especially fun to do at Christmas time with all the amazing decorations downtown! There are also so many museums and historic sites downtown that you can tour depending on your interests.
For kids, the aquarium is so much fun, we even love it as adults!
The Charleston Library Society and the Gibbs Museum are stunning to see as well.
See a show at the Dock Street Theater or at Charleston Music Hall.
Catch a Riverdogs baseball game, Battery soccer game, or Stingrays hockey game!
Then of course walking around downtown to site see. We recommend starting on the corner of Queen and Meeting (there are a few parking garages right here) and walking towards Broad Street.
First you will pass the Mills House which has two statues of boykins! Wellie loves them!
On Meeting next you will pass Matthew’s favorite park, Washington Square, on your left.
Then you will arrive on the corner of Broad and Meeting - known as the “Four Corners of Law” as the four buildings are St. Michael’s Church, a Federal Post Office (with a small museum inside!), the County Courthouse, and the State Level Government offices.
Keep walking down Meeting, or cut over to the left via multiple adorable alleys to Church Street, to see beautiful homes until you reach White Point Gardens on South Battery. Feel free to get lost on the many side streets south of Broad to see the amazing historical homes.
Once in White Point Gardens this will start the Battery. If you go through the park to the left you will reach the sea wall on the edge of the Harbor. We recommend walking up on the wall for the best views. The huge houses to your left are the famous battery homes and then of course you will have the harbor to your right.
You eventually will see Rainbow Row on your left. Once you get to the end of Rainbow Row you will have Broad Street on your left and the Old Exchange building on your right, which has many tales to tell itself, then turn right on Exchange Street. Take this until it runs into the Waterfront Park, where the Pineapple fountain is. This is a beautiful park as well. It ends with Venue Range on the left which turns into Queen Street, which you will walk down to get back to where you started!
Feel free to explore that side of Church Street to see another historic church, St. Philips. There are so many art museums in this area as well if that interests you!
Depending on the weekend you are here it may be either the first Friday of the month or the second Sunday of the month…
First Friday Art Walks are where the art galleries downtown stay open late from 5-7 and many offer snacks and drinks as well. Such a cool way to explore the galleries!
Second Sunday is when they shut down King Street to vendors from Calhoun to Queen and vendors are out in the street and you can find so many food trucks, musicians, and local businesses!
Then it goes without saying that we have to include golf! Matthew’s favorite course in town is “the Muni” but I will let him tell you all about that!
We absolutely love our city and hope you do too! Always feel free to let us know when you are in town! Click on the pictures below to be taken to the website of the featured restaurant or event around town.
