Charleston Beer, Wine & Booze

Isle of Palms · lowcountry, seafood, southern, breakfast

Acme describes itself as a no-frills beach grill with a full bar and deck serving Southern coastal cooking. City Paper readers voted it Best IOP Restaurant and Best IOP Brunch in 2026. A regular on r/Charleston says they always plug it for dinner and brunch that is not high-end.

Mount Pleasant · seafood, southern

The restaurant of the Charleston Harbor Resort at Patriots Point. Every table looks across the harbor to the Charleston skyline, the USS Yorktown and the marina, and the Bridge Bar on the roof is the sunset perch. The kitchen is a member of the Good Catch program and says it sources locally and responsibly.

French Quarter · seafood, lowcountry, raw bar

Fleet Landing sits on the harbor beside Waterfront Park and bills itself as Charleston's best waterfront dining and raw bar. The venue says it has been open for two decades. It reports three Post and Courier Charleston's Choice wins ... Best Downtown Restaurant, Best Waterfront Restaurant and a tie for Best Seafood Restaurant. The largest party it can seat is 10.

Park Circle · brewpub, raw bar, pub food, bar food, oysters

The Post and Courier calls it 'the mecca of family-friendly restaurants': covered outdoor seating, picnic tables, and beyond them a large area for children with a basketball net and full-size Jenga blocks, on a property that sits along Noisette Creek. The Walrus is the in-house raw bar. The venue lists four event spaces, live music on Fridays 5pm-8pm and team trivia on Wednesdays.

French Quarter · southern, seafood

Iron Rose is the bar and restaurant of the Mills House hotel at Meeting and Queen streets. Explore Charleston reported in spring 2026 that Suzy Castelloe had been appointed executive chef, with a focus on seasonal Southern coastal cooking.

Isle of Palms · seafood, raw bar

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.

Folly Beach · polynesian, seafood, tiki

Koko's is the tiki kitchen and bar at the foot of the Folly Beach Fishing Pier. It calls its food 'Follynesian' ... Folly's island mood with the flavors of Polynesia ... and books live music and Music Bingo. The careers page ties it to Avocet Hospitality.

Upper King · $$ · seafood, oysters, fried chicken, southern

Leon's opened in early 2014 in a converted auto body shop on upper King Street, per The Post and Courier; the venue calls it a former garage. It comes from Brooks Reitz and Tim Mink, the team behind Melfi's and Little Jack's Tavern. The house list is fried chicken, oysters, salads, cheap beer, soft serve, rosé on tap, frozen gin and tonics and grower champagne. City Paper prints the full name as Leon's Fine Poultry & Oysters. It was named a Bib Gourmand in the inaugural MICHELIN Guide American South on 3 November 2025.

Shem Creek · seafood, american

A dockside beer-and-seafood spot on Shem Creek that calls itself 'a friendly spot to enjoy a cold beer & fresh seafood in a laid back setting', with views of the creek's wildlife and the sunset. It lists Best of Charleston wins going back to 2004, including Best Waterfront Bar and Best Outdoor Patio.

Mount Pleasant · cheese, charcuterie, tinned seafood

Saint Urban's is a 350 square foot wine, cheese and cocktail bar on I'On Square that opened in July 2023, run by partners Warren Johnson, the cheesemonger, and Chad Besenfelder. City Paper profiled it in September 2026 for a dirty martini made with Spanish Perelló olives, French bread pizza on Tuesdays and a Wednesday night called Weenies + Tinis.

Shem Creek · $$ · seafood, bbq, oysters, lowcountry

A seafood and barbecue house on the Shem Creek docks, opened in 2017 by Wade Boals, Brett Yearout and Joel Olindo. Wade is the son of Ronnie Boals, who opened R.B.'s Seafood Restaurant next door in 1985 and was one of the people who turned the creek into a place to eat; the menu still carries the Boals Family Crab Dip and a coconut cake. The restaurant closed from 5 to 12 January 2026 for its first major renovation, with a food window called The Wagon serving at the Mill Street entrance in the meantime. It has a Gazebo Bar and prints a dog treat menu.

Cannonborough-Elliotborough · small plates, seafood, cocktails

The bar next door to the hardest table in town. The Post and Courier's 2026 itinerary (14 January 2026) says to pop by Chubby Fish's next-door bar, Seahorse, for some of the top cocktails in Charleston. The bar describes itself as a small cocktail bar and supper club with great cocktails, excellent wine and a small, ever-changing food menu, and it does not take reservations.

Isle of Palms · american, seafood

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.

Park Circle · mediterranean, tinned seafood, charcuterie

Stems & Skins opened in 2016 on East Montague Avenue in Park Circle and pours natural wine with Mediterranean-style plates, tinned seafood, charcuterie and cheese. Its site lists a 2026 James Beard Award semifinalist nod for Outstanding Wine Program, and Food & Wine called it one of America's most important natural wine bars.

Shem Creek · lowcountry, seafood, sushi

A Shem Creek bar and restaurant pairing Lowcountry classics with sushi, with weekly live music on the water. It stands where Ronnie Boals opened R.B.'s Seafood Restaurant in 1985, according to the history page of Saltwater Cowboys next door. The contact address points to Bottlecap Group. Mount Pleasant Magazine still lists it under its earlier name, Sunsets Waterfront Dining.

Shem Creek · new american, seafood

A Shem Creek restaurant with an indoor bar and a waterfront dock bar, owned by Andy Palmer and Jeff Condon; the site credits Dianne and Cecil Crowley as co-founders and Denis Crutchfield as executive chef. Live music plays on the creek Friday and Saturday from 6 to 9 pm, and the T&T Room seats up to 32 for private dinners.

Isle of Palms · seafood, southern

A seafood house at the foot of the Breach Inlet bridge, family-owned since 1997. The restaurant says it pioneered a focus on fresh local seafood when it opened, and the daily fish comes grilled, broiled, blackened or roasted. Upstairs is a rooftop bar; the screened Waterfront Deck looks over the inlet, the marsh and the sunset. Sundays are seafood boils.

French Quarter · seafood, new american, lowcountry

The Establishment opened in May 2018 in the James Gregorie House, built around 1791 and named for the Scottish merchant who lived there. Executive chef Elliott Howells has been in the kitchen since opening and took the top job in 2021; he came to Charleston in 2002 and trained at the French Culinary Institute, per Charleston Wine + Food. The menu centers on sustainably sourced seafood and changes daily. The house has two dining rooms, a wine cellar, two private rooms and a chef's counter on an open kitchen, plus live music on Saturday nights. It is Recommended in the inaugural MICHELIN Guide American South.

Sullivan's Island · seafood, raw bar, caribbean

The second Longboard ... the first opened on 1 May 2015 in Cruz Bay on St. John in the US Virgin Islands. The Sullivan's Island room is a hybrid of that original and its sister restaurant The Easterly on St. Thomas: seafood-led, with a raw bar, weekend brunch and Caribbean-leaning cocktails.

Shem Creek · american, seafood

A tavern on Mill Street at Shem Creek. Moultrie News reported ahead of its opening that it would open in July next to Shem Creek Bar and Grill.

Shem Creek · seafood, american

A Shem Creek seafood restaurant on Shrimp Boat Lane with an outdoor bar on the lower level facing the creek. Sunday opens with a brunch buffet from 10 to 2.