An Only-in-Charleston Restaurant?
 

My husband and I will be stopping in Charleston while on a cruise. It will be our first time there. I'd like a suggestion for a restaurant for lunch that is a uniquely "Charleston" experience...but not a tourist joint.

I live here in Charleston and am partial to the following (in no particular order):
Sermet's Corner on King St
Poogan's Porch on Queen St (love their fried chicken salad)
82 Queen on Queen St
G&M (aka Fast and French) on Broad St
SNOB (Slightly North of Broad) on East Bay St -- particularly love their Butternut Squash Soup in the fall/winter

All of these places tend to have a nice blend of locals and tourists. All the places with the exception of Sermet's will be close to the port.

Enjoy your short visit...come back when you can stay longer.

82 Queen and Poogan's Porch definitely fit the description you seek. Shrimp and grits is a Lowcountry entree that is very popular, but perhaps a bit on the creamy/buttery side for lunch.

The menus will have plenty of choices, I'm sure. Charleston will be a great stop for a day. Tremendous walking opportunities in that area.

Have a great time!

Jim

I'd pick SNOB. As a non-native but area dweller, I find it very "Charleston."

Try their Shrimp and Grits for lunch -- one of the best renditions of this Lowcountry classic, even for non-grits eaters.

B/

There have been some very good restaurants mentioned above and I've enjoyed meals at several of them, but "uniquely Charleston" and I think of our lunch at the age old Hymen's. We ate upstairs and were the only men not in coat and tie -- not because it's dressy, but because it was clear we were the only non-local businessmen in the place. The whole scored and deepfried flounder that you flake off with a fork was nothing short of amazing. It "ain't fancy", and some dishes may not be simply wonderful, but that flounder was -- and it IS uniquely Charleston.

Well, I feel fortunate because when I was in Charleston this April I ate at Poogan's Porch and also at SNOB's. Both were fantastic.

Patrick, I did not realize they were still in business. Next you will be telling me that Henry's is open...

It has been years since I've been in that restaurant, but I remember it was great when I was there!

Jim

JimF -- Henry's IS still there, but it's now a large dark bar with a limited menu. Henry's in a different reincarnation -- I just listed a Henry's vintage post card on the Bay with the same address, but with a fab iron gate and palm trees. Sigh. Bet it was someting in its day!

B/

You bet it was! If I recall correctly, it was Henry's kitchen that invented She crab soup, one of the all time greatest Lowcountry culinary treats. Henry's was popular before the tourists found out about Charleston...

Jim

I used to go to Hyman's before it was popular and sadly, since its peak in popularity, its service and quality of food has gone down a bit IMHO. If you happen to be in town for dinner, definitely hit Hank's on Hayne St...most definitely the best seafood in town...with very excellent service! I often just go in and sit at the community table...great way to meet other locals and tourists.

Birgator is spot on with Henry's...it is now a dark bar...the one in Mt. Pleasant is little more upscale but neither has the glory of old Henry's. I've also heard that women need to be very careful when ordering drinks in the downtown location as there has been rumors of little "extras" being put in their mixed drinks.

JM: if you and your husband are around as the sun is setting, you should head up to the rooftop bar of the Market Pavillion hotel (corner of East Bay and South Market)...they have fabulous views of the city and pretty tasty drinks to boot.

Again, enjoy your time in Charleston!

I liked 82Queen, but I felt that Hyman's had been overhyped and wasn't really as good as predicted.

Patrick's Freudian slip in the spelling of Hyman's really gave me a hoot.

Hank's elegant, dark and Southern
Hominy Grill - casual Southern - great for brunch
Sermet's less of the tourist crowd
Don't do Hyman's - definitely very touristy.
check out chowhound for more recommendations or search on many of the posts from Go Travel about charleston

How funny about the spelling of Hyman's. I wasn't sure so Googled it the way I spelled it and got a whole bunch of hits on it spelled "Hymen's". I guess I'm not the only one. Here is their website, however, where it IS spelled correctly and it also lists lots of reviews and comments.

http://www.hymanseafood.com/


"Don't do Hyman's - definitely very touristy."

This is one of the funniest posts I've ever seen. As I mentioned above, we were in the large upstairs dining room. It probably seats 60 people. We were the ONLY two people who did not appear to be local business people having lunch. Or are you suggesting that most tourists come in wearing ties or business attire with their brief cases and laptops, hug each other as they join a table and say "sorry I got hung up at the office"? With the servers greeting most of the people by name, it was CLEAR we were the minority. Is the definition of "touristy" a place where all the local businessmen eat?

On the other hand, like most downtown Charleston restaurants, my guess is that at night it will be mostly tourists. And when one is looking for the ultimate "local" experience, don't you need to expect some other tourists? Would you avoid the Eiffel Tower in Paris or St. Mark's in Venice since they are so touristy?

Just about every time I have been in Charleston - about 7 or 8 times - and passed Hyman's day or night I have seen a line of what was obviously tourists waiting to get in. Perhaps this is moreso dependent on the season. This does not mean the food is bad, just average and the prices are probably very moderate. The original post-er asked about a restaurant that was a "uniquely Charleston experience - not a tourist joint." You can find local people in business suits eating at Applebee's but is that a unique dining experience? no. Again, you will find some very informative posts and opinions on chowhound.com. Food that I consider more unique to Charleston or the Low Country than eating fried flounder would be shrimp and grits, shrimp rolls, biscuits and gravy, Low country boil...

I give up. Obviously some people do not like Hyman's. I never suggested it as the "greatest" restaurant in Charleston, but one that is both old and famous as a "unique Charleston" place. Sure tourists always flock to places that are well known, and if there are only tourists, I'd think I would avoid them. We originally went to Hyman's because of a recommendation by a local businessman who said it was his favorite (and it was he who said we should request upstairs). Sure enough we were surrounded by locals. Perhaps they know a side door to sneak in so they won't be seen standing outside with the tourists. I don't know.

But to compare it to Applebee's is really funny. The point is we have an Applebee's in our town -- who doesn't? We have a bunch of fine restaurants in our town that are not unlike most of the really nice ones mentioned by people above. But we do not have anything even similar to Hyman's. That's why I thought of it as a "unique Charleston experience".

I suggest JM you avoid it, particularly if you are looking for really fine cusine. And I'm sure you will see no other tourists in any of the other places mentioned!

I have to agree with Patrick. I like Hyman's Seafood.

While I will not wait on line outside to get in, we do eat there on occaision.

They have the best crispy fish (fried whole baby flounder) in Charleston. SNOB has a good pan fried one but Hyman's Seafood has the best deep fried.

Having never been to Charleston, but being a wannabee, I read posts about it. This post has been very informative! One thing I did see was a continuing defensiveness by posters. Can't we be friends?

Honestly, you will probably be happy with most of the places listed. I don't think there is one place that says "Charleston" because their are just so many good, lowcountry type restaurants there. I would lean toward SNOB.

Huh, annieskes? I never knew that defending one's statement was unfriendly. I haven't seen any "unfriendliness" expressed here. It just seems that some of us feel that there is a need to explain our original answers. I sure feel no animosity towards anyone for their opinion, but think it is worth explaining why a certain recommendation was made. Nor did I sense any "animosity" from any other poster -- simply a disagreement of terms or opinions -- and that's what opinion type websites are all about, I think. I sense that some of us were on two different wave lengths here. Some of us were thinking the request was for "the best fine dining in Charleston" and others were thinking it was for "a different experience that says Charleston". That's all.

Patrick - thanks for your very gallant and generous response...what a true gentleman! and yes, exactly I was just clarifying what I thought the original post-er was looking for...still think chowhound gives you lots of good info on restaurants

Thank you all for your "heartfelt" assisstance. I guess by "Charleston" experience, I mean atmosphere of the venue, and wonderful examples of local specialties. For instance, I can find fine French or Italian dining here in Toronto, or for that matter, food from countless countries/ethnic backgrounds in the world, but I'm sure it would be next to impossible to find she-crab soup or shrimp on grits here. So that's the combination I'm looking for. Local flavor in the surroundings, and local, excellent dishes.

After reading that you're looking for "local flavor in the surroundings and local, excellent dishes", I am seconding leahinsc's recommendation of the Hominy Grill. It's a bit off the beaten tourist path and has a wonderful down home atmosphere. With its white beaded board walls and mismatched chairs, it sort of reminds me of a cheerful grandmother's kitchen. The food there is southern cooking with a slightly modern twist. Their shrimp and grits are my favorite version of the dish.

Perhaps I should have said "Patrick, don't be so defensive". No one is unfriendly. I just thought writing it that way would sugarcoat it. The only person responding to my comment, was you. Therefore, I rest my case.
P. S. Why the quotation marks around animosity. I did not use that word.

Sorry about the quotation marks. I tend to use a lot of them to actually quote, to indicate a sort of slang word, or simply to emphasize.

And frankly I don't think it's necessarily defensive to further explain what you mean. I felt I was clarifying why I made the suggestion I did. And I'm sorry, but when I've explained in my first post that we were the only "tourists" (oops, see, there I go again) on the whole second floor, and then have someone say the place is too touristy, it seemed I needed to re-explain my situation. If someone said North Florida is cool in January and then someone else said it's warm, I don't think it would be overly defensive to give statistics of what the actual temperatures are.

I just think that on an opinion type board, people need to be aware that they are going to get at least two different opinions of almost anything. And I don't see why that's bad, or why either side trying to explain their opinion is bad either. Just so it doesn't resort to some bad mouthing or name calling. Certainly here it was neither.

I agree with the 82 Queen or Poogan's Porch for a Charleston experience. They are charming, old South type places, that remind you of having a mint julip. And since you will be visiting for the day, they are both located in the area where you may enjoying walking through the homes, market, shops, etc.
SNOB is very nice too, but a more modern Charleston.
I had brunch at Hominy Grill this past weekend, and really enjoyed it. But, it is kinda out of the way, especially for a one day visit.
Whatever you select, enjoy your visit.

Hi Patrick
Point taken. It is a forum, and it is helpful to have different opinions/viewpoints. I find out so much from these posts. Thanks to you and other posters.
Annie