Charleston eats that won't break the bank
 

We'll be going to Charleston in September and so far it seems like a pretty expensive place to visit. I see all sorts of restaurant recommendations but no one mentioning costs. What are some great historic district restaurants that won't drain my wallet?

So far you have said "won't break the bank", "won't drain my wallet" and "costs". What specific dollar amount do you want to pay per person and does this include dink/wine, tax and tip?

(People can have very different ideas of "breaking the bank".)

And, IMHO Charleston is not very expensive overall - comparatively.

I love Charleston and we spend a lot of time there. Last summer we had a friend on vacation with us who was feeling a bit of a financial pinch at the time, so we tried to be sensitive to this when picking restaurants and were happy to discover that many places had at least a couple of less pricey entrees on their menus. Also, lunch time is a good time to visit some of the higher end places, as their lunch menus are often less expensive than their dinner menus. Some of the trendiest restaurants right now (FIG, McCrady's, etc) are not open for lunch, but some of the "tried and true" places, such as SNOB, have great lunch deals.

Anyway, here are some places that we have found have good food and are a little easier on the wallet:

Hominy Grill
Cru Cafe
Coast
Fast and French
Persimmon Cafe (I know it's in a laundromat, but it's amazing!)
Dixie Supply and Bakery (breakfast/lunch only)
Butcher & Bee (lunch only, but they have pop up dinners-check their Facebook page)
The Tattooed Moose (definitely cab to this "dive bar", but the sandwiches are sooo good!)


If you have a car and are willing to leave the Historic District, that opens up a whole new world of affordable but good.

We really enjoyed Hominy Grill when we were there. We likely will go again when we head back in July as it's a good place to take a toddler as well.

How about Jestine's Kitchen? You really feel like you are in a kitchen but there is usually a line to get into the restaurant. http://www.jestineskitchen.com/

Depending on when you are there, you may be in luck - Restaurant Week offers some amazing deals.
Prix fixe lunch and dinner menus consisting of three items for one price. We went last September and ate VERY well. You will need reservations, so be sure plan ahead.

http://www.charlestonrestaurantassoc...staurant-week/

Thanks for all of the replies so far. NYtraveler--I guess I would consider an inexpensive dinner to be around $8-10 pp not including drinks. Thanks for the idea DebitNM but looks like Rest. Week will be over by the time we arrive. Since we are not going to be there long, we will have to walk to restaurants in the historic district.

We enjoyed a meal at Taco Boy last time we were there. It is much better food than the name implies. It is not in the city center though but it didn't seem far.

<<NYtraveler--I guess I would consider an inexpensive dinner to be around $8-10 pp not including drinks.>>

Is that appetizers and/or salad and entree?

Good luck with that price point anywhere other than fast food or fast fresh (Chipotle, Pei Wei) joints.

Even Jestine's Kitchen, which has a typical Southern meat-and-two menu (although in Texas, they're often meat-and-three because: Texas) charges 12.95+ for entrees. Same for Fast and French (supra $10 for dinner entrees) and Hominy Grill. Cru Cafe entrees are multiples of your price point.

Well, at that price point, it makes it more challenging to find budget friendly options, but it can still be done, depending on what sort of expectations the OP has for dinner. If you equate the budget to a "fast food" budget and the OP expects about the same quantity of food, then I maintain you can still eat at most of the places on my original list. Fast and French serves their lunch menu from 11am on and it has plenty of choices for under $10. None of Hominy Grill's sandwiches are over $10 and their vegetable plate with choice of 4 veggies and cornbread is 9.50, which is a great value and a good meal. Cru might be a stretch, unless you do an entree salad, which is around $12, or order a small plates, but that might not be enough food. Also, if you aren't averse to salads for dinner, there is a place called Verde on King St. where you can build your own salad or choose one of their signature salads and they would fall in the OP's price range.

<< I maintain you can still eat at most of the places on my original list.>>

Lunch.

The OP inquired about dinner.

It's unfortunate that your budget is so low. You'll miss out on what makes Charleston special. There are places outside the HD that you could have great dinners for $10-15, but the cab ride would be double that.

You might want to follow Betsy's recs and do lunch. Or skip the drinks and get better food.

Big Russ, I specifically looked at the dinner menus for all of those places I mentioned. The items I mentioned are available during dinner hours, even though they may not be typical dinner entrees. If the OP can only spend $8-10 for dinner, though, then they are not going to be able to afford the typical dinner entrees. However, I would much rather have the vegetable plate from Hominy Grill for dinner ($9.50 on their dinner menu) than eat fast food. Do you have any suggestions for them besides fast food?

Even the head-em-up, move-em-out tourist places are outside that budget.

There are some good places that are cheaper but they are out in the suburbs.

OP, look at Betsy's recommendations. They are your best bet. Charleston HD real estate is expensive and overhead is high.

They have a great happy hour at Pearlz Oyster Bar at 153 E Bay St-I recall some good food bargain, like corn fritters for $1.95. Can't beat that. You can checkout the menu, including the happy hour menu, online.

Our SD and SIL recently discovered the Early Bird Diner and while it is more in the $10-$15 range, they said the food is great and that is still a very reasonable price.

Forgot the link:

http://www.earlybirddiner.com/

We enjoyed Poogan's Porch - don't remember it being to pricey (or we wouldn't have eaten there), and if you need a quick bite, we liked Toast - a couple of blocks from the Market

Betsy: I'm not criticizing your list. I'm criticizing the OP's expectations (and a $9.50 veggie plate is not in the $10 pp after tax and tip). Full dinners for 8-10 pp are just not going to happen outside of low-end chains (Waffle House, Denny's), fast food or fast fresh (Pei Wei, Chipotle, Salata).

We also enjoyed Hominy's Grill, but it is a bit off the beaten path - although we did walk it and enjoyed the walk.

I don't think $8-$10 even classifies as inexpensive for dinner. Maybe a dinner salad, but that's about it.

However, price ALL depends on what you're used to paying, whether you come from a big city, or small town.

Consider the Blind Tiger on Broad Street

http://www.blindtigercharleston.com/

Good pub food and good beer selection in the historic district. They are known for their burgers, but they have other sandwich type platters in your price range. We've eaten there several times. It's a great place that has been around forever. I would not hesitate to recommend it.