Middle age couple visiting Charleston for the first time May 26-30. Staying at the Anchorage Inn and will not have a car. Need advice on those great restaurants only the locals know about, especially sea food and fun things to do. Not really interested in the fine dining $35-$40 a plate. Please help us have a great getway !!!

Hey and welcome.

You will see that the restaurants downtown have a mix of locals and tourists because they are great. My favorite casual ones within walking distance of your hotel are Cru Cafe, Jestine's and (a bit of a walk) Hominy Grill. If you want places where there are no tourists you'll have to go out a ways.

Do be aware: any place that has people on the street hawking you to come in are touristy. The really good places don't have to do that.

If you like French food, La Fourchette is excellent on upper King. Basil, also on upper King, is a great Thai restaurant, but I would sit outside if possible--it's very noisy inside the restaurant.
I recently had lunch at S.N.O.B. on East Bay and the shrimp and grits was delicious.
G&M on Broad St. is good for a quick bite if you're in the neighborhood. Joseph's is also a popular place for breakfast and/or lunch and wouldn't be as far as Hominy. It's on Meeting St. south of Market.
If you want a splurge evening, go to McCrady's. The chef just won the James Beard "best chef of the Southeast." I've only eaten there once, but it was excellent.
For evening fun, I would suggest checking out one of the rooftop bars--The Rooftop, above the Venue Inn off of East Bay and The Pavillion Bar above Grill 225 on the corner of East Bay and Market. The Pavillion is my favorite and has a better view than the other, but both are fun. We also like to visit Club Habana while in Chucktown. There is a cigar shop downstairs and a cozy bar upstairs. It's a great place for an after dinner drink and cigar, if you're into that sort of thing.
There's so much to see and do during the day. Here's a link you may find helpful.
http://www.charlestonsmuseummile.org/Museums.html
We have enjoyed just wandering around the city --Waterfront Park, the Battery, Church St., Queen St. and discovering something new each time we visit.
There are ghost tours and civil war walking tours, which can be entertaining and informative if you get a good guide.
Enjoy your visit. It's a beautiful place.

There are tons of threads about the great dining options in Charleston...just do a search. I, too, like Cru Cafe (closed on Mondays, I believe), SNOB, have always had good meals at Magnolia's and Hank's. We had a really enjoyable evening outside at Monza on Upper King Street. You might hit the splurge-type restaurants at lunch time and do something more casual at dinner to still get the vibe but not the cost. If you've never had shrimp and grits or she crab soup, do give both a try. Each restaurant has their own recipes, but these are truly lowcountry dishes.

Both rooftop bars mentioned above are wonderful on a warm evening. I think the farmers market at Marion Square is running on Saturdays from 8-2...my DH and I had the best homemade chocolate croissants for breakfast on one visit!

Great advice. The Farmer's Market is up and running. It caters to both tourists and locals, so you'll get excellent cooked food and artist booths as well as local produce.

And I SO agree with eating at the high end places for lunch. High Cotton(weekends) and SNOB are great. My favorite she crab is at 82 Queen. They have a lovely patio. Best shrimp and grits are at my house, but try them anywhere

In addtion to all the wonderful things that Charleston normally has to offer, the Spoleto USA Festival opens May 28.

If you weren't aware, you can see want is available when are there here.

http://www.spoletousa.org/home/

Geez ,I really need to pay more attention when I type.

"see what is available"

Thanks everyone !!

My two favorite restaurants are SNOB and Magnolia's. I force myself to eat other places (many great ones, I know), but if you made me choose just two, it would be those! Have a fabulous time ...