Dining in Charleston
 

My husband and I will be in Charleston for 2 nights , and I am looking for info for restaurants. We are staying at French Quarter Inn, and would like to be of walking distance to some memorable meals !
Peninsula Grill gets lots of praise, and I have not been there before. Would you recommend it over Charleston Grill ? What else would you suggest that would be of "fine dining'" quality ?

I just got back from Charleston where I stayed at the French Quarter Inn. Easy to walk around as downtown is fairly small. Had decent meals at Anstons and the Charleston Grill and Magnolias.
All these restaurants have web sites so you can check them to see what appeals to you.

Hi jenny, I love SNOBS! But have no idea as to what type of food you like etc. so it is hard to answer your question. Food in the restaurants in Charleston is sure fantastic, at least from what I experienced. Enjoy your visit, Charleston is a beautiful city.

Jenny, you may want to take a look at GoTravel's Charleston report. She covers many of the restaurant choices. Do a word search on this site for her screenname and it will come up.

Our son and his wife are celebrating their anniversary with dinner at Circa 1886 --the restaurant at the Wentworth House. Looks VERY nice.
http://www.circa1886.com/

I keep wondering how McGrady's compares. It very rarely gets mentioned, and yet the innkeepers at John Rutledge House tout it highly. Wish I could get more feed-back. We've eaten at all the other restaurants mentioned here and liked them all. Don't really have a favorite-- all good. Would like to try something new.

I prefer McCrady's to either Anson or Charleston Grill. Have not tried the others mentioned. I think it doesn't get as much press because it doesn't strive to be so "southern".

There was a great article in last week's NYTIMes about Charleston restaurants. Apparently the original chef at McGrady's has left but I assume it is still there. Our kids liked Hank's.
Here is the times article. You may have to register but it is a good article.
http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/03/1...l?pagewanted=1

If you are non-smokers remember to let them know that when you make a reservation, some seats are near the bars with heavy smoke.

Gretchen - oh, you're right, I forgot about that. I suppose I need to hold off recommending McCrady's until I try it again.

I think I'm going to Twizt in a couple of weeks. Know anything?

Thanks for the website and the heads up on smoking. Tho we loved Magnolia's food, we were definitely bothered by the extreme smokiness near the bar. I'd love to try McGrady's (I like restuarants in little alleys), but it sounds as if it may not be our cup of tea. I guess we'll go back to Peninsula or Charleston Grill.

I think Peninsula Grill is worthy of every bit of praise it gets. We celebrated our anniversary there last June and the entire evening was wonderful. The food, the service, the atmosphere...all terrific. Charleston is full of great places to eat, and within the past year I've been to Anson, Magnolias, SNOB, 82 Queen, Poogan's Porch, 39 Rue de Jean, Blossom, and Hank's. I would definitely put the Peninsula Grill above all of them, and they are all good restaurants. (If you go, you need to try the coconut cake for dessert!)

I loved Charleston, visited once and can't wait to go back. Husband and I ate at Cypress and SNOBS and loved both -instead of walking home one night we took a pedicab which was great fun.

My mom and I ate at both the Charleston Grill and the Peninsula Grill, and we preferred the Charletson Grill for its service, the ambiance, the food, and the live jazz. The food at the Peninsula was great, but during our experience, the staff was not very attentive (i.e. chatting at the bar with one another rather than filling up our drinks and taking our order!) On the other hand, the service was outstanding (but not stuffy) at the Charleston Grill and the music and the lounge area were GREAT. It was also wonderful just having to go upstairs to go to bed!! Have fun!

Hi everyone,
planning is half the fun , and I appreciate your help ! I'm sure time will be too short for everything we want to do . I have been to Charleston before , and this will be a short introduction to Charleston's charms for my husband.
We enjoy French cooking the most, but as my daughter and I did last time, we mostly sampled local, lowcountry cuisine.We are not very fond of BBQ and steak . We liked Anson's, Charleston Grill, SNOB for dinner , but I was thinking of going to Peninsula Grill this time just to have a "new" place for both of us. The hint about non-smoking area is a good one.Thanks for the reminder.
Are pedicabs available throughout the historic area to use going to and from the restaurants ?
I had saved GoTravel's report as soon as she posted it , and found it most useful, although they have lots more energy then we can muster !
Charleston won my heart. It is such a charming and beautiful city. We are looking forward to our trip.

when we were there the pedicabs were plentiful, and around most of the attractions, restaurants, etc especially in the evenings - but our hotel also gave us a pedicab number we could call if we didn't see one, and that company promised a pedicab in 15 minutes max when you called; we didn't use it b/c we had no problem finding one, but you might want to ask your hotel for a number just in case.

We just got back from Charleston and ate at Penninsula Grill, Circa 1886, and our favorite, Roberts. But Roberts is only open Thur thru Sunday. It's romantic, great fun, great food and great entertainment. Robert is the gourmet chef and show tune singer extraordinaire. In between courses (there are 5 on the fixed menu), Robert is singing away. If you want something different and are in town when Robert's is open, I'd make a reservation and go. It's pricey but outstanding. (www.robertsofcharleston.com)

Our second favorite was P Grill. Circa 1886 was very, very good but the portions were tiny and the prices were just the opposite.... Dave

I highly recommend 82 Queen (82queen.com) and think it is much better than the Peninsula Grill. Reserve one of the courtyard tables - it's an inside courtyard that is actually open to the outside and beautifully lit at night.

82 Queen is mediocre at best and basically a tourist trap. Peninsula Grill is one of the best restaurants in the southeast.

Charleston Grill is one of my top 5 in Downtown by far.

McCrady's (note that there is no "G" in the name) is also in that top five - world class, although there's a new exec chef as of last month.

Circa 1886 is stuffy and overpriced, but pretty good.

SNOB is very nice.

Basically, just get a free 'Charleston Restaurant Guide' at the visitor's center, and then simply avoid all the places with the biggest ads.