9 Best Restaurants in Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand, South Carolina

The focus is on local seafood and produce at this classy but casual spot that brings extra flair to entrées like pan-seared scallops, fried shrimp over grits, or a spiced tuna on Carolina Gold rice. There's plenty for landlubbers, like a pork chop with peach demi-glace (a rich brown sauce), and each dish has a suggested wine pairing. 

It's only open four nights a week, for dinner, and it doesn't take reservations or have a view, but nobody fries up a mess of seafood like Lee's, which is something the restaurant has been doing since 1948. Even the biggest eaters will get their fill when they order the Shore Dinner: fried or broiled flounder, shrimp, oysters, scallops, deviled crab, and lobster, along with a shrimp cocktail, clam chowder, hush puppies, fries, and coleslaw. Sure, you can get your fish broiled or grilled, but why mess with deep-fried perfection?

The windowed porch overlooking the ocean houses the best seats at this nautical-themed restaurant in a 1930s beach cottage (unless it's a perfect spring or fall day to sit outside in the ocean breeze). Menu highlights include sautéed crab cakes and jambalaya; it's the rare Myrtle Beach seafood restaurant that offers vegetarian and gluten-free menus. The fireplace inside the wood-panel dining room is a warm welcome on cool off-season evenings. Breads and desserts are baked on the premises; save room for a slice of cheesecake du jour.

Like most spots in Murrells Inlet, this airy waterfront spot focuses on seafood, but its approach adds much-needed flair, from a trio of lobster, crab, and shrimp cakes to peanuts boiled in local beer. Enjoy it all with a horizon view across the salt marsh, washed down with a local pale ale.

If the Jimmy Buffett tie-in (Lucy, or "LuLu," is his sister) doesn't get people in the door of this festive landmark at Barefoot Landing, the on-site aerial ropes course and arcade certainly will. The open-air environment and view of the Intracoastal Waterway make this a place where parents can while away the afternoon with a platter of fresh seafood and a margarita while the kids harness up and swing around up in the air.

You can smell the brine and Old Bay seasoning the minute you leave your car and head toward the front door of Nance's. Oysters, the small local ones that taste of saltwater, are the specialty, available fried or steamed in an iron pot and served with butter. Atmosphere is somewhat lacking, but that's okay—so is any inkling of pretension. There are other selections on the menu, but it's really all about the oysters.

Enjoy Sampit River views from most tables at this upscale spot that's especially romantic at night, when the oil lamps and brass fixtures cast a warm glow on the whitewashed wood and brick interior of the early-20th-century building. Menu highlights include chargrilled fish (especially the Carolina grouper), Cajun fried oysters, seafood pastas, and steaks. For lunch you can have the chef's specialty of shrimp and grits or your choice of sandwiches and salads.

Yes it's a raw bar—and a good one, with a bounty of fresh seafood—but don't sell the cooked items short at this small, casual locals' joint. The seasoned boiled shrimp are the real deal, and the mussels, clams, scallops, and other goodies steamed with spices in an iron pot is a terrific version of a Lowcountry staple.

Whether you choose to sit inside the contemporary confines of this big and boisterous waterfront restaurant or outside at the tropical-tiki Raw Bar, you can't go wrong with atmosphere or cuisine. The menu features seafood and sushi, as well as Lowcountry-inspired dishes.