Visitors and local diners are constantly asking me to name the Charleston area’s top waterfront eateries. It might come as a surprise, though, that no more than two dozen locally owned establishments are housed adjacent to the water. Even fewer serve food that can stand on its own without the surroundings.
The view matters, and these 10 Charleston-area establishments fit the bill. With oysters, fried fish and more, each one delivers the fresh seafood-focused fare people expect to find in Charleston, too. It’s hard to argue with an evening at Bowens Island Restaurant, minutes from Folly Beach.
Enjoy cold beer and fresh oysters picked daily from the waters surrounding the 13-acre island while watching the sunset. The James Beard Foundation American Classic pick is almost 80-years-old and an essential introduction to steamed oysters, but don’t expect white tablecloth service. At Bowens, piles of oysters are dumped onto half or full trays, and guests are handed oyster knives for self-shucking.
Enjoy Italian seafood inspired cuisine at chef Ken Vedrinski’s signature beachfront restaurant on Isle of Palms. Start the meal with a crudo or Prince Edward Island oysters and finish with fusilli with blue crab, ricotta gnudi, potato-crusted wreckfish and more. Six years after a fire destroyed the 3-week-old Boathouse on Ellis Creek, the restaurant’s owners opened Ellis Creek Fish Camp on the same site.
Offering sweeping views of Charleston, the James Island establishment serves .
