5 Best Restaurants in Charleston, South Carolina

This perennial favorite inside Belmond's Charleston Place hotel provides what many regard as the city's highest gastronomic experience, with a menu divided into three parts: Roots & Stems, Waves & Marsh, and Field & Pasture. Chef Michelle Weaver creates the groundbreaking New South cuisine, while sommelier Rick Rubel stocks 1,300 wines in his cellar, with many served by the glass. The dining room is a soothing backdrop, highlighted by pale wood floors, flowing drapes, and elegant Queen Anne chairs. A jazz ensemble adds a hip yet unobtrusive element.

This spot is one of those delightful throwbacks—a drugstore with a soda fountain where the news of the day is discussed and young people share a Coca-Cola float. You can get a pimento cheese on white bread for $2.30, and if you want a scoop of ice cream to go with it, that'll cost you $1.50 (just remember: it's cash-only).

Cuisine at this fine-dining mainstay where nearly a dozen windows afford picturesque views of the passing horse-drawn carriages is traditional Lowcountry, including shrimp and grits and fried chicken. The softly lit, gilt-trimmed dining room is ideal for romantic occasions, though some locals prefer the more casual scene downstairs.

Three words: maple bacon doughnuts. If that's not enough to get you in the door, any number of other creative options—think raspberry nutella or berries and mascarpone—should do the trick. Allison Smith and Mark Remi opened their sweetheart of a store because they suspected there was an untapped enthusiasm for artisanal doughnuts. The verdict? Unqualified success. There are 7 to 10 varieties daily, filled with homemade jam and other fillings. Just name your flavor.

Set in a pale yellow building on Society Street, Muse lays bare Mediterranean stylings in sophisticated, relaxed quarters. The menu offers standout versions of classic fine-dining fare like veal scaloppini and a grilled pork chop, as well as the signature dish: a delicious, scarcely fried sea bass, served with head and tail intact, over a ragù of butter beans and pancetta. The bar functions as a drawing room, permitting easy introductions and closer inspection of the restaurant's impressive, 100-plus-bottle wine list.