46. Old Towne Restaurant
City: Charleston, SC
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (843) 723-8170
Address: 229 King St. (across from Charleston Pla
Description: Owners Spiros Fokas and Steve Ferderigos have been serving authentic Greek lunches and dinners here daily for more than 30 years. The menu includes seafood, salads, Greek chicken, and the ever-popular Super Special—a sampler, good for the whole gang. Pictures of classical Greece line the walls, and a grill in the front window offers a tempting display of chicken being roasted on a turning spit.
47. Sermet’s Corner
City: Charleston, SC
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (843) 853-7775
Address: 276 King St.
Description: After the success of his first eatery west of the Ashley, Sermet’s creative artist and chef opened a new location on King Street several years ago to rave reviews and standing-room-only crowds. The cuisine is Mediterranean-influenced, with spicy pastas and fresh green salads, and it’s a refreshing option on the King Street luncheon and dinner scene. Look for their lavender honey and black pepper marinated pork tenderloin with creamy ricotta polenta. The desserts are straight from heaven. In season, there’s a rhubarb and raspberry pie that is definitely to die for. Sermet’s is open daily from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for lunch; and it reopens for dinner starting at 4 p.m. A second location is at 115 River Landing Dr., Daniel Island; (843) 471-1777.
City: Charleston, SC
Category: Restaurants
Address: 652 St. Andrews Blvd.
49. Tommy Condon’s Irish Pub and Seafood Restaurant
City: Charleston, SC
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (843) 577-3818
Address: 160 Church St.
Description: The most authentic Irish pub in Charleston, Tommy Condon’s has live Irish music Wed through Sun and serves a variety of imported beers and ales, such as Bass and Newcastle Brown. The menu is a mixture of Irish and Lowcountry items, including shrimp and grits, seafood jambalaya, and fresh fish of the day. There is a covered deck for outside dining, and patrons are welcome for lunch or dinner any day of the week. The kitchen closes at 10 p.m., but the bar stays open until 2 a.m.
50. Bocci’s
City: Charleston, SC
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (843) 720-2121
Address: 158 Church St.
Description: This cozy Northern Italian family restaurant near the Market keeps them coming back for more calzones, salads, seafood, and pasta topped with a choice of 4 fabulous sauces. Mozzarella lovers go for the hand-pulled cheese. Another favorite is shrimp tortellini. Try the veal saltimbocca, too. There is a front-room view looking onto historic Church Street. Bocci’s is open every day for lunch and dinner.
City: Charleston, SC
Category: Restaurants
Address: 1034 Chuck Dawley Blvd.
City: Charleston, SC
Category: Restaurants
Address: 5 Fulton St.
53. Mercato
City: Charleston, SC
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (843) 722-8393
Address: 102 North Market St.
Description: A respite in the midst of the bustle of the Market, Mercato transports you to Tuscany, delighting your palette and soothing your soul. The food is beautifully prepared Italian cuisine with a local flare, including such inventive dishes as housemade bavette (linguini) pasta with local shrimp. If you’re power shopping at the Market, take a load off your tired feet and enjoy a light bite at the spacious bar. You can choose from an extensive selection of pizza, salads, and antipasti. Or treat yourself to dinner, which features elegant multicourse meals to be savored by candlelight. The primo locale, superb food, live music, and swank (yet fun) setting will leave you exclaiming “bravo,” and vowing to return. Mercato is open daily at 5 p.m.
City: Charleston, SC
Category: Restaurants
Address: 10 Exchange St.
55. 82 Queen
City: Charleston, SC
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (843) 723-7591, (800) 849-0082
Address: 82 Queen St.
Description: This multi-award-winning restaurant has several personalities—one of which is sure to please. Exploring the 11 dining rooms at 82 Queen is an adventure in itself. The grounds include three 18th-century town houses, 2 inside bars (1 full-service and 1 just for shots), an outside raw bar that is a very popular hangout for the after-work crowd, a partly glassed-in romantic gazebo, and outdoor tables for dining. Lowcountry seafood, beef, lamb, and fowl are specialties of their updated traditional Southern cuisine. Farm-fresh herbs and vegetables are locally grown for their kitchen. The wine list includes more than 140 selections. Lunch and dinner are served daily. Sunday brunch is especially nice in this pleasant atmosphere. Reservations are encouraged.
City: Charleston, SC
Category: Restaurants
Address: 232 Meeting St.
City: Charleston, SC
Category: Restaurants
Address: 199 East Bay St.
City: Charleston, SC
Category: Restaurants
Address: 207 Rutledge Ave.
City: Charleston, SC
Category: Restaurants
Address: 1 Sanctuary Beach Dr.
60. Magnolias Uptown/Down South
City: Charleston, SC
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (843) 577-7771
Address: 185 East Bay St.
Insider Pick:
Description: Magnolias tops the list of hot restaurants on the Peninsula. In fact, Travel + Leisure called it “the place in downtown Charleston.” This is new American-Lowcountry cuisine, and the chef’s specialties include spicy shrimp and sausage with tasso gravy over creamy white grits, and tomato bisque dotted with generous lumps of fresh crabmeat. The expansive menu will remind you of the restaurant’s California, Tex-Mex, and Cajun inspirations, but the atmosphere is strictly refined New South. Enjoy eating in the beautiful dining rooms at Magnolias, but also try your hand with Magnolias’ recipes at home: Executive chef Donald Barickman’s Magnolias Southern Cuisine is a hot seller cookbook. Lunch and dinner are served daily. Reservations are definitely encouraged.