The Top 71 Restaurants Near Emeline
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Rank 2. FIG
Lowcountry Southern
People queue before opening for a table at this two-decade-old Meeting Street bistro, where the kitchen treats Lowcountry ingredients—fish stock, saffron, local ham—as a conversation worth having. The Lowcountry bourride and grey triggerfish with sauce vierge suggest a place that has earned its reputation by refusing to drift.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In Charleston
- Condé Nast Traveler 40 Best Restaurants in Charleston
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Rank 3. Grill 225
Steakhouse
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Rank 4. Husk
American
A deliberately curated Southern kitchen in a historic Queen Street house where pimento cheese and fried catfish receive uncommon care. Crowds queue before opening; the pies and practiced warmth justify the pilgrimage.
- Eater The All-Time Eater 38
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Condé Nast Traveler 40 Best Restaurants in Charleston
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Rank 5. Sorelle
Southern Italian
Three townhouses stacked vertically in Historic Charleston hold Nick Dugan's elegant take on Southern Italian cooking: gnocchetti cacio e pepe arrives properly austere with toasted pepper, while zeppole dusted in vanilla sugar meet marsala zabaglione at dessert. The space rewards dressing up; the menu rewards hunger.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Condé Nast Traveler 40 Best Restaurants in Charleston
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Rank 6. Lowland
New American
In a converted Charleston residence off King Street, Lowland moves between casual bar snacks and more composed dining across two floors. A biscuit topped with farmer cheese and pepper jelly sets the tone; upstairs, grey triggerfish rests on sweet potato polenta with lardons and bacon vinaigrette. The kitchen treats comfort as a starting point for refinement rather than an end in itself.
- Food & Wine 2025 · The Top 15 US Restaurants
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Condé Nast Traveler 40 Best Restaurants in Charleston
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Rank 7. Frannie & The Fox
Hotel Bar
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- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best New Restaurant
- Eater Best New South Carolina Restaurant · The 2025 Eater Carolinas Award Winners
- The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In Charleston
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- Wine Enthusiast 2025 · Top 50 New Restaurants
- The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In Charleston
- Eater Where to Drink in Charleston Right Now
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Rank 11. Ma'am Saab
Middle Eastern
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Rank 14. 167 Raw Oyster Bar
Seafood
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Rank 15. Costa
Coastal Italian
- Eater Best New South Carolina Restaurant
- The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In Charleston
- Eater 18 Best Restaurants in Charleston
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Rank 16. Chubby Fish
Seafood
Chubby Fish draws long lines for its walk-in-only seafood counter, where an open kitchen and handwritten daily menu showcase Chef James London's raw fish and boldly spiced curries. The communal dining and rotating preparations—smoked sheepshead over rice, yellowtail crudo—reward those patient enough to wait.
- 50 Best 2025 · #19 · North America's 50 Best Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurant
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurant
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Rank 17. The Establishment
Seafood
The Establishment occupies a historic Charleston corner where the menu pivots with the catch: gnudi cradles lump crab in cream, halibut gets a jolt of aji amarillo, vegetables arrive bright and seasonal. The kitchen sources with intention but cooks without fuss, letting technique and ingredient speak plainly—a philosophy that extends even to dessert.
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Rank 18. The Ordinary
Southern Seafood
- Eater 18 Best Restaurants in Charleston
- The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In Charleston
- Condé Nast Traveler 40 Best Restaurants in Charleston
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Rank 19. babas on cannon
European-Inspired
- Eater 13 Essential Charleston Bars for Cocktails, Beer, Wine
- The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In Charleston
- Condé Nast Traveler 40 Best Restaurants in Charleston
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Rank 20. Malagón
Spanish
A narrow room lined with wine and imported goods, where Chef Juan Cassalett works the open kitchen turning out Spanish tapas of deceptive simplicity: fried rabbit leg with savory crème fraîche, la bomba stuffed with pork and potato, paella tossed with crab that deepens with each bite. The wine list reads like a love letter to Spain.
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Rank 23. Vern's
New American
Daniel and Bethany Heinze run this wood-floored neighborhood spot where candlelit tables feel more lived-in than polished. The menu travels—charred sourdough with allium butter, house-made campanelli with rabbit and vacche rosse—but roots itself in Lowcountry seasons and Heinze's restless palate. A wine list curated with genuine care lifts everything higher.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Wine Enthusiast 2024 · Forward 50 Restaurants
- The New York Times 2023 · The Restaurant List
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Rank 24. Kultura
Filipino
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Emerging Chef · Nikko Cagalanan
- Eater 2023 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- Esquire 2024 · The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 25. Bintü Atelier
West African
- Bon Appétit 2024 · America's Best New Restaurants
- Esquire 2024 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Southeast · Bintou N'Daw
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Rank 28. Hannibal's Kitchen
Southern
- Eater 18 Best Restaurants in Charleston
- The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In Charleston
- Condé Nast Traveler 40 Best Restaurants in Charleston
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- Eater Best New South Carolina Bar · The 2025 Eater Carolinas Award Winners
- Eater Where to Drink in Charleston Right Now
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Chef Josh Walker composes a restless pan-Asian menu in a converted 1940s gas station, colliding okonomiyaki with bacon and chili into something unmoored from tradition. The bar hums at all hours, the heat builds if you let it, and nothing here feels obligated to be what you expect.
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Rank 36. Pink Bellies
Comfort Vietnamese
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- Esquire 2023 · The Dirty Green Tomato · The Best Martinis in America
- Condé Nast Traveler 40 Best Restaurants in Charleston
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Rank 39. Leon’s Oyster Shop
Seafood
When the garage doors roll up on this converted filling station, oysters and fried chicken arrive with unexpected flourishes—smoked mahi mahi dip with fried saltine crackers, shrimp roll studded with jalapeños and potato chips. The grower Champagnes suggest a kitchen that knows how to elevate casual seafood into something more than the sum of its well-sourced parts.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Condé Nast Traveler 40 Best Restaurants in Charleston
- Eater 2015 · The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 40. Rodney Scott's BBQ
Whole-Hog Barbecue
Whole-hog barbecue wrapped in sweet smoke, where pulled pork arrives soft as cotton candy and vinegar sauce cuts through the richness with lemon and spice. A Charleston rite of passage that justifies the line outside this brick storefront.
- Time Out Rod’s Original Whole Hog Pork Sandwich · The 18 best sandwiches in the world right now
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In Charleston
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Rank 41. Maison
Parisian French
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Rank 42. Daps Breakfast and Imbibe
Breakfast Southern
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- Wine Enthusiast 2023 · Forward 50 Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Southeast · Colin Marcelli
- Eater 18 Best Restaurants in Charleston
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Rank 45. Lewis Barbecue
Barbecue
Smoke curls thick above a gravel patio where picnic tables face a steer mural proclaiming "All Hail the King." John Lewis, who made his name in Austin, slices brisket and weekend beef ribs to order here, the meat so tender it barely resists the knife; green chili corn pudding and potato salad round out the plate with genuine care. This is Texas barbecue planted firmly in Charleston soil.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Eater 18 Best Restaurants in Charleston
- The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In Charleston
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- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bar
- Eater 13 Essential Charleston Bars for Cocktails, Beer, Wine
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Rank 49. Sushi-Wa
Omakase Sushi
- The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In Charleston
- Condé Nast Traveler 40 Best Restaurants in Charleston
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Rank 50. Jackrabbit Filly
New American Chinese
- The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In Charleston
- Eater Where to Drink in Charleston Right Now
- Condé Nast Traveler 40 Best Restaurants in Charleston
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Rank 51. Kwei Fei
Sichuan Chinese
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Rank 53. Pelato
Brooklyn-style Pizza
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Rank 59. The Obstinate Daughter
Wood-fired Pizza
A beach-town restaurant near Sullivan's Island that weaves Southern, Italian, and Spanish influences into a rustic nautical setting. The ricotta gnocchi with short-rib ragù and wood-fired pizzas arrive without pretension, followed by spiced apple cake with rum caramel.
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Southeast · Jacques Larson
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Eater 18 Best Restaurants in Charleston
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Rank 60. King BBQ
Chinese/Southern
- Bon Appétit 2024 · America's Best New Restaurants
- Eater 18 Best Restaurants in Charleston
- The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In Charleston
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- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Emerging Chef · Hector Garate
- The New York Times 2025 · Beef Cheeks · The Best Restaurant Dishes We Ate Across the U.S.
- The Infatuation The Best Restaurants In Charleston
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Rank 67. The Ocean Room
Steakhouse
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Rank 69. Lost Isle
Lowcountry Southern
- The New York Times 2024 · The Restaurant List
- Eater 13 Essential Charleston Bars for Cocktails, Beer, Wine
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- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
- Eater 13 Essential Charleston Bars for Cocktails, Beer, Wine
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