Charleston

This award-winning restaurant in the chic Planters Inn oozes sexy sophistication. — Concierge

Warm and welcoming, the restaurant made its mark early on in the Charleston culinary scene serving refined Southern fare in an unpretentious setting. — Gayot

The menu, which changes daily, focuses on fresh, exclusively Southern ingredients and invigorating reinterpretations of Southern and Lowcountry cuisine. — Concierge

Located in a grandly restored bank, The Ordinary is a repository of East Coast seafood traditions, polished for a contemporary audience and paired with precisely the right drinks. — Tasting Table

Spend an evening here for fresh-off-the-farm ingredients cooked with unfussy, flavorful finesse. — Fodor's

This spot in Cannonborough-Elliotborough is located inside an old gas station, but serves really good Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Malay food. — The Infatuation

North Charleston is home to one of the area's top pizzerias, which doles out Neapolitan-style pies with super-thin and crunchy crusts. — Fodor's

Housed inside the 150-year-old South Carolina Loan & Trust building, Oak Steakhouse serves steaks, local seafood, and vegetarian dishes with a farm-to-table emphasis. — Travel + Leisure

The combination of white tablecloths, casual happy hour, clubby pub atmosphere and outdoor courtyard manages to offer something to almost everyone. — Gayot

This classic steakhouse is a glamorous, high-energy eatery replete with mahogany booths and alabaster chandeliers. — Where

In a “glorious” setting “overlooking the ocean”, this steakhouse within the Sanctuary at Kiawah Island presents “divine” fare in “innovative presentations”. — Zagat

This always-buzzing Thai restaurant offers another rare excursion from Lowcountry cuisine in the center of the city. — Frommer's

A long-standing favorite for precisely executed Low Country food: shrimp and grits, she-crab soup, and fried oysters. — Insight Guides

High Cotton, which serves roughly 800 Espresso Martinis a month, takes its name from an old southern term for living well. — Travel + Leisure

Housed in a timber-framed 6,000-square-foot warehouse, it's the kind of brewery-restaurant that has a lot of everything for everyone. — Tasting Table

A fresh take on Lowcountry cuisine from a chef who was a vegetarian for a decade. — Condé Nast Traveler

Chef Marc Collins is on top of his game right now, with this restaurant one of the city’s leading fine-dining establishments catering to a well-heeled local and tourist clientele. — Frommer's

The menu is the constant: big ol' shrimp, fried or boiled; shrimp and grits; hush puppies; and the biggie—all the steamed oysters you can eat for about $20. — Fodor's

The “authentic” soul food satisfies at this North Charleston counter-service “staple” where “never-disappointed” patrons expect “nothing fancy”. — Zagat