Great report headed there in March and hitting several of the places you visited. Was talking with a guy from Charleston the other day and he mentioned Prohibition as a place to go.

AgOutsideAustin said:

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Great report headed there in March and hitting several of the places you visited. Was talking with a guy from Charleston the other day and he mentioned Prohibition as a place to go.

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We had late reservations so it was hopping when we arrived. I was worried the food wouldn't be good because the focus seemed to be on the bar side but it was excellent.

Great report. Thanks for the update.

Question - I have heard comments people are a little better dressed, both during the day, and at night, than other tourist destinations. Was that your experience as well? Jackets at dinner, etc. Thanks!

MousepadMarauder said:

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Great report. Thanks for the update.

Question - I have heard comments people are a little better dressed, both during the day, and at night, than other tourist destinations. Was that your experience as well? Jackets at dinner, etc. Thanks!

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I would say yes, although we didn't dress up.

The locals definitely dress nice. My sense from walking around (and looking at home prices) is that downtown Charleston is very upscale area. So it makes sense the locals would dress a little nicer than slobby tourists like me. LOL

For example, at lunch at SNOB on a Sunday, we were definitely the least dressed up table. Most of the guests looked to be older wealthy couples and hip young people on dates.

We didn't feel out of place anywhere. But that may have been because we were wearing jeans, sweaters, coats, etc., since it was so cold. If it had been summer and I had been wearing shorts, I would have definitely felt out of place at some of those restaurants.

Edit to add: Might be interesting to get others' experiences, especially folks who were there in the spring/summer. Anyone?

MousepadMarauder said:

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Great report. Thanks for the update.

Question - I have heard comments people are a little better dressed, both during the day, and at night, than other tourist destinations. Was that your experience as well? Jackets at dinner, etc. Thanks!

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I agree with what Eclipse said above. Wife and I were there last May. During the day I dressed more casual (it's a lot of walking) and at night I wore jeans with boots and a button down (which is about as nice as I will get lol). Never once did I feel out of place.

Sure there were folks wearing sport coats and what not but i don't think it mattered that much. Just don't show up to dinner in shorts and flip flops like you would at the beach and it'll be fine

Thanks for this. We're headed there in April.

I've heard the Ordinary is fantastic. Anybody else have experience there?

Quote:

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I have heard comments people are a little better dressed, both during the day, and at night, than other tourist destinations.

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Was there last summer. I didn't really check out the guys, but the ladies really cleaned up well... mostly in dresses.

Bumping this thread to give my thoughts. My wife and I just returned from Charleston. Great trip. We will go back.

Thoughts for whatever small amount they are worth:

Hotels: We stayed at The Dewberry. It was a nice place. Good spa. Citrus Club (rooftop bar) was cool. Good place for a drink and to look out over Marion Square. If we go back, I will probably stay at Hotel Bennett. It was across Marion Square but on King Street. It felt closer to the action and we liked the Camillia's bar in the lobby. Great people watching. We visited Planters Inn, The Vendue, Grand Bohemian, French Quarter, Francis Marion, Charleston Place, Spectator. Liked Bennett the best. Charleston Place was probably the "nicest" but felt like a Vegas hotel to us.

Bars: Loved Citrus Club, Camillia's, Thoroughbred Club (Charleston Place), Bin 152. We didn't go to Republic or any of the club bars.

Restaurants: Will go back: Poogan's Porch, Hall's Chophouse, Miller's All Day, Obstinate Daughter. Good, not great: 82 Queen, Husk. Husk was pretentious in its attempt to not be pretentious. Food wasn't as good as we were hoping.

Tours, etc.: 2 Sisters Walking Tour - Awesome. Very cool ladies and we learned and saw a ton. 5*. Middleton Place - 4*, Magnolia Plantation 3.5*. Drove to Drayton Hall - would probably do that one if we go back.

Shopping/Walking - King Street, Meeting Street, Downtown, French Quarter. All very cool. Nice people, good shops. Very clean. No issues. We also loved Sullivan's Island.

The one thing that stood out the most was probably the number of bachelorette parties. We saw no less than 30-40 groups. They were everywhere. Uber drivers, bartenders, waiters, valets, etc. all hated them. Drama, crying, fighting, cheap, difficult, loud, demanding. Pretty funny to listen to the stories. One Uber driver kept a cooler full of White Claws to sell to them for $5/each.

Overall, it's a great spot for a trip with your wife/couples.

^^^^^^ great report my recent visit was a stay at Harbourview Inn. Really liked the location. Griffon Pub a couple doors down as was the Vendue rooftop bar. SNOB, our favorite meal, was right around the corner along will Magnolia. Easy walk up Queen to Poogans, Husk, and 82 Queen. Liked 82 Queen but we liked Hank's seafood more. First night we arrived we happened on Prohibition and it was good too with a cool vibe. Someone on here recommended Prohibition so thanks. Get you a couple Callie's hot little biscuit sandwiches for breakfast at the city market and then hit all the vendors. Clerk across from the market was a good coffee spot. Recommend the Great Southern carriage tour to get your bearings and a good history lesson. Nathaniel Russell House was cool. Old Slave Mart Museum was rough to go through but very informative. Definitely check out the Old Exchange Building, tons of history there and do the dungeon talk/tour it was great.

I would put 82 Queen in the top rung great atmosphere at night and the she crab soup they have in the best in city year in year out

The one place i want to try next time is 5 Church or something like that a converted chrich for lunch

See the Angel Oak tree if you go and walk the historic district after taking a walking tour is the best way to see that area IMO

We are at the airport waiting to fly back to DFW from Charleston. I used this thread as a guide so I'll give a quick recap.

We flew in on July 4th and ate at 167 Raw before fireworks. The lobster roll was amazing and the oyster sampler was really good as well.

On Tuesday we grabbed 82 Queen for lunch and the She Crab Soup was unreal. The wife had BBQ shrimp and grits while I had a Fried green tomato and ham sandwich…..both were amazing. One of the top meals we have had. For dinner we were looking for something a little lighter and found Lenoir which was attached to the Renaissance that we should have stayed at. Come to find out that is a 5 star restaurant and the food/cocktails were amazing.

On Wednesday we ate at Millers all Day for brunch and it was a great spot as well.

We just walked and shopped on Tuesday but then took 2 tours on Wednesday. The first was a culinary tour that was good with the highlight being biscuits at Hot and Handy. Wed night we did the Boo Hag and Brews tour and it was really good. The guide, Bryan, is very good and I'd highly recommend this.

Overall we felt 2-3 days was enough. With another day we would do either a plantation tour or Ft Sumter. I have Marriott points so we stayed at a boutique hotel(Bella Grace) and we're pretty disappointed in it overall. The room was really nice but there was no bar or relaxing area like the pictures make it seem. Our other 2 choices were Renaissance or Grand Bohemian and after walking both, we made the wrong choice.

Overall, highly recommend Charleston. The vibe was laid back and a lot of fun.

We stayed at Grand Bohemian while we were there.

It was the first two weeks it was open and we got a tremendous deal and loved it staying there.

Sounds like you had a great time. Lots to do in the Historic District and day trips outside the city aren't necessary but can be very fruitful as well.

If anyone is thinking of going try a walking tour of the Historic District first off. Many things to see and get acclimated for further inspection later on. You can see a lot of the top notch places to eat and explore the menu while on the tour as well sometimes. The history of the city is fascinating if you like American Revolution or Civil War history.

We just got back. Our trip was a bit last minute so we were unable to get reservations at some restaurants we would have tried. We ate at Poogans smokehouse & Hanks. Both were good. Rooftop bar at Vendue was a good afternoon stop. We stayed at The Saints Hotel. It was new in 2021 & we thought the location was great. For 2 nights it was $100 less than the Courtyard where hubs originally booked. Better option for couples although I did hear some kids screaming in the room next door. Humidity was high so it was HOT. I saw lots of women in dresses. I saw very few men in slacks. Hubs wore nice shirt/shorts to Hanks.

We visited recently for the first time as well. The humidity was ridiculous and we'd never go back during the summer just to visit - there'd need to be a reason.

Can't wait to return sometime during the cooler months and preferably during holiday season when apparently the decor is beautiful.

As Nola regulars there were things we found better in Charleston and better in Nola.

Architecture vs Nola: Charleston 6 days a week and twice on Sunday. Love love walking the FQ in Nola, but the level of upkeep in Charleston is just unbeatable. It is so damn beautiful. In better weather I could just park and walk neighborhoods for hours. We thought that Charleston is what Nola could be (cosmetically) if everyone had the money to renovate and maintain every building in Nola. There just are not very many homes/buildings that don't look wonderful in Charleston.

Food vs Nola: Nola. We had good food in Charleston, but Nola is easily better overall. They just use more spice where Charleson food often felt muted compared to the Nola equivalent.

Hotel - we stayed at The Pinch which is a new hotel that opened in April off King st. It is very small (they're adding an oyster bar, a bourbon bar, and a restaurant in the surrounding buildings). They upgraded our 1br suite to the largest 1br suite since it was our anniversary. This hotel was absolutely wonderful. Even though our home is only 3 years old my wife said "now I want to remodel". Full kitchens, washer dryer, etc. It would be a great 1br apartment.

Meals -
Nothing was bad but few things knocked our socks off. Our first meal was at Magnolias. We had the fried green tomatoes and some crab bisque to start. Both good, the FGTs were very good. My wife loved the parm crusted market catch, particularly the rice base. I had the tenderloin with melted pimento cheese on top. The cheese and the madiera wine sauce were very good as well.

We had lunch at Rodney Scott's BBQ. To be honest, I don't get it. The whole hog was bland. It wasn't bad, just bland. I kept dumping some of the spice on the table on it. The sides were good (mac n cheese, collard greens), and the pork rinds were fantastic. The whole hog, his claim to fame? Pass. If we return I'll try the ribs which I saw on many plates - at least 1/2 the diners had ribs.

We got lucky and got 2 spots at the Husk Bar at 5:30pm. Within 10 minutes it was standing room only. That was fun because we had time for a couple of drinks before going to Poogans Porch for our 6:30 reservation. The Charleson Light Dragoon's Punch (their best known drink) was good. Mild and refreshing. The star however was the Whiskey for Breakfast. The recipe looks like your typical riff on bourbon based drinks like a Manhattan, Old Fashioned, etc. Damn if it wasn't the best "new to me" drink I've had in a while. Even my wife, not a whiskey cocktail fan, was blown away.

Dinner at Poogan's Porch was good. The pimento fritters were the 2nd best thing I had on our trip. They're just balls of pimento cheese that are lightly battered and fried. We got extra remoulade for dipping to cut the richness. My shrimp and grits were meh. Not bad, just bland. Wife had the chicken fried pork chop and it was really freaking good. If we return I'll be hard pressed not to order it instead of trying something new.

For lunch one day we popped into the Blind Tiger Pub. It was really good and a pleasant surprise. We'd been walking around looking at various landmarks and saw it had good reviews. The pimento cheese (classic, cold, not cooked/fried) was on point and served with pork cracklins/rinds. Smoked wings were excellent. We just had apps because we weren't committed to filling up so we could nibble around town.

Prohibition had wonderful drinks. The red pepper romesco appetizer was very good and our list of things to learn to make.

167 Raw Oyster Bar was our favorite overall meal. Last night in town, we weren't necessarily hungry but my wife had their lobster roll on her checklist. It was pouring rain so we said screw it, we'll pop in and order to go if there are no seats. As advertised, the place was slammed even at 9pm with a 75 minute wait when the rest of King St was closed for the night. WHile I fumbled online to order the lobster roll, the host suddenly grabbed us and said there was a cancellation for a 2 top. So glad we sat down to eat. The SC Cups oysters were wonderful and we also had some over roasted oysters that had some manner of sauce/cheese on top. The star was the lobster roll. The best one I've ever eaten and I'm still pissed we split one instead of each getting our own.

We popped into the Penninsula Grill at the Planters Inn because my wife had heard their cocunut cake was unrivaled. I had a drink while she ordered a slice to go. It was as advertised. We snacked on it a few days as the slice was massive.

On our way to the airport we hit Caroline's Aloha Bar (formerly Voodoo Tiki). Tiki drinks were great. Shrimp and grits were pretty tasty. The pork belly that came on the S&G as well as my burger was hammered. So wildly overcooked it tasted like eating charcoal. My burger patty was the same way. I'll definitely return because A - I love tiki bars, and B - I just think it was an off day. Online photos look really good, and there non-brunch menu has some really fun looking items. They would only serve off the brunch menu though so I had to make do.

Tours - Our first stop upon arrival was the Magnolia Plantation so that we could walk the gardens. They were incredible as advertised. My "stranger danger" wife spotted an aligator in a swamp immediately. The walking path came right up to the edge of the water and as I snapped the photo below I just knew it was a decoy and another one was about to pop of the water at my feet. I'm standing at a point where if I stepped 6 inches forward I'm in the drink.

We visited the Exchange House and did the dungeon tour. Very informative and fun. As mentioned above we also did the Old Slave Mart museum which is incredible because it is fascinating, appalling, and tragic, all rolled into one. Everyone should take the time to visit and read about the slave trade. The information was much more detailed than what you learned in school. Heartbreaking for sure but still a must do if you've never been.

The Fort Sumpter tour was great. We were the first boat of the day so got to watch the flag raising ceremony, which was awesome.

Walking the waterfront (Pineapple fountain), the park by the Battery, and just the amazing mansions facing the water in that area was a great stroll. Again - brutal humidity was a downer but damn I can't wait to do the same during the holidays at some point.

Angel Oak is a must visit. It might seem out of the way to drive 30 minutes to see a Live Oak. I don't care. If was absolutely incredible.

Returning to architecture - it was fun to photograph the old pink house at night then again during the day. It is also wild to drive on those cobblestone streets. It was nuts how bumpy they are even in a small SUV. Walking them was equally daunting, particularly if you're in flops. I'm sure many an ankle has been sprained and any woman attempting to walk them in high heels might as well crawl on her hands and knees.

Stranger Danger at the Magnolia Plantation - when they say "watch for gators" they are not kidding. My guess is he was 6 or 7 ft long.

Great report. I'm glad you did the Exchange building and slave mart museum. Your description was spot on. We went Spring Break and it was getting kinda warm in the afternoon and I told my wife no way would I go there in the summer. I could easily go back at Christmas to see the decorations.

So on our culinary tour we got a good tip about the Blind Tiger Pub. There is actually a 5 star famous chef(forgetting who he said) that is running the kitchen temporarily(I think just thru July). Our guide mentioned that he is moving on soon and we really needed to take advantage of that not being major news.

Bumping this one…

The wife and I are headed there for a 3 day trip in late January escaping for a kid free getaway. Anyone with a recent trip there and any recommendations is much appreciated. Just planning to eat/drink and walk the town. Thanks

Hello. USS Yorktown.

We've been to Charleston twice and have loved both trips. We've stayed at the French Quarter Inn both times. It's a beautiful hotel with great service, breakfast is included (either on their patio or in your room), and there is a happy hour every day. The location is perfect too - right by Chelsea Market.

On our last trip, we went crabbing and had an amazing time. We had our 8-year-old son with us, and it was a great activity for the whole family. https://www.casualcrabbingwithtia.com/

I second Blind Tiger Pup. It has a great atmosphere, food, and drinks. Church and Union was wonderful too, but be sure you request a table in their main dining room. Our large group was seated in the annex, and it wasn't nearly as cool.

Amen Street Fish & Oyster Bar is a fun spot too.

On the last trip, we did a walking tour with Skip Evans, and he was great!

Garrelli 5000 said:

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We visited recently for the first time as well. The humidity was ridiculous and we'd never go back during the summer just to visit - there'd need to be a reason.

Can't wait to return sometime during the cooler months and preferably during holiday season when apparently the decor is beautiful.

As Nola regulars there were things we found better in Charleston and better in Nola.

Architecture vs Nola: Charleston 6 days a week and twice on Sunday. Love love walking the FQ in Nola, but the level of upkeep in Charleston is just unbeatable. It is so damn beautiful. In better weather I could just park and walk neighborhoods for hours. We thought that Charleston is what Nola could be (cosmetically) if everyone had the money to renovate and maintain every building in Nola. There just are not very many homes/buildings that don't look wonderful in Charleston.

Food vs Nola: Nola. We had good food in Charleston, but Nola is easily better overall. They just use more spice where Charleson food often felt muted compared to the Nola equivalent.

Hotel - we stayed at The Pinch which is a new hotel that opened in April off King st. It is very small (they're adding an oyster bar, a bourbon bar, and a restaurant in the surrounding buildings). They upgraded our 1br suite to the largest 1br suite since it was our anniversary. This hotel was absolutely wonderful. Even though our home is only 3 years old my wife said "now I want to remodel". Full kitchens, washer dryer, etc. It would be a great 1br apartment.

Meals -
Nothing was bad but few things knocked our socks off. Our first meal was at Magnolias. We had the fried green tomatoes and some crab bisque to start. Both good, the FGTs were very good. My wife loved the parm crusted market catch, particularly the rice base. I had the tenderloin with melted pimento cheese on top. The cheese and the madiera wine sauce were very good as well.

We had lunch at Rodney Scott's BBQ. To be honest, I don't get it. The whole hog was bland. It wasn't bad, just bland. I kept dumping some of the spice on the table on it. The sides were good (mac n cheese, collard greens), and the pork rinds were fantastic. The whole hog, his claim to fame? Pass. If we return I'll try the ribs which I saw on many plates - at least 1/2 the diners had ribs.

We got lucky and got 2 spots at the Husk Bar at 5:30pm. Within 10 minutes it was standing room only. That was fun because we had time for a couple of drinks before going to Poogans Porch for our 6:30 reservation. The Charleson Light Dragoon's Punch (their best known drink) was good. Mild and refreshing. The star however was the Whiskey for Breakfast. The recipe looks like your typical riff on bourbon based drinks like a Manhattan, Old Fashioned, etc. Damn if it wasn't the best "new to me" drink I've had in a while. Even my wife, not a whiskey cocktail fan, was blown away.

Dinner at Poogan's Porch was good. The pimento fritters were the 2nd best thing I had on our trip. They're just balls of pimento cheese that are lightly battered and fried. We got extra remoulade for dipping to cut the richness. My shrimp and grits were meh. Not bad, just bland. Wife had the chicken fried pork chop and it was really freaking good. If we return I'll be hard pressed not to order it instead of trying something new.

For lunch one day we popped into the Blind Tiger Pub. It was really good and a pleasant surprise. We'd been walking around looking at various landmarks and saw it had good reviews. The pimento cheese (classic, cold, not cooked/fried) was on point and served with pork cracklins/rinds. Smoked wings were excellent. We just had apps because we weren't committed to filling up so we could nibble around town.

Prohibition had wonderful drinks. The red pepper romesco appetizer was very good and our list of things to learn to make.

167 Raw Oyster Bar was our favorite overall meal. Last night in town, we weren't necessarily hungry but my wife had their lobster roll on her checklist. It was pouring rain so we said screw it, we'll pop in and order to go if there are no seats. As advertised, the place was slammed even at 9pm with a 75 minute wait when the rest of King St was closed for the night. WHile I fumbled online to order the lobster roll, the host suddenly grabbed us and said there was a cancellation for a 2 top. So glad we sat down to eat. The SC Cups oysters were wonderful and we also had some over roasted oysters that had some manner of sauce/cheese on top. The star was the lobster roll. The best one I've ever eaten and I'm still pissed we split one instead of each getting our own.

We popped into the Penninsula Grill at the Planters Inn because my wife had heard their cocunut cake was unrivaled. I had a drink while she ordered a slice to go. It was as advertised. We snacked on it a few days as the slice was massive.

On our way to the airport we hit Caroline's Aloha Bar (formerly Voodoo Tiki). Tiki drinks were great. Shrimp and grits were pretty tasty. The pork belly that came on the S&G as well as my burger was hammered. So wildly overcooked it tasted like eating charcoal. My burger patty was the same way. I'll definitely return because A - I love tiki bars, and B - I just think it was an off day. Online photos look really good, and there non-brunch menu has some really fun looking items. They would only serve off the brunch menu though so I had to make do.

Tours - Our first stop upon arrival was the Magnolia Plantation so that we could walk the gardens. They were incredible as advertised. My "stranger danger" wife spotted an aligator in a swamp immediately. The walking path came right up to the edge of the water and as I snapped the photo below I just knew it was a decoy and another one was about to pop of the water at my feet. I'm standing at a point where if I stepped 6 inches forward I'm in the drink.

We visited the Exchange House and did the dungeon tour. Very informative and fun. As mentioned above we also did the Old Slave Mart museum which is incredible because it is fascinating, appalling, and tragic, all rolled into one. Everyone should take the time to visit and read about the slave trade. The information was much more detailed than what you learned in school. Heartbreaking for sure but still a must do if you've never been.

The Fort Sumpter tour was great. We were the first boat of the day so got to watch the flag raising ceremony, which was awesome.

Walking the waterfront (Pineapple fountain), the park by the Battery, and just the amazing mansions facing the water in that area was a great stroll. Again - brutal humidity was a downer but damn I can't wait to do the same during the holidays at some point.

Angel Oak is a must visit. It might seem out of the way to drive 30 minutes to see a Live Oak. I don't care. If was absolutely incredible.

Returning to architecture - it was fun to photograph the old pink house at night then again during the day. It is also wild to drive on those cobblestone streets. It was nuts how bumpy they are even in a small SUV. Walking them was equally daunting, particularly if you're in flops. I'm sure many an ankle has been sprained and any woman attempting to walk them in high heels might as well crawl on her hands and knees.

Stranger Danger at the Magnolia Plantation - when they say "watch for gators" they are not kidding. My guess is he was 6 or 7 ft long.

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Agreed on Rodney Scott's. Was not impressed by anything we had there.