This post contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission if you book or purchase through these links. You can read my full disclosure policy here.
If you’re thinking about a visit to Charleston, South Carolina, don’t forget to plan food into your itinerary. Lots of food. There are no shortages of it in the South and this charming coastal city is no exception. I’m sharing my personal Charleston food tour to help you get a true taste of southern culinary paradise!My Charleston Food Tour
1. Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit
Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit will give you a taste of southern goodness. Biscuit heaven type of southern goodness. I got to meet Carrie, the owner, while I was there. She is the daughter of Callie and has continued to share her mother’s fabulous biscuits with Charleston as well as making them available all over the United States.
The interior is cute and southern chic as is the ordering counter.
No surprise that Carrie and her hot little bites of heaven have been touted by Food and Wine, the NY Times, Southern Living and even Oprah!
Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit is located at 476 1/2 King Street, Charleston, South Carolina 29403
2. Virginia’s On King
Virginia’s On King wasn’t actually on my list ahead of time. Sometimes I go with recommendations once I arrive in a destination and Virginia’s was a recommendation from our hotel. A good recommendation I might add.
Let me introduce you to their Sawmill Poutine appetizer my mom and I shared. Poutine is a Canadian dish that I love. I was highly surprised to find it in South Carolina since I’ve only found it in a couple of places in the Northern US.
This fabulous goodness consists of fries with Charleston Artisan local cheese curds, sawmill gravy, and scallions. It is definitely a great southern version of the traditional Poutine.
We also each got the Seasonal Salad. Obviously, as its name implies, the features (such as the fruit) will vary depending on when you visit. Our seasonal fruit in December was strawberries (interestingly), paired with local lettuce, toasted pecans, Battery Park Brie, lemon zest and mint vinaigrette. Phenomenal combination!
Virginia’s On King is located at 412 King Street, Charleston, South Carolina 29403
3. Crave Kitchen & Cocktails
After a day touring some of the plantation houses and walking the Arthur Ravenel Bridge, we headed to Crave Kitchen for dinner. After all, we had worked up a sizeable appetite.
This is what we came for. The Famous Mac N Cheese that we topped with our choice of pulled pork.
Just close your eyes and think about the irresistible combination of that yummy cheese and tender pulled pork…talk about hitting the spot when you’re starving and it’s cold outside. Comfort food at its best!
Crave Kitchen is located at 1968 Riviera Drive, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina 29464
4. Page’s Okra Grill
After another day of touring plantation houses and the Angel Oak Tree, we found ourselves at Page’s Okra Grill ready for more southern goodness because clearly, we hadn’t had enough this week.
Love the huge Adirondack chair outside!
My mom was a little more creative with her choice of Crab Cakes with pan-seared jumbo, lump, and fresh claw meat served with Cajun remoulade sauce and a green tomato-okra relish!
Page’s Okra Grill is located at 302 Coleman Boulevard, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina 29464
You might also like: Charleston at Christmas: Southern Holiday Charm Inspiration
5. Persimmon Café
Persimmon Café was perhaps one of the most unique places I’ve been to eat. Besides the fact that it’s located in a laundromat, its menu is really original.
Specializing in locally sourced, natural, and organic (when possible) ingredients, they offer gourmet sandwiches that include exotic combinations of grilled cheese, homemade soups, craft local beer, specialty drinks such as signature limeades and lemonades and frozen custards!
No frills, yet cute, creative and convenient!
My mom went with the Adult Grilled Cheese consisting of smoked gouda, green apple, prosciutto, and cheddar. She paired hers with tomato basil soup and the rosemary lemon tea.
For dessert, we had to get their seasonal special frozen custard for December-Peppermint and White Chocolate! Absolutely amazing if you are a chocolate peppermint lover like we are!
I noticed the café is part of Uber Eats…wonder if they will deliver to Birmingham? I mean, it’s only a tad bit out of the way…right? I’d totally be willing to tip extra! 😉
Persimmon Café is located at 226 Calhoun Street, Charleston, South Carolina 29401
6. Toast of Charleston
Ready for a Toast of Charleston? You should be!
As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to have the Deluxe French Toast.
Question: What part of recommended by the New York Times with hand-cut currant bread stuffed with peaches and topped with peach cider syrup could I resist?
Answer: Zip. Nada. None.
Question: Correct decision?
Answer: Absolutely.
We also tried…wait for it…wait for it…the Shrimp & Grits. Yep, here too! This version had sauteed shrimp, peppers, tomatoes, garlic, onions, sausage deglazed with white wine and was served with a lobster cream sauce over grits.
We wrapped up this feast with biscuits and honey and their hot chocolate!
Entrance all decorated for Christmas!
Toast of Charleston has four locations in the greater Charleston area, but the downtown location we went to is located at 155 Meeting Street, Charleston, South Carolina 29401
7. Hominy Grill
Last but not least, we capped off our amazing foodie adventure in Charleston with the Hominy Grill. Brunch here is something that shouldn’t be missed. Plain and simple.
Hominy Grill’s Courtyard
I’m personally not a fan of coconut so I didn’t try the cake, but Mom said it was definitely a prize worth all the walking we did. I felt the exact same about the chocolate pudding!
Hominy Grill is located at 207 Rutledge Avenue, Charleston, South Carolina 29403
Uber in Charleston. Get your first ride free here (up to $5) or use code: heathert7463ue!
MAP IT!
Here are all the locations complete with photos for easy reference!
PIN IT!
Charleston, really. We must have a talk about your lack of unique and delicious places to dine on southern cuisine. I mean it’s not like I dream about driving 8 hours to eat with you or anything…
Okay, fine. You win. I do dream about driving 8 hours just to eat with you so just stop it already, mm-kay?
So, who’s ready to eat???
Have you been to Charleston and want to add anything to my list? You know I always love hearing from you!
‘Til next time…
Trimm Travels,
Made me hungry just reading this and wishing I was back!
Me and you both!! Thanks for reading! 🙂
You see, I’m not really that familiar to any of American dish. But if there’s anything I want to try because it sounds mouthwatering despite the fact that I’ve never tried any, it would be casserole. I saw this the first time, thanks to That 70s Show with its infamous Kitty casserole, and I’m just dreaming of trying a nice casserole someday. Any chance you know a good place to eat casserole somewhere? 😉
Hi Marya-Well, just saying “casserole” is like saying “pasta”. In other words, there are a billion types of different casseroles just like there are pastas. It would depend on which kind you are wanting to taste. Believe it or not, casseroles, although a huge part of Southern food, are more of a homemade thing than a find-it-in-a-restaurant thing. You can find some types of them occasionally, but I wouldn’t expect to walk into most restaurants and see a type of casserole on the menu. Thanks for reading! 🙂
Ohhhh. this has me thinking of a trip to Charleston! The biscuits sound divine especially paired with the basil peach jam. Dining in a laundromat café sounds like an experience. Sign me up for the peppermint and white chocolate frozen custard! Thanks Heather – a great selection of places to enjoy local food!
Hi Alison-that peppermint white chocolate frozen custard was amazing and dining at the laundromat was actually a pretty cool experience. Charleston is a great foodie town. Thanks for reading! 🙂
OMG ! The poutine looks so good, I’m hungry now !! Haha.. Thanks for sharing, definitely bookmarking this if I ever visit !
Hi Jeremy-Yes, the poutine was really good! I absolutely love poutine! Hope you get to visit and thanks for reading! 🙂
Great selection of places to visit and the food looks amazing! Didn’t think I would see a dining experience in a laundromat on the list, but how cool?! Oh, and that coconut cake looks Ah-mazing…mmm! Massive fan of coconut over here so that would be right up my street! I have eaten so much over Christmas…but now I’m hungry again!
Hi Sarah-I didn’t expect a laundromat to be on the list either, but don’t you just love quirky, unique places like that? And I’m sure for coconut lovers that cake was amazing-my mom said it was! I wish I liked coconut but it’s a texture thing for me (love its flavor though). Thanks for reading! 🙂
Hey Heather,
I do not know if ever I would visit this place. I, however, like the post and the food joints specially Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit and Page’s Kira Grill as they look authentic and different. Mch appreciate your food photography.
Hi Himanshu-Thank you! No worries, there are some places I’m not sure I would visit either. Thanks for reading! 🙂
This post has me craving some biscuits and gravy for breakfast! Charleston is one of my favorite cities on the planet. My brother went to college there, and we go back rather frequently. But there are so many fabulous restaurants that you can easily go every year and never eat at the same place twice! The only place on your list that I’ve been to is Hominy Grill – just thinking about eating those Shrimp and Grits has me drooling! They’re SO GOOD. I’m excited to check out some of these the next time I’m there, particularly Toast and Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit. I’ve heard of both of those, but just haven’t made it yet!
Hi Maggie-Charleston is just flat out awesome isn’t it? And that is SO true…you can go many times and never eat at the same place twice. I had restaurants we didn’t make it to on that trip because we ran out of meals/days to get to them. That’s what next time is for! Thanks for reading! 🙂
This food looks amazing, your photos are making me hungry! You can’t get food like this in the uk so if would definitely want to visit some of these places to try authentic cuisine!
Hi Laura-Yes, come to the US and particularly in the South you will get really fantastic food (might not be the healthiest) but it’s yummy! Thanks for reading! 🙂
This post and your pictures made me so hungry! I have not yet been to Charleston but I’m glad to know where to get some of the best southern food there when I go. Okra in particular is one of my favorite foods, so I think I would stop at Page’s Okra Grill first and just order one of everything on the menu 🙂
Hi Kelly-Yes, one of everything on the menu is a must! I can’t believe it took me so long to visit Charleston especially since I live only 8 hours from there! Hope you get to go soon. Thanks for reading! 🙂
I love southern style food, even being a vegetarian, all those flavours are just amazing! Grilled cheese is probably one of my favourite things ever!! ha ha. We have an awesome place in Manchester that we go to all the time, ironically called “Northern Soul!”. I’ve always been interested in “Biscuits and gravy”, especially being a Brit, that combo just doesn’t sound right at all, plus white gravy is really odd!! ha ha. I’ve been told its like a savoury scone, I’d like to give it a go (veggie version though!!)
Hi Nicola-Grilled cheese is one of my favorites too! If we make it to Manchester on our UK trip I will have to put Northern Soul on my list! Biscuits and gravy are good…white gravy is the best (just like white BBQ sauce that we are known for in Alabama). But white gravy is usually sausage based however I’m sure you can find a veggie version of it as that is a fairly big scene now in the south! Thanks for reading! 🙂