5 Must-Eat Dishes When Visiting Charleston, South Carolina, According To Research

If you know anything about Charleston, it's that it's one of the best cities in South Carolina for foodies. Charleston often ranks high on best-of foodie lists, including rankings from Food and Wine or Tripadvisor. So, when planning a vacation to the city, it's natural to want to incorporate as many delicious meals as possible.

Typically, when talking about exploring a foodie city, the main focus is on the restaurants that help make it so tasty. However, Charleston is unique in that it's home to some incredible dishes that transcend a particular eatery. Much like New Orleans, Charleston is synonymous with certain foods. For that reason, we're running down the top five must-eat dishes to try when you're exploring the city.

As for research, we're leaning on local publications and food-centric reviews to compile this list, paying attention to dishes that come up multiple times as being linked to the city. We're also only focusing on dishes that could be a complete meal, not sides. So, let's dig in!

If you're at all familiar with deviled eggs, you might have a good idea of what to expect with deviled crab. Much like the egg, this dish involves taking crab meat, mixing it with spices and other elements, then putting it all back into the shell. At least, if you make it at home, that's what you're supposed to do. In Charleston, however, not all restaurants do it that way, so you might get it in a dish instead. 

According to Southern newspaper The Post and Courier, back in the day, deviled crabs were quite a popular dish all along the East Coast. However, over time, it became more of a Lowcountry dish, which is why it's mostly found in places like Charleston and Savannah today. Deviled crab likely originated from the British, who brought crab cakes to the colonies, and "deviling" a dish means that more spices and seasonings were added. 

While crab cakes abound in Charleston, deviled crab is a bit harder to find. If you're looking for quick bites on the cheap, head to Marvin's Seafood, where deviled crab is less about $3. Alternatively, for a more elegant sit-down experience, try Hyman's Seafood, which offers a more gourmet version. Better yet, Hyman's sits just north of the historic district brimming with iconic pastel-colored homes known as Rainbow Row. 

At first, the name Frogmore stew may call to mind frog legs sitting in a pot of soup. Fortunately, the name is just a name, and it refers to the place where the dish originated: a small fishing village called Frogmore. Since the town is deep in the Lowcountry and near America's happiest seaside town, Beaufort, the dish is also commonly referred to as a Lowcountry boil or Beaufort stew, per Discover South Carolina. So if you see any of these names on a menu, just know that they're all talking about the same thing.

Part of what makes Frogmore stew such a pleasant experience is that it's meant to be shared. The four primary ingredients are shrimp, potatoes, corn on the cob, and sausage, although some places may add crab claws to make it a bit fancier. However, given that this is one of the messier dishes you can enjoy, "fancy" is a relative term. Let's just say a bib is a welcome addition, especially if you're cracking crab legs or peeling shrimp by hand.

Unlike deviled crab, Frogmore stew is much easier to find throughout Charleston, although not usually by that name. Places like A.W. Shuck's Seafood Shack and Charleston Crab House call it the Lowcountry boil. But if you want to feel like you're enjoying it the way they did back in the day, head about 20 minutes south of the city to Bowens Island Restaurant. Not only can you get fresh Frogmore stew, but the place also overlooks the marshes for an incredible view with your meal.

It's impossible to discuss the culinary culture and heritage of a place like Charleston without acknowledging the contributions of the Gullah-Geechee people. Per the New York Times, the group of enslaved people from West Africa brought traditional dishes to the Lowcountry, but no ingredient was quite as important as okra. Okra soup, in particular, is a hearty and filling dish, akin to the gumbo you might find in New Orleans. However, instead of using a roux base, this soup is lighter, with okra as the main ingredient. 

Because of its African American roots, okra soup is mostly found in places serving soul food. One of the best options is Bertha's Kitchen, which has a 4.6-star rating on Google and offers the dish among other soul favorites like collard greens and candied yams. While this is technically a side, it's hearty enough to make a full meal (especially if you have it with rice) if you're looking for something quick and tasty on the go.

Another popular spot for soul food and okra soup is Hannibal's Kitchen, which has over 2,500 reviews on Google. Visitors mention the tasty okra soup by name, with one reviewer saying, "The okra soup and cabbage were especially awesome." Then, if you're interested in exploring more of Gullah-Geechee cuisine, you can follow the seafood trail along South Carolina's coast that mixes food with history.

If there's one dish that practically defines Charleston, it has to be she-crab soup. Practically every seafood restaurant in the city offers this dish, so it's nearly impossible to make a trip to Charleston without tasting it. In fact, if you were so inclined, you could create your own tasting tour and see which spot has the best soup in town.

According to another Kiawah River blog post, the first iteration of she-crab soup dates back to the early 1900s. Crab bisque was already a popular dish in the area, but William Deas, butler and chef to Charleston's mayor R. Goodwyn Rhett, decided to kick things up a notch. Deas included crab roe in the soup when Rhett met with then-President William Howard Taft, adding an extra layer of creaminess and texture. From there, the iconic dish was born. Since the roe only comes from the female crab, the name she-crab stuck.

Depending on who you ask, several Charleston restaurants make the best version of this dish. In fact, looking through the r/Charleston Reddit thread, it seems impossible for people to agree on a single spot. If you're looking for an award-winning version, 82 Queen has received accolades for the dish (via The Post and Courier). Alternatively, the Palmetto Cafe serves it as part of an elegant brunch menu at the Charleston Place Hotel near the French Quarter. 

Shrimp and grits is a classic Southern dish, and it's about as ubiquitous in Charleston as she-crab soup. Since shrimp is such a staple of South Carolina cuisine, it makes sense that so many restaurants would offer their version of a simple yet tasty meal. While it is commonly eaten as a breakfast dish, you can enjoy shrimp and grits any time of day in different variations.

As with okra soup, the history behind shrimp and grits can be traced to the Gullah-Geechee and other enslaved African people in the South. According to food historian and author Michael Twitty (via The Local Palate), the dish actually originated in Mozambique and was recreated in the United States by enslaved people from that region. The dish was also mentioned in the cookbook "Two Hundred Years of Charleston Cooking," which was compiled by none other than Blanche Rhett, wife of the aforementioned mayor. In the book, she credits William Deas with making the recipe, further cementing his iconic status among Charleston's culinary scene.

Again, the best shrimp and grits in Charleston is up for debate, as evidenced in this thread from r/Charleston. One notable place to try it is SNOB restaurant (Slightly North of Broad), which includes sausage, ham, tomatoes, garlic, and marsh hen mill grits. Or if you're looking for a more casual spot to enjoy the dish for breakfast, Google reviews from Early Bird Diner highlight the classic dish.  

Since our research was based on local publications and reviews, our main focus was cross-referencing different lists of iconic or well-known Charleston foods from publications like Charleston Magazine and Charleston Culinary Tours. Similarly, we reviewed research from Lowcountry Walking Tours and Discover South Carolina to identify the city's iconic dishes, learn their histories, and find recommendations for where to try them. 

These five core dishes are commonly associated with Charleston and were mentioned across the board. Since pretty much every list mentioned she-crab soup, that was a no-brainer. But then, since we wanted to focus on meal-worthy dishes, not snacks or sides, we had to dig a little deeper. For example, according to Charleston Magazine, benne wafers are quintessentially Charlestonian, but they're more of a snack, not a full dish.