Charleston SC

[RockChalk]

I realize there as a lot going on this week / weekend. Traveling out to Charleston for a week long getaway with my wife (we have a 3 yo boy, some will
Sympathize). What’s up in Charleston? Any great restaurants/bars you all recommend? Looking at a naval museum, but would love other good
Historical recommendations.

[RetiredSeniorChief]

I was stationed in Charleston 20 years ago. It's Boston South, completely overrun by New Englanders.

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by Simply Red

roll over to Beaufort

I have a friend with a house there. It’s a beautiful area.

[MarkDavis'Haircut]

Originally Posted by RetiredSeniorChief

I was stationed in Charleston 20 years ago. It's Boston South, completely overrun by New Englanders.

Yankees ruin everything.

[Cheater5]

There are way too many great restaurants in Charleston, and it's hard to strike out. Below are are a few places to have drinks before or after dinner ( no 21 year old hipsters drinking PBR here). There are also bike taxis everywhere, so the two (three) of you can get anywhere in minutes. Most of these are on Upper King street away from the tourist-centric area.


DRINKS / COCKTAILS *there's downtown, and a few out on Sullivan's Island, Shem Creek, and Folly Beach for a more chilled out atmosphere

*The Rooftop at Vendue (overlooks downtown- if weather is nice, it's awesome)

http://thevendue.com/restaurants/the-rooftop/

Proof- on upper King Street, directly across from Hall's Chop House. Excellent gin joint, great bar.

http://www.charlestonproof.com/


Prohibition on Upper King Street- live music (swing) most every night; best Irish whiskey selection in SC.

http://prohibitioncharleston.com/


The Cocktail Club (Above the Macintosh)- upscale, but great drinks/people watching

https://www.thecocktailclubcharleston.com/

Dunleavy's Pub out on Sullivan's Island-- awesome local bar that has a great beer selection, and a fun place to catch a game. There are a string of restaurants right next door that are great places to grab lunch and hang out as well.
https://dunleavysonsullivans.com/

Tavern and Table: this is in Mt. Pleasant across the bridge from downtown (10 min) and is on Shem Creek. Hang out, drink beers, and watch the shrimp boats come and go. Dolphins routinely (and I mean routinely) swim by.
https://www.tavernandtable.com/

St. James Gate Irish Pub on Folly Beach (hey, I live here...) Another great place to drink beers and catch bowl games or NFL. Right downtown on Center street on Folly Beach; everything is walking distance and there are lots of other restaurants around. About a three minute walk to the actual beach from this bar.
https://stjamesgatefollybeach.com/



RESTAURANTS



Hall's Chop House- best steak house in town.

http://hallschophouse.com/


Hank's Seafood - top three seafood, and top five restaurants in town.

http://hanksseafoodrestaurant.com/

Husk-- authentic Charleston food; all locally grown/caught.

http://www.huskrestaurant.com/

Xiao Bao Biscuit-- Vietnamese food and it's awesome. Very chill atmosphere and good beer and drink selection
https://www.xiaobaobiscuit.com/

FIG (Food Is Good) local restaurant that is out of this world good.
https://eatatfig.com/

ATTRACTIONS

Patriots Point Naval MuseumHome of the WWII aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, Destroyer USS Laffey, and a Vietnam era Naval Support Base
https://www.patriotspoint.org/

Bulldog Tours-- everything from food / ghost / history tours. May not be the best thing with a three year old in tow, but up to you. They are the best in town hands down.
https://www.bulldogtours.com/


The Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon: this is right downtown Charleston at the head of Broad Street. Check out where George Washington addressed the city in 1790, see where Blackbeard the pirate was held in the dungeon, and where the Declaration of Independence made a stop.
http://www.oldexchange.org/

Boone Hall Plantation in Mt. Pleasant (again about 15 min from downtown) this is where scenes from Gone With The Wind were filmed; it's an iconic Southern plantation home, to include several original slave quarters on the property. Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively got married here, but later felt regret because, well, you know...history actually occurred.
https://www.boonehallplantation.com/

Fort Sumter Tours: You can take a 20 minute harbor cruise out to Fort Sumter and tour the old fort. This is a really cool thing to do, and they give you one hour on the ground before the boat departs. Great view of the surrounding area as well.
https://fortsumtertours.com/

Lots of recommendations, and I'm happy to take this to PM if you like. I would rather give you too much information, than not enough.

[Hoover]

Originally Posted by Coochie liquor

Shoulda picked Savanna GA instead. One of my favorite places. But while you’re there, don’t miss The Griffon restaurant.

http://www.griffoncharleston.com/

Agree. Easy to do both!

[DJ's left nut]

We went to a little rathole of a bar/grill sort of place that was actually pretty good. Bowens Island Restaurant off Folly Beach.

They had a lot of Palmetto State Brewery beers there; pretty good (like any smaller brewery, some good and some not so good).

But mostly it's just authentic low country boil fare. Shrimp and oysters mostly, I'm pretty sure blue crab was in season when we went; I know we had some really fresh crab out there and I'm pretty sure it was on Folly Island. Try She-Crab soup if they have it (again, I'm pretty sure that's seasonal) - man I love that stuff.

Most of the other stuff is pretty easy to find out about. Obviously Sumter and we did a double decker bus tour of old Charleston that was pretty cool.

[Cheater5]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

We went to a little rathole of a bar/grill sort of place that was actually pretty good. Bowens Island Restaurant off Folly Beach.

They had a lot of Palmetto State Brewery beers there; pretty good (like any smaller brewery, some good and some not so good).

But mostly it's just authentic low country boil fare. Shrimp and oysters mostly, I'm pretty sure blue crab was in season when we went; I know we had some really fresh crab out there and I'm pretty sure it was on Folly Island. Try She-Crab soup if they have it (again, I'm pretty sure that's seasonal) - man I love that stuff.

Most of the other stuff is pretty easy to find out about. Obviously Sumter and we did a double decker bus tour of old Charleston that was pretty cool.

Lol, I live less than a mile from Bowen's Island. About 8-10 years ago Anthony Bourdain did a stop there, and it's popularity blew up. I thought about adding it to my list, but many tourists go there and are underwhelmed; it's mostly fried seafood served on Styrofoam plates. If anyone DOES go there-- avoid Friday and Saturday nights unless you go way early...

[Frazod]

I visited friends there over a weekend many years ago. Beautiful city. One of the high points was a trolley tour through a neighborhood of colonial era restored homes. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get to Fort Sumter or the Yorktown. I'd just gotten out of the Navy; going onboard a ship wasn't a priority for me at the time.

[mlyonsd]

I really enjoyed walking around the USS Yorktown and trip to Fort Sumter

[GloryDayz]

GREAT TOWN!!!!

To see:

Rainbow Row is a must see...
Hit-up the City Market...
Ft. Sumter


Eats (Thinking you'd stick to the battery area):

High Cotton
The Rooftop Bar at The Vendue
Pearlz Oyster Bar
Galpao Gaucho Steak House
Charleston Crab House

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Cheater5

Lol, I live less than a mile from Bowen's Island. About 8-10 years ago Anthony Bourdain did a stop there, and it's popularity blew up. I thought about adding it to my list, but many tourists go there and are underwhelmed; it's mostly fried seafood served on Styrofoam plates. If anyone DOES go there-- avoid Friday and Saturday nights unless you go way early...

Gosh - how long ago did I go there? Long while. I still had hair and no children.

My buddy went to The Citadel so he took us around and he graduated in '04. I think this was shortly after his first tour so it would've probably been in around '08.

Yeah - it ain't cloth napkin fare by any means. Just something that felt uniquely low country Charleston. I could see being underwhelmed by it, but if you are, you're going to be underwhelmed by a LOT of Charleston. The same sort of thing that made Bowen's (and the surrounding oyster traps) charming is what makes Charleston what it is, IMO.

I mean there's always Big John's where all the Cadets used to drink and there's a shitload of badges on the wall, but I'm pretty sure it burned down and the new place isn't nearly as dive-barish as when I went.

[Cheater5]

Yeah, the new Big Johns is trash. Damn shame.

[blake5676]

Brown Dog Deli for lunch was a personal favorite. And Hall's on King Street is a pretty awesome steakhouse if you want a nicer meal. Such a cool city to visit...definitely one of my favorites!

[Wilson8]

Very pretty and interesting town.

First just kind of drive around the historic district and figure out what you might want to see. Close to the tip of the peninsula there is the sea wall that looks out over the harbor. There is some short-term parking that will allow you walk by some of the antebellum houses and visit the waterfront park.

Have some good walking shoes. There are many tour buses and bike taxis if you prefer.

Closer to the center of town we had trouble finding parking along the street but there is a Visitor Center parking garage on Mary Street.

From there you can visit several historic sites including museums, historic churches, and the old city market. Lots of little shops and places to eat as you walk around.

On the other side of the harbor is Fort Sumter. You can take a boat ride out to the Fort from there. The aquarium is also there.

There are several old historic houses that you can tour in the area.

We drove south a few miles and visited Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. It is a place where movie stars and authors used to visit and party. There are other houses if you want more history.

As others have mentioned and if you have the time, visit other places like Hilton Head (for beaches), Beaufort, or even Savannah, Georgia. Beaufort you can just pretty much drive around in. Hilton Head spend some time on beach. Savannah, take the tour bus first, figure out what you want to see, then walk around and visit.

Best of luck and have a good trip.