Best road-trip restaurants in South Carolina

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James Beard America's Classic fish camp on a tidal marsh, slinging fire-roasted local oysters since 1946.

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Tiny two-starters-two-entrees hideaway with a handwritten menu that changes every single day.

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Walk-in-only, off-the-dock seafood counter from chef James London, ranked among North America's 50 Best.

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James Beard-winning flagship from chefs Mike Lata and Jason Stanhope, open since 2003 and still one of the Southeast's defining tables.

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Family-run Gullah-Geechee institution of 40-plus years, named a NYT Top 50 restaurant in America.

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The restaurant that reframed modern Southern cooking, housed in a white Queen Street mansion sourcing strictly from the South.

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Chef Nikko Cagalanan's Filipino-Lowcountry mashup, a James Beard Emerging Chef nominee.

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Handmade-pasta regional Italian in a warm Harleston Village room.

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Converted auto-body shop serving fried chicken, char-grilled oysters and champagne.

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John Lewis's Central Texas-style pit shop that made Charleston a serious brisket town.

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Clubby throwback tavern named Best Burger by Bon Appetit.

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Lively Spanish taperia and mercado built around tapas, jamon and Basque-style plates.

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Retro red-sauce-meets-Roman-pizza charmer from the Neighborhood Dining Group.

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Beloved Victorian-house landmark for Lowcountry comfort classics.

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Wood-fired natural-wine spot from James Beard-nominated chef Colin Marcelli.

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Grand French-style oyster hall and raw bar inside a 1920s bank building, a perennial national-award magnet.

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Michelin-starred multi-course room turning Lowcountry ingredients into refined, globally-minded courses.

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Cult-favorite pan-Asian spot in a converted 1940s gas station blending Chinese, Japanese and Thai.

$$$ · Congaree National Park

Cajun-Creole plates, whiskey, and Main Street polish for the Congaree traveler who wants the Columbia night to feel like a real city dinner.

$$ · Congaree National Park

A Columbia deli-brunch institution famous for pimento cheese and big Southern lunch energy, well placed before or after Congaree.

$$$$ · Congaree National Park

The Charleston steak dynasty's Main Street outpost with a view of the Statehouse — prime cuts, gospel-brunch hospitality, and the city's big-night splurge after a Congaree day.

$$ · Congaree National Park

Serving whole-hog buffet since 1963 with all three South Carolina sauce camps — mustard, tomato, and vinegar-pepper — plus hash over rice done right. A true Midlands institution en route from the park.

$ · Congaree National Park

Columbia's quintessential meat-and-three, a family-owned local chain where presidents and campaign buses stop for fried chicken and 26 vegetable choices. The true taste of the Midlands before a swamp walk.

$$$ · Congaree National Park

Farm-to-table pioneer in a Congaree Vista motor-parts warehouse since 1989, now a Michelin Guide pick — the menu is handwritten daily around what local farms delivered. Twenty-five minutes from the boardwalk loop.

$$ · I-95 corridor

Pitmaster Elliott Moss of Buxton Hall runs this barbecue lounge inside Seminar Brewing between Florence and Darlington.

$$ · I-95 corridor

Downtown Florence favorite praised as a crown jewel, serving smoked meats and Southern fixings with genuine flair.

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Chef-driven creative-taco and tequila bar that graduated from a beloved pop-up.

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Modern Italian and oyster bar above Main Street from James Beard-nominated chef Michael Kramer.

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Greenville's premier Persian kitchen near Falls Park, the state's highest-rated Persian dining.

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Nostalgic farm-to-table Southern bistro at the top of Main Street.

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Michelin-starred European bistro from chef Joe Cash with natural wine and old-world energy.

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Downtown mainstay since 1997 serving New South cuisine to a devoted local crowd.

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Subterranean Belgian brewpub with mussels, frites and a deep Belgian beer list.

$ · I-95 corridor

James Beard-winning Rodney Scott's original whole-hog mecca, old-school wood-fired pork worth the detour off the highway.

$$ · I-95 corridor

Weekends-only whole-hog institution in a farmhouse near Santee, serving traditional mustard-based South Carolina barbecue.

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No-frills Shem Creek seafood shack named for a boat Hurricane Hugo tossed ashore.

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James Beard America's Classic cafeteria-line soul food kitchen run by the founding family since 1980.

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Breezy island wood-fired pizzeria and coastal-Italian kitchen near the beach.