Restaurants in Aiken
Aiken may have a small town feel but the culinary choices are as diverse as you’d find in some of the bigger towns and cities in South Carolina. While Lowcountry cooking is and will always be the main food attraction, new dishes with various culinary influences are expanding the community’s food choices. Here are some Aiken restaurants reshaping the city’s culinary scene.
What's Cookin' Downtown
Image: What's Cookin' Downtown Facebook
This family-owned restaurant puts the “home” in homemade cooking (even their tables are handcrafted). What’s Cookin’ Downtown offers freshly cooked Lowcountry breakfast and lunch fare for dine-in or to-go. They’re serious about food so you get a full menu option for breakfast. This means you’re not limited to just eggs, toast, or pancakes. We’re talking about biscuits made from scratch, freshly baked muffins, thick-cut French toast with cream cheese and orange marmalade and gourmet grits!
Try the breakfast of champions on this side of Aiken—The Troy. This hefty breakfast meal is guaranteed to give you all the proteins you need for the day—it’s a mini feast with egg, bacon, sausage, cheese, wheat toast, honey mustard and a breakfast side.
Lunch is just as grand with all the lip-smacking Southern grub choices. The Reuben is a clear favorite but you can’t turn your back on the long list of hot and cold sandwiches. Daily specials are posted on their Facebook page, the likes of Shrimp Po-Boy, fish basket, chicken tacos, and patty melt slider make their appearance. If deli-style salads, casseroles, and pastries are your jam, get in line at The Shop and go home happy.
Grumpy's Sports Bar
Image: Grumpy's Sports Bar Website
Sports, beer, and bar food are the holy trinity of a jolly good time at this neighborly sports pub in Aiken, SC. With more than 30 draft brews and the tastiest hot wings this side of South Carolina, Grumpy’s Sports Bar is a great watering hole for the thirsty traveler.
The beer menu is packed with the largest selection of booze Aiken can handle. From local brews to IPAs to international suds to big brands, you’re bound to find the right beer to suit your discerning beer palate. Watch a thrilling sports game while you feast on the mouth-watering Guinness-seasoned corned beef sandwich and the insanely delicious Po’Boy just off the smoker. Chased them all down with an ice cold draft.
Whiskey Alley
Image: Whiskey Alley Facebook
There’s always something new to try at Whiskey Alley because Chef Chad and Chef Katie want everyone to have a great dining experience on every visit. The food is fine dining quality but the atmosphere is casual and fun. The daily changing menu is a feast to the eyes and a comfort to the soul, especially if you see the whiskey choices on The List.
Eating at Whiskey Alley is a dining adventure in itself because you never know what the chefs are cooking. Whether it’s the brown butter rabbit loin, Maine lobster ramen, sesame-crusted frogs, or a wild boar short rib marmalade, you’ll be treated to a delicious masterpiece every single time. The best thing here is the diversity and inclusivity—there’s vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free choices ready to be devoured.
Taj Aiken Indian Cuisine
Image: Taj Aiken Indian Cuisine Website
The rich and bold flavors of Indian cuisine are alive in Taj Aiken. Classic Indian food are given their modern spin and the result is an exotic array of deliciousness that satisfies your Indian food cravings. Diners keep coming back for the tandoori chicken and the Taj Biryani, but it would be a sin not to try their lamb chops with tikka masala sauce.
Taj Aiken offers goat, lamb, chicken, seafood, and vegetable varieties of the same dishes, so there are always new options to try and enjoy. Chase them all down with a refreshing mango lassi and then cap off the meal with a luscious kulfi or a sugary sweet gulab jamun.
Shane's Rib Shack
Image: Shane's Rib Shack (Aiken, SC) Facebook
No Aiken food trip is complete without eating fall off the bones BBQ ribs. And when it comes to slow-smoked baby back ribs and hand-chopped pork BBQ, Shane’s Rib Shack is the ultimate BBQ destination in Aiken. Since opening its doors in 2002, Shane’s Rib Shack has been treating diners to a secret BBQ recipe that’s hard to crack. The signature dish is so tender and flavorful that no meat-loving foodie can resist.
Shane’s wings, tenders, and wraps are great lunch choices as well, but The Pork Melt is just on another level. Hand-chopped slow-smoked pork with crispy bacon, sauted onions and melted cheese is crazily delicious. The only downside is that it’s not a permanent dish on the menu. If there’s a petition to make it permanent, we’ll sign up fast!
Sukiya Japanese Steak House
Image: Sukiya Japanese Steak House Website
Does a Japanese steak house have a place in a city where Lowcountry cuisine is king? Yes, especially if you are Sukiya Steak House. There’s always room for good food in Aiken. Authentic Japanese dishes are always a great addition to a burgeoning food scene in Aiken and Sukiya is leading the sushi surge.
There’s a variety of appetizers from the sushi bar with the Hamachi karna and yellowtail jalapeno as standouts. They’re a great way to build up your appetite for the hibachi lunch served with vegetable and rice. Clearly, the hibachi steak is the popular choice but the melt-in-your-mouth buttery hibachi scallops are simply irresistible. And if you want a complete lunch that’s guaranteed to satisfy your big cravings, go for any of the lunch bentos which come with fried shumai, California roll, seasonal fruit, miso soup or salad, and rice.
Aiken Fish House & Oyster Bar
Image: Aiken Fish House & Oyster Bar Facebook
The freshest catch of the day can be found in Aiken Fish House. Built by a family of fishermen, you just can’t go wrong with the seafood dishes on the menu. Everything is fresh and the simple seafood dishes are cooked to perfection.
Lowcountry shrimp boil, shrimp and fish fry, and beer battered fish and chips are the delicious staples but there’s always the thrill of eating fresh oysters from the oyster bar. With a squeeze of lemon juice and a little bit of hot sauce, all is well in this world again! Wash them all down with ice-cold beer or a cocktail concoction that cleanses the palate.
New Moon Cafe
Image: New Moon Cafe Facebook
If you have a hankering for coffee and comfort food, New Moon Café will not disappoint. They roast their own coffee, bake their own breads and pastries, and make their soups from scratch every single day. If that’s not comforting to you, we don’t know what is.
New Moon’s turkey and apple croissant and Sonoma chicken salad are the best sellers, but there’s always room for The McHippie, a black bean patty with special sauce, cheese, pickles, organic lettuce, and onions on a wheat wrap. Simple and yet so insanely delicious, especially paired with your coffee of choice.
Aside from the organic vegetables they use, they also offer Keto menu prepared by New Moon’s resident keto enthusiasts. Options like bulletproof coffee, smoothies, sandwiches and salad plates are all keto-friendly, so you can enjoy the food while still focusing on your keto goals.
Malia's
Image: Malia's Website
Malia’s has been around for 30 years! That’s three decades of delicious foods that feed and nourish the Aiken community. Not many restaurants have that longevity. And what’s the secret? High-quality food with the finest and freshest ingredients that are ethically produced. Malia’s uses ingredients that are locally sourced. With the close proximity to the restaurant, the produce and ingredients are guaranteed fresh. It’s also a way for Malia’s to give back to the community of farmers in Aiken.
Malia’s may sound like a fancy fine dining place but it really has a casual and homely feel to it. The lunch menu changes daily but if you find the cream of cauliflower with cheddar soup and brown butter shrimp and grits on the menu, don’t think twice, order them right away. Your stomach will thank you later. Wash them all down with a beer, cocktail, or a fancy liquor.
