Restaurants in Beaufort
Beaufort radiates its irresistible Southern charm through its warm hospitality, captivating settings, and Lowcountry cuisine. Nestled between Charleston and Savannah, Beaufort is home to over 150 restaurants offering an eclectic mix of food options for the hungry locals and travelers.
We’ve compiled the list below with some of the best restaurants in Beaufort to help guide you on your Lowcountry dining journey.
Lady's Island Dockside
Image: Lady's Island Dockside Facebook
This waterfront seafood restaurant gives diners the Lowcountry experience on a plate. With an abundance of shrimp, crabs, fish, and oysters on the menu, Lady’s Island Dockside is a seafood lover’s paradise. With close proximity to the fishing grounds, you’re guaranteed to have fresh catch all the time.
It would be a sin not to try the She Crab Soup and New England Style Clam Chowder. These seafood staples are a great way to start the feast. There’s a long list of appetizers that will whet your appetite, but if you can only choose one or two, you can’t go wrong with the Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail and Oysters Rockefella. You can order the rest on your subsequent visits.
While the Captain’s Platter is easily the go-to Southern style specialty—consisting of fresh shrimp, scallops, oysters, and flounder—the Dockside Dinner is also fast becoming the diners’ favorite with the addition of steamed crab legs and broiled lobster tail in the mix.
For the hearty eaters, there’s the classic ribeye steak and the New York strip sirloin. You can make it a Surf & Turf by having seafood add-ons. Kids under 12 can have their chicken fingers, pizza, or hotdogs with a generous serving of French fries.
If you’re lucky, succulent off-the-menu specials like lobster roll and soft-shell crabs with signature rice and slaw may be offered on your visit. You can enjoy all these amazing food selections while listening to live music on the Porch. Wash them all down with a cold beer or two.
The Fillin' Station
Image: The Fillin' Station Facebook
A Lowcountry pub with a waterfront setting may just be what you’re looking for to wind down and relax. This gas-station-turned-pub is the perfect watering hole where you can enjoy your favorite drink while watching the live band or belting it out on drunken karaoke nights.
Alcohol and spirits are overflowing at The Fillin’ Station and you need Lowcountry bar food to go with that. One bite of Nana’s famous crab balls and you’ll know that they’re freshly made daily. They’re the perfect starters as you wait for the hefty serving of Angus steak burger, humongous pork chops, or the off-menu steak special on a Friday night.
If you have a hankering for seafood, go for the Station Baskets where you can have fried redfish, shrimp, or crab—or all of the above. On many nights, redfish tacos and crab cake sandwiches make their appearance and they’re certified tummy pleasers.
Although the menu is limited, the drinks are not. Combine that with good company, great service, and splendid view of the waterfront, you’ve got yourself a winner.
Blackstone's Café
Image: Blackstone's Cafe Website
It’s not hard to see why Blackstone’s Café has become a local staple in downtown Beaufort ever since it opened its doors in 1991—the food is just superb across the board. Right off the bat, you’ll be wowed by the restaurant’s interior adorned with various nautical flags, college pennants, and other memorabilia.
Breakfast is served all day everyday so you can have your egg omelet, pancakes, French toast, corned beef hash, or shrimp & grits until 2:30pm (closing time) and no one’s going to judge you. You can dine upstairs, downstairs, or on the patio where it’s pet friendly.
Lunch time means having access to mouth-watering burgers, Philly cheese steak, grilled sandwiches, fresh salads, and wraps. Blackstone’s signature burger is a clear favorite together with their homemade pecan pie (we’re hoping their luscious pecan sticky bun makes another appearance!).
Madison's
Image: Madison's Website
We can describe Madison’s as a casual dining place with upscale menu. Others may view it as fine dining with a small-town country charm. Either way, the food speaks volumes of the quality in terms of taste and presentation.
Everything on the menu is a must-try but we were mighty impressed with the grilled Mahi-Mahi sandwich with melted Gruyere, caramelized onions, and charred jalapeno-lime aioli. A close second is the Moon Doggie, which is the house roasted prime rib.
The presence of raw oyster bar is their way of flexing the freshness of their seafood spread. If you want a sampling of oysters, steamed mussels, cocktail shrimp, calamari, and scampi, go for the 3-tier Seafood Tower. But if scallops and flounder are your jam, order the seafood basket. Treat yourself to a crème brulee or banana pie and you’ll go home full and happy.
Madison’s also caters to diners with diet restrictions, so ask for vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options and you won’t be disappointed. Dining at Madison’s is always delightful and satisfying, so if you’re heading to Port Royal, make it a pit stop.
Saltus River Grill
Image: Saltus River Grill Website
Urban meets historic downtown Beaufort. If this is any indication of what Saltus River Grill has to offer, then prepare for a delicious fusion of culinary sophistication and warm southern hospitality. It turns out Saltus titillates not just the palate, but also the eyes. Every food that comes out of the kitchen is a work of art.
The sushi rolls are too pretty to eat, but you know they’d be gone in seconds. Even the shrimp and grits are presented elegantly. But Saltus is not just about showing off their food art skills. At the end of the day, it’s still the taste that counts and Saltus delivers. In fact, we were still thinking about the sumptuous seared duck breast and blackened Dorado long after our visit. It’s no wonder Saltus is highly recommended by locals and tourists alike.
Bricks on Boundary
Image: Bricks on Boundary Facebook
At Bricks, you come for their famous fried shrimp but you stay for a bit because you’re too full to move! With huge portions, it’s not hard to see why Bricks on Boundary is a favorite among local foodies. No one leaves the place hungry, that’s for sure.
The menu largely consists of southern comfort foods, but there are also some food options with Mediterranean, Italian, German, and Mexican influences. You can tell that the people behind Bricks have a good sense of humor, judging by the names of some of the food on the menu. In fact, we ordered the Importance of the Cottage Pie—because how could you not? Clever and delicious.
No meal is complete without Aunt Edith’s homemade southern pecan pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Auth Edith deserves a medal for this decadent dessert.
Hearth Wood Fired Pizza
Image: Hearth Wood Fired Pizza Website
Who can resist a wood-fired pizza? No one! Pizza is not a staple Lowcountry food but it’s just as comforting. Hearth Wood Fired Pizza is not your typical pizzeria. It gives off a high-end feel but it has a friendly, casual atmosphere. The wood-fire oven is hard to miss with its red eclectic design. It certainly adds to the overall appeal of the place.
Ask the locals for pizza recommendations and they will likely say in unison, “Shroomage and Margherita.” Meatless but mouth-watering. Locals are never wrong, so trust their discerning palates. If it’s meat you want, you can have your fill of prosciutto, pepperoni, and salami with their Meat & Cheese board starter.
Pizza is not the only thing going on at Hearth’s. Hearty Italian dishes are yours for the taking. When it comes to pasta, eggplant parmesan is the runaway winner, but the wood fired lasagna is hard to resist. It’s rich, herby, and creamy. You can wash it all down with a glass of wine or two from their select wine list.
Fishcamp on 11th Street
Image: Fishcamp on 11th Street Website
Casual waterfront dining is the perfect way to enjoy a smorgasbord of seafood at Fishcamp. With docks and shrimp boats as a backdrop, you’ll feel at one with nature as you savor delectable fish and seafood dishes cooked to perfection.
Lowcountry boils are the go-to choices in seafood bars and we’re all for it. Snow crab, Alaskan King Crab, and shrimp boils are pretty hard to resist. But if you want to try everything, including lobster tails, clams, mussels, and oysters in one go, order the Royal Tower and you will not be disappointed.
For a hearty dish, you can’t go wrong with Fishcamp’s ribeye and filet mignon, both with Cabernet demi-glace and side dishes.
Delicious dishes, huge servings, and friendly staff make Fishcamp a top food destination for locals and travelers in search of gastronomic epiphany.
Old Bull Tavern
Image: Old Bull Tavern Website
Old Bull Tavern is a modern-day gastropub that specializes in European and American comfort foods is something of a welcome anomaly in a sea of traditional southern diners.
To whet your appetite, the wasabi devilled eggs and prosciutto combo is a winner in our bar snacks book. The grilled crostini with escargot is a palate pleaser as well. Everything sounds and looks delicious, but the lamb shank braised in red wine is seriously on another level. Wash it all down with fine wine, local beer, or OBT house cocktails and concoctions.
If you still have room for dessert, the butterscotch pudding with caramel sea salt is a nice way to end the meal.
