Restaurants in Pawleys Island
Pawleys Island is a small seaside town on the southern end of the Grand Strand. While people often tend to choose to stay in Pawleys Island over other Grand Strand beaches such as Myrtle Beach, Garden City, and Surfside Beach to avoid the crowds, they certainly aren’t avoiding the delicious cuisine options they’ll have at their disposal.
Despite the fact that it’s not the tourist mecca that Myrtle Beach is, Pawleys Island is up-to-par with any of the beaches on the Grand Strand when it comes to places to eat. Below is our list of the best restaurants in Pawleys Island.
Bistro 217
With an award-winning chef masterfully crafting a diverse Southern menu and a restaurateur effortlessly managing the front of the house, it’s not surprising why Bistro 217 has a strong local following. Located at the heart of Pawleys Island, Bistro 217 offers delectable fine dining options that never disappoint.
Chef Adam Kirby stays true to his Southern roots and prepares soul-satisfying dishes, but he continues to create new dishes that highlight different culinary influences. So, you’ll find new, exciting dishes on the menu that will become your new favorites. Chef Kirby’s spin on seafood classics is legendary and it would be a crime not to try them. From Asian-inspired cuisine to Mediterranean-influenced dishes, you’ll taste a Southern fusion that’s hard to beat.
Hog Heaven
If you happen to be on Highway 17, just south of Pawleys Island, we can say with certainty that you’re close to Hog Heaven, where the food is divine. They specialize in BBQ, seafood, and country cooking.
The BBQ buffet spread includes lip-smacking pork and BBQ chicken goodness and all the sides you can handle. Just one bite and you’ll think that you’ve died and gone to Hog Heaven. While BBQ is the main draw, their seafood dishes are fresh and flavorful, whether you order them steamed, fried, or roasted.
Hog Heaven is also known for their catering packages. So, if you need to feed a battalion of hungry foodies, you can choose from BBQ, chicken, shrimp, Lowcountry boil, or oyster roast package. This hole-in-the-wall is a BBQ mecca on Pawleys Island. Nothing fancy, just bring your appetite and Hog Heaven will do the rest.
Quigley's Pint & Plate
“Lowcountry cuisine meets English pub” best describes Quigley’s Pint & Plate. The place is overflowing with house-made lagers and ales that are always on tap. You can even take home some of their best brews in half-gallon growlers. It’s a great way to extend the happy hour.
The menu features a variety of Lowcountry cuisine with beef, pork, chicken, and seafood options. Enjoy your Lowcountry grub while seated outside overlooking the lake. It’s such an enjoyable experience made even more special with a daily dose of entertainment in the form of karaoke, team trivia, or live band. There’s always something brewing at Quigley’s, whether it’s beer, food, or entertainment.
Frank's Restaurant & Frank's Outback
What could be better than one Frank’s restaurant? Two Frank’s restaurant in one location! That’s twice the fun and twice the great food. Evidently, Lowcountry cuisine shines through at Frank’s. Southern flavors are strong in every food that comes out of the kitchen. Using the freshest and finest ingredients, Frank’s is certainly one of the best restaurants in Pawleys Island.
While Frank’s Restaurant gives off an upscale-ish atmosphere with its crisp white linens, hardwood floors, and oriental rugs, Frank’s Outback has a more casual vibe with weather-proof outdoor seating. But either way, you’ll get top-notch food and service. From the appetizers to the entrées to the desserts, the food is a feast to the eyes and the stomach.
Rustic Table
The name says it all. It’s everything you love about home style cooking where food nourishes the body and satisfies the soul. The menu has all the Lowcountry favorites with Southern and Pacific Rim influences. With Chef Adam Kirby’s creativity and imagination, simple, rustic food becomes a flavorful work of art.
The extensive menu is a feast and a half. It’s easy to be overwhelmed with the diverse selection of food, but you’ll never go wrong with The Comfy, Rustic Table’s spin on the fried chicken breast sandwich. It’s served open-faced on house biscuit with sausage gravy and fries. With excellent food, great ambience, and attentive waiters, resistance is futile.
Yagi Sushi and Hibachi
Every island needs a sushi restaurant and the great people behind The GOAT Bar & Grill in Murrells Inlet gave us Yagi Sushi and Hibachi. You’ll never taste sushi rolls this fresh—straight from the sea and into your mouth.
Whether you’re a sushi beginner or a seasoned sushi eater, you’ll find the sushi rolls that will suit your palate. From maki rolls to rice-less makis, every sushi bite is an experience. Each sushi roll is a product of the chef’s creative mind. Their delectable works of art look too good to eat but you can’t resist them anyway. Ingredients that you didn’t think would go well together deliver an explosion of flavors that’s hard to match.
Yagi Sushi’s drinks menu is packed with crazy good concoctions that will quench your thirst. It not only offers exotic drinks, but it also showcases sake’s versatility.
Chive Blossom Cafe
This island cafe has a chic and cozy vibe that matches the kind of food they serve—amazingly delicious! Many of the delectable dishes on the menu incorporate Mediterranean, French, and Asian influences. Whether you eat solo or partake on a feast, you’ll appreciate the diversity of food options at Chive Blossom Cafe.
House specialties like fried green tomato Napolean, crustless tomato basil pie, and okra pancakes in tomato shrimp stew live up to the expectations but it’s Trina’s she crab soup that’s truly legendary among the regulars.
The seafood, meats, vegetables, and other produce are locally sourced so you’re getting only the freshest ingredients. And because the menu changes seasonally, you must take advantage of new dishes when they become available. You can thank us later!
Pawleys Island Tavern
Brews and blues and everything in between are what you can expect when you dine at Pawleys Island Tavern. The menu is packed with Lowcountry favorites and some twists to Southern classics. You can’t help but be curious about some of their bestsellers. With names like Black & Bleu and Psychoburger, you’d think the tavern has a dark past. But clearly, that’s just their warped sense of humor talking.
Their famous triple decker—aptly called the Island Country Club—is the Big Daddy of all club sandwiches. The holy meat trinity of ham, turkey, and bacon co-exist harmoniously with fresh lettuce and tomato with cheddar and Swiss cheese goodness. The PIT also has their pizza menu with pretty much every topping you can think off. They are best served with cold beer over live band on the weekends.
Hanser House
Located in North Litchfield Beach, Hanser House is a family-friendly restaurant that offers an extensive menu of Lowcountry comfort foods cooked home-style. They specialize in steaks, seafood, and spirits. The seafood are sourced locally and the beef are aged in-house. Even the soups, salads, sauces, and desserts are made from scratch daily, so you’re guaranteed everything that comes out of the Hanser House kitchen is served fresh.
You can’t go wrong with Hanser House’s signature items and we’re particularly obsessed with their jambalaya, shrimp Creole, and fried jalapeno grits and shrimp. For a heartier meal, there’s no better choice than the Atlantis—a half-pound filet mignon topped with scallops, crab meat, shrimp, served over a bed of pasta with creamy seafood sauce. Don’t leave Hanser House without trying the homemade Pawleys Island Pie, brownie a la mode, and key lime pie. And if you ask nicely, you might get off-the-menu dessert that only Granny can make.
Gios Italian Kitchen
Authentic Italian dishes found their way on Pawleys Island through Gios Italian Kitchen, home of the (arguably) best marinara sauce in South Carolina. Using the local bounty from land and sea, Gios serves Italian favorites with the freshest and finest ingredients.
All their seafood pasta options are mouth-watering but the Pesca Del Mar reigns supreme with lobster claw meat, scallops, and mussels served over linguini in red or white sauce. It’s a flavor bomb that explodes in your mouth. For a heartier option, the Bistecca Alla Griglia is a winner in our books. Twelve ounces of pepper dry rub NY strip prime Angus is fork tender that melts in your mouth.
The food is sublime and the outdoor dining is reminiscent of al fresco dining spots in Italy. Everything you see, hear, smell, and taste at Gios is quintessentially Italian—from the décor to the food to the wine selection to the ambience. It just gives off that warm and friendly Italian vibe.
