Where to Take Out-of-Town Guests to Dinner in Charleston

When friends or family come to town, one dinner usually carries the weight of the whole trip. It's the meal everybody talks about on the drive home. Picking where to take out-of-town guests to dinner in Charleston is worth twenty minutes of thought.

The good news is that downtown makes you look like a genius. A restaurant in the historic district means your guests get architecture, a walk, and Lowcountry cooking in one evening. Our address at 129 Meeting Street is a few blocks from most of what visitors want to see anyway.

Here's how we'd plan it.

Pick the restaurant that fits the group

Start with who's coming. A dinner with your in-laws is a different room than a dinner with three college friends. Be honest about the group before you book.

Parents and grandparents

Choose comfort and quiet. A room where conversation carries easily matters more than a trendy menu. Book earlier in the evening, when the dining room is calmer.

Friends in for the weekend

Later seating, a livelier room, and dishes worth passing around the table. Order more starters than you need and let people graze.

Clients and colleagues

Somewhere polished with pacing you can rely on. Tell the restaurant it's a business dinner so the service knows the assignment.

Give them the food they came to Charleston for

Visitors want Lowcountry cooking, and they should get it. Our shrimp and grits use Carolina stone-ground grits and local shrimp, and it's the plate that tends to end the conversation about what to order. Beyond that, our menu changes with the season, so have a look at the current menu before you promise anyone anything specific.

For dessert, beignets and crème brûlée do the heavy lifting. Order both for the table and let people fight over the last bite. If you want more context on the style of cooking before you sell it to your guests, elevated Southern cuisine and what to order is a useful primer.

How to make hosting easy on yourself

The host's job is to remove decisions. A few small moves take almost all of the stress out of the evening.

• Book the reservation yourself and send everyone the address and time.
• Ask about allergies before you book, not at the table. Our team is glad to accommodate most dietary needs with notice.
• Suggest a three-course dinner so nobody agonizes over the menu.
• Settle the check quietly if you're hosting. Arrange it with your server early.
• Plan a short walk afterward. It gives the night a natural ending.

Build the rest of the evening around dinner

From Meeting Street, a walk toward the Battery after dessert is the best free thing you can offer a visitor. Rainbow Row, the harbor, church steeples lit against the dark. Twenty minutes of that and your guests will remember Charleston fondly forever.

If the visit happens to coincide with a birthday or anniversary, our guide to where to celebrate an anniversary in downtown Charleston will help. For a bigger group with toasts involved, look at private dining and celebrations downtown or start planning through our private events page.

Let us host your guests

Hosting people well is the whole reason we do this. Bring your visitors to 129 Meeting Street and we'll make you look like the best guide in the city.