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Best Outdoor Dining in Charleston, SC

As of November 2026, Fleet Landing is #1 in TasteSignal's Outdoor Dining ranking for Charleston, SC, followed by Tavern & Table and Bowens Island Restaurant. Outdoor dining recognition: Charleston City Paper (May 2024, winner, Best Waterfront Dining), Post and Courier (2024, winner) and 8 more.

Charleston's climate makes outdoor dining a year-round possibility. This ranking leans on what critics and local guides say specifically about patios, decks and waterfront dining, then on overall quality.

By Aaron Pennell · Updated November 2026

← Back to all rankings

Best Outdoor Dining in Charleston, SC (November 2026)

100% Confidence
Outdoor dining is hard to measure with data alone. Critics rarely rank patios, and review sites don't rate them separately. Know a great patio, deck or waterfront table we're missing? Nominate it, and it goes into next month's research. Nominate a spot →
Peninsula Grill is temporarily closed for renovation, so it sits out this month's ranking. It returns to the ranking when it reopens.
#1

Fleet Landing

$$–$$$DowntownNo change
Why #1
  • Outdoor dining recognition: Charleston City Paper (May 2024, winner, Best Waterfront Dining), Post and Courier (2024, winner) and 8 more.
  • Critic recognition from Post and Courier in the last five years.
  • Diner ratings: 4.6 on Google (12,192 reviews); 4.4 on Tripadvisor (6,636 reviews); 4.2 on Yelp (about 3,800 reviews).

Charleston's downtown waterfront restaurant in a converted naval degaussing station at 186 Concord Street, with a wrap-around outdoor deck over Charleston Harbor and views of the Ravenel Bridge and the Cooper River. Southern seafood classics including she-crab soup, Charleston shrimp and grits, Lowcountry seafood pasta, fried green tomato BLT, and crab cakes. Women-owned.

4.4
TasteSignal Crowd ScoreBlended across 3 platforms · how this is calculated

Diner ratings checked Nov 2026. Platforms with fewer than 50 reviews are not counted.

Address186 Concord St, Charleston, SC 29401
HoursDaily 11 AM to 10 PM
ReservationsBook on OpenTable
Walk-inWalk-in waitlist throughout service. No call-ahead seating. Names stop being taken about an hour before service ends.

Hours, prices and booking details are from our 2026 checks. Confirm with the restaurant before you go.

Fleet Landing: full profile and sources →
#2

Tavern & Table

$$Mount PleasantNewly tracked
Why #2
  • Outdoor dining recognition: Charleston City Paper (May 2024, runner-up, Best Waterfront Dining), Post and Courier (2024, finalist) and 6 more.
  • Critic recognition from Post and Courier and Charleston City Paper in the last five years.
  • Diner ratings: 4.4 on Google (3,200 reviews); 3.9 on Yelp (1,046 reviews).
  • On major critic lists in 3 different years (2023, 2024, 2026).
4.2
TasteSignal Crowd ScoreBlended across 2 platforms · how this is calculated
Google★ 4.43,200 reviews
Yelp★ 3.91,046 reviews

Diner ratings checked Nov 2026. Platforms with fewer than 50 reviews are not counted.

Address100 Church St, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
Tavern & Table: full profile and sources →
#3

Bowens Island Restaurant

$$–$$$James Island▼ from #2
Why #3
  • Outdoor dining recognition: Post and Courier (2024, finalist), Post and Courier (2022, finalist) and 2 more.
  • Critic recognition from Charleston City Paper and Post and Courier in the last five years.
  • Fresh critic coverage in the last six months (Charleston City Paper, Jul 2026).
  • Diner ratings: 4.4 on Google (3,336 reviews); 3.8 on Yelp (about 1,100 reviews); 3.9 on Tripadvisor (1,035 reviews).
  • On major critic lists in 5 different years (2021, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026).
4.0
TasteSignal Crowd ScoreBlended across 3 platforms · how this is calculated

Diner ratings checked Nov 2026. Platforms with fewer than 50 reviews are not counted.

Address1870 Bowens Island Rd, Charleston, SC 29412
Opened1946
Bowens Island Restaurant: full profile and sources →
Best value pick

The Royal American

#14 in Outdoor Dining
$Downtown★ 4.4

The highest-ranked restaurant here that costs less than every podium pick and has a Crowd Score of 4.3 or better.

Left the podium this month: The Ordinary (was #3, now #4).

Ranks 4 to 10
#4

The Ordinary

$$$$Downtown★ 4.5▼ from #3
#5

Xiao Bao Biscuit

$$–$$$Downtown★ 4.3▲ from #7
#6

Lost Isle

$$–$$$Johns Island★ 4.5▼ from #4
#7

Sullivan's Fish Camp

$$–$$$Sullivan's Island★ 4.2▼ from #5
#8

Coda del Pesce

$$$$Isle of Palms★ 4.5▼ from #6
#9

The Crossing

$$$$Downtown★ 4.7No change
#10

Basic Kitchen

$$–$$$Downtown★ 4.4▼ from #8

Nominate a great outdoor dining spot

Tell us about a patio, deck, rooftop or waterfront table we should look at. Nominations aren't votes: each one goes into next month's research, and we check it against the same evidence as everything else.

Best outdoor dining in Charleston by area

Where the top-ranked spots in this category are, from downtown to the islands. The number is each restaurant's overall rank in Outdoor Dining this month.

How this ranking works

Each card shows the evidence behind the rank: critic and local-guide coverage (linked), diner ratings, recent news and staying power. We log every list, award and rating with its date and source, apply the same rules to every restaurant, and refresh the ranking monthly. Arrows compare each restaurant with last month. Read how TasteSignal ranks restaurants.

Frequently asked

Where is the best outdoor dining in Charleston?

As of November 2026, Fleet Landing is #1 in TasteSignal's Outdoor Dining ranking for Charleston, SC, followed by Tavern & Table and Bowens Island Restaurant. Why it leads: outdoor dining recognition: Charleston City Paper (May 2024, winner, Best Waterfront Dining), Post and Courier (2024, winner) and 8 more.

How does TasteSignal rank the best outdoor dining in Charleston?

Every restaurant in the category is ranked from named, dated evidence: critic and local-guide coverage, diner ratings on Google, Tripadvisor and Yelp, recent news and how long it has stayed on critics' lists. Our confidence in this category's data is 100% this month. Rankings refresh monthly.

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