Bowens Island Restaurant, Charleston: Reviews & Ratings (November 2026)

Name: Bowens Island Restaurant
Price range: $$ - $$$

#3 Outdoor Dining ▼#5 Rooftop & Waterfront #7 Seafood ▲#8 Casual Local Favorite #41 Best Overall ▲

Good for Outdoor dining · Rooftop or waterfront · A casual local meal

4.0

TasteSignal Crowd ScoreBlended across 3 platforms · how this is calculated

Google★ 4.43,336 reviews Tripadvisor★ 3.91,035 reviews

Yelp★ 3.8about 1,100 reviews

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

Address1870 Bowens Island Rd, Charleston, SC 29412

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Opened1946

Why Bowens Island Restaurant ranks where it does

Best Outdoor Dining in Charleston, SC

▼ from #2

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).

Best Rooftop & Waterfront Dining in Charleston, SC

New category

Rooftop and waterfront recognition: Post and Courier (2024, finalist), Post and Courier (2022, finalist) and 1 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).

Best Seafood Restaurants in Charleston, SC

▲ from #12

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).

Best Casual Local Restaurants in Charleston, SC

New to the top 10

Local-favorite recognition: Post and Courier (Mar 2026).
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).

Rank history

Category	Oct 26	Nov 26
Outdoor Dining	#2	#3
Rooftop & Waterfront	–	#5
Seafood	#12	#7
Casual Local Favorite	–	#8
Best Overall	#98	#41

A dash means it was not ranked in that category that month. See everything that moved this month.

What critics and guides say

Charleston City Paper: 15 spots for outdoor dining around Charleston (Jul 2026)Post and Courier: Eating out is getting expensive in Charleston. Here are 5 affordable dinner ideas. (Mar 2026)Post and Courier: Charleston's Choice 2024: Outdoor Dining, Waterfront Restaurant, Pet-Friendly Restaurant (2024)Post and Courier: Charleston's Choice 2022: Outdoor Dining, Waterfront Restaurant, Pet-Friendly Restaurant (2022)

Also top-ranked for Outdoor Dining

Fleet Landing, Tavern & Table, The Ordinary, Xiao Bao Biscuit. See the full ranking →

Frequently asked

Is Bowens Island Restaurant good?

Bowens Island Restaurant ranks #3 for Outdoor Dining in Charleston on TasteSignal for November 2026. Outdoor dining recognition: Post and Courier (2024, finalist), Post and Courier (2022, finalist) and 2 more.

What is Bowens Island Restaurant's TasteSignal Crowd Score?

4.0 out of 5, the average of its ratings on Google, Yelp and Tripadvisor (platforms with 50+ reviews), checked Nov 2026.

Where is Bowens Island Restaurant?

Bowens Island Restaurant is at 1870 Bowens Island Rd, Charleston, SC 29412 (James Island).

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