Single-select cluster oysters from local creeks, briny and small. Eaten raw on the half-shell or steamed in piles at outdoor oyster roasts in winter.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
Charleston has eaten oysters since the colonial era, and the city's oyster house tradition goes back to the 1800s. The local catch is a cluster oyster grown in marsh banks, smaller and brinier than Chesapeake or Pacific singles. The mid-20th-century industrial decline of the harvest reversed in the 2000s as growers like Lady's Island Oysters and Single Thread restored single-select cup oysters. The seasonal oyster roast (months ending in r) is a Lowcountry social ritual: bushels are steamed over a fire, dumped onto a table, opened with knives and eaten standing. Bowens Island Restaurant and the annual Lowcountry Oyster Festival in early February anchor the tradition.
Common allergens: Shellfish
Tip from the editors. Use a proper oyster knife and a folded towel; do not pry with a kitchen knife. The first three are awkward, by the fourth you've got the wrist.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Mike Lata's The Ordinary in Charleston converted a 1927 bank building on King Street into the city's most ambitious raw bar in 2013. Marble counters, mezzanine bar.
Order: Crispy oyster sliders, then the seafood tower for the table.
Tip: Book on Resy in advance. Bar seats are walk-in only and worth the wait.
Bowens Island Restaurant near Folly Beach has shovel-fed steamed Lowcountry oysters since 1946. James Beard America's Classics winner in 2006; rebuilt after a 2010 fire.
Signature: Steamed oysters by the bushel, Frogmore stew
Order: A bushel of steamed oysters opened table-side and a bowl of Frogmore stew.
Tip: Closed Sunday and Monday. Cash and card; no reservations. Tide-line tables fill at sunset.
Leon's Fine Poultry and Oysters in Charleston runs buttermilk-brined fried chicken and char-grilled oysters from a converted body shop on King Street since 2014.
Signature: Fried chicken sandwich, Char-grilled oysters
Order: The fried chicken sandwich and a half-dozen char-grilled oysters.
Tip: Walk-in counter seating. Weekday lunch easier than weekend dinner.
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