A loosely bound disc of jumbo-lump blue crab, almost all meat and very little filler, pan-seared in butter and served with remoulade and lemon. The Lowcountry seafood-house benchmark.
Charleston crab cakes have been a staple of the city's harbourside cooking since the late 19th century, when local blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) from the tidal estuaries was sold by the bushel at the city docks. The Karesh family ran a wholesale business at 215 Meeting Street from 1890; their descendants opened Hyman's Seafood there in 1987, and the dish remains the house signature. The contemporary fine-dining versions at The Ordinary, Leon's and Husk follow the same restraint, the meat barely held together so it falls apart on the fork.
3 editor picks for Charleston crab cake in Charleston, ranked by editorial score. All Charleston signature dishes · Charleston crab cake across every city.
The Ordinary ★ 4.7
upper-king · 544 King St, Charleston, SC 29403
Mike Lata's The Ordinary in Charleston turned a 1927 bank building on King Street into the city's most ambitious raw bar in 2013. Located in Upper King.
Leon's Fine Poultry and Oysters ★ 4.4
upper-king · 698 King St, Charleston, SC 29403
Leon's Fine Poultry and Oysters in Charleston runs fried chicken and oyster plates from a converted body shop on King Street since 2014. Priced at $$.
Hyman's Seafood ★ 4.0
downtown · 215 Meeting St, Charleston, SC 29401
Hyman's Seafood in Charleston serves the city from a Meeting Street row of historic buildings the Karesh-Hyman family has held since 1890; the seafood.