Stone-ground white grits with sauteed Carolina shrimp, andouille, country ham or mushrooms. The canonical Lowcountry plate served at breakfast and dinner alike.
Lowcountry watermen ate shrimp over grits at breakfast through the 19th century, a working-river dish documented in Bill Neal's 1985 Southern Cooking cookbook at Crook's Corner in Chapel Hill. Frank Lee at Slightly North of Broad in Charleston reworked it for the dinner menu in the 1990s, pairing fresh local shrimp with stone-ground grits and house-made kielbasa. That version became the canonical restaurant plate. Variations now run through nearly every Lowcountry kitchen, with andouille, country ham, mushrooms or tomato gravy as common partners.
4 editor picks for Shrimp and grits in Charleston, ranked by editorial score. All Charleston signature dishes · Shrimp and grits across every city.
Husk ★ 4.9
downtown · 76 Queen St, Charleston, SC 29401
Sean Brock's Husk in Charleston opened on Queen Street in 2010 and rebuilt Southern fine dining around heritage Anson Mills grains, Sea Island peas, hyper-local produce.
Slightly North of Broad ★ 4.6
downtown · 192 E Bay St, Charleston, SC 29401
Slightly North of Broad in Charleston has run on East Bay Street since 1993. Frank Lee's reworked shrimp and grits became the canonical restaurant version of the Lowcountry plate.
Page's Okra Grill ★ 4.3
mount-pleasant · 302 Coleman Blvd, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464
Page's Okra Grill in Mount Pleasant has run family-owned Southern cooking on Coleman Boulevard since 2008. Ashleigh's shrimp and grits is the Travel Channel feature plate.
Poogan's Porch ★ 4.2
downtown · 72 Queen St, Charleston, SC 29401
Poogan's Porch in Charleston has run since 1976 from a restored Victorian on Queen Street. Lowcountry brunch institution with shrimp and grits and house buttermilk biscuits.