Reviews for The Darling Oyster Bar in Charleston, SC
Best Shrimp & Grits in Charleston! Well, at least the best of the four places I tried. A cool little restaurant downtown with a... selection of oysters on the half shell, and excellent cocktails. I had the Shoulder Monkey (drank part of it before taking thepic), which blends scotch with some Caribbean flavors, I mean, I never thought you could mix scotch with anything interesting.Proves me wrong! Young but very capable bar and wait staff. Strongly recommended! Read more
Overall: High expectations weren't met, but it was still a decent meal overall. The good: The oysters were pretty incredible... and well worth the price. Arguably some of the best I've had in a long time. They had a nice variety of them as well. Theservice was friendly and the atmosphere is eye-catching yet comforting. Didn't have to wait more than 15 minutes to sit at thebar (no reservations). The not-so-good: Outside of the oysters, the other two items were got were very average. The crab cakeswere tiny and unimpressive. They didn't pack a lot of flavor or have the texture you'd expect. For $16 dollars, they were verydisappointing. The crab dip, while good, was 90% cheese(s) and 10% crab, which we could've paid half the price for at a barinstead. Plus the chips paired with it were stale and sad. Food/drink: 6.5/10 Service: 8.5/10 Atmosphere: 8.5/10 Read more
Amazing place to visit if you are in Charleston, SC. We did not have a reservation, but we were allowed to sit at the bar. The... bartender was really great. We order the bad boy oysters they were delicious and fresh. I ordered the sea scallops and I willorder again if we are ever in town again. My husband had the the shrimp and grits, he really enjoyed that. Very busy place, butit is worth it. Read more
Our family had a wonderful meal at the Darling Oyster Bar this evening. Our server, Lilly, was great and very helpful in... suggesting some wonderful oyster combinations for my boys and I to try. My wife had the Scallops, which were fabulous. One ofmy boys and I both had the Shrimp & Grits (add the fried egg - it?s awesome) and we loved it. My other son had the fried clamstrips appetizer as his dinner with hush puppies and they were both excellent as well. All in all, an excellent meal inCharleston! Read more
Excellent service. Very busy and popular restaurant. Friendly staff. Bartender was exceptional, knowledgeable, offered helpful... insight on menu selections. Seared scallops and crab cakes was delicious. Oysters were fresh. The menu does not offer a lot ofselections but don't let it discourage you. The food is worth it. Pricing is not bad. My experience was overall very good andwould like to try it again in the future. Read more
Atmosphere Sat at the bar on a busy Monday night. It was a good time. Glad we had to sit at the bar because it was a lot of fun.... Get reservations if you want a table. Service Got served both drinks and a full menu from Dan and Nick. Aug helped. Allfriendly and accommodating. Food & Drinks Excellent. Tried two types of raw oysters (2 dozen). All fresh and perfectly briny.Moved to fried oysters, also fresh and well prepared. Palomas were enjoyed, as well as the London Fog. Read more
When my family and I visit an oyster bar the main thing on our mind is OYSTERS! The Darling Oyster Bar did not disappoint. We... ordered several small plates of food but was most interested in comparing our experience of gulf oysters (from LA) to what SouthCarolina had to offer. We were impressed! We tried three different varieties of oysters, 1 from VA which were very large andclean but a bit briny, 1 from Charleston with a nice texture, very clean a little bit chewy and 1 from a small area 20 minutesfrom Charleston which were really light, hint of sweetness and again very clean these were Molly, our server's favorite. I'm soglad she recommend them. ???????? The rest of the food was perfectly flavored, great potions and really satisfying. Yum!! Asfor the atmosphere it was a nice setup throughout, kind and patient greeters, great service all around but I wish the tableswere a little more spread out. We hope to visit again on our next Charleston outing and maybe not on a Saturday night.???????????????? Read more
If I could do 4.5 I think that would be perfect. The clam strips were good but the sweet chili sauce started overwhelming the... dish after a while. The oysters were great. The clam chowder was different but in a good way. The scallops were really wellcooked and went well with the rest of the dish. The key lime pie was really really good. Read more