Oooh, Charleston's Spicy New Flavors: Smokin' Plates, Sizzlin' Chefs, and the Hottest Tables in Town!

Food Scene Charleston

Charleston’s kitchens are having a moment, and it smells like wood smoke, benne seeds, and just-baked focaccia. The Holy City has long been known for she-crab soup and shrimp and grits, but according to AFAR and Resy, 2025 is the year its dining scene swaps “charming” for “cutting edge.”

On a romantic block off King Street, Merci, from chef Michael Zentner, feels like a Parisian salon that discovered the Atlantic. Candlelight glints off plates of ricotta gnudi, snapper crudo, and focaccia crowned with stracciatella, Benton’s country ham, and pistachios, a combination Resy describes as “an argument between your French and Italian grandmothers.” This is Charleston’s new language: European technique spoken with a Lowcountry accent.

Big-city star power has arrived with Daniel Humm x Charleston Place, a year-long pop-up from the Eleven Madison Park chef. AFAR reports that Humm is channeling his plant-forward, climate-conscious ethos through local rice, Sea Island peas, and pristine seafood, proving that Lowcountry ingredients can be as avant-garde as they are historic.

Italian is having a full-on renaissance. Elevate Team Charleston notes a wave of openings: Cane Pazzo from Mark Bolchoz promising house-made pasta and seafood; Pelato stepping into the former Butcher & Bee space with chicken parm and red-sauce comfort; Volpe’s from Kevin Vedrinski offering family-style four-course feasts. Add Daniella’s, a European-style market and deli, and the city’s newfound carb confidence is undeniable.

Global flavors are surging alongside this pasta parade. Charleston City Paper highlights XO Brasserie, where Herman Ng and chef Michael Chanthavong send out Ma Po tofu, salt and pepper shrimp, and crab rangoon in a sleek, buzzy room. Kultura, featured on Resy’s Hit List, leans into Filipino flavors with Valenciana paella and pandan-laced cocktails, pulling the Lowcountry firmly into the pan-Asian conversation.

Yet for all the novelty, Charleston still cooks from its marshes and memory. Lowcountry Walking Tours points to dishes like shrimp and grits, Frogmore stew loaded with shrimp, corn, and sausage, and benne wafers whose sesame snap dates back to the city’s West African ties. Discover South Carolina underscores that local seafood, Carolina Gold rice, and seasonal produce remain the backbone of classic tables as much as new-wave tasting menus.

What makes Charleston unique right now is this tension: a port city confidently exporting its traditions even as it imports ideas from Paris, Manila, and New York. Listeners paying attention will find a destination where a bowl of okra stew and a plant-forward tasting menu belong to the same delicious story—and every course comes seasoned with salt air..


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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Charleston's kitchens are having a moment, and it smells like
wood smoke, ben seeds and just baked ficaca. The Holy
City has long been known for she crab soup and
shrimp and grits, but according to Aafr and Ressi, twenty
twenty five is the year its dining scenes swaps charming

(00:20):
for cutting edge. On a romantic block off King Street,
Mercy from chef Michael Zentner feels like a Parisian salon
that discovered the Atlantic. Candlelight glints off plates of racota, gnudi, snapper,
crudo and facaca, crowned with stracci Attella Benton's country ham

(00:40):
and pistachios, a combination Rezi describes as an argument between
your French and Italian grandmothers. This is Charleston's new language,
European technique, spoken with a low country accent. Big city
star power has arrived with Daniel Humm ex Charleston Place,
a year long pop up from the eleven Madison Park.

(01:02):
Chef Aphar reports that Humm is channeling his plant forward,
climate conscious ethos through local rice, sea island peas and
Pristine's seafood, proving that low country ingredients can be as
avant garde as they are historic. Italian is having a
full on renaissance. Ele of eighteen, Charleston notes a wave

(01:25):
of openings. Cane Patso from Mark Bulschotz, promising housemaid pasta
and seafood polato, stepping into the former butcher and b
space with chicken palm and red sauce. Comfort Volpays from
Kevin Verdrinsky offering family style four course feasts. Add Daniella's,
a European style market and Delhi, and the city's newfound

(01:46):
carb confidence is undeniable. Global flavors are surging alongside this
pasta parade. Charleston City Paper highlights x O Brasserie, where
Herman N and chef Michael Chantavon send out ma po tofu,
salt and pepper, shrimp and crab rangoon in a sleek,
buzzy room. Coultura, featured on Rezzi's hit List, leans into

(02:17):
Filipino flavors with Valenciana payala and Pandan laced cocktails, pulling
the Low Country firmly into the Pan Asian conversation. Yet
for all the novelty, Charleston still cooks from its marshes
and memory. Low country walking tours points to dishes like
shrimp and Grits, Frogmore stew loaded with shrimp, corn, and sausage,

(02:40):
and ben Wafer's, whose sesame snap dates back to the
city's West African ties. Discover South Carolina underscores that local seedfood,
Carolina gold, rice, and seasonal produce remain the backbone of
classic tables as much as new wave tasting menus. What

(03:04):
makes Charleston unique right now is this tension, a port
city confidently exporting its traditions even as it imports ideas
from Paris, Manila, and New York. Listeners paying attention will
find a destination where a bowl of ochre stew and
a plant forward tasting menu belong to the same delicious story,
and every course comes seasoned with salt air