Word on the street
What locals are saying
Beautiful South is the downtown counterpart to the cult-loved Kwei Fei on James Island, but David and Tina Schuttenberg made it an entirely different restaurant — quieter, sleeker, and built around the gentler flavors of southeastern China and American-style Chinese classics rather than Sichuan fire. The deconstructed crab rangoon earns outsized devotion, and Sunday dim sum — with beef dumplings, scallion pancakes, and sesame donuts — has become a genuine weekly ritual for in-the-know Charlestonians. The Cantonese duck, requiring 24-hour advance notice, is the table-setter for serious visits; the char siu pork lo mein and scallion oil noodles round out what is quietly one of the most thoughtful Chinese menus in the Southeast.
Sunday dim sum as a weekly ritualdeconstructed crab rangoon draws cult loyaltysleeker and more upscale than sister restaurant Kwei FeiCantonese duck requires advance order — worth the planningfamily-style format rewards groupsrestrained spice vs. Kwei Fei's heat
In the feed
