Word on the street
What locals are saying
Poe's Tavern has earned its place as Sullivan's Island's de facto institution — a literary-themed burger bar that leans into Edgar Allan Poe's actual time stationed on the island, and pulls it off without irony. The burgers, named after Poe's works (the Tell-Tale Heart, the Black Cat), are consistently praised as among the best in the Charleston area, and the mahi and yellowfin tacos hold their own. The catch is a familiar one: summer weekends turn the place into a mob scene, outdoor seating waits stretch past an hour, service gets ragged under pressure, and locals largely cede the island to tourists from June through August — returning in the off-season when the food-to-chaos ratio swings back in their favor.
Poe-named burgers as the main drawfish tacos earn equal standingoutdoor patio waits stretch to an hour in seasonlocals retreat to off-season visitsbeer selection leans local and eclectictheme executed with genuine historical grounding
In the feed
