Word on the street
What locals are saying
Santi's on Meeting Street is a Latinx-owned institution that occupies a former Waffle House and has long been the closest thing Charleston has to a neighborhood Mexican cantina north of downtown. The tropical rainforest patio is genuinely eccentric — there's nothing quite like it in the city — and the kitchen delivers honest, generously portioned plates: wet burritos that demand a fork, al pastor tacos, Mama's Specialty Soup with chicken, lime, and cilantro, and skirt steak that locals have been ordering for years. Margaritas hit hard during the 4–6 weekday happy hour, though a minority of visitors find them pre-mixed; the food earns more consistent praise than the bar program, and service can be scattershot when the room fills up.
tropical rainforest patio unlike anything else in Charlestonwet burritos and Mama's Specialty Soup as anchor dishespotent happy hour margaritas, quality variesLatinx-owned local institution, not a tourist playCinco de Mayo turns into a full-on block partyservice stretches thin on busy nights
