The best brunch in Charleston — biscuits, oysters, mimosas, gospel choirs.
Brunch in Charleston is its own meal — somewhere between Lowcountry breakfast and Sunday-best dinner. The city's brunch culture runs deeper than its size suggests: a Gospel brunch with a live choir at Halls, a BBQ eggs Benedict on a Victorian porch at Poogan's, biscuits at Millers that move faster than the line, lobster Benedict and caviar at Sorelle. The serious eaters split brunch into seven moods — iconic, chef-driven, bottomless mimosas, waterfront, biscuits-and-diner, beach, and the over-the-bridge hidden gems — and locals rotate through all of them.
The geography matters. Downtown holds the destination brunch (Halls, Husk, Poogan's, Magnolias, 82 Queen, Sorelle, Frannie & The Fox) and the no-reservation classics (Millers, Daps, Virginia's, Toast! All Day's flagship). Shem Creek runs the waterfront version with shrimp boats coming in (Water's Edge, Vickery's, NICO, Page's Okra Grill). Sullivan's Island and Folly Beach hold the post-sand brunch picks — The Obstinate Daughter for the Michelin Recommended quiche, Lost Dog Cafe for the Folly Benedict. Park Circle holds the city's only dim sum brunch, at Jackrabbit Filly. Wadmalaw earns the 25-minute drive for Lost Isle's wood-fired program on a working farm.
These 29 are grouped into seven editorial tiers — Iconic, Chef-driven, Bottomless Mimosas, Waterfront, Biscuits & Diner, Beach & East Cooper, and Hidden Gems. Order within each section moves with community votes blended into Google, Yelp, and Resy ratings — refreshed daily. The list rebuilds when restaurants close, change ownership, or stop running brunch. Last reviewed May 2026.
The rooms that defined Charleston brunch and still hold the line. Halls runs the Sunday Gospel Brunch with a live choir — the city's signature event-meal. Poogan's set the BBQ Benedict template in a Victorian house with porches at every angle. Husk's wood-fired Sat/Sun menu shifts daily. Magnolias and 82 Queen carry the older Lowcountry version — fried green tomatoes, shrimp and grits, she-crab soup, the brunch a Charleston grandmother would order. Reserve all five three weeks ahead on holiday weekends.
Sunday Gospel Brunch with a live choir — the city's signature event-meal. Steak and eggs, lavender French toast, sweet potato pancakes. Reserve three weeks ahead.
The BBQ eggs Benedict on a Victorian porch since 1976. Order the biscuit basket; everyone does. Open daily 9am–3pm.
Sean Brock-lineage wood-fired Southern, brunch Sat–Sun 10am–2pm. Menu rebuilds daily. Cornmeal-dusted catfish and the Husk cheeseburger anchor the regulars.
The foundational "new Southern" brunch since 1990 — shrimp and grits, fried green tomatoes, she-crab soup. Tripadvisor Travelers' Choice Best of the Best.
The she-crab soup heritage spot. Pecan pie, limoncello cake, the kind of weekend brunch a Charleston grandmother would order.
The newer destination rooms running ambitious weekend menus — lobster Benedict and caviar at Sorelle (Michael Mina's Italian on Broad), wood-fired eggs and tomato at Frannie & The Fox in Hotel Emeline, tropical-Lowcountry small plates at Little Palm. The kitchens here treat brunch like dinner — book on Resy or OpenTable a week out for prime tables.
Michael Mina's Italian on Broad — butter-poached lobster Benedict, thick-cut Roman toast, caviar service, Sunday brunch 10am–2pm.
Hotel Emeline Italian — wood-oven eggs in tomato, fingerling-and-garlic pizza, eggs Benedict with house-cured pork loin. Shared punch bowls.
New 2024 tropical-Lowcountry — Charleston Magazine spotlight. The chef-driven small-plates take on brunch.
The category visitors ask about most. Toast! All Day pours ten mimosa varieties bottomless across five Charleston locations and consistently ranks Tripadvisor's national Top 25. Prohibition runs the 1920s speakeasy version with a live jazz Sunday brunch. Eli's Table builds the meal around a long downtown patio. Triangle Char + Bar in West Ashley pours the cheapest mimosa in the metro — $1 each or $7 carafes daily.
Ten bottomless mimosa varieties across five Charleston locations. Tripadvisor Top 25 Brunch USA. Blue crab + shrimp omelette, chicken and waffles, sweet tea chicken biscuits.
1920s speakeasy on King Street — live jazz Sunday brunch, bottomless mimosas, the boozy-brunch version.
Long downtown patio, bottomless mimosas Sat–Sun, the most photographed garden brunch in the historic district.
$1 mimosas or $7 carafes daily — the cheapest brunch drink in the metro. West Ashley locals' Saturday default.
Charleston's water-line brunch picks. Fleet Landing sits in a 1940s naval landing building over the harbor — quiche over Lowcountry grits is the order. The Watch on the seventh floor of the Restoration Hotel runs bread-pudding French toast at golden hour. NICO on Shem Creek does French omelets and croque madame with shrimp boats coming in. Water's Edge and Vickery's both sit directly over Shem Creek with a working dock view.
1940s naval landing building over the harbor. Quiche over Lowcountry grits with hollandaise. Sat–Sun brunch 11am–3pm.
Seventh-floor Restoration Hotel rooftop. Bread-pudding French toast, jalapeño-mascarpone shrimp and grits, the city's best mimosa flight.
Chef Nico Romo (French Master Chef) on Shem Creek — croque madame, French omelets, eggs Benedict on potato tartine. Sunday brunch 11am–3pm.
Directly over Shem Creek. Sunday brunch 10am–2pm with a Bloody Mary bar and working-shrimp-boat views.
Shem Creek dock-side, casual, eggs Benedict and creek views on weekend mornings.
The walk-in, no-reservation, daily-driver breakfast circuit. Millers All Day on King and James Island serves the hot-honey chicken donut and jimmy red corn grits that locals consider the city's most consistent morning order. Vicious Biscuit stacks over-the-top biscuit sandwiches. Daps does Fruity Pebbles pancakes and a serious breakfast-cocktail program. Virginia's runs the old-school Holy City Hospitality version, and Early Bird in West Ashley owns the chicken-and-waffles slot.
King Street and James Island. Hot honey chicken donut, jimmy red corn grits, biscuits and gravy. Daily 8am–3pm — no reservations, lines move fast.
Over-the-top stacked biscuit sandwiches. Daily 7am–2:30pm. Vegan and GF coverage without an asterisk.
All-day breakfast with serious breakfast cocktails. Fruity Pebbles pancakes are the photo; the biscuit benedict is the order.
Holy City Hospitality's old-school Lowcountry — fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, shrimp and grits, chicken and waffles. Daily 8am–3pm.
West Ashley's chicken-and-waffles institution. Honey-mustard drizzle, budget pricing, lines on Sundays.
John Currence's all-day-breakfast concept. Pancakes, omelets, breakfast cocktails — Mount Pleasant locals' weekday default.
The brunch worth crossing a bridge for. The Obstinate Daughter on Sullivan's Island holds Michelin Recommended status — specialty quiche and the breakfast skillet are the order. Lost Dog on Folly Beach has run a Folly Benedict (eggs over shrimp + crab cake) since 1999, pet-friendly patio included. Page's Okra Grill in Shem Creek won Travel Channel's Best Shrimp & Grits a decade running. Community Table in I'On builds the meal around the Ultimate Bloody Mary.
Sullivan's Island — Michelin Recommended. Specialty quiche, eggs in purgatory flatbread, breakfast skillet. Sat–Sun 10am–4pm.
Shem Creek — ten-year winner of Travel Channel's Best Shrimp & Grits. Ashleigh's Shrimp & Grits is the order. Sat–Sun 8am–3pm.
I'On Square in Mount Pleasant. Ultimate Bloody Mary program plus mushroom-gruyère omelet and French toast with caramelized bananas.
Folly Beach institution since 1999. The Folly Benedict (eggs over shrimp and crab cakes), breakfast burritos, pet-friendly patio. Mon–Sat 6:30am–3pm, Sun 6:30am–2pm.
Historic inn in Old Village, Mt Pleasant. Patio brunch, the Back Bar cheeseburger, the most-East-Cooper-feeling Sunday in the metro.
