Darling Oyster Bar - Charleston
I am missing Charleston so much lately! I LOVED the city & all of the amazing parts of it! We toured around, shot lots of fun looks & ate AMAZING food! One of the places we went for dinner was The Darling Oyster Bar! All you seafood lovers, be ready to take some notes & dig in!
The Darling is a great place to add to your "must do" list when visiting Charleston. You feel the southern-seafood vibes as soon as you step foot on the black & white tile floors & catch a glimpse of the seafoam decor with green booths around the back wall. The combination of exposed brick & coastal accents will give you that "light & airy - on the water" feeling the entire time. Also, you can dress it up or dress it down here; everyone was in all styles. Whether it is a night out on the town in your favorite dress, or a chill night in jeans & cute top, you will be all good either way!
When you come into the restaurant, there are lots of options for seating. There is a darker style room as you walk in toward the hostess booth. There is also a large oyster bar right by a huge window, overlooking the downtown streets. You can watch them shuck oysters & chat with all new people up there. There is limited seating for only about 14 people at that spot, so be sure to slide on in if you want a seat. A handful of booths are available along the back walls, directly across from the fully stocked bar! Small tables are scattered around the rest of the restaurant in the middle!
We got there for our 7:30 reservation & they accommodated our seating request to scoot on over to catch some lighting at another booth. By the way, if you are wanting to snap pictures up by the bar or cute pics with the incredible oyster platter, get there a little earlier so you can catch the light, because it does get dark in there with the walls & high curtains, but it still works out great for dinner reservations!
Now... to the FOOD!
Here we have some of the best seafood & Oyster Bar food I have ever had!
At the top, we have the Oyster Platter with crab & shrimp mixed in. I will tell you right now; just shoot the dang oyster! I tried it, didn't love the feeling of it, but the taste & flavor of it was SO delicious! Also, at least you can say you tried!
The large turquoise plate is the ever-so famous Shrimp & Grits! We got the fried egg on top, which I HIGHLY recommend! However you can get it without, or on the side. If you don't like shrimp, I still recommend trying this dish for a few reasons. One: it is one of their most famous items on the menu. Secondly: the flavor is so insanely delicious that you will instantly fall in love. It also has a side of grilled brussels, cooked very similar like my Papa Chuck's, so I obviously loved this little touch to the already tasty grits!
We also tried out some of their drinks while we sat & chatted, enjoying our Girl's Trip.
Jess got her skinny Jalapeño Margarita, extra spicy. I went for the London Fog & our waiter also suggested the Mango Unchained for us to try out! We ended up getting another round of it all if that goes to show you how much we loved these tasty treats! The last drink we got wasn't so much of a drink, but their famous Oyster Shot. This was a small glass filled with a mixture of tomato juice, vodka, lime, spicy seasonings & a big ole oyster dropped in the middle of it all. Don't tell, but we may or may not of snuck the oyster out & went for just the shot part of this mix. A girl can only do so much oyster!
Our overall experience of The Darling Oyster Bar was great! Our waiter made the entire experience so amazing, as well as the sweet manager! They were attentive & helpful when we had any questions or asked for suggestions! Be sure to try a little bit of everything & really get a taste of the seafood when you stop on in! Tell them Jess & I sent y'all!
Check them out online for more info!
XO SHEA LEIGH