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Charleston's best seafood and fine cocktails. - The Establishment, Charleston, SC

The Establishment

4.8
4.8
2715 Reviews
$50 and over
Seafood

Make a booking

2 people
7:00 pm
Booked 24 times today
Experiences are available.
  • Good for special occasions
  • Great for creative cocktails
  • Great for fine wines
Everything at The Establishment begins with well-sourced ingredients from sea and field. Through developing relationships with local farmers and fishermen, our ingredients will be consistently seasonal, fresh, and pure. Chef Elliott Howells' menu will always reflect a clean, focused, and balanced approach, delivering a selection of thoughtful and refined cuisine.

Located in Charleston’s historic French Quarter a few blocks away from Rainbow Row, Charleston City Market, and Waterfront Park, The Establishment features an award-winning wine cellar, over 150 bourbon and whiskey offerings, and a lively bar scene complete with daily happy hour. We feature Live Music every Friday and Saturday starting at 8:00 PM, featuring multiple local artists performing an array of musical genres. Our private dining rooms are perfect for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, or business meetings. We look forward to hosting you for a casual night out or an elevated dining experience.
Private dining

Private dining

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Dining areas

Additional information

  • Phone number
  • Price
    $50 and over
  • Cuisines
    Seafood, American, Contemporary American
  • Hours of Operation
    Dinner Tue–Thu 5:00 pm–9:00 pm Fri, Sat 5:00 pm–10:00 pm
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Parking details
    Street Parking
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive Chef
    Elliott Howells

Experiences

  • CHS Jazz "Dinner and a Show" at The Establishment

    USD 160.00 per person

    Prepaid

    23 Apr 2025 only
    The Establishment has partnered with Charleston Jazz Orchestra to present an intimate dinner and performance by the Richard White Trio for a unique jazz dining experience. We will have a beautifully composed evening of music and cuisine. Executive Chef Elliott Howells has created a 3-course menu with wine offerings and featured cocktails by Bar Manager/Cocktail Artist, Ryan Wise. Richard White is one of the most dynamic pianists and composers in the Charleston area. He will be accompanied by Ron Wiltrout (Drums) and Jake Holwegner (Bass) Please know, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to The Charleston Jazz Academy and Festival. This immersive celebration of Jazz culture is one you don’t want to miss.

What 2,715 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.8
4.8 based on recent ratings
  • 4.8Food
  • 4.8Service
  • 4.8Ambience
  • 4.5Value

NoiseModerate

Loved For

  • South Carolina

    Seafood

  • Charleston

    Best Overall

  • Charleston

    Best Food

  • Charleston

    Best Service

  • Charleston

    Best Ambience

  • Charleston

    Great for fine wines

  • Charleston

    Seafood

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
The Establishment boasts an inviting atmosphere, "amazing service," and "delicious food," making it a top dining choice. Highlights include: "fabulous servers," "romantic ambiance," and standout dishes like the gnudi and Wagyu tartare. While some reviews note noise levels or price concerns, the "attentive staff" consistently enhance the dining experience.

2,715 Reviews
  1. JanR

    San Francisco

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Excellent dinner as always. Great favorite restaurant, very well trained staff

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  2. Avidfoodie2004

    VIP

    New York City

    31 reviews

    5.0

    31 reviews

    Dined 6 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 3
    This was our first time dining at The Establishment and we had a wonderful dining experience. We we able to enjoy the happy hour specials at the bar while waiting for our table. The bar was vibrant and the service was wonderful. We both enjoyed our taste course-I had the amazing Gnudi and my husband had the snapper crudo. Both were delicious and meticulously prepared. My husband enjoyed the butter poached grouper and I had the Hokkaido Scallops which were just delicious. I have found on many dessert menus in Charleston they do not include a standard chocolate offering. The sea salt caramel brownie was fudgy goodness that brought the meal to a very satisfying conclusion. The sound level was noisy-this is definitely not a quiet and romantic setting. However, it is a very memorable and wonderful dining experience in a city that known for its foodie scene.

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  3. OpenTable Diner

    Naples

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined 6 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Great experience, service and food highly recommended

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  4. Karen

    Minneapolis

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined 7 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    I live in AIken and this is my second visit to your restaurant. Both time the waiters were impressive and the food was outstanding! I hope to return on a future visit!

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  5. OpenTable Diner

    Raleigh

    2 reviews

    4.0

    2 reviews

    Dined 7 days ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 5
    Amazing food and very comfortable and romantic ambiance. Food: The menu was short and based on availability of fresh ingredients. The cocktails were creative and very well prepared. I ordered the whole red snapper and it was masterfully prepared and beautifully served. Service: My wife and I were there for our anniversary and arrived 15 minutes early. There was no room at the bar so we were relegated to the entry foyer until our reservation time despite seeing several empty tables available. We were seated promptly at our reservation time and taken care of by our very professional and courteous waiter. Unfortunately shortly afterwards a table was seated nearby and the patrons were from an area near where our waiter was from. We quickly became forgotten as he made multiple trips to socialize with these patrons while ignoring us. I waited for well over 15 minutes with an empty drink waiting to place an order for another cocktail and then we had another long wait for the final check.

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  6. NancyClayton

    VIP

    Tampa

    3 reviews

    4.0

    3 reviews

    Dined on 28 February 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Delicious food and wonderful service! Limited menu, but everything tasted very fresh. I wanted dessert, but everything had nuts in it, which I can’t have.

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  7. OpenTable Diner

    Raleigh

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on 28 February 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Amazing experience! Did not disappoint. The perfect spot for our Anniversary Dinner.

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  8. Richard

    VIP

    Charleston

    60 reviews

    4.0

    60 reviews

    Dined on 23 February 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 3
    Excellent food with adequate choices. Fabulous server and very welcoming atmosphere. Service itself prompt but not pushy. Pleasant atmosphere, except for the live music - too loud for the size venue. We purposely sat in back past the bar, but the music was piped in back there, to - and too loud.

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  9. Sean

    VIP

    Raleigh

    4 reviews

    5.0

    4 reviews

    Dined on 23 February 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Our server Nathan was fantastic and very enthusiastic! The food was terrific in the service was to react and I would come back here in a minute

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  10. Cheryl

    Minneapolis

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on 22 February 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Excellent service from Tanner and delicious food. Well done!

    Is this helpful?

FAQs

The Establishment is rated 4.8 stars by 2715 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a booking

2 people
7:00 pm
Booked 24 times today
Experiences are available.
Google Map for The Establishment

28 Broad St, Suite 100, Charleston, SC 29401-3004

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Phone number
  • Price
    $50 and over
  • Cuisines
    Seafood, American, Contemporary American
  • Hours of Operation
    Dinner Tue–Thu 5:00 pm–9:00 pm Fri, Sat 5:00 pm–10:00 pm
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Parking details
    Street Parking
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive Chef
    Elliott Howells
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookies and Interest-Based Ads
  • Cookie Preferences
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