293 King St. Asian, street food $ How to save $$: Eat here, not at Basil. I love Thai food. And I (used to) love Basil. But, then I started eating at more authentic Thai restaurants (think: hole-in-the-wall with lots of Buddahs), and realized Basil might be good, but cheap Thai food is better. Fire may not be decorated with Buddah’s and it serves food other than Thai (which, I’d argue, is a good thing)… but this is the new place to go for Thai food on King Street. The best part? One-third the price of Basil! Fire is
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Verde
347 King Salads: Lunch, Dinner $ The first impression you’ll have about Verde is “this place must be a chain.” It is just so well put together that you get this impression… Sounds like the owners of this place are on to a hot concept that appears to be easily transferable to other markets. I went into this one thinking, okay, let’s scratch this chick salad joint off the list. I left full, satisfied and eager to return. You’ll notice that the concept is essentially a packed salad bar with limitless options (well, not limitless—I counted 45+ toppings, which is
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Tasty Thai and Sushi
350 King Thai: Lunch, Dinner $$ How to Save $: It’s on Restaurant.com, so be sure to print off a coupon before dining Looking for some ethnic food on a budget with a good atmosphere? Look no further than Tasty Thai & Sushi, the sister restaurant to Taste of Thai in West Ashley. Be sure to sit in the front of the restaurant, so you can people-watch on King Street. If that’s what you’re after, I’d suggest going on a Thursday through Saturday night, when things are a bit more “interesting.” Tasty Thai and Sushi looks pretty cool from the
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Basil
460 King Thai $$$-High How to save $: You can’t. Ohhh herro… (is it more or less racist since that is a Chinese impression and this is for a Thai restaurant? THINK ABOUT IT.) We’ve found the best Asian cuisine on King Street. But apparently, lots of other King Street-ers have found it, too, given the long waits. It has been rated the #1 Restaurant in Charleston on Urbanspoon for some time now (still holding 87% with over 1,300+ ratings!). Paired with no reservations or call-ahead, this makes for a restaurant you can only visit if you don’t have any plans for
Moe’s Southwest Grill
381 King Mexican, Southwest $-Cheap How to save $: You can often find coupons online for BOGO Moe’s Southwest Grill: the place we’ve all been but never thought of as review-worthy… until we were forced to write one. If you’ve been living under a rock (or, even worse, just not in the South) Moe’s is an Atlanta-based chain with 350 locations focused mostly in the Southeastern US. It is the humble opinion of Eat King Street that in a head-to-head battle with Chipotle or Qdoba, Moe’s will kick their asses every time, hands down–but that might just be because I practically
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Pace’s Pizza Balls
Pace’s Pizza Balls 363 King Lunch, Dinner, Late Night (open Mon.-Thurs. til 12 a.m. and Fri.-Sat. til 2 a.m.) $ How to save $: They regularly advertise deals on a chalk board visible from King St. I tried the Pizza Ball + 16oz PBR special for $6.95. Nothing has done well in the 363 King Street location that is now home to the new order-at-the-counter “quick food” restaurant: Pace’s Pizza Balls. Restaurants seem to come and go, never lasting more than a year. From the street, the inside space looks tiny, with just enough room for a few tables, but
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Joe Pasta
428 King Italian (Lunch, Dinner) $$ How to Save Money: Thursday is $2 house liquors all night. Happy Hour is $2 domestic, $3 imports. BOGO apps from 4-8 p.m. You can often find gift certificates on Restaurant.com and coupons in many of the weekly advertising circulars around Charleston. If you’re looking for a way to bypass the microwave when cooking frozen entrees from the grocery store, look no further than Joe Pasta. This “Italian” restaurant reminds me more of Harris Teeter than Italy– the only thing that could make it worse is if they charged us in Euros. Entrees are
Leaf
15 Beaufain American $$ Leaf has been one of the new buzz restaurants on the peninsula and we’ve been working up an appetite to try it. Situated in the old Vickery’s location, when you walk into the main entrance, you’ll find the large open bar area and they’ve got tons of outdoor seating which is one of the best assets of the restaurant. It was no secret that Vickery’s downtown was a notorious hangout for men of an alternative lifestyle and, after our dining experience, I can say that there must be something about that building, because our gaydars were going
Patat Spot
41 George Lunch & Dinner everyday, open late Fri & Sat $ After an attempted visit to the food trucks to find nothing but super long lines and vendors quickly running out of food we had street food on the mind and had been hoping to try Patat Spot for quite some time now. When you first enter the rather cozy restaurant on the busy row of restaurants on George Street, you’ll immediately notice the bright yellow tiles covering the wall and the rich smell of fried food (don’t worry if you don’t get enough of this smell while you’re
Midtown Bar & Grill
559 King Lunch, Sunday Brunch, Dinner & Late Night Bar Menu (Thurs.-Sat.) $ American/Pub/Southern How to save some cash: The plates are huge- split an order! Midtown opened in 2009 on Upper King, and has been going strong ever since – leading the charge in Upper King’s recent popularity. The owners are often around and make friends with the patrons. Maybe that’s why they were voted 2009 Best New Bar in Charleston City Paper and haven’t looked back since. They were also just voted 2012 Best College Bar (although I get the impression that’s a title they’re not necessarily too
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