Charleston, SC: Magnolias

My First time in South Carolina I wanted my meal to be a real, southern, meal. Complete with all the things Southern fare is known for; rich ingredients, natural flavors, sea food, etc. Naturally, I went to Magnolias, a well known restaurant that boasts traditional southern food in an high class neighborhood.

I enjoyed the fried green tomato and lump crab BLT sandwich with sweet potato fries for only eleven dollars. Crab is my only vice so of course I opened the menu, saw the word crab, and knew I had made the right choice.

Green tomatoes are not as sweet or soft as their red sister but they complimented the crab flavoring well. Green tomatoes on crab cakes aren’t something I see often but it was on almost every dish at Magnolias. If you’ve ever noted the taste between a fresh garden tomato and one that’s been pumped with hormones and shipped across the country to your local grocery store than you know the distinct flavor of a fresh tomato and that’s exactly what I tasted as I bit into the sandwich.

Magnolias makes their sweet pickles in house, and garnished my plate with three dark green pickles. They tasted better than any sweet pickle I’ve had, although I am a New Yorker after all, I like my pickles kosher and from a Jewish deli, so I can’t say I cared for a sweet pickle with my crab sandwich but it wouldn’t be southern fare without a homemade sweet pickle.

I ordered a sweet tea. In any restaurant south of the Mason Dixie line you have to order a sweet tea. Even if you don’t like sweet tea, there’s no easier way to spot a Yankee than to see who didn’t order the sweet tea.

Magnolias was the perfect gateway to the south. The ambiance was warm, and classy. The restaurant truly captured the South with the portraits of Southern gardens and Magnolias along the perky, peach, walls. Located in the heart of Charleston this was a great lunch time pick. Magnolias is normally an expensive restaurant but if you come at lunch it is much more affordable. This is something I suggest doing to enjoy any high class restaurant while avoiding the high priced bill.


$$ | Magnolias 185 East Bay Street | Charleston, SC South Carolina 29401 | (843)577-7771