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Bowen's Island
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
8 reviews for Bowen's Island
This place was my litmus test for guys... if they were disgusted with Bowen's island and couldnt hang, then I usually tried to end it soon after.
Not really true, though it did make me resent them a little. My husband loves it, one of our first dates. Definitely made me like him more. It may seem funny to say this, but Bowen's Island is a romantic place, we had a great first date and we go back every time we visit.
I used to come here in late 90's during undergrad at CofC, it was WAY cheaper before the fire. It was open when I left Charleston and closed for a few years after. Now its been open for a few years, they have expanded the menu a great deal, cleaned the place up a little (yeah, they really have, i know that seems surprising) and are a lot more organized.
The oysters come unshucked in huge piles, meaning they are still attached to mineral matter in the way they are harvested. You get big hunks of multiple oysters and take your knife and just start digging. I get a tray of oysters and fried shrimp, hubby always gets all you can eat oysters. Know the drill when you go, its always crowded and even though people are generally friendly in the South, the locals are a little annoyed that tourists are taking this place over. It gets busy during oyster season so get there when they open, that is the best way. They do not have oysters in the summer, has to have an R in the month.
Drill:
1. Order food at counter, get your last name on the order list and get your saltines, your rag, your oyster knives, and "cocktail" sauce (in the old gatorade bottles)
2. Sit down and stay put - if you are eating oysters, they would prefer you to sit at a wooden table with a hole cut out in the middle. If not, please don't take up that room, its easier for people to discard their shells.
3. Wait for your food, the college girls will bring you the kitchen food by calling out your name, the oyster roaster will bring you trays of oysters. He will eventually ask you what you ordered (trays or all you can eat) and bring it when it is your time in line. Don't be mad if he serves someone ahead of you, he get's good money from regulars and he will always take care of them first.
4. Only put oyster shells in the middle trash can! They reuse and compost and its important. If you put your trash in there, someone has to go in and dig it out and that is not fair.
5. Share your table and have fun. When its crowded, offer to share your table. I have met a lot of friendly people that way (one that gave me a job in college when i was brizoke) and you are keeping someone from waiting. Good karma means a lifetime of good food.
6. After you are all done, visit the order counter again and pay up.
BIG TIP: If you want all you can eat oysters, make sure you tip the guy roasting, its usually the same guy but I heard that lately there have been changes. Make sure he sees your face and he knows where you sitting, then don't bother him. He will take care of you in the end.
You are going to love it.
3.5 rounded up due to potential.
Because they are rebuilding after the fire, there was no air conditioned dining area. It was very hot. On the positive, this gave us opportunity to sit out by Folly Creek. It is absolutely beautiful out there, http://www.yelp.com/bi....
Because we were there in a month lacking an "r", there were no oysters. They only do locals, and those can't be harvested during the spawning months. I believe the true review of this place comes after a bushel of oysters.
We ate anyway. What we had was very good. We both had the fried seafood platter, http://www.yelp.com/bi.... It consists of:
- a large hunk of fish, an OK hunk of rather bland white fish
- a dozen lightly breaded, extremely good, fried shrimp
- 3 huspuppies, very crunchy on the outside, moist on the inside
- one of the best crab cakes I've ever eaten...plenty of crab and a touch of dijon mustard
- fries
Service is non-existent. You order at a counter and the food is brought to you by someone from the kitchen. That's the last you see of them until you go back to the counter to pay.
The price was not consistent with the quality. We had two plates and 2 beers and the price was over $40 before tip.
Like Josh said, this is no-frills, not fancy.
I'll be back when the dining room is done and when I can get oysters.
Perfect!
What more could possibly be said?
After three consecutive years visiting Folly Beach, we finally turned west on Bowen's Island Road and visited this fabled seafood joint. Low frills but full of atmosphere, and they serve some of the finest fresh seafood on the Carolina coast. The fried shrimp were a delight (also available boiled) and the whiting was moist and delicious. Everything is served with fries and hush puppies plus some simple house slaw. Beer and wine and soft drinks are offered at reasonable prices. Cash or checks only.
We ate our meals out on the covered dock, the same building that has been out there since it was rebuilt in the mid-90s after the original was destroyed by Hurricane Hugo in 1989. The old cinderblock structure that was destroyed by fire in 2005 still lies just beyond. Word has it the historic oyster room, which dates back to 1946, might actually get restored some time in the next year or two. In the meantime, don't hesitate to stop out. This is about as lowcountry as you can get out here on the shore.
Bowens Island has risen from the ashes to re-stake its title as THE best seafood joint in the state. This dive is actually in the "1000 Places To Go Before You Die" book. Not kidding.
It burned down in 2006 and owner Robert Barber (he ran for Lt. Governor the same year... and lost) swore he'd rebuild. As of February 2007, people are now eating on the back deck and dock. The oysters are still shelled out onto tables by a man with a snow shovel, straight from the fire pit. BTW, he really does only work for tips (like the sign above him indicates).
Keep your fingers crossed that when they do build a new building it won't be fancy pants. Hopefully the owner will make sure the new spot is just as dingy and full of character as the original.
On the way to Folly Beach you'll see a run-down billboard that points the way down a road that isn't all that well maintained (and then isn't maintained at all, and turns into a dirt road). At the end of the road it just turns into a parking lot and then you have arrived at the best seafood in the area.
The restaurant isn't much to look at, that's for sure, but the food is wonderful. Even the sides - fries and cornbread hush puppies - are excellent. The shrimp are large and lightly breaded, served on a disposable plate out on the deck (or inside if you're there in the cooler months). They have other food, too, depending on the catch that day, but don't miss the shrimp.
I guess I'm one of the only locals on this site to have eaten here. Kind of surprising to me. I will start off by saying, I'm not a fan of Barber by any means. I'll leave out the seedy politics though. As for the place itself, it's pretty cool. Not fancy by any means, but a place you can get a bushell of oysters relatively cheap. Prices are pretty good and it's definitely a no frills kind of place. It's a bit dirty and "earthy" smelling, but that's part of the attraction to this place.
I took my Dad to Bowen's Island Restaurant after a day of trekking on the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge via ferry in February 2007 after the restaurant fire.
Some of the best oysters on the East Coast aside from Murrells Inlet & Urbanna VA.
Plan a trip to Charleston during SEWE and rub shoulders with Charleston's finest at the Duck's Unlimited Oyster Roast and Auction in Mid Februrary.
