Food and Drink in Pawleys Island, SC

Seafood off the boat, creekside decks, morning coffee and the markets that stock the rental kitchen.

202 listings on Pawleys Island

Restaurants31 Everything from a paper plate of fried flounder to a table you book a week out. Seafood16 Oyster roasts, shrimp off the boat, she crab soup and the docks that supply the kitchens. Coffee and Bakeries45 Morning coffee before the beach, plus the bakeries worth the detour off Highway 17. Breakfast and Brunch32 Shrimp and grits, biscuits, and the counters that open before the first tide change. Bars and Live Music27 Creekside decks, shag on a Thursday, breweries and the porch bars that run late. Ice Cream and Sweets20 The after dinner walk usually ends at one of these. Markets and Provisions31 Groceries for the rental kitchen, produce stands, butchers and wine shops.

You are on a working coast. The shrimp are local, the oysters are local in the cooler months, and the difference between a good meal and a forgettable one here is often just knowing which door to walk through.

Seafood is the obvious draw and it earns it. Look for places that name their supplier or sit close enough to the water to have one. Shrimp and grits, she crab soup, fried flounder and an oyster roast in the cooler months are the local canon rather than the tourist version of it.

The MarshWalk at Murrells Inlet, fifteen minutes north, is a half mile of boardwalk with restaurant decks and charter docks over the salt marsh. It is busier and louder than anything on the island, which is precisely why some evenings call for it.

On the island and along Highway 17 the register is quieter: small kitchens, a few rooms you should book a week out in season, and a genuinely good coffee scene for a place this size. Breakfast counters open before the first tide change, which tells you who they are feeding.

If you are cooking at the house, the fish markets are worth the detour. Buying shrimp where the boats unload and cooking them on the porch is, for a lot of families, the best meal of the week and the cheapest.

  • Book ahead on summer weekends

    The good rooms fill. A Tuesday walk in is a different proposition to a Saturday one.

  • Oysters follow the cool months

    The season here runs through the colder half of the year. Summer is shrimp and crab.

  • Ask what came in

    Anywhere worth eating will tell you what landed that morning.

  • Cook one night

    A fish market, a pot and a porch beats most restaurants for the money.

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Questions we get

About food and drink in Pawleys Island

Straight answers, and we say when something is our opinion.

Where is the best seafood near Pawleys Island?

The island and Highway 17 have small kitchens worth booking, and the Murrells Inlet MarshWalk fifteen minutes north concentrates waterfront seafood restaurants along a boardwalk over the marsh. Our directory ranks both by Google rating and review volume so you can judge for yourself.

Do I need reservations in Pawleys Island?

On summer weekends and through the fall golf season, yes, for anywhere with a dining room. Midweek and in the shoulder seasons you can usually walk in. Our planning service will make the booking for you at no charge.

When is oyster season in South Carolina?

Oysters here are a cool weather tradition, running through the colder half of the year rather than the summer. Roasts are a winter and early spring event. Check current SCDNR guidance for harvest rules if you are gathering your own.

Can I buy fresh shrimp off the boat near Pawleys Island?

Yes. There are fish markets and seafood retailers on the Neck and at Murrells Inlet that sell local catch, and buying there to cook at the rental house is a standard part of a week here.