Myrtle Beach Message Board

Charleston Cafe

I hope I am posting this in the right spot!

Katie and I decided a good way to kill some time Saturday (while waiting for our house to be ready) would be to eat at the Charleston Cafe in Surfside. We had heard they have excellent food and desserts. We arrived mid afternoon...it is such a CUTE place...it would be GREAT for a special occaision...kind of dark...white tablecloths, lit candles on tables...the seating towards the back consists of booths...but the benches looked like wooden porch swings mounted on a wooden frame...really clever and comfy...they had cushions...cloth...oh and the ac worked great. We were seated by MIck...he took our order, also, he was such a congenial person...we enjoyed his humor...you get a very comfortable feeling right away here...ok, so we did not want to eat alot because we wanted dessert...so we had the crab and shrimp dip with pita toast to share...well to say this was good is and understatement...it was FABULOUS...this is something we definately can not get in our neck of the woods...next we shared a two salad with crackers...we chose the tuna slad and the chicken salad...again delicious! On to the desserts...They had several choices...all homemade by Abby(I think) if I am remembering correctly 2 sisters have this restaurant...anyway...the choices Sat were...brownie sundae...apple pie with a struessel topping...key lime pie...and red velvet cake with a layer of cream cheese frosting in the miiddle...normally key lime pie would win hands down with me...but Mick had such a way with words as he was describing the red velvet cake...that I had to go with ther cake...Katie chose the brownie sundae...well both of our desserts were amazing...we did taste each other's desserts...so yummy...soon after, we rolled out of the Charleston Cafe...into the sunshine of Surfside Beach...

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JoAnn, what a great restaurant review. I have been wanting to try the Charleston Cafe for so long but for some reason never did. We stay in Surfside at 7th ave. So. so it would be very convenient. It sounds unique and not just another cookie cutter chain restaurant. It is definitely on my list for this October. Thank you for the review.

Judy/Pigeon Forge

Judy, it was great...we really enjoyed ourselves...I think we will go back again this week...it is definately not cookie cutter...by the way...the condo they moved us to is off 7th on South Dogwood...Colony III...to bad we visit at different times of the year...hopefully when I retire from teaching in a few...I will be able to visit in the off season...that is my goal!


JoAnn

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Thanks for posting your review, JoAnn! We've been to the Charleston Cafe a couple times, and experienced good food and service each time. I would recommend it!

http://www.charleston-cafe.com/

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Brayer owns the restaurant and also the Restaurant at Marlin Quay Marina which is located next to The GulfStream Cafe in Garden City, they have a great Sunday special here with all you can eat burgers, hot dogs and fixins for around $7, it starts around 6 PM.

Gary

Just to update, Brayer sold the restaurant at Marlin Quay Marina last year and closed
the Charleston Cafe back in September.

We have lost a number of very good restaurant, too many people eating in while on vacation :)

I don't have a lot of time to spend answering posts right now but I do want to keep y'all updated so you don;t make plans to go somewhere and they are gone.

Gary

I was sad to see that Charleston Cafe closed...Boo Hoo!!!!

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Restaurants in general charge way too much. There's no need to charge $10 for a burger and fries. I can make the same thing at home for about $3. What does the extra $7 get me? $21 for a rack of ribs? Are you kidding?? I can make it at home for $8 including the baked potato AND mine are better anyway!! Even fast food has gotten out of hand but that's a whole new ballgame (just keep voting for the minimum wage increases, folks).

We always go down with family. Everyone doesn't stay at the same place, but brothers and wives, kids, mom and dad and my crew are usually in MB at the same time. I always feel bad when the mention certain places to eat and I refuse to go, but I just can't pay for places like Crabby Mikes. I've got to feed my bunch for the rest of the month and can't afford to spend two weeks worth of food money at one meal. I figure a place like Crabby Mikes would cost me $150+. We have really changed our eating habits in MB because of the cost of restaurants in the area. Our buffet choice is now Prosser's, eat cheap Barbecue at the Bar-b-cue House and Murrels Inlet seafood fix at Driftwoods. Still get full and enjoy the meal, just don't pay the high prices.

Hey Phroggy, I won't pay $10 for a burger, heck I won't pay $8,(there are exceptions) there are plenty of places where you can get a great burger with fries for $4-7, yes you can make it for less at home, yet when on vacation I am not cooking except maybe for breakfast.

When friends come in from out of town there are the tourist trap places yes, and the atmosphere is great like Hard Rock Cafe, I only eat the full rack of ribs there it's the best deal, at Margaritaville it's happy hour and the volcano nacho dip.

You just need to know the area and if you are looking for a discount here or at home, go to Google type in the name of a restaurant the town and either discount or coupon and see what comes up.

Gary

Gary

I think it's all in the perspective of maybe where you live. I live in the DC area and I can tell you that in twon (except for McDonald's) you would probably pay about $15 for a hamburger and fries. You are paying for not only the food but the help, insurance and real estate. When we visit Myrtle Beach we are actually surprised at how inexpensive it is (except for a few places that are really high end like New York Prime, Greg Norman's which equal the costs in DC). Dinner at a decent restaurant here with a bottle of wine for two is around $100 to $150.

I have family in the DC area (they work in DC) and their incomes reflect the increased cost. With no college degrees they make what a highly paid professional in my area would make. Easier to pay for a $15 burger when salaries are high. The good thing for them is that the house they purchased just outside of DC cost them about what they would pay for one in my area. Increased salary, with similar house payments will allow them to easily cover the higher price food. I'm sure that MB is a nice change if you are paying those prices. Would be nice if a person could make DC type salaries and pay MB food prices. I have a decent income, but still couldn't afford to $10 for every burger that I eat. Myrtle Beach (outside of lodging and restaurants) is a fair priced area. The grocery prices are similar to other surrounding areas. I think the restaurants just know that people are willing to spend a little more on vacation and charge accordingly. I'm sure the locals stay away from many of these places (for the most part) and get a fair price for what they get.

Nacho Hippo and River City Cafe are our current favorites. When I was young and dumb (and I had money to burn), I somehow felt better by paying $40 or $50 for a meal just for myself. Now that I have a family, I can't remember the last time my own meal was more than $25.

PS: Seafood buffets are the GROSSEST places in the area. It's ALL low quality slop that even my dog wouldn't eat.