How does a place with “oyster” in its name not deliver them to your table when that is the first thing you order upon sitting down?!? The special was delicious, however, the fried fish basket was skimpy on the main attraction of the dish and abundant on french fries. “Show me the meat!”

Great food, lousy service. We drew the short straw.

Loved the decor. Food was great. Southern style like we were looking for! Great oysters!!!!

One word to describe The Darling Oyster Bar is FABULOUS!!
I would highly recommend the quaint restaurant for any occasion!

We came to celebrate my boyfriend’s graduation. We did a ton of small plates. The ceviche, crab parfait and charred octopus salad were the highlights for me. The Paloma cocktail was so refreshing and delicious and our server Kayla was outstanding. She was kind and attentive while giving us plenty of space to enjoy everyone’s company. Would definitely return. Oooo and don’t miss the key lime pie. A lightly salty crust with a tangy sweet filling. YUM!

Great spot, highly recommend.

Went to the Darling for Mother's Day Dinner in the evening. After having been here on previous occasions for dinner, very disappointed to being relegated to the dark entrance dining partition after having made reservations through Open Table. Didn't enjoy our dozen and half raw oysters on the half shell being served not thoroughly chilled and asked if we wanted crackers and cocktail sauce with them. Seriously, they could do better. Dinner was okay and service so-so.. Very disappointed. Not sure when we will return. Probably will stick with Pearls.

Great service and interesting menu. Not cheap but worth the price.

Always a fantastic experience. Can’t go wrong with this choice in Charleston

Terrible. The service was terrible. My husband orders oysters and I ordered ceviche as starters. My husband’s oysters arrived 20 minutes before mine. Then we had to wait another 30 mins to order a beer as the server was not present. Finally the main course arrived 45 mins later and my husband fish of the day was burned. Terrible service and burned food. Avoid this place.

Happy hour oysters were some of the best Ive had. Being from New England I was sceptical of the clam chowder but it was fantastic.

We have wanted to try The Darling since it opened. The oysters were very good. We ordered some tapas starters and one dinner. Everything was well-prepared and the wait staff was very cordial and friendly. We will return soon.

We got the seafood platter and added the fresh lobster tail and OMG it was the best thing I've ever had. Everything was so fresh and the presentation was stunning. We also got a bottle of rose and hush puppies. Truly amazing meal. If you love seafood, you'll love Darling!

Also, our waitress was so friendly and kind, and the atmosphere was stunning.

One of my favorites in town. Good oysters - $1 at happy hour. Nice and bright atmosphere.

This has now become a tradition for me and my 11-year-old daughter. She has a weekend long dance competition in Charleston. When it’s over, we celebrate by going downtown and having an early dinner at The Darling. We love it! We shared clams for an appetizer. She then got fried shrimp, and I got raw oysters. I also get to celebrate with a glass of sparkling rose. We both love it!

The Darling never disappoints! My husband and I were celebrating our 1 year anniversary and jumped off the plane and immediately got their Captain Bloody Mary. It's literally a meal in a drink and is worth every single penny! Our server was SO friendly and nice, gave us complimentary mimosas to celebrate, and helped us choose some delicious oysters to enjoy as well. I love the vibe this place gives off and will always go back and treat myself to the BEST Bloody Mary I've ever had in my life. The Darling and should be a staple stop on everyone's trip to King Street!

It was an overall great experience. Loved the ambience and we had a great waiter.

We were visiting from the Los Angeles area and The Darling Oyster House was rated high by both Open Table and Yelp. That’s a good sign.

We had the lobster/crab roll, the fried clam appetizer, a half dozen of all of the different baked oysters and a dozen of the raw Gulf oysters which were on special for $1/oyster.

Our server told us the gulf oysters were less briny, and next time we would probably go with different oysters. The gulf oysters were fresh but didn’t have much flavor.

The baked oysters were awesome! The clams were really good and the lobster/crab roll was excellent.

The server had a great attitude and personality and made the evening fun.

And $2 Miller beer pony’s. Geese. Haven’t had one of those since high school. And that was a long time ago. That was cool too.

We really enjoyed this place.

What you would expect from a great oyster bar/restaurant. Food, service and drinks were all outstanding.

One of the nicest places we ate in Charleston. The oyster happy hour is delicious, good value, and lots of fun.

Very good oysters, squid ink pasta and the octopus salad was great. Would definitely go back.

Great food and environment

Great fried clams- everything else was mediocre.
Much better choices in Charleston

We had a truly lovely time.

Dinner was very good. Fresh oysters were delicious and we'll shucked. Lobster and crab roll was very tasty as well as the pasta dish. Very busy bar scene. Would definitely return for the great food and service.

Girls dinner- great atmosphere, fantastic knowledgeable server with very helpful honest feedback about the food selections. Loved the oysters and the lobster crab roll!

We loved the atmosphere on Friday night — the lighting and music were perfect for early evening dinner. Great for a casual date night or intimate coupling of friends. Neat craft cocktails with homemade ingredients shopped local. Our waitress was friendly and attentive. Will def return!

Normally our favorite restaurant, however the shrimp & grits, a staple item was marginal at best. The grits were runny and tasteless, very disappointing. Had our daughter and her boyfriend in from OH so it was still a treat, but I will never order the shrimp and grits again.

Service and food were both fantastic. A little loud but they accommodated is when we wanted to sit somewhere a little quieter. Great ambiance. Will definitely return!

The Darling has good food, great atmosphere and nice service. Does not disappoint.

Visiting from New York

Table for two against dark wall did not allow any views. Chicken sandwich had no flavor. Shrimp and grits was soupy.

Great walkable restaurant on King Street. Friendly helpful staff, great drinks and delicious food!

The Darling Oyster Bar was our favorite restaurant in Charleston, so good we went back th next day. The oysters were fresh and delicious, and the cocktails were amazing! Everything was very affordable too, a nice surprise for such great seafood in a happening city.

My wife and I had Sunday Brunch, my wife had the Chower Fries, and I had the breakfast sandwich and one side. Both were excellent, server was pleasant and efficient and surroundings were very nice.
We will return.

Celebrating a birthday!!

Oyster special had gulf oysters for $1/piece. Food prepared very well and service was also very good. Will go back.

Service was dismal; food was substandard. Nothing that they advertised on the website was actually available. One of the worst dining experiences I ever had.

Only reservation we were able to get was at 10pm. Make your reservations in advance!
Since it was later, the bar crowd was a little rowdier at that time.

I got the scallops and my husband got the shrimp and grits. I know this is an oyster bar, but we just weren’t feeling oysters that night. They were both pretty good, nothing to write home about though. The seafood/side proportions seems a little off (few scallops and a huge pile of lentils). Knowing this, I would definitely recommend staying with the raw bar and not the entrees.

Service was good, lighting/ambience nice.

Very good meal and excellent service. A very hip scene that died down around 10 PM.