The Darling Oyster Bar
Anchoring The Darling Oyster Bar is a stunning raw bar showcasing fresh, made-to-order seafood. Guests can enjoy the lively raw bar scene while overlooking historic King Street from The Darling’s iconic storefront. The Darling raw bar also offers full service dining.
Located in the heart of Upper King Street, The Darling Oyster Bar is housed in a 115-year old historic building that enjoys a storied past. A mix of the original 1900’s reclaimed wood, whole exposed brick walls, classic tile, antique molding, and nautical theme combine to create a setting that is all at once convivial, charming, and comfortable.
Popular dishes
Fried Oysters
Bibb lettuce, avocado, heirloom tomatoes, house vinaigrette
168 reviews
Seared Diver Scallops
Melted leeks, maitake mushrooms, carrot confit
21 reviews
Duck Bacon Carbonara
Baby arugula, parmesan, fried egg, pappardelle
3 reviews
Great atmosphere.
Had lunch with my kids. The burgers were delicious
and the Bloody Mary was exceptional.
My husband and I went to Darling Oyster Bar for dinner. The oysters were outstanding. We got in on an early bird special including oysters and drinks. We had our first oyster shooters. Very good! We also ordered the claim chowder. Also very good. We will definitely return.
The oysters and shrimp are fantastic, but the hidden gem is the fried clams with a side of grits
Great appetizers and entrees! Good happy hour specials
Son’s purchase of new home
We had a fabulous time at The Darling Oyster Bar! The single lady oysters were my favorite as well as the bread pudding! A must when visiting Charleston!
Favorite spot in Charleston!
Loved the drinks, food and service. Would recommend and go again. Loved the oysters
Great service. Good food for the money. The local oysters were excellent and the crab pasta was yummy.
Our waiter was excellent! 1st time having oysters and he walked us through the whole process. The crab dip was exceptional. As was the lobster roll. And love that happy hour goes until seven!
Loved it - was my birthday and it felt special
Post Wedding Celebration
We went for
Oysters were clean and tasty. Service was great. Arriving in time for happy hour allowed for more oysters.
Best raw bar in Charleston! Our waiter was incredible! He was funny, sweet, & very attentive. We were happy to be able to get a table on such a busy weekend. Overall food & drinks were incredible. We will definitely be making a special trip to Charleston to go back to The Darling!
10/10. Waiter was a Dawg which is always a win for us.
Oysters were exceptional, as were the lobster roll and cocktails.
Oysters were Awesome! Not a great selection of substantial food so if you are hungry, eat some carbs before you go.
Bourbon selection was lacking for an upscale place.
I loved the choice of oysters and the service was great! I was seated right away and off to the side like I requested.
They served us champagne for our anniversary gratis
This was my first, but not my last, visit to The Darling Little Oyster Bar. Our server, Delaney, was amazing! She had many large tables but she made our table of two feel special! The oysters were chilled to perfection. The hushpuppies were yummy. Recommend shrimp and grits and fried shrimp. Reservations a must!
Felt some bizarre tension with our waiter. For example, at one point he came around to ask if we wanted another round of drinks, and I said “no thank you,” and he responded “yeah i figured, your glass is half full, I was asking the other guys.” Overall good food and great ambiance, though.
Enjoyed the happy hour oysters and the lobster/crab roll
Great atmosphere, friendly service, delicious food. will definitely be back!
Family brunch
Anniversary
Best oysters in town!!
Great wait staff. NO social distancing. Mediocre food was lukewarm. So many good places in Charleston that we would rather eat.
Great food very fresh seafood and always fantastic staff.
And great Happy Hour!
Great spot and had a reservation on a busy Saturday night. Food was okay but to be fair, we should have stuck to raw bar...which looked amazing! I had shrimp and grits and the grits were the worst I’ve had in Charleston. Diver sea scallops were excellent, though. Waitress was super and took off the shrimp and grits from the bill as she saw I left most of it. Will give it another shot but will stick to the raw bar.
Went to Darling to celebrate my birthday. The food and atmosphere were excellent. I would definitely recommend for a great dining experience.
This was a great dining experience. The food, service, and overall vibe of the restaurant were great. My only complaint was that it was a little dark at the table we were at. A little more lighting would have been nice. This would not keep me from going back here and will always be on my list of Charleston favorites.
Food was good. Our waitress (Kelly) was great.
Server was great and super friendly, same with the manager, but the food was actually terrible which is surprising for a city where there’s great food on every corner. The baked oysters tasted like they’d been sitting there for hours and they just threw them under the broiler to warm up. The crab dip was good but far too salty and the crab pasta was possibly the worst pasta I’ve ever had in a restaurant. Zero taste - even with adding lemon, salt and pepper.
We had a wonderful date night. Our waiter (last NAme Gardner) took very good care of us. A sweet patron offered to take our picture since we were struggling to take a selfie. We took an Uber here and had a bad experience with our Uber when leaving. The manager used his app to call us an Uber ride. Very thoughtful and my second time here. Will def come back next time I’m in Charleston.
Great experience
Anytime we are in Charleston, we make a reservation for The Darling. It never disappoints!
We went on a weekend during brunch time. The oysters were very good, but the rest of the brunch menu was a little lackluster for o me.
Darling delivered as usual! Great raw bar options that are perfect for a group!
It was a great dinner for our group of 7. Our server, Will, was so friendly and helpful. The food was awesome (and Will explained the dishes to us and answered our questions). We'd all go back!!!
The fried claims are always a must!
FAQs
The Darling Oyster Bar is rated 4.7 stars by 1939 OpenTable diners.
Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable. Due to local restrictions, this restaurant may not be accepting reservations at the moment.