Brown liquor bar Paddock & Whisky now has a second location for fans of the original James Island address. The new outpost has an expanded food menu with more grown-up items selected by Home Team BBQ chef Taylor Garrigan, like broiled oysters with sofrito butter, fish of the day in a lemongrass broth with Carolina Gold rice, and a massively meaty cheeseburger.

The team from renowned wine bar Stems & Skins recently opened seafood restaurant Three Sirens in Park Circle. Co-owners Justin Croxall and Matt Tunstall wanted to bring all things oceanic to the neighborhood. Chef Julian Lippe puts out dishes like grilled Spanish octopus, swordfish with field pea ragout, and a potato rosti with creme fraiche and smoked trout roe. The romantic back dining room has already become a go-to date night spot for couples in the area.

The menu at Rancho Lewis pulls influences from West Texas, Chihuahua, Mexico, and New Mexico. This is the food famed pitmaster John Lewis and his family grew up eating. Classic fare like enchiladas, burritos, and tacos are there, along with combo plates dedicated to items favorited by Lewis’ grandparents Cora and Lloyd. The margaritas are said to be the coldest in town due to the high-velocity electric shakers behind the bar.

Vietnamese restaurant Pink Bellies is officially full-on open — dining room and all. Chef/owner Thai Phi did the takeout game for a few months, but now customers can eat inside the handsome space. The classics are there, like the garlic noodles, but don’t overlook new dishes like the squid ink banh xeo or the beautiful Herring Under a Fur Coat, Phi’s take on a Russian layered salad.

Chasing Sage was originally set to open in March 2020, but had to delay due to the pandemic. Now the restaurant is ready to premiere the dining room with the original concept of a new American menu focused on Lowcountry products. The menu features small plates, ranging from $9 to $19, with choices like English pea dumplings, swordfish crudo, and sweet corn cavatelli with crab.

Bodega is the permanent outpost of the former Bodega pop-up at Uptown Social. The interiors have many nods to New York culture with subway tiles, a “Post No Bills” wall with graffiti. The menu reflects classic NYC fare like a bacon, egg, and cheese on a hard roll and a chopped cheese sandwich. Bodega offers Counter Culture coffee and has a full bar for those in need of a bloody mary. 

Share House is a coastal cantina with colorful, beach-y interiors. The restaurant boasts two bars, a stage for live bands, a space for DJs, and televisions for all the games. It’s basically a one-stop fun shop. The Share House bar focuses on tropical cocktails, including the signature drink Orange Crush, which is fresh orange juice, vodka, and lemon-lime soda. For food, chef Alec Gropman puts out a menu of tuna sliders, crab cake sandwiches, and California-style nachos. 

Fans of caviar and champagne should book now for the Caviar Bar on the piazza of boutique hotel Zero George. The menu uses Regiis Ova (founded by Thomas Keller) for the dishes, ranging from deviled topped with caviar to traditional service and a wagyu beef sandwich on milk bread for the non-caviar set (though it’s pretty good topped with caviar too).

Lenoir draws from celebrity chef Vivian Howard’s home of Lenoir County, North Carolina, but also from the mind of executive chef Jared Hammond. Menu items include Howard’s signature blueberry barbecue chicken wings, local crudo with buttermilk nuoc cham, butterbean agnolotti in a country ham broth, cornmeal-dusted catfish, and more. Reservations fill up fast.

The Indigo Road Hospitality Group is finally able to welcome customers into the handsome dining room at Brasserie la Banque. The French eatery is open for lunch and dinner with menus full of classics like foie gras torchon, poulet rouge, bouillabaisse, steak frites, and dry-aged duck.

As the summer season closes out, Sullivan’s Island is still very much burning up the beach scene with the opening of the Longboard. The bar is always full of locals looking for an exciting cocktail and chef Will Fincher (formerly of the Obstinate Daughter) puts forth a food menu of Caribbean touches, like croquettes with a green curry, mango and cucumber salad, drunken prawns, and a whole roasted fish with mole rojo.