West Ashley · bbq, southern, burgers

South Carolina mustard-sauce barbecue. Destination BBQ says brothers Thomas and Melvin Bessinger opened on Savannah Highway in the early 1960s, that Thomas kept this West Ashley restaurant, and that his sons Tommy and Michael run it today. Pork shoulders are smoked for hours over wood (the guide's summary table says hickory and oak) and served with the family's mustard-based sauces; hash over rice and oversized onion rings are the long-time orders. The venue's own site names its 'signature mustard sauce'. Shoulders, not whole hog.

Commonhouse Aleworks

Park Circle · bbq

Commonhouse is the Park Circle neighborhood brewery, with an outdoor yard it calls CommonGround. Swig & Swine, the Charleston barbecue group, opened its fourth Lowcountry location inside the brewery as the food partner.

Dukes BBQ of James Island

James Island · bbq, southern, buffet, southern buffet

An all-you-can-eat buffet in the Orangeburg tradition: chopped pork, hash and rice, fried chicken and vegetables. Destination BBQ traces the Dukes name to Earl Dukes, who opened in Orangeburg in the 1950s, and notes the Dukes restaurants around the state are independent, not a chain. The mustard sauce here is the reddish-orange kind people call 'rust gravy'. The same guide says wood-fired pit cooking is not the draw here.

Home Team BBQ

Hampton Park Terrace · bbq, southern

Founder Aaron Siegel came from fine dining, per Destination BBQ, and Home Team cooks a multi-regional menu instead of one barbecue tradition: smoked wings, pulled pork, brisket, ribs, turkey. The frozen Gamechanger cocktail is the house drink. The venue lists a kids menu and a sauce list; wood species is not stated on the pages fetched. Charleston-born group, also in Columbia, Greenville and Aspen. The downtown room has a fenced gravel yard with chalkboards for children, a large bar and a big courtyard.

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BellyUp! Charleston / BBQ

Charleston BBQ

South Carolina has four barbecue sauces and still cooks whole hog. Ask which one before you order.

Mustard, vinegar-pepper or tomato, whole hog or shoulder ... which one a Charleston pit says it cooks, and what it is known for once the tray hits the table.

4 spots

King BBQ

North Charleston · bbq, chinese, chinese barbecue, chinese american

The venue calls it 'Chinatown BBQ made with Southern Smoke': Chinese roasted and chopped meats given what it calls a gentle smoke. Owners Shuai and Corrie Wang also run Jackrabbit Filly; the venue says a fire closed King four months after it opened and that Shuai was then cast on Top Chef season 22. Wang means King in Chinese, which is where the name comes from. The venue lists Bon Appetit's Best New Restaurants 2024. Counter service, first come first served. It says it has no high chairs but a few booster seats. Wood species not stated; not whole hog.

Palmira Barbecue

West Ashley · bbq, puerto rican

Wood-cooked whole hog is the center of the menu. Pitmaster Hector Garate was born in Puerto Rico and the venue says he specializes in beef cheeks, brisket, whole hog and house-made sausage, cooks on an offset smoker he built himself, and uses only local meats (it names Brasstown Beef, Creekstone Farms and Peculiar Pig Farms). The name honors his grandmother, who grew up on a cattle ranch. Destination BBQ adds that the hog is seasoned with Puerto Rican influences, that the South Carolina-style hash and rice is made from smoked hog heads, and that Palmira began as a pop-up. Wood species and sauce tradition are not stated on the pages fetched.

Swig & Swine BBQ (Mount Pleasant)

Mount Pleasant · bbq

The Mount Pleasant room of Anthony DiBernardo's all-wood barbecue group. The venue says it smokes over hickory, oak and other hardwoods; the menu's five sauces are sweet red, vinegar, Carolina mustard, Alabama white and jalapeno.

Swig & Swine BBQ (West Ashley)

West Ashley · bbq, wings

The original Swig & Swine. Pitmaster and owner Anthony DiBernardo came to the Lowcountry with the US Navy, cooked on the submarine USS Batfish, opened Swig & Swine in 2013 and became sole owner in 2019. The venue says it smokes over 'high-quality hickory, oak, and other hardwoods'. Its menu lists five sauces ... sweet red, vinegar, Carolina mustard, Alabama white and jalapeno ... plus hash and rice. Discover South Carolina says DiBernardo smokes whole hogs for up to 16 hours; Destination BBQ describes whole hog on Thursdays.

What these spots are known for

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BBQ and Smokehouses Who is actually running a pit? Origin Stories Who built this and why? Rooftops and Patios Can we sit outside? Live Music Where can I eat and hear a real band? The Whole Family Table Will they be fine with a four-year-old? Neighborhood Institutions What has been here forever? Dog-Friendly Patios Can the dog come? Private Dining and Buyouts Can we take a room?

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