Best Restaurants in Charleston: Our Favorite Healthy Food in Charleston, SC
As jazz artist Nina Simone so aptly sang, "It's a new dawn, it's a new day, and I'm feelin' good!"
A beautiful new year lies ahead of us all, and we are all about feeling good. Few things feed our bodies and souls like laughing with our loved ones over a delicious, healthy meal, and if there's one thing the Grit & Grace family loves to talk about, it's food.
Prepare to feast your eyes as we highlight our favorite healthy food in Charleston below! We're dishing on heavenly five-star dining, addictive to-go salads, heavenly acai bowls, and so much more. (Warning: this post may lead to snacking, the obsessive planning of your next three meals, and even outright hanger.)
Grab your tribe and hit some of these must-try Charleston restaurants (tell them we sent you!), and then join us at Grit & Grace Studio for a Mala Workshop as we celebrate feeling good.
Healthy Charleston Restaurants
Can we get a kale yeah for tasty salads on the go? Verde, a local chain of Charleston restaurants, specializes in delicious, balanced salads. Order Reese’s favorite, the Bowled Buddha, for a healthy and filling lunch, or check out their rotating seasonal options. Order your salad tossed, chopped, or tossed, and you’ll be back to conquering your busy day in a jiffy.
Call us crunchy, but we’re simply bananas for Huriyali! This colorful healthy Charleston restaurant specializes in fresh acai bowls, smoothies, and healthy savory bites. Make a point to try Rachel’s go-to, the OG acai bowl with peanut butter drizzle and granola, or the signature healthiest nachos in town! The good-and-good-for-you menu items, vibrant patio, and relaxing vibes will turn you into a regular.
photo credit: @cookinwithbooze
If you’re in the mood for a souper menu filled with healthy options, lettuce introduce you to Five Loaves Cafe! Gourmet soups, yummy salads, and delightful sandwiches abound at this beloved eatery. Food envy is a thing of the past at Five Loaves, where you can order a soup sampler or mix-and-match their half sandwiches and half salads. Be sure to try the chilled salmon salad at lunch or the Thai coconut hot pot during dinner service for some of the best healthy food in Charleston.
Dell’z holds a pizza our hearts. Healing through food is at the core of this cherished healthy Charleston restaurant, where love goes into the flavors, ingredient choices, and portions of each dish. Named a “customers’ favorite” for a reason, the jazzy pizza is laden with black beans, mushrooms, peppers, mango salsa, vegan cheese, and mouth-watering sauces. You’ll also love the beach bum, which is shrimply (hee hee) delicious!
photo credit: @fullbellies
When it comes to healthy food in Charleston, you can’t beet Butcher & Bee.
The hip, upscale eatery serves up creative, veggie-forward cuisine like green beans and fennel with pomegranate molasses, horseradish aioli, and lemon.
Their hummus, whipped feta, and baba ghanoush dips are crowd-pleasers that may distract your fellow diners enough to keep them from stealing bites of your spicy avocado salad or twice-baked squash, but shhhh, you didn’t learn that defensive dining tactic from us.
photo credit: @andrewcebulka
We’d make another corny food pun, but finding healthy food in Charleston is serious business.
Gaulart & Maliclet Cafe Restaurant, lovingly known as Fast & French to locals, is a tried-and-true veteran on the Lowcountry food scene, and for a good reason. They focus on fresh, affordable, healthy cuisine with a French flair, and their menu is filled with perfectly portioned options for every budget, occasion, diet, and time of day.
Make a point to try Gail’s favorite, the gazpacho, for a fresh treat during the scorching Charleston summer, or cuddle up with some hot soup and an open-faced baguette sandwich during cooler days.
photo credit: @fastandfrench
Spice up your taco Tuesday routine with Bon Bahn Mi! Their craveable five-spice tofu tacos are as delicious as they are healthy, and they’re piled high with savory toppings like cucumbers, pickled carrots, pickled daikon radish, cilantro, Thai basil, crispy shallots, and sriracha-lime cream. Their flavorful proteins, which include heavenly options like ginger lemongrass chicken, red curry beef, and tamarind shrimp, are available as delectable Bahn mi sandwiches, salads, tacos, and rice bowls.
If the hunt for mouth-watering vegan and vegetarian options has you feeling bowled over, romaine calm and make a reservation at Basic Kitchen.
You’ll love Ms. Paula’s Shrimp and their curry bowl, but be sure to start with a big plate of the cauli wings: they’re the stuff dreams are made of.
The chic, comfortable space and welcoming bar make this a charming spot to spend an evening, and the well-rounded cocktail offerings are complemented by fresh juices, kombucha, and a rotating weekly wellness shot.
You have two options when you go to The Harbinger Cafe: You can blindfold yourself to avoid their tempting baked goods or channel your willpower. Once you've dodged and weaved past the chocolava and "smoke show" oatmeal cookies, order the grasshopper toast or Gail's lunch recommendation, the salad plate. Add turmeric chai tea latte or jasmine green tea to power you through your busy afternoon!
photo credit: @edandvaleriephoto
Sometimes self-care means not sharing your food, especially when you’re at Fuel Charleston. The fresh Caribbean cuisine and laid-back vibe landed this local gem on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives in 2012, and the hip dog-friendly patio space and open-air bar at this refurbished filling station-turned-restaurant make it a favorite on weekends, especially when the weather is nice.
Be sure to try Stevie’s go-to, the grilled shrimp salad with red onions, sliced pears, roasted tomatoes, avocados, blue cheese crumbles, and champagne vinaigrette, but be ready to fend off your fellow diners with your fork.
photo credit: @charlestongirlsclub
Squeeze the day! Grab a fresh-pressed juice, acai bowl, wrap, or sandwich from Clean Juice, and you'll be ready to get out there and kick some... wheatgrass.
This health-centered franchise has several convenient locations in the Charleston area. Drop by the one nearest to you, and pick up Reese's favorite: hummus toast and the “wakeup one” juice with a couple of turmeric-based immunity shots for the long day ahead.
For a forkful of flavor, head to Leon’s Oyster Shop and grab a Siam salad, Kelsey’s must-have. This yummy salad tops napa and red cabbage with avocado, peanuts, orange, fried onions, and fresh herbs, and it’s sized to share. While there are some incredible heavier and fried entrees at Leon’s that you should absolutely try, they also have some of our favorite healthy food in Charleston. Grab some raw oysters for the table, some avocado toast, and sides of the black-eyed pea salad and marinated cucumber salad.
We hope you celebrate this new dawn, this new day! Are you curious about setting your intentions or beginning a gratitude practice? We invite you to browse the Wellness category of our blog and shop our supportive self-care products.
You'll love our Los Poblanos lavender products, Sage Smudge Sticks, and Wish Bead Bracelets. We also would love to connect with you at our Flagship store, which is filled with exclusive in-store items for your self-care journey and gift-giving occasions.
One Love & Blessings,