Restaurant Recommendations in Hilton Head

We have a two bedroom villa reserved at Marriott's Harbour Club at Harbour Town the first week of July. Since this will be our first time to Hilton Head (and I assume a busy time) we are looking for restaurant recommendations. Has anyone done the dinner cruises, or the cruuises to Savannah? How busy are the restaurants? Will I need to make reservations well in advance? Thanks!!

Hi - I've only been to HHI once (but going back in November on an excahnge to Grande Ocean)- 2 years ago in April so I can't comment on how busy July will be. My favourite restaurant during that visit was CQ's right across the street from Harbour Town. The lobster pasta was fabulous! I think the restaurant is walking distance from you.

We really like Marleys. It is near the gate into Sea Pines. No reservations and the wait can be quite long. Also has an ice cream store there for the kids.

CQ's is across the street from Harbour Club and a restaurant I can definitely recommend. Other suggestions are Michael Anthony's (upscale Italian), Santa Fe (Southwestern), and Spice (South Asian). Reservations will be required for all of these restaurants during the first week in July.

We really liked Eugene's Waterfront, which is a seafood restaurant. We also liked The Crazy Crab, which we went to twice. It is a lot cheaper than Eugene's, and a lot more laid back. We went to the location near Barony Beach (by the highway back to mainland).

Reservations: Eugene's - Yes; Crazy Crab - No.

There is also a Crazy Crab right by the lighthouse in Harbortown - I like it there, too.

I love Stacks for breakfast.

The first week in July will be very crowded at most restaurants. I would call ahead to check anywhere that you want to go.

I ate at the Westin Hotel next to (in the middle of) Baroney Beach Marriott (Port Royal) at their big seafood buffet. Very good and a pretty good deal, as seafood goes. We also ate at the Ocean Grill in Shelter Cove, which was expensive, but they seemed to have discount coupons all over. We won a 50.00 coupon at a Barony owner's meeting (we were exchangers). Last November we ate at one of those seafood places in Harbor Town by the fake lighthouse. Can't remember the name, but was like a chain place. Actually, the food was very good and the prices not bad. A big round place with (naturally) a nautical theme. Sorry about forgetting the name, although you should have no trouble finding it in tiny Harbor Town. We also went to the cocktail hour/wine tasting at your resort (we stayed at Heritage, down the street). Very nice---those resorts are very small by Marriott standards and I guess they combine some activities.

We love "Sunset Grille" and always have at least one meal there.

Thanks for the recommendations! A good Italian restaurant, a good steak/seafood restaurant and probably a couple of casual "everything menu" places would be good. I have heard mention of the Hilton Head Diner. is it any good? Any great pizza places?

I've been to HH quite a few times and have some favorites:
Old Fort Pub (great romantic place with waterview) - She Crab soup, rack of lamb, pecan pie are out of this world good.
Sticky Fingers for BBQ Ribs
Marley's is good atmosphere
Giuseppe's Pizza is supposed to be the best (but we haven't tried it yet).

Top 200 Restaurants in Hilton Head

Don't waste your time or money at Hilton Head Diner (one of the worst meals I've ever had).

Here is my current list of favorites, in no particular order except for the first one:

Sunset Grille - My favorite restaurant - anywhere. In an unlikely spot (in an RV park near the bridge to the mainland), the view of the inland waterway is magnificent and dinner is even better than magnificent. Chef Matt Riddle has been there for about five years and I hope he will be there for another 40. As long as he is there, you can count on an outstanding meal. When I was there two weeks ago, I asked him to choose my entire meal and surprise me. He prepared courses that I would have never chosen, including an entree that wasn't on the menu or the specials and, as always, everything was wonderful. Obviously, I take good care of Matt on every visit. During summer, reservations are a must, especially if you want a window table. Even this past winter, they were turning people away on two of my visits. Take the love of your life. Leave the kids at home. You'll be glad you did. (I'll apologize in advance, because it's difficult for a single dining experience to live up to my hype!)

Santa Fe - Upscale southwestern fare. A must on just about every one of my visits to HHI.

Charlie's L'etoile Verte - When I want a fancy dinner with a hint of French or Continental style, this is the place. They don't advertise; so don't look for an ad.

Wild Wing Cafe - Great wings and other junk food (and a wide selection of beers for those interested) and a fun place to dine. 15-20 or so TV sets showing various sports. Live music about four evenings every week.

Skillets - I'll match their breakfast fare against any I have had anywhere. Service can be a bit spotty at times, but still worth a visit.

Just Pasta - A tiny upscale Italian place in Coligny Plaza, the pasta dishes are well worth this trip. Don't try the homemade bread. If you do, you won't be able to stop.

Crane's Tavern - White tablecloths and a formal atmosphere set the stage for great steaks and seafood and a wide-ranging wine list. As for almost all other HHI restaurants, dress casually.

The Westin Seafood Extravaganza – Even at $31.95 (or a bit more now), this buffet in the Carolina Café at the Westin Hotel is a bargain. Also includes prime rib and a chicken dish for the non-seafood lovers. Often available only on Saturday nights or not at all during the winter; more frequently during the summer, but call well ahead for schedule and reservations, even in winter.

I've been to HH several times. My most memorable meall was @ Red Fish. In July I would mke a reservation since iot is a small place. By the way great steak and wine. I was able to locate a wine I've been looking for Cakebread Chardoney. Gueseppes for pizza was great.

Hilton Head restaurants....my list

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My personal HHI restaurant list: (Get the MENU GUIDE at the rack near check-in desk to view many actual menus!!!! Casual dress anywhere--- Sometimes men wear a sport jacket, but not necessary or required. Reservations highly suggested at most.)
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Fine dining restaurants (no particular order, but ALL OF THESE are "can't miss" category....tried and true!!!): Santa Fe, Charlie's L'Etoile Verte, Sunset Grille, Crane's Tavern, Frankie Bones, Michael Anthony's, Catch 22, The Studio, Marley's Island Grille, Redfish, Bonefish, Old Fort Pub, CQ's, Westin Hotel's seafood buffet. (all are still casual dress)

Casual seafood: Old Oyster Factory, Kingfisher, Crazy Crab at Harbour Town. (also, Westin Hotel's seafood buffet, but it's so good, and pricey, that I placed it in the fine dining category above )

Breakfast: Skillet's, Waterfront Cafe (formerly Cafe Europa), Hilton Head Diner, Signe's.

Mexican: San Miguel's .

Most popular (extreme casual/family fun/teens' choice):: Wild Wing Cafe.

Lunch: Truffles, British Open Pub, Hilton Head Diner, Waterfront Cafe (at lighthouse).

Casual family ( very popular, inexpensive) : Aunt Chilada's.

***** I have to add these notes, for FEAR that somebody may live life and NOT have the pleasure of experiencing these:::: at Santa Fe, order either the Grouper or the Cowboy Cut Rib Chop---both are unique & beyond fantastic. At Crane's Tavern, try the prime rib (or anything else)....All the other restaurants on my "fine dining" list have extraordinary entrees (ESPECIALLY Charlie's L'Etoile Verte and Sunset Grille, two of the very finest, and most romantic !!!! Sunset at Sunset Grille is very nice. So is cuisine.) None of these will disappoint.

*****Enjoy, Marty (jme)**********************************
P.S. Also, trust anything that DAVE says!!!

Davem jme and everyone else......thanks for all of your suggestions! Sounds like there are a lot to choose from. I'll check if any have an on-line menu. No one has done the dinner cruise??

There are lots of online menus. Just google or yahoo Hilton Head dining. I used to have a few bookmarked but my computer crashed right before Xmas and I had to reboot the whole system. Lost them all. I now back up my files.

Dave M said:

Santa Fe - Upscale southwestern fare. A must on just about every one of my visits to HHI.


Wild Wing Cafe - Great wings and other junk food (and a wide selection of beers for those interested) and a fun place to dine. 15-20 or so TV sets showing various sports. Live music about four evenings every week.



The Westin Seafood Extravaganza – Even at $31.95 (or a bit more now), this buffet in the Carolina Café at the Westin Hotel is a bargain.

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Comments on these.

You have to try Santa Fe. This was the best dining experience we've ever had. Really great ambience, and super great cuisine. We had southwest style grouper that was simply amazing.

Wild Wings had about 50 different wing sauces and about the same amount of TVs. It was almost sensory overload for me, but I liked watching the NFL games there one weekend.

The Westin Seafood buffet I would classify as very good, but not great, and really only worth it for big eaters who will get their monies worth. Great crab soup, and king crab legs.

Regards.
Joe

I love the Old Fart Pub too .. and can't wait to go again. Rated #2 on TripAdvisor I see.

Brian

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g54273-Hilton_Head_South_Carolina.html

http://www.oldfortpub.com/ofp_01.htm

Another vote for the Old Fort Pub. It is pricey but very good. Our favorite is Charley's Crab (part of the Muer restaurant chain). They have an early dining menu that includes appetizer, beverage and dessert. We love it there and always go twice during our time on HHI. Last year we tried Redfish and Alexander's. Both were quite good. Enjoy!

Edited to add: My family loves Marley's ice cream. We try to get there for dessert a couple times during the week as well.

reedps said:

They have an early dining menu that includes appetizer, beverage and dessert.

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A lot of the restaurants on HHI have either early bird specials or happy hour specials. As soon as you get to the island, pick up a 'Restaurant Guide', look for the sections on Early Birds and Happy Hours, and take it from there. (Make sure you call each restaurant first as some change them periodically due to seasons, etc.)

We have found many good restaurants this way, often trying a place where a 'regular' meal would be more than we are willing to spend every night. It has also saved us a lot of money sometimes on our food budget. Happy hours, besides the discounted drinks, sometimes include half-price appetizers and other such food specials that we can sometimes turn into a meal.

luv2vacation said:

A lot of the restaurants on HHI have either early bird specials or happy hour specials. As soon as you get to the island, pick up a 'Restaurant Guide', look for the sections on Early Birds and Happy Hours, and take it from there. (Make sure you call each restaurant first as some change them periodically due to seasons, etc.)

We have found many good restaurants this way, often trying a place where a 'regular' meal would be more than we are willing to spend every night. It has also saved us a lot of money sometimes on our food budget. Happy hours, besides the discounted drinks, sometimes include half-price appetizers and other such food specials that we can sometimes turn into a meal.

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It's Greek to ME. Oyster Factory. Ocean Grill has a two for one special on Mon. nights. They may still offer it. July will be packed.

What would be the busiest time to eat dinner? We were thinking of eating dinner around 7pm. Is that a busy time or is 5-5:30ish worse?

7-ish is probably the busiest time for most HHI restaurants. Make reservations if you plan to eat then, especially during the summer. At some restaurants, you'll need reservations no matter what time you decide to dine.

For casual restaurants, such as Wild Wings, I go around 5-ish and never have a wait.

Dave M said:

7-ish is probably the busiest time for most HHI restaurants.

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Why does that not surprise me? I'll definately try to make as many reservations as I can so I don't run into too long of a wait.

We usually go early - some restaurants have early bird specials.

We loved Sticky Fingers and the chicken parm a Guiseppi's was pretty good. (Service wasn't so hot but the food was good.)

These restaurants are available on Restaurant.com for discounted dining certificates. Are they any good?

Upper Crust
Nick's Seafood & Steak
Prescotts
Stacks
Plantation Deli