Order These Charleston Takeout Dishes, And Other Ways to Support the Service Industry (2024)

Take a break from doing dishes and support your local restaurants.

Right now, we’re in a time of insecurity. Many of us are feeling stuck -- both physically at home and emotionally in the bubble of being unsure about the future. With evolving stories and ever-changing news cycles about COVID-19, everything seems so uncertain right now.

But one thing we do know for sure: Supporting our Charleston food and beverage industry, in whatever way we can, is crucial to the economic survival of thousands of our friends and neighbors. Restaurants all around the Lowcountry that are still open for business can offer takeout and delivery, which is one of the best ways to support our friends in the hospitality industry. We’re highlighting both the unique and tried-and-true dishes available for pick up and/or delivery. Whether you want to try a new place or support a restaurant you already enjoy, we encourage you to take a break from doing dishes and share the love in any way you can.

Plus, you could always purchase gift cards to use at a future time or support your local bartenders and servers is to donate to a virtual tip jar, give to The Independent Restaurant Coalition, Venmo your favorite local server or bartender directly, purchase a digital wallpaper for your phone screen to support local restaurant workers, donate to a GoFundMe (like this one raising money to feed local homeless shelters and the Ronald McDonald House), or contribute to the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund started by chef Guy Fieri. If you have the means, donate, order take out, and spread the word to encourage others to do so.

Local pop-up kitchen The Castejons is making it easier than ever to enjoy fresh pasta and Spanish treats like housemade chorizo, croquettes, and more. The fresh pasta kits feature house-made egg noodle pasta and chorizo bolognese sauce. Try some frozen chicken croquettes for a great appetizer or quarantine snack, as well as the house-made chorizo sausage. You can pick them up at Charlestowne Fermentory (and grab a couple of to-go brews as well) or call ahead for next day dinner delivery.
Cost: $15 for a small pasta kit (feeds 2-3) and $30 for a large (feeds 4-5); order pick up via CHS Fermentory or call 803.487.5190 to order delivery

Just because you’re stuck at home doesn’t mean you can’t still #treatyoself. Celebrate an at-home special occasion with the Royal Takeout Experience from Zero Restaurant, which includes two Royales with cheese, a shared side, a bottle of red or white wine, and a roll of toilet paper for a little over $100 (not including gratuity). The special is available Thursday-Saturday and is limited to just 10 a day, so place your orders early if you want to enjoy a truly decadent burger experience.
Cost: $101.80 (not including gratuity); order through Resy

In times of uncertainty, it’s always nice to have comfort food, and there’s no food more comforting than the collision fries from Holy City Brewing: hand-cut fries with beer cheese, cheddar-pepper jack blend, house bacon lardons, ranch dressing, Bulls Bay smoked salt, and scallions. Pair that with a six-pack of one of its popular beers, like the Pluff Mud Porter, and suddenly this whole stay-at-home thing doesn’t seem so bad.
Cost: $11 for an order of collision fries, $10 for a sixer; order online via Uber Eats

A longtime favorite of Charleston diners, Edmund’s Oast is offering some of its most popular dishes to-go, like the until-recently-retired pickled shrimp toast, which is basically what summer in Charleston tastes like. Add on dessert and a bottle of wine for just $20 more, with free delivery via Uber Eats and Grubhub. There’s also a weekday Family Meal special that is enough for “three groups of three” and features 16-piece fried chicken, six sides, two pieces of pie, two 32-oz house beers, and two bottles of wine.
Cost: $17 for pickled shrimp toast, $20 for a bottle of wine and dessert add on, and $100 for family meal

With both classic and eclectic topping choices, Fam’s pizza is a great choice for those who need the comfort of a little cheesy, carby goodness. The pizza joint delivers throughout the Charleston area, but if you choose to do curbside pickup instead, you can get discounted growler fills of its most popular brews. In addition to normal, baked pies, you can get pizza kits -- with fresh dough, cheese, your choice of toppings, and instruction card -- so you can make pizza at home. Look at this as a fun, family-friendly project that will keep both kids and adults entertained during quarantine. Plus, for $3 you can donate a slice of pizza to a local shelter.
Cost: $22.99 for an 18-inch margherita, $3 off growler fills; order online through Uber Eats or by calling 843.225.4646

Chubby Fish’s takeout menu changes daily, but when the tagliatelle is on the menu, you should definitely order it. The mouth-watering dish consists of homemade pasta with blue crab, brown butter, green garlic, and bread crumbs. It’s ideal for quarantine because no one cares how your breath smells. Plus they’ve got the Not Fried Chicken waffle ice cream from Life Raft Treats (in addition to a lot of other tasty desserts) and tasty beverages to go, too.
Cost: $26 for crab tagliatelle, $5 for desserts; order by phone 854.222.3949

Wild Olive is offering their full menu for curbside to-go on a daily basis from 4 pm - 9 pm, which is a relief for Italian food enthusiasts struggling to make good pasta at home. Enjoy favorites like the suppli al telefono (decadent risotto fritters stuffed with sausage, spinach, parmesan, and mozzarella cheese), marinated olives, chicken parmesan, and their ever-popular housemade ricotta gnocchi that are like little pillows of heaven, if heaven was covered in mozzarella cheese.
Cost: $14 for a small order of gnocchi, $21 for a large order; order by phone 843.737.4177

Arguably the best Cuban food in Charleston, Cuban Gypsy Pantry’s creation is available for daily delivery and curbside pickup. We recommend the chicken empanadas, black bean dip, cigars and mash, and of course, gold-standard Cuban sandwich (pulled pork, salami, ham, cheese, pickles, green and mustard sauce, pressed and crispy) with a side of the famous green fries (seasoned fries topped with cilantro and mustard sauces, dill and sweet pickles, scallions, and Parmesan cheese). This spot also offers weekly family meal kits made to feed up to six people. The meal kit menu changes weekly, so be sure to follow Instagram for updates.
Cost: $14.50 for a Cuban with green fries, $50-$75 for family meal kit options; order through GrubhuborDoorDash

If you want to enjoy a good meal and also do some good at the same time, consider ordering lunch from Herd Provisions, as they will be donating $1 from the sale of every burger to COVID-19 relief efforts. In addition to its incredible beef burger, the restaurant also makes a mean veggie burger, and a variety of sides and dessert to please any palate. Order curbside pickup or delivery to maintain your social distance.
Cost: $17 for a double Herd burger, $13 for a veggie burger, $12 for a veg farro

Xiao Bao Biscuit is known for serving up Asian comfort food that covers a number of different countries. Okonomiyaki is a Japanese cabbage pancake that comes vegetarian as-is (with vegan options available), but you can dress it up with some of its signature pork candy, a farm egg, or katsuobushi for a little extra. The Chinese dumplings are little bites of happiness and the rendang (Indonesian curry) will warm you up from the inside out. Order dishes from a few different countries and go on a culinary tour of Asia from the comfort of your own home.
Cost: $14 for okonomiyaki, $11 for dumplings; order through Postmates or Uber Eats

Quarantine is not the time to ignore your sweet tooth, and Jeni’s is here to make sure you get your chocolate fix without ever having to leave home. The ice cream company just launched a few “social distancing” collections, including the Emergency Chocolate Stash (featuring five of Jeni’s most popular chocolate flavors), a dairy-free collection for those who can’t tolerate lactose, and even a build-your-own sundae collection featuring its signature salted caramel sauce and fancy Spanish peanuts.
Cost: $58 for a five-ice cream pack, $62 for the BYO Sundae pack; order online via Postmates

Sydney Gallimore is a food writer from Charleston and you can find her restaurant reviews and food ramblings on her blog, Queen of the Food Age, or on Charleston Grit, an offshoot of Charleston Magazine.