One of my favorite restaurants! Never had a bad experience here. The food, service, and ambiance are top notch.

My favorite fine dining restaurant in Charleston. A wide range of wonderful food: seafood tower, scallop gnocchi to whole fried flounder... all of which were perfect in their own right. This is the restaurant we refer people to when asking where to celebrate special occasions Only missing a 5th star because of location. It's unfortunate that the restaurant is a bit further away from other attractions read more

Definitely the best restaurant on Johns Island. The service and staff are amazing and even if I'm not really feeling up for going to the restaurant or they are super busy the take-out is such a great option. read more

One of my favorite seafood places in Charleston. Technically on Johns island, and what a great addition it is. Parking lot is gravel and used to have a ton of holes, but they recently filled it in and it's so much easier getting in and out. Parking is ample. In the era of COVID, they've branched out with a few tables in the front patio with some tiki torches. Food has always been amazing. Great selection of oysters and I can never resist the clam chowder. BBQ shrimp is so so good. They have a wide variety of options in the raw bar and in entree form. Evrything I've tried has been delicious. The crepe cake is incredible. It takes hours to put together and it's a very balanced dessert. I've driven 45 minutes just to get that cake! Overall highly recommend. read more

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This place is really good. Make sure to make a reservation in advance. Worth the planning and prep.

What a beautiful restaurant. Food was so delicious and our waiter was amazing. Place is clean and attentive to the customer.

I love this place. We usually sit at the bar(still need a reservation to sit there), bartenders are so nice and helpful. Oysters are so so good! I would give them 10 stars if I could read more

Love the Royal Tern, great food & service. Best seafood in the Charleston area! My family craves the homemade biscuits, I crave the oysters!! Don't forget to try a dessert or 2! read more

So disappointed with the arrogant management. My service dog was allowed to accompany me into the dining room. But, managenment refused to give him water. I have come across establishments not allowing me, the handler, to feed him. But no water!!! Shame on you. Very unkind and terribly unprofessional. read more

Excellent, excellent excellent. The decor, the service and the food were all excellent. Each of our party of 4 ordered a seafood dish, Shrimp, Halibut, swordfish and grouper. Each were perfectly prepared with accompanying sides that complemented and added to their respective dishes. Oysters as an appetizer and the apple eclair with crème Englaise were the perfect start and finish to a great meal. We will definitely be back read more

The food here was AMAZING! Unfortunately, our server did not match the quality of our food. Our server was not very welcoming and rushed us to order. The owner of the restaurant was walking around asking tables how their experience was and skipped over us multiple times. We ordered dessert and multiple drinks that did not make it out to our table. Really dissatisfied with the service here. read more

The Royal Tern - Yellowfin Tuna - Seafood Near Me - Johns Island, South Carolina

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overall, an exceptional experience. The food was absolutely delicious.highly recommend the flying point oysters and BBQ shrimp appetizers, the fish special (Rex fish) and Halibut, as well as the Filet. Ambience 5:5 read more

Amazing seafood. We have had almost everything on the menu and haven't had a bad dish yet. The desserts are amazing too.

Torn...i feel some things were done very well like the bread options, cocktails, calamari, raw bar. But the entrees left more to be desired such as the tuna. The fish itself was perfect rare nice crispy outside provided by some crumbs but the vermicelli and sauce were almost absent of flavor. The only thing that will bring me back is that my other wants to go. I feel there are better options at this price point read more

The Royal Tern - Yellowfin Tuna option - Seafood Near Me - Johns Island, South Carolina

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Amazing food. Great service. Great atmosphere. Fine dining seafood (and steak) restaurant highly recommended. It is expensive...which is expected. read more

Gave this place a second chance (first time waiter hated men and there were 4 of us after golf)...this time hair in friends soup~no manager apology nothing offered up period...wife asked for snifter of beer for her Bloody Mary told no need to pay for full beer (they have draft)...over priced and won't go back read more

Food was amazing, service great - attentive & knowledgeable. Open space- not at all cramped... could have more tables but wonderful to be open!!! read more

Amazing as always from start to finish. Service was attentive and friendly, ambiance beautiful, food excellent. We made reservations because we know they can fill up fast. Our group of five ordered drinks (perfectly made margarita with Lunazul) and appetizers--crispy sweet hush puppies, smooth salty grilled oysters, and spicy calamari. Entrees we're plentiful: Scallops were butter-soft and perfectly grilled. Swordfish and steak were seasoned and cooked perfectly with lovely accompaniments. Dessert was decadent: Chocolate snack cake with creamy marshmallow filling, and Crème brûlée was silky heavenly sweet perfection. We love coming here when we're in Kiawah, and we always leave happy! read more

By far one of the best meals I've had in some time. From the hospitality to the ambiance, it's truly an upscale casual environment that I could take clients or just have a nice night out with friends. But the real winner here is the food. Let me first say I did not have a bad dish. The ribeye was delicious, the Steak & eggs was elevated with roe, but they were over shadowed by a few other knockouts. The cocktails were also delicious, smoked peach mule is my favorite. The oysters were super fresh and the specialties packed a punch (the royal with tuna tartare wow! And the special was a raspberry vinaigrette on an oyster which was nothing short of incredible). I often find chocolate cake to be overly sweet, and rarely order it, but the double chocolate folly was balanced it really was the perfect ending. The true stars of the show were the grilled whole fish (flounder with saffron butter) and the muscles in a sorrel sauce. I'd give a standing ovation to these if I could. Local tip: ask nicely for more bread to sop up that delicious sorrel sauce. The only thing I wish is that this restaurant was closer to home for me!! Kudos! read more

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We didn't have reservations but we were able to grab a seat on the screen porch at the long bar table. I had raw oysters and they gave me an assortment and they were probably the best oysters I have ever had. I was worried we would be ignored by not having a reservation but we had the best waiter ever,Herman, he was so helpful funny and just a great guy. I can't wait to come back. The building is really cool. read more

Great service and atmosphere. Food was excellent. Sit at the bar! We had scallops ceviche, tuna tartare, pasta and fresh catch.

This place was my grandfathers favorite restaurant. I never had a chance to go with him but yesterday we had dinner and it was amazing. Some of the best food I have ever had and the Royal Tern team is awesome. Zero complaints 100% recommend. I would eat the swordfish again and again. read more

Great service at the bar (Jimmy is awesome!) and every course was sublime. Highlights include the tuna crudo, the grilled oysters and the whole fish. Definitely a repeat! read more

Visiting family and went there to celebrate my sister's birthday. The food was great. I'm a picky eater, had a salad and fried shrimp with French fries, slaw and hush puppies. Sister's and brother in law had the tower for an appetizer and then salmon and loved every bite. Waitress was very friendly and provided excellent service. read more

The food here is incredible, the ahi tuna was mouthwatering.can't wait to go back. Great for a special occasion.

One of mine and my wife's favorite restaurants on Johns Island we always go there on our special occasions anniversaries birthdays the food is excellent and the staff makes it a special occasion when ever we are there read more

fantastic place. we started with the mussels Jimmy the bartender recommended the yeast rolls with.... heaven!!! that was desert. so soft and delicious. I had the scallops with orzo, zucchini and squash. the lemon cream sauce is soo delicious. my husband got the swordfish that was also good. bartenders we're awesome too. read more

We finally went to Royal Tern on a Friday evening several weeks back... we had reservations, I highly recommend you do too. We arrived a little early but they indicated our table was ready. However, they have a nice bar area with a good looking stocked raw bar on one end so we decided to have a drink at the bar first. We enjoyed a cocktail there, along with good conversation with the two bartenders who apparently have been working together for quite some time. Both the restaurant and the bar area get pretty full. Bar/Drinks 4.0 stars On to dinner. We moved to the dinning room, it's spacious and airy. We watched as other diners received apps and entrées, all of which looked especially tasty. We finally had to ask the coupe next to us what they had because it looked soooo good. It was a mussel special appetizer... it smelled awesome and they confirmed it was, so we ordered it too. It came with crusty bread for dipping in the broth, and was everything the couple said it was. Along with our mussels, we also ordered some oysters on the half shell. They had a selection of a half dozen or so varieties. We chose three different ones and all were fresh, plump, and tasty. Between that and our entrée, we shared a delicious beet salad. For entrées, we had the Yellowfin Tuna and the Grilled Salmon. I'm not a huge fan of salmon, unless it's sushi, but I have to say it was pretty darn good. The tuna was outstanding! Apps, salad, and entrees.... delicious! 4.5 stars Atmosphere: 4.0 Service: 3.5 Overall: 4.0 read more

Amazing. The flounder is from another world. Fresh oysters were wonderful and the sea scallops were perfect! Mussels for appetizer were the best I've ever had! Lions tail cocktail was so tasty. Brittani was a great waitress and really knew what she recommended. Will definitely visit again! read more

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Recently tried out this new place on Johns Island and really enjoyed our meal! I expected it to be in an old repurposed Johns Island house a la Wild Olive or Fat Hen and therefore was anticipating driving right by and having to turn around like I do for most places on Maybank Hwy but you can't miss it. It's a starkly modern building that frankly clashes with the other establishments around--kind of a microcosm of the inevitable march of 'progress' amongst the old oak trees over there, but I digress... Because the food was great! I'm not a seafood guy and it's first and foremost a seafood place. So I can't speak to it's quality but they look to have a good selection of fresh stuff and I assume when oyster season rolls around it'll be a great place for local half-shells. We started with a beet salad, which was very good. I went with the flat-iron steak and was surprised how great it was--there's a danger in seafood places of the rest of the menu being an afterthought but that's not the case here. The steaks are cooked in a wood-fire oven, which you don't see a lot around town, and you can really taste the difference! We got sides of Brussel sprouts that were great and truffle fries, which of course were good because they're truffle fries. It was a ton of food and everything was delicious! They've also got a nice selection of wine, cocktails, and bottled & draft beer. It's a huge space inside with very high ceilings, a decent sized bar that was packed, a "porch" dining area, and an open view into the kitchen and raw bar. Johns Island is becoming a go-to place for fine dining off the peninsula and the Royal Tern is a must-visit! read more

We had a delicious meal here recently. When thinking about "upscale" seafood-centric restaurants in Charleston, I really couldn't put my finger on one until Royal Tern. The building, design, and decor is beautiful. I didn't find it overly loud like some other reviews. I would have liked to see a larger wine selection, but my cocktail (rum punch) set me right. I also got the nonalcoholic The Mockingbird which i loved too (A little pricy given lack of alcohol). We started with the salmon and oyster tartare which was so good. It came out in 3 oyster shells and I wish there had been 3 more. Delicious! We couldn't decide which bread to start with and our server gave us a heads up that you can do a sampler which I recommend. The hush puppies were my favorite though, and the honey butter was great. For our mains, I had the ahi tuna and my husband had the swordfish. Both were insanely good and the portions were more than ample. Highly recommend them both. They also had whole clams on the menu which my husband was floored over having the option. We somehow saved room for desert and had the flourless chocolate cake. The presentation was beautiful with the raspberry mousse on the side. We can't wait to return! I'd like to try some other appetizers and sharing plates, as well as the grilled shrimp with garlic noodles. Well done! read more

Everything we ate here was so delicious. Get the yeast rolls. Actually no, get 2 orders of the yeast rolls then get 2 orders of the wood grilled oysters because trust me you'll want many of them. I thought the scallop orzo was DELISH. So warm & comforting yet fresh with the lemon & vegetables. And the side of mushrooms was incredible. My husband got the swordfish and thought the sauce could have used a bit more of a kick but still thought it was delicious. We can't wait to come back & try more! read more

Amazing in every way! I have ate here 4 times and still crave the experience every time!

Once again I am impressed with the food and service. The server was knowledgeable and attentive to our needs. The oysters were excellent! Main course superbly displayed. read more

So pleasantly surprised. The food was outstanding and cooked perfectly. Kudos to the chef! We sat at the bar and the bartender was friendly and attentive. Our night was fantastic. Scallops were cooked perfectly in a delicious cream sauce. The tuna was also perfect with a spicy gochujang sauce and the hush puppies were addicting! Loved the tuna poke as well! read more

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This place is a Johns Island gem. Everything about it is wonderful- the vibe, the food, and the staff. The building is beautiful, and the bar area, main dining room, and porch are all comfortable yet elegant. The food is delectable- fresh seafood and generous portions, with even the sides and vegetable dishes being perfectly executed. (I still rave about a Caesar salad I had weeks ago, and the tuna dish main with glass noodles is also a favorite of ours- don't miss it!) The raw bar selection is vast and carries traditional favorites along with creative offerings. The desserts are also incredible, with a handful of selections that are always each divine. The staff and management are welcoming, courteous, and genuinely care about being a part of the community and serving their local johns Islanders. We are grateful to have The Royal Tern! read more

Service is terrible. Food is very tasty, which is why most give them the pass. But do NOT expect great service here. It doesn't exist. Been here 7x and never blown away with service. Desserts are phenomenal... may just be the best part of your experience. Jimmy the bartender was very arrogant. Even forgot our leftovers to-go, had to ask multiple times. Place is nice and open but for the price we all expect better service!! read more

We went there for dinner one night while staying on Kiawah Island. We had a reservation and were seated right away. Service was excellent - always there when we needed something but not hovering. The food was excellent - we had oysters (raw and cooked) and biscuits (warm, with honey butter) for appetizers, flounder (whole fish of the day) and halibut for entrees, and crème brûlée for dessert. Every single item was delicious - highly recommend!! read more

The last time I was at the Royal Term I was disappointed, but that changed tonight. I ordered filet mignon and my friend ordered the whole fried flounder; both were absolutely delicious!! I'd completely recommend!! read more

The Royal Tern - Filet Mignon - Seafood Near Me - Johns Island, South Carolina

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Absolutely love the royal tern. The restaurant interior is absolutely stunning and the menu has so many great fresh seafood dishes that are always prepared perfectly. Definitely recommend the peanut encrusted tuna read more