A Foodie’s Dream Vacation: The Best Restaurants in Myrtle Beach & Beyond

Though at first glance, it may seem like a humble beach town, Myrtle Beach will surprise even a diehard foodie with its respectable diversity of fare. Thanks to its geographical location on the Atlantic coastline, many of the best restaurants in Myrtle Beach specialize in locally caught fresh seafood. Given its cultural background in the South, you won’t have to look hard to find the warm comfort of Southern home-style cooking. As a popular vacation destination among national and international visitors, Myrtle Beach even serves a worthy take on a few cuisines from abroad.

While there are hundreds of excellent local dining options that won’t disappoint, we’ll help narrow down your foodie bucket list. Read on for some recommendations on where you’ll find the perfect steak, classic Southern delights, and the best seafood in Myrtle Beach!

Where to Find the Perfect Juicy Steak

What defines a perfect steak may be up to personal taste. However, a seasoned grill master will achieve that irresistible balance of charred exterior and juicy interior, no matter your preference in cut or pinkness. Not surprisingly, the Italian, Brazilian, and Australian traditions have perfected the art of the steak over centuries, only to bring it to your table in Myrtle Beach!

Angelo’s Steak & Pasta

For high-end Italian cuisine at competitive pricing, check out the all-you-can-eat buffet at Angelo’s Steak & Pasta. Freshly made every day, the buffet includes classic Italian entrées like spaghetti, lasagna, chicken cacciatore, and Italian sausage. Of course, since you’re here for a carnivorous fix, you can’t pass up their tender New York strip or juicy ribeye steak in your choice of size. The filet mignon also comes in three sizes, depending on how much you feel like sharing! If you go with one of their signature dishes, make sure you bring a healthy appetite. The Cowboy Chop is a massive 22-ounce ribeye served directly on the cast iron for maximum aromatic impact. Perfect for date night, the Twin Filets Marsala plates two exquisite 4- or 6-ounce filet mignons topped with their house-made creamy marsala sauce.

Rioz Brazilian Steakhouse

As South Carolina’s premier churrascaria, Rioz Brazilian Steakhouse introduces the coastal culture to churrasco, a unique Brazilian take on barbecued meat. The all-you-can-eat buffet is served in rodízio style, in which waiters frequent your table to offer meat samples sliced right off the spit onto your plate. For a fixed price, you can taste a combination of their hand-cut steaks, poultry, lamb and pork.

Whet your appetite with the Picanha, a prime cut of sirloin seasoned only with salt, then sink your teeth into the Costela, slow-cooked juicy beef ribs. Treat yourself to the Pernil de Cordeiro, a slab of lamb leg sliced off the bone, or venture into pork territory with the Lombinho con Queijo, pork loin seasoned with parmesan. Of all the Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach restaurants, Rioz Brazilian Steakhouse will undoubtedly open your mind to the possibilities of barbecue.

Greg Norman Australian Grille

Greg Norman Australian Grille brings the robust flavors of the outback to the Grand Strand in an upscale atmosphere right next to the waterway. This North Myrtle Beach restaurant offers authentic Australian Waygu filet and ribeye steaks, a delicacy you won’t find just anywhere! If that’s a bit outside your budget, their USDA prime steaks, either crusted with pepper or slow-roasted and aged for 28 days, will certainly satisfy your craving for tender meats and wood-grilled aromatics. Aside from featuring some of the best steaks in the Northy Myrtle Beach area, adventurous foodies will appreciate the unique Australian dishes at Greg Norman Australian Grille. Don’t pass up the rare opportunity to try the 8-ounce filet of ostrich, the braised kangaroo in bacon confit, or the New Zealand rack of lamb lollipops.

Best Seafood in Myrtle Beach

You can’t claim to have experienced Lowcountry cuisine without visiting at least a few local seafood restaurants. We recommend starting your foray into the fruits of the sea at Wahoo’s Fish House in Murrells Inlet. This creekside restaurant serves only the most succulent seafood and sushi from the very waters outside its doors. Indulge in the day’s fresh catch of salmon, Mahi or grouper, or go for a classic fried platter of oysters, shrimp, or flounder. You can’t go wrong with any of the chef’s specialties, like bourbon BBQ Mahi, shrimp and grits, deep sea scallops, or snow crab legs. Wahoo’s Fish House is a seafood lover’s fantasy with a comprehensive menu to back their marshy waterfront setting.

While you’re in the Murrells Inlet area, reserve one of your free evenings for dinner at Drunken Jack’s. Named for the crewman on Blackbeard’s ship who got left behind with all the rum on a small Murrells Inlet island, this restaurant and bar naturally offers some of the best seafood in Myrtle Beach. Aside from Lowcountry favorites like shrimp and grits, she-crab soup, and po’boys, Drunken Jack’s also offers a delicious take on the day’s fresh catch of Atlantic salmon, mahi-mahi, yellowfin tuna, triggerfish, or local grouper. Plus, seafood and steak enthusiasts alike will love lavish entrées like Steak Neptune, two filets topped with grilled shrimp and sea scallops, and the char-grilled steaks or slow-roasted prime rib paired with seafood additions like shrimp, oysters, scallops, flounder and crab meat.

Located in the historic home of Donnie and Thelma Chestnut, one Myrtle Beach restaurant in particular stands out for its romantic décor, waterfront views, and upscale entrees. At Chestnut Hill, expect only the finest premium Angus beef, tender cuts of pork and veal, and of course, a wide range of fresh local seafood. Share a platter of oysters Rockefeller or sautéed mussels to start, then look forward to your dinner of seared tuna, steak and local fresh seafood, Alaskan king crabs legs, or lobster tail. Their specialties include the Starboard Catch, an unbeatable selection of locally caught fish cooked via your preferred method, Shrimp Scampi Provencal, fresh Carolina white shrimp sauteed in a garlicky white wine sauce, and Crab Cakes Chestnut Hill, perhaps the finest lump crab meat cakes in Myrtle Beach.

Southern Home Cookin’

Last but not least, your food tour of the best restaurants in Myrtle Beach absolutely must include a downhome Southern feast. At Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen, expect to be treated like family as soon as you walk in the door. This family-style restaurant overlooking Lake Broadway serves classic Deen Family recipes for both lunch and dinner. Taste the flavors of the South in dishes like southern fried chicken, Georgia Fried Catfish, slow-roasted pork spare ribs, seafood gumbo, and chicken fried pork chop.

Offering dry-aged USDA prime steaks, an extensive wine and cocktail menu, and Southeast-regionally sourced seasonal ingredients, Aspen Grille is an excellent choice for those looking for an upscale dining experience. Their dedication to traditional Southern-inspired flavors holds up in entrées like Panko Crusted NC Mountain Trout, shrimp and grits with andouille sausage, and Maryland-style crab cake. It’ll be a difficult choice between prime center-cut filet mignon, ribeye, New York strip, or cowboy ribeye, and an even tougher choice between adding jumbo garlic shrimp, lump crab cake, seared scallops, or cold water lobster tail on top. Even their other meat dishes, like the Australian rack of lamb, Cabernet braised short ribs, and Berkshire Heritage double-cut pork chop, are enough to send any foodie to the moon and back! 

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People have come from all over the world to this country, bringing their culinary heritage with them. As a result, American cuisine cannot be boxed into a single definition, but it is a melting pot of flavor! Because of its unique bearings on the Lowcountry Southern coastline, Myrtle Beach demonstrates this diversity in a harmonious symphony of flavors, from Lowcountry seafood to Southern home-cooking to delicious steaks in every style. A visit to the Myrtle Beach restaurants scene is no less than a bona fide foodie’s dream!

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