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A variety of Chinese dishes on a black table.
Sichuan dishes from Kwei Fei.
Kwei Fei

7 Stellar Selections for Chinese in Charleston

From Sichuan to dim sum to Cantonese

by Erin Perkins Updated
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Sichuan dishes from Kwei Fei.
| Kwei Fei
by Erin Perkins Updated

Looking for Charleston’s best Chinese food? Sure, there’s plenty of Chinese-American spots to choose from, but where can you get something worth your money? From a restaurant with dishes from all over Asia to spots dedicated to Sichuan, there’s a small range of establishments offering Chinese cuisine, but they pack in a lot of flavors in the Lowcountry.

Look here for our top picks.

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Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices. Learn more about our editorial process.

Jackrabbit Filly

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North Charleston restaurant Jackrabbit Filly is like if someone said, “Make Chinese-American comfort food, but make it chef-y.” Owners Shuai and Corrie Wang opened the restaurant after years of running acclaimed food truck Short Grain. The menu has touches of Chinese and Japanese. There’s Sichuan dry pot, Mama Wang’s fried rice with lap cheong, and a highly-sought-after chirashi bowl. The restaurant recently added a dim sum brunch.

4628 Spruill Ave #101, North Charleston, SC 29405
(843) 460-0037
(843) 460-0037

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Dragon Palace Chinese Bistro

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Looking for a dim sum dinner or lunch in the Lowcountry? Hit up Dragon Palace on Daniel Island for pork buns, shu mai, dumplings, and sesame balls. The interiors are retro fancy with ornate wood carvings and plenty of red. Dragon Palace also offers classics like chow mein, cashew chicken, and egg drop soup.

162 Seven Farms Drive, Daniel Island, SC 29492
(843) 388-8823
(843) 388-8823

King BBQ

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King BBQ offers Chinese barbecue with a Carolinas influence. The menu centers on smoked meats — five-spice duck, char siu ribs, ginger scallion kielbasa, and rotisserie chicken — and all the ways to serve those proteins — on a sandwich, rice, or noodles. Don’t miss the crispy shrimp toast sliders.

2029 Carver Ave, North Charleston, SC 29405
A green bar with red lanterns hanging overhead.
The bar at King BBQ.

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Beautiful South

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Downtown restaurant Beautiful South serves American-style takeout Chinese classics like General Tso’s chicken and Mongolian beef, but there’s also Cantonese roasted meats and Hainanese chicken. Try one of the inventive cocktails, such as the Love Your Enemies, which is a tequila and mezcal milk punch with a hint of oolong tea.

128 Columbus St Suite 101, Charleston, SC 29403
A long bar beside tables with banquettes.
The bar and dining room at Beautiful South.
Mike Ledford

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Xiao Bao Biscuit

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Downtown restaurant Xiao Bao Biscuit (XBB) has been around since 2012. The kitchen draws from different regions across Asia and delivers on some solid Chinese choices. The mapo tofu is some of the best in town, and the dumplings always satisfy. XBB is usually packed with lively customers looking for Asian comfort foods. Starting during the pandemic, the restaurant began offering takeout.

224 Rutledge Ave, Charleston, SC 29403
Mike Ledford

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Old Li‘s Restaurant

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If you haven’t heard of Old Li’s Restaurant on Savannah Highway in West Ashley, it might be because fans of the Chinese establishment would rather keep it a well-guarded secret. The can’t -miss menu item is the crispy Peking duck, but the oyster pancakes, dumplings, and squirrel fish are worth ordering as well. Old Li’s is BYOB, so plan accordingly.

1662 Savannah Hwy Suite 105, Charleston, SC 29407
(843) 640-3994
(843) 640-3994

Kwei Fei

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James Island Sichuan restaurant Kwei Fei has enough peppercorns and punk-rock sensibility to keep any dinner interesting. Owners David Schuttenberg and Tina Heath-Schuttenberg moved from New York to Charleston for another restaurant project, but when that didn’t pan out, the culinary community lucked out when they decided to bring Sichuan flavors to town.

The restaurant usually full of locals enjoying lamb dumplings, spicy noodles, and tingly beef to the soundtrack of loud rock and funk music.

1977 Maybank Hwy, Charleston, SC 29412
(843) 225-0094
(843) 225-0094
Mapo Tofu.
Mapo tofu at Kwei Fei.
Andrew Cebulka

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Jackrabbit Filly

4628 Spruill Ave #101, North Charleston, SC 29405

North Charleston restaurant Jackrabbit Filly is like if someone said, “Make Chinese-American comfort food, but make it chef-y.” Owners Shuai and Corrie Wang opened the restaurant after years of running acclaimed food truck Short Grain. The menu has touches of Chinese and Japanese. There’s Sichuan dry pot, Mama Wang’s fried rice with lap cheong, and a highly-sought-after chirashi bowl. The restaurant recently added a dim sum brunch.

4628 Spruill Ave #101, North Charleston, SC 29405
(843) 460-0037
(843) 460-0037

Dragon Palace Chinese Bistro

162 Seven Farms Drive, Daniel Island, SC 29492

Looking for a dim sum dinner or lunch in the Lowcountry? Hit up Dragon Palace on Daniel Island for pork buns, shu mai, dumplings, and sesame balls. The interiors are retro fancy with ornate wood carvings and plenty of red. Dragon Palace also offers classics like chow mein, cashew chicken, and egg drop soup.

162 Seven Farms Drive, Daniel Island, SC 29492
(843) 388-8823
(843) 388-8823

King BBQ

2029 Carver Ave, North Charleston, SC 29405

King BBQ offers Chinese barbecue with a Carolinas influence. The menu centers on smoked meats — five-spice duck, char siu ribs, ginger scallion kielbasa, and rotisserie chicken — and all the ways to serve those proteins — on a sandwich, rice, or noodles. Don’t miss the crispy shrimp toast sliders.

2029 Carver Ave, North Charleston, SC 29405
A green bar with red lanterns hanging overhead.
The bar at King BBQ.

Beautiful South

128 Columbus St Suite 101, Charleston, SC 29403

Downtown restaurant Beautiful South serves American-style takeout Chinese classics like General Tso’s chicken and Mongolian beef, but there’s also Cantonese roasted meats and Hainanese chicken. Try one of the inventive cocktails, such as the Love Your Enemies, which is a tequila and mezcal milk punch with a hint of oolong tea.

128 Columbus St Suite 101, Charleston, SC 29403
A long bar beside tables with banquettes.
The bar and dining room at Beautiful South.
Mike Ledford

Xiao Bao Biscuit

224 Rutledge Ave, Charleston, SC 29403

Downtown restaurant Xiao Bao Biscuit (XBB) has been around since 2012. The kitchen draws from different regions across Asia and delivers on some solid Chinese choices. The mapo tofu is some of the best in town, and the dumplings always satisfy. XBB is usually packed with lively customers looking for Asian comfort foods. Starting during the pandemic, the restaurant began offering takeout.

224 Rutledge Ave, Charleston, SC 29403
Mike Ledford

Old Li‘s Restaurant

1662 Savannah Hwy Suite 105, Charleston, SC 29407

If you haven’t heard of Old Li’s Restaurant on Savannah Highway in West Ashley, it might be because fans of the Chinese establishment would rather keep it a well-guarded secret. The can’t -miss menu item is the crispy Peking duck, but the oyster pancakes, dumplings, and squirrel fish are worth ordering as well. Old Li’s is BYOB, so plan accordingly.

1662 Savannah Hwy Suite 105, Charleston, SC 29407
(843) 640-3994
(843) 640-3994

Kwei Fei

1977 Maybank Hwy, Charleston, SC 29412

James Island Sichuan restaurant Kwei Fei has enough peppercorns and punk-rock sensibility to keep any dinner interesting. Owners David Schuttenberg and Tina Heath-Schuttenberg moved from New York to Charleston for another restaurant project, but when that didn’t pan out, the culinary community lucked out when they decided to bring Sichuan flavors to town.

The restaurant usually full of locals enjoying lamb dumplings, spicy noodles, and tingly beef to the soundtrack of loud rock and funk music.

1977 Maybank Hwy, Charleston, SC 29412
(843) 225-0094
(843) 225-0094
Mapo Tofu.
Mapo tofu at Kwei Fei.
Andrew Cebulka

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