A two-story dining room with an always-packed raw bar, The Ordinary serves some of the South’s best seafood. Here, chef Mike Lata dishes up must-try options like a seafood tower, crab toast, fish chowder, and triggerfish with fingerling potatoes. While the lobster roll is only on the menu as a Tuesday special, you can ask for it any day of the week and the chef will happily make you an order. Also worth requesting is the barbecue shrimp, which Lata poaches in a creamy sauce infused with Worcestershire and sets atop charred sourdough. Just be sure to book a table early. Groups should request the downstairs booths, while solo diners without reservations should order a cocktail and wait for a seat at the raw bar.
More Recommendations
The Ordinary
The Ordinary has a two-story dining room with an always-packed raw bar where Chef Mike Lata serves some of the South’s best seafood.
MUST-TRY DISHES: Smoked oysters with saltines and hot sauce; razor clams with apples, jalapeño, and cilantro; seafood tower.
BEST SEAT: Groups should request the downstairs booths. Solo diners should order the rum drink Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and wait for a seat at the raw bar.
INSIDER TIP: The lobster roll is on the menu only as a Tuesday special, but if you ask for it any other day of the week, the chef will happily make it for you.
A Not-So-Ordinary Shrimp Roll in Charleston
At his white-tiled seafood brasserie and oyster bar, chef Mike Lata looks to a New Orleans classic, barbecue shrimp, to work his magic. He poaches head-on shrimp in a creamy sauce infused with Worcestershire and sets them atop charred sourdough.
Anything but Ordinary
Those partaking in this year’s AFAR Experiences tour of Charleston will certainly become quite familiar with this place. The Ordinary is anything but, and they and the major publications know it. The raw bar tower is tempting, but you also can’t go wrong with the crab toast, triggerfish with fingerling potatoes, and fish chowder. All are dynamite. Be sure to book a reservation early.
