Best New Restaurants in Charleston, South Carolina, for 2025 - AFAR

"Slip into this candlelit bistro on one of Charleston’s most romantic blocks and you’ll feel like you’ve entered a Parisian hideaway: the 1820s building, warm woods, and glowing lights give the intimate 26-seat dining room a jewel-box feel, and Chef Michael Zentner’s menu borrows from French tradition while nodding to Southern and Italian flavors. I considered the stracciatella-stuffed focaccia with Benton’s ham and hot honey an absolute must, and the perfect beef Wellington wrapped in golden puff pastry sealed the sense that Merci is as much about atmosphere—vintage-chic interiors, antique details, and a cozy six-seat bar—as it is about the food." - Lauren Mowery