Gillie's Seafood

Be prepared to wait. However, the wait is worth the visit. I suggest the owner invest in a buzzer system to alert customers when a table is available. Customer service could improve, however. The hostess wasn't personable, but the waitress made up for the less than welcoming greeting. Overall, the food was phenomenal, and perhaps the best soul food in the city.

Walked in around 3pm on a weekday.. no wait. Went straight to a table. Our waitress was the absolute best waitress. She was sweet, kept our drinks full.. was on top of our every want/need. The owner’s mother even came and talked to us. Now the food.. absolutely delicious. Cooked perfectly.. the coleslaw was just what I was looking for! Their banana pudding tastes just like my Mammaw’s (Rest her soul).. I will definitely be back.. they made sure our first experience there would definitely not be our last. Can’t wait to go back for more!

This was an excellent black owned restaurant that head been around 7 years and had much hospitality, warm welcoming to everyone and plenty of business with great great food. Absolutely the best of southerns best with a twist of seafood. Oh my goodness. Must stop by and visit anytime your in the area. I was loving the Grandma photo wall. I plan to revisit just to get the great food. Live entertainment was great on the outside. Thanks to all the great cooks and employees. When I say good filling portions and great prices well worth the wait.

I went here Memorial Day Weekend and the service and the food was phenomenal. The staff quickly accommodated our large party of about 20 people. The sweet tea was just the right amount of sweet. I ordered the jambalaya and loved it. It was my first time eating alligator. I highly recommend the spicy jambalaya. The soul rolls were also delish. Everyone in my group enjoyed their food. Most of all, the prices were more than reasonable for the quality of food received.

Gillie’s Seafood was one of the recommended restaurants that we learnt from our receptionist at TownePlace Suites by Marriott Charleston West Ashley. After a quick search online, we also found the reviews to be pretty good as well. Since we wanted to try some Southern Cuisine while we’re in the “South”, Gillie’s Seafood was where we headed for dinner this evening… The name of Gillie’s Seafood actually came from Mrs LaReese Gilliard, the grandmother of chef/owner Sean Mendes. Sean based his recipe off grandma Gillie’s cooking to recreate the feel of Sunday meals after church with homely cooking of grandma. Grandma Gillie would cook everything from scratch and this is how Gillie’s Seafood do it daily as well. Wholesome goodness made fresh daily… Besides a wall dedicated to grandma, the entire restaurant felt very homely. There are tables with white table cloths and TV with sports playing in the background. Very chill, very laid back and very homely. After looking through the menu, there were several items that caught our eye… Granny’s Shrimp & Grits ($18 – the award winning grits at Gillie’s Seafood) Seafood Purloo ($21) Seafood Gumbo ($20) Spicy Jambalaya ($21) Buttermilk Fried Chicken ($18) Fried Pork Chops ($18) Meatloaf ($18) All of which were excellent soul food that represented the Southern Flavours. Before we made our orders, we found out from our waiting staff that Purloo is like a dried version while the gumbo comes with gravy. After the clarifications, we went with the Seafood Gumbo ($20) and the Buttermilk Fried Chicken ($18). As they were out of white meat (chicken breast) this even, we went with the dark meat (thighs and drums). The fried chicken also came with 3 sides and we chose collared greens, fried okra and corn bread… For the full review of Gillie's Seafood, visit 2bearbear today!

Great local restaurant with delicious food! Was recommended by someone at Boone Hall Plantation. I had Hush-puppies to start. Shrimp and grits for the entree. Bread pudding for dessert. Everything was top notch!

I traveled from Atlanta to try this restaurant and it too did not disappoint. It was one of many places on my Charleston list to try. We even met the owners. A wonderful sweet married couple that even treated the birthday ladies in our group to a free dessert each...Everything was made fresh to order and came out hot. The wait was not long at all and the atmosphere was so quaint and homey. The seafood was AMAZING! My flounder was the freshest I had ever tasted! And the fried okra, my goodness! I could eat a pound of those. Lol. Our waitress was actually the owner and we never knew til after lunch. This is the kind of black business that I WILL ALWAYS SUPPORT. Thank you guys so much for your genuine hospitality.

The food was incredible, the service was great , and the atmosphere was unbelievably comfortable 👌. I heard about this place, but after a recent back to Charleston trip , and three meals , I was convinced. They were the real deal. If you enjoy good food and great service ,this is a must 👌. Hope you find the time and enjoy your meal as much as we did.

My boyfriend ordered the fried chicken which was amazing , with the made from scratch mashed potatoes and gravy and collard green. I had the pick 2 seafood platter and had the collard greens and cornbread. Let's just start with the collards, butter best I have ever had. The cornbread was melt in your mouth Shrimp and scallops were cooked perfectly and I could not eat it all More than your monies worth They treated us like family and it was our first time there. Ask about grandma's wall, their history is interesting. This place is also reasonably priced If you come to Charleston or even close to there, it's a must visit place to eat. 10 out of 10 kind of locals place.

My favorite place to eat in the Charleston area. I highly recommend going there. Some of the best home cooked meals around.

I have been traveling to the Charleston area for vacation every summer for the past 15 years. I believe this is the best meal I have had in these years! My entire table had exquisite meals. The chicken, shrimp, fish, and every side we had was impeccable. The place had a great atmosphere- attentive staff, clean environment, and overall just a wonderful place to be. My only regrets are not getting dessert and not coming to Gillie's sooner! We will be back soon. :)

Food is delicious! People are awesome! Ambiance.. it's like a neighborhood spot. A few tables and chairs, everything is adequate. Recommendations: She Crab Soup Soul Rolls Highly recommend.. well worth the wait!!

I had such high hopes for this restaurant based on the reviews, but I was very disappointed. I ordered takeout, so I don't totally fault them for the less than crisp fried food. But, when I arrived my order was in a styrofoam container within a plastic bag that was tied shut so the condensation was hurried along. As they are a seafood place, I opted for the two entree platter which comes with 2 sides. There were two pieces of fried whiting and fried oysters, with a side of mac and cheese and fried okra. I wanted greens or cabbage, but fried okra is the only non pork veggie they have, which having 3 out of 4 fried items proved too much for me. The fish, oysters, and okra were a salt bomb! It seemed to be the same dredge for all three, which made the fish slightly less salty, as it had more surface area than the much smaller oysters and okra. The acid in the dredge was helpful for the fish too, but it wasn't enough relief for the other two fried items. The mac was under seasoned and very dry. Unfortunately, the platter was a waste of $35, as it was pretty inedible. Even though I wasn't a fan, 2 stars for the nice woman on the phone who helped me to choose my platter by offering suggestions, and informing of their veggies with pork. I probably won't return.

The food was super salty. There was 4 of us and all meals were the same. Salt with a side of food. I don't mind a bit of salt but this was AWFUL. (I was forced to give it one star)

I visited Gillie's Seafood as a part of a travel group from Michigan called the Blackity Black Tour which patronizes all black owned businesses the week of Juneteenth. The service and food were great. They were able to accommodate a group of 40 very well, the entire time with a smile on their faces. Everyone was so pleasant and the food was great as well. I ordered the fried flounder, Mac and cheese and greens. I also had the sweet tea which I had to get a refill on. If I'm ever in the area again, this will definitely be a stop! Please support this black owned business, you won't be disappointed!

I am so ready to go back! We went to Gillie's to surprise my mom with a birthday dinner! The food was amazing. It was 13 of us and so we ordered a bit of everything! It was all so good! The place can accommodate large groups, so GO! I didn't remember to take a picture of my food, but I know it was great! They also have a grandmother wall, so I had a photo printed, ran down to the store, framed it, and the grandchildren presented it to their Nana to have hung on the wall. So the next time you go, look for my mom (like you know what she looks like )

Nice to return. Was in a large group. 3.5 overall Tried hushpuppy basket, gator bites, soul rolls to start. I tried the gumbo over white rice this time. Hushpuppies and gator bites were delish! Soul rolls were good and a little underwhelming. Gumbo full of shrimp, sausage, oysters and tiny crawfish. Nice flavor. Rice cooked well. Was enough for 2 full meals (took leftovers which tasted great the next day). Collard greens tender and tasty. Others had shrimp and grits which they said was okay fried and baked chicken, jambalaya and a cheeseburger. Everyone seemed to enjoy their meals. Appetizers came quickly and entrees were slow which is to be expected given everything was prepared fresh.

The food is very comforting. The service feels like family. The ambiance and music is perfect. It feels relaxing. You can sit inside or outside. Parking is in the back.

Tasty poboys! I got the catfish and my sister got the shrimp. Both were *very* good but the shrimp won the prize. Well seasoned and overflowing. The fried green tomatoes were okay. Fried okra also pretty good. Service was a bit slow but they seemed to be understaffed for a full house. Not surprising given the quality of food!

So good we called the chef out for a bow. Let's start with I'm a NORTHERN girl but bayyyy beee(baby) this food w the highlight of my trip! It has everything you need great service and amazing food at a fair price. After we figured out the parking situation everything was perfect. We were greeted at the door by a pleasant young man who told us about the wait time, since we were from out of town, we gladly waited. It I WORTH THE WAIT! The quaint spot had a wonderful photo wall of grandmothers, pictures brought in by their customers. I highly recommended the Okra Gumbo its rich and flavorful. We all loved the soul rolls and fried green tomatoes. My fried pork chops were perfection, the greens and macaroni and cheese very close to my grandmother's aka "they were right", Lima beans are yummy. Would I go again? HE** YEAH!!! I suggest you do too!

Very excellent food and service. Got there around 8:10 and I think they quit seating around 8:20 but the food was absolutely delicious had the fried oysters and shrimp combo. If you don't have the soul rolls you're doing yourself a disservice

Food was DELICIOUS!!! Customer service top tier. Wait time reasonable. Try it; you won't be disappointed!

Ambiance felt like granny house. The service was a bit slow...but food came out fast once we ordered. The food was good but not great. The Lima beans were mushy, overcooked and under seasoned. The shrimp came out cold. The fried okra was okay, preferred cornmeal fried. The crab cakes had hard bits in them like shell or something and too soft. The gator tail, Mac n cheese and hush puppies were the best.

Absolutely love the consistent quality of the food at gillie's a forever fan of their crab red rice and the hush puppies as well as the she crab soup, catfish and Mac and cheese. If you're ever around; grab an order to go and head to the beach! A classic.

We went to have dinner the restaurant closes at 8, we arrived at 7:40 and were told they had stopped seating!!!! List that on the website if that is your policy. Turned away us and another 4 top. Very bad service.

Do NOT sleep on Gillie's. The crawfish. The gumbo. The rice. The meatloaf. I meaaannn, I could go ON. OH YEAH THE CORNBREAD! gillie's knowsssss what they're doing. If you want some legit Gullah geechee cuisine, come here!

the service tonight was terrible, over an hour passed between our ordering food and being served. One mea culpa from the waitress, nothing from the manager or owner. I'll think hard before returning.

We have a group of 5 we all came for the food Truck festival tomorrow. Tonight we wanted to try some of the local foods and this is where we ended. The service was very nice. Waitstaff greet you as soon as you come in. The ambiance/ vibe is very laid back. They have a nice patio with lights, music and heat lamps (those didn't work) very cute elevated "mom and pop" The appetizers were AMAZING. We had soul rolls, fried green tomatoes, hush puppies, and gator bites. Literally EVERYTHING was good. The smoked meat and rice in the rolls were great. The fried tomatoes had GOOD flavor and the coating stayed on. The gator bites were juicy and full of flavor as well. Main course was a bit of a letdown. The positives: catfish, shrimp, chicken. Unfortunately everything else lacked seasoning. Literally NO salt was added at all. 3 of us got the sea food basket with shrimp, catfish, and crab cake sides greens and Mac. One blacken catfish and rice meal and, the fried chicken meal. There was just a lack of flavor and it was a letdown because the appetizers were great. We had to wait for our Mac to come out because it wasn't ready. The greens were cooked tender and had small pieces of meat in them but just tasted like a cooked green. The crab cakes were thin and lacked even old bay seasoning at LEAST. Service and appetizers are great outside of that I don't think it was worth the price that I paid ($55 with tip).

My wife and I were clearly treated poorly because of our race. This is a black owned and operated restaurant and we have frequented other black owned businesses without issue. My wife and I are white. The greeter was polite and showed us to our table. Another employee took our order and everything seemed okay. We did have a very long wait for our food and the place was not busy. When our waitress, a different person, brought out our food, she dropped the plates at the edge of the table and walked off. She did not say a word to us. She did not leave a spoon for my she crab soup. I had to wait some time before seeing her again and had to waive her over to ask for a spoon. As with the food, she took her time before showing up and dropped the spoon on the table without comment. She could have at least apologized for the mistake. She also never once checked on us. We were one of two couples there that were white. The same waitress was very chatty with her fellow black customers and practically ran off the other white couple when a large group arrived. My wife and I both enjoyed the food. However, this one waitress has us writing off Gillies Seafood as a place to never return or recommend. I'm not sure if our waitress and the cashier are the same person because our waitress took my credit card to run it elsewhere. She was also very slow bringing the card back. If they are the same, the cashier's name appeared as Danielle on our receipt dated March 30, 2024 at 14:22. For those who dislike the practice, Gillies Seafood adds a 3% non-cash adjustment to the bill without upfront disclosing it. We pay cash when we know it will cost us. Paying with credit card and always paying the full balance means we receive cash back, provided we are not penalized up front for using it.

Seafood was fast and delicious. Good children's options and excellent service. Seafood platters are excellent and even accommodated my gluten free diet. Highly recommend.

A great choice for our first dinner while visiting Kiawah Island! The food was delicious and the service was absolutely great. We enjoyed the outside seating on a beautiful SC evening.

Delicious food and friendly service, we will be back for more. After a disastrous experience at Ellis creek, we came here and what a difference. Everyone in our party enjoyed every bite.

I love the opportunity to be in the Charleston areas to go to this restaurant. I had a friend that was headed to Charleston for the weekend and wanted to know a good place to go get something to eat. I suggested this particular restaurant. Eating the food here reminds me of food that I get from my family that lives on Johns Island

Great spot, I had ordered take out from here before and the food was really good but I had the opportunity to dine in and I'm so glad we did, our servers were so attentive, just always making sure we were good with our drinks then our appetizers and finally our lunch. They were so friendly and while we didn't get the entire story there are a bunch of pictures of women on the wall, I know that there's a story there so, next time. Now for the food, my wife had the chicken livers (not in this lifetime) and she said that they were delicious, I'll just have to take her word for it, she had Mac & Cheese and Lima Beans, I tried both of those, Yum! I had the Seafood Purloo, who know you could put that much seafood on a plate? It was outstanding, thank you ladies for making our meal special, we both enjoyed it thoroughly.

we had to wait over 1 hour to get our food do not come here unless u want to wait all day

Another delicious meal at Gillies. Randisha our server was attentive, knowledgeable about the menu and had great recommendations. Catfish and shrimp were fresh fried and delicious. Mac and Cheese is cheesy and just like home!! This restaurant is a soul food gem on James Island and when on the Island stop in for a delicious meal, I highly recommended

I had a group of 5 visit on Friday, July 7th. I am from out of town but visit each year due to friends and family. We had a great experience here last year so, I suggested my friends join me here this year. Our experience fell way short this year. 1. No air conditioning in Charleston in July. 2. We waited awhile in our booth before being acknowledged, menus delivered( unreadable paper, a change from the previous year), a single fork in a paper sleeve, and no napkins. 3. Salads came quickly, fried appetizers 20 minutes later. 4. The Catfish Charleston came with a creamy sauce with shrimp and crawfish over dirty rice. The rice was al dente like it was Rice-a-Roni, with no resemblance to dirty rice.. The fish seemed fresh. The shrimp and crawfish had no taste and were chewy, which suggests frozen product. My friend's fried shrimp was the same chewy, flavorless, situation. The other food seemed fine. The restaurant was out of several menu items as well. The prices at the restaurant were lower than others in the area serving similar food. It appeared to me that the owners are trying to keep prices low for the clientele during this inflation. However, they are ordering inferior product to make up for it. This is not unlike what happened to the sister restaurant (now defunct) Roadside Seafood. There was also a young male employee, sitting on a chair by the wall doing nothing as dishes piled up and beverages sat unfilled. The cashier stared at a register while chewing gum for countless minutes. Supposedly, the chef/owner has some James Beard nomination attached to his name. My guess is he was off this week because I can't imagine a restaurant running like this running much longer. If this keeps up for much longer, they are going under.

We enjoyed the fried fish, shrimp and gator. It was fresh and well seasoned. I recommend this spot to anyone craving fried seafood.

Was concerned the parking lot was empty when we arrived in a Friday night. But gave it a chance anyways. Ate outside and though it's on a busy street, actually did not mind. I had the Carolina catfish and really didn't know what to expect as the waitress recommended it. Have to say it was AWESOME! My wife saw it and also wished she got it. But she was happy with the meatloaf and my kids enjoyed their Mac and cheese. Would come back for sure.

Reluctantly Came here July 22nd, 2023 despite the reviews of how awful this place is. I'm from out of town and really wanted to be optimistic and try it out. Upon walking in, a young kid sat at the host stand. No greeting AT ALL. He looked at us. We stated we needed seating for two. He pointed at a table. We had to ask for a menu. SMH. We were seated at a table that hadn't been cleaned yet, which happens, so we figured we'd just ask the waiter/waitress to clean it when they arrived. We sat for 15 min, no one ever came. No one greeted us. No one looked our way. We looked around and noticed lots of customers faces with the same frustration on their faces. We ended up just walking out after 20 min of sitting. Worst waste of time. My advice to the owner(s)... INVEST IN CUSTOMER SERVICE TRAINING. poor service is make or break now in days ,and just simply saying "Black owned" holds no weight to POOR SERVICE! The wait time would've been nothing had we simply been acknowledged. And for the love of God, teach the child at the door the importance of setting a guest experience off right. All in all, we went to a place called "Nigel's Good food" and had the top best experience ever! Top tier customer service . Take note

This is a diamond in the rough, it's casual, but the food is over the top! We ordered the Pantry Salad with grilled oysters and the Pick 2 Combo Platter. WOW words could not describe the wonderful food, this is the real deal! Our food was Awesome! My Pantry Salad with oysters was so good, I scraped every last bit on the plate. My wife ordered the Pick 2 Combo an the fish was so fresh and the sides collar greens and mac and cheese words cannot describe how good it was, the mac and cheese was almost as good as my mothers! But the desert Banana Pudding, "WHOA" it was so creamy and so fresh, it was very good. We are not from the area, we came to attend the Spoleto Festival and found this restaurant by chance as we did some errands, We will come back before we the area.

This place is always a go to for me whenever I have friends or family visited me in college! I went to college in Orangeburg, SC and this place is in Charleston, SC which is a whooping 2 hours drive, but it is something that I am always willing to do when someone wants an introduction to southern food! When I had my family over, we ordered Spicy Jambalaya, Gumbo, Fried tomatoes and calamari, seafood purloo, and their mac n cheese and collard greens! Everything was really good especially the Jambalaya! Our total bill is less than a hundred dollars and we have so much leftovers. Highly recommended! The service is also nice! It might be hard to get parking during rush hours but it is doable.

In preparation for this this trip I studied restaurants and read numerous blogs on what and where to eat in Charleston. Gillies was definitely on the list. We almost passed by the place. The parking lot had a seafood trash smell. We go inside much smaller than anticipated. When the server came to the table they were out of so many things. I ordered the shrimp, shark and crawfish. The Lima beans looked like Margaret Holmes or Glory...canned beans. At the end of the meal I started to feel sick. My best friend had fried shrimp and scallops. She said the scallops didn't taste right so she stopped eating them. I had never had shark but it sort of tasted like oysters. Not sure if that how it's supposed to taste. I hope my experience was an outlier but I didn't feel well. This was however my first meal of the day.

The food was delicious. The staff was so very friendly. Very generous portions served!

I love this place. Southern Gullah food done right! We did a lot of sharing with our out of town visitors so they could sample a bunch.

The food was good but the waitress made the experience unenjoyable. We waited a very long time for our food. Several Other customers came in after us and had a different waitress and was serve almost immediately. Our waitress was unapologetically and clearly didn't care about us as if she had something against us or having a bad day. We still politely tip her in spite of the service. This was our very first time there.

My wife and I are in our late 60s and this is probably the best seafood we've ever eaten. We were in town for a few days and found the restaurant on Yelp. We had dinner on Sunday night, went back for lunch on Tuesday (they were closed on Monday) and had dinner again on Wednesday. The crabcakes and hush puppies are outstanding. The clam strips are meaty and the bread pudding was delicious. We mixed in some scallops and shrimp, which were excellent as well.

I chose the excellent southern cooking over the seafood but based on my choice; I can't wait to come back and try the seafood the next time. The chicken was delicious. It had a great crispy crust, and inside was moist, juicy chicken. There were several side choices; I chose fried okra (loved), collard greens (delicious), and mashed potatoes and gravy (a staple, right?). When I got my plate, I thought there was no way to eat it all, but it was so good that I ate every last bite. The wait staff was very friendly and attentive; parking was in the back, and plenty of it. I would recommend trying this spot if you're in Charleston.

Quaint little restaurant serving up delicious seafood! Very kind people working there and the food came out pretty quick. I ordered the hushpuppy basket and a pick 3 combo platter with shrimp, calamari, and oysters with mac and cheese and collard greens as the sides. Everything was spectacular - tasted fresh and came out piping hot. I'll definitely come back again when in town!! Hushpuppies are a must - the honey butter sauce is amazing!!

I hear this is some of the best Soul food in Charleston so go check it out! It was pretty standard tasting to me. Food temperature was mediocre warm. The servings are pretty big. Visiting from out of town and had just gone crabbing and this place was recommended.

Gillies is like going home! It's such a friendly atmosphere with great staff, and the food is delicious and plentiful! You absolutely have to try the Soul Rolls, they are so awesome you will crave them forever! Gillies has one of those menu's that hurts your heart because EVERYTHING sounds scrumptious, and it's so hard to choose, lol! I suggest trying everything!

Wow really enjoyed the food. As you can tell by the photos because each thing is half eaten. Order the Catfish but got it over grits instead of rice. Excellent. The appetizers were rolls stuff with collard greens and Red Beans and Rice. Delicious! Also ordered the Cornbread which was soft and sweet like cake. Also the cake was very good as well. The service was friendly and excellent. I especially loved the photo wall of Grandmas

Wonderful tasty and flavorful food! We ordered the granny's shrimp and grits, gator basket, cheeseburger and Mac & cheese. All of it was amazing and the service was fast. The ambiance was super kid/family friendly. I highly recommend.

Great seafood and friendly service. Not a fancy place but one of our favorites. Definitely will go back again soon.

I saw this restaurant on YouTube. I wasn't disappointed. Everything was absolutely delicious. I even added a picture to the Grandmother's wall. Can't wait to stop by again whenever I'm in Charleston.

The food wqs delicious. Scallops melted in my mouth, fried okra was yummy, Mac and cheese was extra creamy. Portions were large and everything was delicious. Desserts were priced too high for what you got but the rest of the meal was A+. Our server was delightful. Hope to go there again.

Omg. Doesn't look like much from the outside. Big surprise on the inside. Food is excellent. Definitely low country food made extremely well. Chef is some high ranking guy who must be hiding out on James island. He is better placed in one of the great Michelin restaurants given the quality of the food.

The shrimp and grits were amazing as well as the fried green tomatoes! Huge portions and great service! The atmosphere is fun and you can even bring a picture to post on the wall.