Handy and Hot

So disappointed. Ive enjoyed food and a few of Vivian Howards restaurants and was so looking forward to trying Handy and Hot in Charleston. I had heard about the hand pies and saw videos and was looking forward to having them. The restaurant is a store front which is part of a hotel. It’s really small but decorated cute and looked inviting. Was there in the afternoon for lunch. Waited at the counter a really long time until someone came to help us. No one was eating or waiting. There were only 2 hand pies in the case which looked like they’d been there awhile. There were only 3 hand pies on the menu which I was surprised about…2 savory, one sweet. Tomato, cheeseburger, and apple jax. I went with 2 tomato, my husband had 1 tomato and 1 cheeseburger. The cashier looked perplexed and kind of shrugged his shoulders and said something like “I can get a few more”. They weren’t cheap at $7 a pop. Waited and waited. The cashier disappeared. Other potential patrons came and went because there wasn’t anything in the case and no one to help them. People from the hotel came and went to and the cashier would pop out and talk to them and then disappear again. Finally got the hand pies. The cashier ended up grabbing the 2 “old” ones from the case and heated them up behind the counter along with 2 others he got from somewhere else. They weren’t served with any kind of sauce which would have helped because they weren’t very flavorful. The outside was greasy and lacked flavor as well. They didn’t contain much filling either. They were glorified hot pockets; and not good ones at that.

My wife and I are currently staying at the Renaissance Lindy hotel in downtown Charleston, and we decided to take the front desk’s recommendation to try Handy & Hot for breakfast. We learned from the staff that this cozy spot is owned by Vivian Howard, an award-winning chef, cookbook author, and television personality famous for her shows on PBS. After a bit of online research, I realized she’s also a New York Times bestselling author who has won Peabody, Emmy, and James Beard awards—so I was pretty excited to give her food a try. The breakfast did not disappoint. I thought the breakfast potatoes were perfectly warm, and the eggs were whipped just right with an ideal amount of salt. The bacon was deliciously crispy, and the bread served alongside everything was thick, fresh, and really hit the spot. To Management: My only critique would be the sausage patties—they were a little too greasy for my taste, and I’d personally suggest a healthier (or at least a less heavy) alternative. Otherwise, everything else was fantastic, especially considering the affordable price point. I love that Vivian Howard, who once dreamed of being a writer, has managed to blend her creative passions with her culinary talent, all while raising twins and running multiple restaurants (she also owns Chef & the Farmer in Kinston, NC, and Lenoir here in Charleston). It’s clear she pours her heart into her work—I can see why she’s racked up so many accolades. Overall, I’d absolutely recommend Handy & Hot if you’re in downtown Charleston, whether you’re staying at the Renaissance Lindy or just looking for a satisfying breakfast. With Vivian Howard at the helm, you know you’re getting something special. I fully support her and can’t wait to see what else she comes up with next!

Breakfast/brunch place from Chef Vivian Howard located adjacent to Lenoir. They specialize in biscuits and hand pies. We had the sweet potato pie and it was on the sweet side but was delicious and had a great crust. Biscuit was very fluffy and soft as well. The other food is pre-prepared and while a little disappointing, still pretty good even if it's just reheated. Overall, still a great experience and great vibes sitting outside.

Visiting Charleston for a family emergency. Needed to take a walk to clear my head and walked to Handy and Hot. I ordered a cup of decaf. Nothing spectacular but is decaf ever spectacular? The frittata was worth the visit but the tomato pie was not exciting at all. The service was great. Didn’t have to wait long to put in an order and when it appeared I was waiting too long, the young lady asked if she could assist. I’d go back. The high cost of the order was due to location and I get that. The frittata? Excellent.

Found this place while exploring Charleston and it was just what we were looking for. The employee that helped us was super nice and friendly and he seemed to really know his stuff. The bacon, egg and cheese biscuit sandwich was our favorite. Though just the biscuit itself was really good. Would highly recommend and they have savory and sweet for whatever mood you are in.

This place is amazing, cozy and bright atmosphere paired with amazing happy people and food is great, had the peach and goat cheese handy and eggs and was a bliss. Unique tea, ie Charleston fog is cool

The breakfast sandwiches were really good! The pimento and egg was great, as well as the country ham sando. The vanilla bean lemonade was not very vanilla-y though it had the little bean seeds. Easy little spot and cute interior.

OMG it was so delicious. We went out of our way on a road trip to eat here. And it did not disappoint! I had the BBQ hand pie. My spies is gluten free, and he had a pimento cheese grits bowl with air dried sausage and pickled tomatoes. We both had the vanilla bean lemonade. Staff was friendly and welcoming. Space to eat inside or out. Wish I’d had room in my stomach to eat more!!

Excellent spot for the neighborhood and for the hotel. We had 2 hand pies and coffee and that was totally satisfying for lunch. The pastry was flaky and substantial and the fillings weee delicious. Love Vivian Howard and this was a great find at the renaissance hotel.

Nice little shop right off of King Street. I had a coffee and an apple Jax hand pie, my son had fruit cup and my daughter had a yogurt parfait. All the food was decent, my pie was clearly NOT made with the typical canned apple pie filling, which made me really happy, but it really was light on flavors like cinnamon or allspice which I expect in an apple pie. My coffee was smooth and low acid which is my preference. Price was quite high, like a cold brew coffee is $6 which is pretty stout. A little searing inside, a lot outside, some of which is covered which is nice on a hot or rainy day. J.Ja

I debated on writing this review. I wanted the negative reviews to be wrong. The concept here is good. Could even be great, with a bit of tweaking. As others have said, my meal was pricy for what I got. The ham biscuit tasted good, but couldn't quite find the apple preserve. The biscuit itself wasn't the best, but it was still pretty good. Grits bowl was good, fun combination of flavors, but the grits themselves weren't the best. Was expecting a more indulgent, creamy style grits base- these just tasted like basic grits underneath the yummy toppings. The jammy egg was nicely cooked, but the veggies underneath were super cold, which I wasn't expecting, & sort of ruined it. (Maybe just a better menu description is what is needed here?) Also, the flavor of the veggies was very odd- not quite curry, maybe more like chutney? I wasn't expecting that either. I will probably give them another chance eventually. Hopefully, in the meantime, the owners will take all their feedback into consideration.

Staying at the Renaissance hotel and this is the coffee shop / lunch stop inside the hotel lobby. I've been here for a few days, and I was hoping this mornings experience would cancel out the last (horrible) lunch experience I had. But, sadly it did not. Service / 3 stars: early breakfast rush only had one person this morning (occasionally I'll see two people there; there was 2 during their super slow lunch time). The lady working this morning was busy so I didn't expect pleasantries, nor did I need them. Didn't wait that long, but I also didn't have a complex order. I'm sure if a large group of people came in, it would be a different experience. Ambiance / 3.5 stars: cute spot with ample seating. Confusion sets in quickly when people from the hotel come from one entrance (lobby) and others from the street. Maybe have something that shows 'line starts here'. If Subway can do it... Coffee / 2 stars: first time I had coffee it was their medium drip. It was bad. Tasted like burnt in-room hotel coffee. This time around I opted for a skim latte. Coffee has an ok taste, but when I got my coffee I noticed it was really light. I opened up the lid and my medium coffee was barely a small. She must have made me a cappuccino or just let the foam win and assumed that was enough milk. I went back to the counter and asked if she could heat up a little more milk to throw in there since it was all foam. Food / 1 star: everything is premade, which is fine if that pre-made has a 'made by date' stamped on it (or they can advise when it was made). I asked about the oatmeal in the cooler (pre-made with nuts on top - which would probably be soft / soggy by now) - the lady helping me said "it was probably made this morning...or maybe yesterday...". There's a big difference between 2 hours ago and 12 hours ago. My lunch experience was no different. Old stuff in the cooler. I get the need to cut back on time with pre-made items, but how hard is oatmeal? Every other coffee shop with premade oatmeal has it dried and they add hot water. This place was just going to microwave the oatmeal anyways.... I didn't want to be horribly disappointed again so I opted for one of their protein balls. This was super sweet and probably not as healthy as their wording implied. But, if it was made 12-24 hours ago, I wouldn't be horribly disappointed...a little more shelf stable than their other sitting items. Overall, I will not be back to this spot. I have another 4 days at this hotel and I'll walk the 1/2 mile to a coffee spot that doesn't serve day old oatmeal and lackluster coffee.

Love all things Vivian Howard so of course we had to stop in when visiting Charleston. The latte I got was really good and the staff was super friendly!

Delicious little coffee shop on Wentworth. My latte was perfect! They have good indoor space and a great patio! I will be back!

My mom is a huge Vivian Howard fan so we had to go to this quick stop restaurant of hers. It did not disappoint! We split a fried chicken biscuit which had fried chicken, pimento cheese, and bacon. It was tasty and the perfect portion. It's a little on the salty side but I was ok with it. We also shared the pimento cheese grit bowl with air fried sausage on top. This was found in their refrigerator and they heat it up for you if you want to eat there. This was my favorite thing we ordered! Lastly, I got an Apple hand pie. It had a lot of filling! I enjoyed it but it's not a must for me. I would definitely come here again!

I'm a fan of Vivian Howard's, so I was very excited to visit Handy & Hot in Charleston, SC. As you walk into the restaurant, you are greeted with bright warmth. There are various refrigerated grab-and-go items that patrons can select as well as hand pies and an assortment of biscuit sandwiches. I chose the Apple Jax hand pie and a cup of tea. It was pouring rain outside and on the chilly side, so this snack was a perfect respite from the weather. The Apple Jax filling was sweet, spicy and delicious. I wasn't crazy about the crust's texture - I thought it would be flakier - but that's probably the result of the frying. The staff was amiable and helpful, and the cups, biodegradable plastic ware, etc., were very high quality. I plan to try one of the biscuit sandwiches in the future, but overall, this is a great place to relax and have a meal (or snack) in downtown Charleston.

Breakfast/brunch place from Chef Vivian Howard located adjacent to Lenoir. They specialize in biscuits and hand pies. We had the sweet potato pie and it was on the sweet side but was delicious and had a great crust. Biscuit was very fluffy and soft as well. The other food is pre-prepared and while a little disappointing, still pretty good even if it's just reheated. Overall, still a great experience and great vibes sitting outside.

A bit too basic and boxy. I want something specific to Charleston. This was not it. And what they did offer was pedestrian.

Delicious coffee shop located inside of the Marriott Hotel off of King St. Their coffee and pastry selection is a nice treat from your standard hotel coffee and breakfast. We got the classic coffee and it was really well balanced. Thanks Marriott for putting a neat local spot in the hotel!

After reading several positive reviews we have it a try. Cute little counter breakfast shop. Unfortunately, it was quite the disappointment. The service was almost an afterthought & the food was greasy & in the case of the hot bun over fried. So many other great breakfast options nearby that you can safely skip this spot.

I was kind of iffy on this one, and I still am having tried it. The premise seems to be that if you want something fast and easy but still local and distinctive, this place is here for you, apparently close to 365 days a year. I found a chia pudding and ordered a matcha, and they were both okay but not remotely worth the price to where I'd have wanted these things if it wasn't a holiday where everything else was closed. They had a decent range of interesting items, and notably the ice cream that looks like a fried chicken (though not in stock on my visit), but I think that you could do better wandering around Charleston.

Wow. That little ham sandwich didn't look like anything, but it was so yummy. So much flavor and great texture.

NOT WORTH THE MONEY very pricy for tiny portions. If you you pay $10 for a breakfast biscuit you'd expect something much more substantial. Overpriced and not worth it.

Such a cool concept but it is low-key filling so bring an appetite. Part of a food tour and we were given a choice of any pocket or biscuit and a drink. The drinks were fine but you are coming here for the biscuits and handpies. We had the cheeseburger handpie - so filling and a tip would be to let it sit for a minute or two so it settles. If not, you'll make the same mistake I did and have hot beef/cheese ooze out uncontrollably. Oh so good. The bacon pimento cheese bisquit was so done great as well - the biscuit was not dry (a crime of an otherwise great biscuit) - it was fluffy with just the right amount of chew. The bacon and cheese were onpoint. I'd come here a few times a month but probably on a day where I know I'm running five miles because these things aren't your friend if you are counting calories. 5 stars.

I was in town for a conference and was looking for a good coffee place. I'm glad that I found this place. I got a latte and a ham and apple jam biscuit. The latte was smooth and the biscuit was pillowy, sweet, salty, and just delicious. You can get into this place via the Renaissance hotel or use the entrance off of Wentworth street. In the short time I've been here, I really have fallen in love with downtown Charleston. I definitely will be back and visit this place again!

Handy and hot was cute restaurant. This was a must try on our trip to Charleston. I had the pimento cheese biscuit. It was delicious, the cheese oozed as I took a bite. We also tried the apple jaxx hand pie- was expecting it to be sweet like a an apple pie, it was not overly sweet. Was definitely worth trying

Was excited to try Vivian Howard's first Charleston venture (her fine-dining restaurant, Lenoir, will be next door and is currently planning for a March 2021 opening according to the H+H staff). This is a cafe that mainly does breakfast and light lunch. There are a few tables inside and a couple spilling into the hotel lobby, but most of the seating is on a patio right on Wentworth St. I had a wonderful bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit (very fluffy) and an amazing ham and Lima bean soup with housemade croutons that was incredibly flavorful. It was comfort food executed perfectly all for the bargain price of $13.

Surprise find after our first choice was unexpectedly closed. Fine coffee, great breakfast biscuits. Fair prices for the locale and speedy service. Clean restaurant despite being pretty busy.

I don't even like buffalo chicken in any other way, but when they didn't have their cheeseburger pie, I was recommended the buffalo chicken. Goodness was that more delicious than any pie I've had recently! We also had the country ham biscuit. What a delightfully sandwich that felt like a hug for my tastebuds. I do feel it's pricey for what it is, $7 for the biscuits and $6 for a small hand pie.

Quick, good selection of biscuits and pies. Obviously we enjoyed the biscuits and pie! Tasty!

Wrap this cafe up in a Snuggie and put your arms around it! Cute as a button little cafe poppin' out biscuits, hand pies, coffee, frozen treats and more. The bacon pimento and egg cheese biscuit was gooey, crispy, buttery and certainly handy. Seriously, half wrapped in smartly branded parchment, these biscuits travel well. But if you have a minute to spare, kick it on the peaceful outside patio lined in tropical plants. Namaste for a bit, bud. The almond brown butter oatmeal was a delicious add on if you're hungry or a solo morning snack if you're traveling light. Perfect amount of sweetness with the granola and fruit. Top it off with a nutty, chocolatey and full-bodied cold brew and you're on your way to hit up some King Street shopping.

Eight family members enjoyed our Charleston Food Tour with Lyndsey of #BulldogTours. Among our favorite stops was #Handy+Hot where I got the Tomato Hand Pie!

This is a cool little café in the Charleston Renaissance hotel that has some tasty bites made by a chef. It's made and served quickly, but it's far better than fast food! Their hand pies are amazing! The chips that come with their hummus or chicken salad are also awesome! Definitely give them a try when staying at the Renaissance!

The food and coffee were so yummy! A great quick breakfast spot and it was super cute too!

Freaking mind blowing. Here for business and had fifteen mins before an Uber picked me up for the airport. Got the hot ham & cheese something or another on a recommendation from the very nice lady at the register. It was ready by the time I snapped a pic of my receipt. Packaging & brand on point. Piping hot and steaming fresh biscuit with those tender crisp corners that are biscuit heaven. I'm a lifelong breadbaker and I'm in total admiration of this biscuit art right here. I had the thing gulped down in about 8 minutes, sorry to say. Wish I could have exercised a little more self control. It was hammy, cheesey, there was something pretty and sweet in there, hot, so filling, and I'll be stuffed for a while, and thinking about this thing for days. I hope I get to come back here on business -or pleasure- again!

Not a great stop. Drinks are good. We got the vanilla bean lemonade and hibiscus tea - both yummy. We also ordered the cheeseburger hand pie and the fontina florentina biscuit. The hand pie tasted like hamburger helper and the biscuit we threw out. Cold and tasted like Mayo and lemons. They're pretty much a Starbucks - they only reheat food so lower your expectations.

What a wonderful addition to downtown! This sweet spot has gourmet breakfast biscuits and hand pies (think empanadas) and gourmet coffee drinks. It is a gorgeous space on Wentworth a block off King Street. We enjoyed a pimento and egg sammie and a strawberry and Parmesan cheese biscuit along with a seasonal oat milk & rosemary latte, a vanilla latte and two hand pies (tomato pie and apple pie). Sweet and savory! Wonderful service and a perfect way to start the day!

Grabbed a couple of bites for lunch. It was tasty and just enough off beat to really make it enjoyable. It was not super expensive for what you got, but it was not cheap either. Looks like a great place for a fast bite for breakfast. I would definitely try again when I am in town.

So I was excited to try this place being a Vivian Howard fan but I have to admit I was so disappointed! I had a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit and it was fine, my husband had biscuits and gravy and it tasted oddly sweet? We also tried the honey bun hand pie, and the filling was like a mushy underbaked bread pudding texture. We also had drip coffee which was good but nothing special. For what we paid I thought it just wasn't worth it. Service was ok but it took a long time to get the food to us and we were the only people there at the time.

Super cute coffee shop with even friendlier staff. I asked for a sticker that they put on their to-go items and they pulled out this binder and let me choose one. Above and beyond! We got the nitro coffee and blueberry drink, both delicious! Very nice patio area too

post turkey-trot delight. this place is CUTE. mom had been wanting to try it since she loves Vivian Howard, and the grab and go was open on thanksgiving. We got coffee and breakfast treats here. The coffee wasn't anything to write home about (the pecan pie latte did not live up to expectations), but the HAND PIES were delicious. I loved the sweet potato and pecan pie- yummy and filling. The perfect mix of savory and sweet. Biscuits looked great too!

This is an incredible place. The biscuit breakfast was wonderful. I love biscuits and have had them whenever I travel, which is often. These are the best. I particularly loved the apple and cheese one. Moist and perfectly heated. Go out of your way to eat here.

We had the breakfast hand pie and the honey hand pie. Both were fried and the crusts were extremely greasy/heavy. Inside of the honey one was ok but breakfast one was inedible. Something was extremely off putting and very little egg (and too much sausage). We threw it away after 2 bites. Honey hand pie I ate about 4 bites and saved the rest for later because it was so heavy but when I went back for a bite later I wasn't interested and threw it away too. Latte was good and hibiscus iced tea was delish.

So it has to be hard to be a celebrity Chef. Everyone expects that everything they taste from your establishment should be the best thing they have ever eaton. As a southerner, Vivian Howard is one of my favorite celebrity chefs. My wife and I couldn't wait to try Handy + Hot. We did come withreservations as the last celebrity chef fast casual/grab and go at a hotel we went to (Giada's in Vegas) was so disappointing. We came twice in two days, to ensure we gave a thorough review ;). On our first visit, we had the sausage biscuit, the country ham biscuit, the tomato hand pie, and the apple jack hand pie (brought home some pimento cheese). The biscuits were awesome. Admittedly, I've met very few biscuits I didn't like, but these were exceptional. The air dried sausage reminded me of the onion sausage I grew up with. FYI, the sausage's casing is a little chewy due to the air drying. What southerner hasn't made a sausage biscuit at home but you wanted a biscuit and jelly too? You end up with a sausage biscuit with mustard and grape jelly on it and enjoy the sweet and savory treat. This was surely the inspiration for this biscuit. She hit the nail on the head. The Country Ham Biscuit was also great. Cheese and apple were subtle but I enjoyed that since I love country ham. So to the hand pies. If you've watch Vivian's new show you know she's been working on hand pies. Our first visit, the hand pies were a bit disappointing. They were clearly overcooked, and possibly cooked in old oil. The chips that came with the pimento cheese is the same dough as they use on the hand pies and they were over cooked as well. The fillings (tomato & apple jack) were tasty, just a bit over done. The pimento cheese was amazing. The few pecans added so much. The subtle nuttiness was so good. We enjoyed it so much we went back the second time to get some for my family as well as the butter bean hummus. You're reading a 5 star review because the hand pies were perfect day two. Since they just opened I'm sure there are some staffing issues and folks who need to perfect the preparation methods. All in all great place. 5 stars!

Super cute place and if you're staying in the hotel very convenient!! All the food tasted really fresh and was warm to order. When you check in before ordering you get a 10% discount too!! I would say it gets busy thag it's not somewhere to stop if you're short on time! Amazing food and good seating. Definitely a great lost stop for our time in Charleston so

We are not ones to go to a sit down brunch- so this was a perfect stop for us. The staff was friendly and our egg biscuits were a great start to our day! We also enjoyed the on trend atmosphere inside and the perfect outdoor space to enjoy our breakfast.

Decent place to stop by for coffee and a biscuit. I didn't think anything was amazing. I had a coffee and the bacon, pimento cheese and egg biscuit. The biscuit was good but the combination was average.

Even though we were expecting made to order, all of the items were tasty and definitely "Handy". Easy to grab and go with lots of vegetarian and vegan options. Ordered the Apple Hand Pie, Rodney Scott BBQ Filled Pie, watermelon "mojito" and pineapple chia pudding cup. All were tasty and made easy breakfast before getting on the airplane home.

I was expecting a different establishment than what I found. It is a coffee bar connected to a hotel lobby. The service was fine, the food was good, but the coffee was a little lacking. The coffee was bitter. Also, the shops atmosphere was not very inviting especially from an organization that is very good at creating a southern feel and decor. You can definitely tell it is a side venture.

Their latte and yogurt was the perfect beginning to my day. Staff friendly and getting my items fast was great. Located in the hotel so easy to grab and run.

The sweet potato and onion bread sold through the website (and, of course, in person at Handy and Hot) is MARVELOUS -- far superior to the tasty but comparably boring rosemary ciabatta that Mrs. Howard's restaurants used to serve.

I was excited to check out Vivian Howard's Hot and Handy on our last day in Charleston. The space is adorable. I loved the tiled floor, bright, open windows, and cute dining tables. They also had a cute patio space. My husband had the bacon, egg, and pimento cheese, while I had the ham, apple and cheddar biscuit. This is a solid biscuit and a worthwhile stop in Charleston. Can't wait to try out her full service once it opens.

Great Biscuit, OK Pie Located in a section of a larger, modern building, there isn't a lot of atmosphere to the place. But it relatively efficient and the staff member was quite helpful. The biscuit sandwich was excellent. The filled pie less so--too much dried pastry. In any case, this is a very good place to get a light and quick lunch while walking around Charleston.

OMG it was so delicious. We went out of our way on a road trip to eat here. And it did not disappoint! I had the BBQ hand pie. My spies is gluten free, and he had a pimento cheese grits bowl with air dried sausage and pickled tomatoes. We both had the vanilla bean lemonade. Staff was friendly and welcoming. Space to eat inside or out. Wish I'd had room in my stomach to eat more!!

We're huge fans of Vivian, and even drove from Charleston to NC just to eat at one of her restaurants. (It was worth the drive for the warm banana pudding alone and we even got to say hello to Vivian's lovely parents who were eating there!) On a recent walk downtown on a Saturday afternoon, we were thrilled to pass this shop and had to go in and explore. The staff was super friendly and welcoming. As we were past our coffee time, we studied the food items before ordering an apple hand pie and tomato hand pie on recos from the staff. I'm disappointed to say that they were just OK and won't be repeat purchases. As expected with hand pies, they are small so filling is limited leaving it up to the crust to be the star. The crust on both was only fair in taste and flakiness, with the tomato filling better than apple (if you like tomato pies). With that said, we think having a quality coffee/bakery shop on Wentworth with a friendly staff is a winner. We look forward to coming back again soon!

Absolutely delicious! We've tried lots of items over our vacation stay and love them all. Highly recommend the Brie and Preach and the pies. Also really enjoyed the Vanilla Bean Lemonade

Not super impressed. Didn't have a big variety of biscuit options when we were there so that could've been more on us than the restaurant. After eating biscuits throughout Charleston, there are better options.

We've been ordering from Handy & Hot since they opened last summer, even bringing a sampling of their biscuits up to friends in the Outer Banks. Everything we've tried is delicious and their coffee is absolutely fabulous! The staff is always great and even our dog loves to go in for treats and a good pet! Handy & Hot is a great addition to the neighborhood and their order ahead option is perfect for quick visits.