“Must-Try” Restaurants in the Surfside Beach Area

For a town this size, Surfside Beach eats very well. Tucked just south of the Myrtle Beach bustle, “The Family Beach” has quietly built one of the most satisfying little dining scenes on the Grand Strand — the kind of place where a legendary Calabash-style seafood buffet, a from-scratch breakfast joint, and a chef-driven oceanfront kitchen all sit within a few minutes of each other.

Seafood is the headliner, as it should be on the South Carolina coast. The area is home to some of the most beloved all-you-can-eat Calabash spreads anywhere, alongside casual fish shacks where the catch is fresh and the vibe is firmly flip-flops-and-cold-drinks. But the real charm of dining here is the range: hearty Southern barbecue, New York–style pizza, sizzling Mexican platters, classic Italian-American comfort food, and breakfast spots that turn a simple stack of pancakes into a vacation ritual.

What ties it all together is that most of these are genuine local favorites — independently owned, regular-greeting-the-regulars kind of places. Here are the ones worth building a meal around on your next Surfside Beach trip.