Pearlz Oyster Bar — Restaurant in Charleston

This past Friday evening, I went to Pearlz Oyster Bar in West Ashley. It was supposed to be a date but my wife stood me up and chose her girlfriend over me🤷🏾‍♂️. This was my first time here. So I wanted to try a few different things. As soon as I walked in I was greeted by the hostess, Jillian. Not only was it smiles from her, it was smiles throughout the restaurant... particularly paying attention to the staff. While waiting to be seated, I was greeted by another staff member that just wanted to make sure that was being taken care of. I was seated at one of the high top tables and Angela was my server. She was personable and extremely knowledgeable on their menu items. She started with happy hour specials including their drinks and also gave me suggestions which included one of her favorite drinks without me even asking. Then she went over the complete menu and included what they did not have for the rest of the evening. I opted for a rum and Coke.. nothing too fancy. I also decided to try the Curry Sweet Potato Soup and it was definitely on point! The froth on top is the steamed coconut milk. You definitely need to try it. Next, I tried the Smoked P.E.I. Mussels. It was less than I expected, but the flavor was right. The mussels are smoked and then marinated in a spicy paprika chili oil. It's mixed with shallots and garlic. Perfect combination is that it's served with about 4-5 thin cut, toasted garlic bread. Last thing I got was the Blue Crab Cocktail Claws. I'm not a fan of cold seafood, so I got Roasted claws with NOLA butter and herbs. They were about 10 to 15 of them it is oil herbs. It was definitely worth it. I love the flavor! Mason like I ate a lot but these aren't large dishes, not the ones that I got. It's about the flavor and presentation top notch. The other thing I can say is that the service throughout my time was great! I watched other servers take care of each other's tables. The bartenders were engaged with their customers and kept them smiling and laughing. I also got a chance to meet one of the bartenders named Kyle. And he's definitely a cool dude. I saw other staff members taking food out to tables. The hostess, Jillian, continued to make sure tables were kept clean between customers as well as refilling their drinks. I even noticed the chef came out to greet some of the tables which is something that you rarely see. Cindy was taking care of the table in front of me. I could tell that they were enjoying her service as well. But of course, her service was no comparison to how well Angela took care of me😉. There are plenty things on the menu that I definitely got to try. So I'll be back in the near future. Just make sure you get there before...

Great locals place for great, very fresh seafood. Oysters, various ways, are the big draw, but they have alot more than that. They have a very good menu variety of seafood. We visited on a weekend right before the big dinner rush. We had reservations, which are suggested, so we got seated pretty quickly. The waiter was great, very friendly, quick, and very responsive, taking our drink order quite quickly after being seated. Drinks arrived within 5 minutes (I ordered an old fashioned so the time was expected), then they took our food order. I got the grilled Mahi tacos, my wife got the monkfish special of the day, one of my sons got the fried shrimp dinner, and the other son got the crab cake sandwich. We also got the char broiled oysters as an appetizer (with NOLA butter and parmesan cheese). The oysters appetizer came out in about 10 minutes and they were AMAZING!! We regretted not ordering more. Both sons tried oysters for the first time with these and loved them! They're hooked! The reat of our food order came out about 10 minutes after the oysters. Everything was GREAT! Very fresh and flavorful. Perfectly cooked. So good I don't think either teenage son chewed their food much, rather they inhaled everything and coughed out the plate. Ha! We were very satisfied with our food. Portions were ample enough to fill you up. Overall we felt the prices weren't that bad at all, considering the quality, freshness, and flavor its a great value. Facilities were clean and well maintained. Everyone there was very friendly and were very good at their job. Only knock is limited parking. I can see why this place is so popular. Between the facilities, staff, and, most importantly, the food, they're definitely doing things right. We will definitely return when we're in the area, and recommend to family...

Bottom line: great seafood, friendly staff, nice atmosphere without being “stuffy”

Coming from Colorado I don’t eat tons of seafood, so we definitely wanted to find a spot that served some good oysters and seafood dishes. It was a crowded parking situation but once we got in my party of 4 was seated. They had a booster seat for my youngest daughter which was great.

Our waitress, Channing, came over quickly to take our order and helped talk me onto what might be a good selection of oysters, she was able to split a kids meal so each of my daughters could have half (they’re not big eaters), and recommended the green curry hotpot special to my wife and I.

The food came out quickly and was great. The dozen oysters on the half shell were fresh and exactly what we were looking for. The crab cakes were so good that even my picky eater kept asking for more bites, the kids food was a generous portion of noodles, and that green curry hotpot was fantastic—mussels, clams, and shrimp in a spicy green curry sauce with rice. A fantastic recommendation from our waitress!

We had two drinks, a beer and the “Spring Break” cocktail. Both came out quickly and were great. Right at the end when I was paying our check my youngest decided to rock back in her chair and fall to the floor (yikes!). She was totally fine and not hurt, but the staff were all so concerned and helpful in that moment of chaos. One of them even went back and filled a glove with some pebble ice to serve as a makeshift ice pack in case my kid needed it.

I’d give Pearlz 6 out of 5 stars if I could. Great food, kind/helpful/knowledgeable staff, and a nice but...