Pearlz Oyster Bar — Restaurant in Charleston

If you’re craving seafood in Charleston, Pearlz is a pretty solid choice, though it comes with a few quirks. Let me set the scene: My husband isn’t the biggest fan of seafood (bless him), so he was really taking one for the team when we ventured here. Plus, we were escaping the dreaded heat advisory with our pup, and the welcoming vibe at Pearlz made the experience a bit more enjoyable.

We were seated at a window bar, which turned out to be a pretty cute spot—enough to distract from the sweltering heat outside. I kicked things off with a rosé and he opted for a Pilsner. Now, I love me a good glass of wine, but when it arrived, I couldn’t help but notice that the glass was… well, shall we say, over-polished? The glass looked clean, but the poor thing was covered in fluff, and as much as I’d like to be polite, I rubbed my fingers around the rim and flicked the fluff away. I didn’t have the patience to mention it to the waiter, mainly because we didn’t see her for a while, and it was already in the drink and honestly, it wasn’t the biggest issue—just a little awkward.

Now, onto the food—things started off a bit bumpy. I ordered the varietal oysters and one topped with caviar, which sounded like heaven to me. But, as luck would have it, there was a hair on my oysters when they arrived. I politely mentioned it to our waitress, and to her credit, she quickly took them back and assured us she’d bring a fresh tray. While I was disappointed, I appreciated the quick action.

As for the rest of the meal, I was thoroughly impressed with the Brussels sprouts. Roasted to perfection, they were crisp on the outside and soft inside, with a generous sprinkle of Parmesan that made them irresistible. A definite must-order.

And then, the surprise of the evening: the burger. My husband is somewhat of a burger connoisseur, and we honestly didn’t expect much from a seafood-focused restaurant. But this burger? It was phenomenal. A little salty, a touch sweet from the sauce, and cooked just right. We were both thoroughly impressed and will be dreaming of it for days to come.

When my oysters returned, they were perfect. Creamy, fresh, and absolutely divine—well worth the minor hiccup. The best part? The manager came by to apologize for the hair incident and took the oysters off our bill, which we thought was a classy and thoughtful gesture.

Overall, we left Pearlz happy and satisfied. Despite the minor mishaps, the food, especially that burger, more than made up for it. And with the manager’s thoughtful gesture, we definitely felt valued as guests. We'll definitely be back for more oysters, Brussels sprouts, and that incredible burger. Would I recommend Pearlz? Absolutely! Just maybe wipe your glass before diving...

We have never experienced worse service. We got on the waitlist, were told it would be 2-15 minute wait. After 30 mins of no text, we went to check. She said she'll clear a table for us and we were sat 15 minutes after that. A waitress came another 15 minutes later to greet us and apologized that she didnt come sooner. At this point, we had been waiting an hour for a table/waitress, when we were initially told “2-15 minutes”. We decided to order food and drinks at once so it would be faster service. We didn't receive our drinks until 25 minutes later! The waitress came back and said "Sorry I thought someone brought these out, but I had them rush the order. Your food will be out in a minute." We asked for straws so we can drink and she said she'll be right back with them. We didnt receive our food (or straws) for at least a half hour after that! Another waiter brought the food out, and we asked him for the straws that she never brought out. We didnt see our waitress again until she brought the check out, after asking a third waitress we saw for the bill because we were completely ignored at that point. It's like she completely forgot about us because we were sitting outside. She kept apologizing for not checking on us at all but we just wanted to leave at that point. We were sat an hour after expected, and food came out another hour later. We had to wait 2 hours to finally be able to eat. This was definitely the worst service we've ever received and not at all worth...

The food was really good. Drinks were nice and cold. Everything seemed to be perfect until our waiter decided to just forget about us. The restaurant was not very crowded which usually means service is overbearing. Not in this case. We watched the waiter stand around talking to other servers while eating freshly cut oranges from the bar. He would pause occasionally to take in sports news clips being broadcast on the big screens. All the while our drinks were completely consumed and our food was getting cold because we had nothing to wash it down with. When you have a table that has ordered only one cold drink per person in the middle of a hot SC day, their drinks are empty, and they are no longer as cheerful as they were 30 min before then you should know immediately that there is something wrong. I was a waiter at a similar style restaurant years ago and understand how to take care of a table. I also tip very well when a waiter has done everything that they are supposed to do to take care of the customers. This guy received less than 10% because our lunch was pretty much ruined by getting cold while waiting for our next beverage which never came. The restaurant itself would get five stars for the quality of food and the waiter should receive zero stars for his...