Tuesday, August 11, 2026

No Dinner at Chubby Fish, One of the 50 Best Restaurants in the US/ Canada (San Pellegrino Best 50), but Apero (and Snacks) Next Door at the Sister Bar Seahorse in Charleston, South Carolina (August 2026)






In 2026, our beach weak in Charleston, South Carolina, at Ocean Thriller (903 Ocean Boulevard, City of Isle of Palms) took place from August 1 to August 8.
 
For this and last year, see:
Beach Week 2026 in Charleston, South Carolina, at Ocean Thriller (903 Ocean Boulevard, City of Isle of Palms), August 2026
Beach Week in Charleston (Isle of Palms), South Caroline, at Ocean Thriller (903 Ocean Boulevard), July 2025 
 
On Wednesday, while Chris stayed with the 6 kids in Isle of Palms, Annette and I went with our 3 daughters to Charleston downtown for apero, dinner and after-dinner drinks.
 
We took the apero at Seahorse, an intimate, pirate-ship inspired bar and supper club. Seahorse is next to and owned and run by the team behind Chubby Fish, arguably Charleston's #1 restaurant currently. It is #21 on the North America's 50 Best Restaurants List (San Pellegrino). Chubby Fish does not take reservations. And there are only 40 seats in the restaurant. So, expect a queue. The line begins around 4pm each day. Guests in line have the option to either dine at 5pm when we open or put their name down for a time later in the evening. Be prepared to order when you sit though: tables have a 60-minute limit. 
 
We had dinner at a place that takes reservations and where you are not kicked out after 60 minutes, Soghum and Salt, a locally sourced farm&dock-to-table restaurant. Dinner was tapas-style, with the five of us sharing all plates.
 
Next time in Charleston, we will definitely go to Chubby Fish. What we will do is to show up there sometimes after 5pm, when they start to put names down and have an apero at Seahorse or elsewhere. 
 
As to after-dinner drinks, after a short stop at Elliotborough Mini Bar in walking distance to Soghum and Salt and to Chubby Fish, we decided to end the day in Isle of Palms at Dinghy, a popular dive bar in walking distance to Chris and Cornelia's house. The band was still playing Rock'N'Roll music when we arrived but but had to stop after a few songs at 10pm. 
 
Chubby Fish (Michelin) 

Ask any Charlestonian if they've been to Chubby Fish and they'll either rave or tell you they can't get in. Open since 2018, this walk-in only spot is easily recognized by the long line that forms outside. If you're lucky enough to get in, there's a hip look and feel with a communal table at the center, tall ceilings and an open kitchen where you can see the team at work. 

As the name suggests, it's all about the sea, and Chef/owner James London's menu comprises raw offerings, appetizers and entrees that change often (they're handwritten over the kitchen). North Carolina yellowtail tuna crudo or chilled local Steamboat Creek oysters with crab fat curry make for a good start, then share one of their entrees like smoked sheepshead curry that's served atop a bed of skillfully cooked rice. 

Chubby Fish (Best 50) 

Dock-to-table: Charleston knows its seafood. So for locals to line up 'round the block every night (more on that in a minute) to wait for fish, you know it has to be good. The kitchen coordinates with fishers to get the best, freshest catch every day. The menu changes as a result, but expect an assortment of raw bar options; oysters harvested along the East Coast from South Carolina all the way up to Maine; and dishes such as chilli garlic shrimp and bone marrow with shrimp tempura and spicy mayonnaise. 

Chef CV: James London is a man of Charleston. He grew up, as South Carolinians do, cooking barbecue. He worked in fine-dining restaurants while attending the College of Charleston. From there he attended The French Culinary Institute in New York, and worked in kitchens in New York and San Francisco, racking up awards, until Charleston's siren song brought him home. 

What's the secret: It's true, Chubby Fish does not take reservations. And there are only 40 seats in the restaurant. So, expect a queue. The best strategy is to skip lunch and get there for an early dinner. Or put your name on the list and stroll around Cannonborough, or have a drink at Seahorse next door. Be prepared to order when you sit though: tables have a 60-minute limit. 

Drink to that: As you would expect from a place that is thoughtful about each ingredient and each purveyor, the wine and beer selection is similarly thoughtful, designed to pair well with seafood. Non-alcoholic options are also more than afterthoughts. 

World recognition: London's advocacy for sustainable fishing and sourcing have put him on the international map. Well, that and the blue crab tagliatelle.






Seahorse (Condé Nast Traveller)

First impression? Past the line of those waiting to get a table at Chubby Fish next door, you enter this Charleston single house turned bar traditionally through the porch door where there is a host stand at the other end. Once inside, the light filters through the bottles behind the bar in the front room and through 19th-century glass windows in the main room. For some reason, “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” starts floating through your mind as you take in the decadent red paisley wallpaper on the ceiling, the weathered wood walls, and the ship model and nautical accents. But wait, is that a cartoon McDonald's glass from the 1980s under a hooked rug portrait of a captain? Next to small cordials glasses that look plucked from the Belle Epoque? 

How’s the crowd? The crowd is serious about cocktails, relaxed and all enjoying seats at the bar or their respective tables. 

How are the drinks? Hands down, some of the best in town. Christian Favier, who created the menu and runs the bar, is an industry veteran with a deep and abiding love for the science and the sorcery in flavor layering. A selection of long drinks employs the wonders of the bar's Suntory highball machine, there is a smoked olive martini, a cocktail infused with sandalwood, and plenty of unique and small batch spirits both in the cocktails and on the shelves. 

If there’s food, is it worth ordering something to eat? The bar's sister restaurant is Chubby Fish, so the creativity, and in-season seafood and produce is on display in this kitchen as well. Snacks are a misleading moniker for these small bites that might be house made chorizo or fried squash blossoms one night, and clams another. There is always cacio e pepe potato chips, though, piled high with freshly shredded parmesan and enough chips to serve the table. 

Did the staff do you right? The staff has a calm and relaxed demeanor no matter how many people are in the building. They take time for conversation, to remember your name, and answer questions, as if they're hosting you in their home. That's what it feels like. No rush, just take your time. We're glad you're here. 

Wrap it up: what are we coming here for? For a grown up drink in a beautiful place filled with people who take what they do seriously but still like to have fun doing it.

Seahorse/ Chubby Fish


Seahorse








Drinks




Glou Glou is an orange wine made from two typical grape varietals of the Mosel, Germany region. This is a collaboration of two renowned families, the local Kettering family and the Nieport family from Portugal. 70% of this skin contact wine is fermented in stainless steel and 30% in mix of fuder and doppelfuder barrels from the 1940s through 1960s and aged 10 months on the lees. 

Snacks






schiller-wine: Related Postings 
 
 
 

Summary: Germany "From Berlin to Frankfurt" 2023 (Saale Unstrut, Sachsen, Franken, Württemberg) by ombiasy WineTours

Summary: From Lyon to Paris - Total Immersion in Burgundy and Champagne 2023 by ombiasy WineTours (July 02 - 13, 2023)

Summary: Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours - 12 Days: May 28 - June 08, 2023 

Christian Schiller`s SCHILLER-WINE Blog on Corking Wines` Top 101 Wine Writers of 2020 List

The 2025 American Wine Society National Conference in Chantilly/ Virginia/ USA, with Annette and Christian Schiller: Seen Through Christian Schiller's Camera Lens

2022 Annual Riesling Party at the Schiller Residence in McLean, Virginia, USA 

Kékfrankos - Blaufränkisch - Lemberger: A Grape’s Immigration Story From Central Europe To The US West Coast - Seminar at the 2023 American Wine Society National Conference in St. Louis/ Missouri/ USA led by Annette Schiller

The New German Wine Law of 2021 - Tasting at the German Wine Society (Washington DC Chapter), presented by Annette Schiller

schiller-wine Blog of Christian Schiller Top Washington DC Alcohol Blog (December, 2024)

2024 Annual Meeting of the Weinfreundeskreis Hochheim, a 45 Years Old Wine Brotherhood in the Famous Wine Village Hochheim, Rheingau, Germany, with Annette Schiller, Founding Member, and Christian Schiller

Masterclass - The Wines of Germany: Presentation by Annette Schiller at the German Embassy in Washington DC/ Consular Conference March 2024 

Dinner at JAN in Munich, Germany, with Jan Hartwig, one of the ten German 3-star Michelin Chefs (September 2024) 


2025 Rieslingfeier Gala Dinner in New York City, Sky Loft, 32nd Floor of 50 Hudson Yard, with 15 #worldclass Winemakers from Germany + Austria and Estimated 300 Wines, many 20, 30, 40 Years old, many Larger Format and almost all Ultra-premium 

 
Annette and Christian Schiller Awarded German Wine Society Silver Medallion for their Superior Knowledge of German Wine (USA, Washington DC, December 12, 2025) of the Washington DC Chapter of the German Wine Society USA (via Zoom), February 21, 2026  
 

   

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