Get To Know Columbia, South Carolina | Listen

Copy to clipboard

Dive into the food of a Southern city finally receiving culinary recognition

Columbia, South Carolina has officially entered the chat. Lula Drake Wine Parlour’s 2024 James Beard Award drew the city into the national restaurant conversation as the first in South Carolina outside of Charleston to earn the coveted distinction. “I’ve been here every night since,” says Tim Gardner, Lula Drake owner and sommelier, commenting on the packed status of his restaurant after the June 11 win. While the honor certainly warrants the spotlight, residents and frequent visitors have known for years what the larger culinary community has now discovered—that Columbia long ago achieved its more recent designation as a culinary destination. Among other indications, Cola, as it’s lovingly known, hosts seven annual festivals dedicated to signature crops and ingredients, including sweet potatoes, peaches, okra, tomatoes, peanuts, oysters, and so much more. The party doesn’t stop there. Shrimp and grits have their own day in the spotlight, Dining on the Dam and Gervais Street Bridge Dinner bring thousands out to dine on the water, and Columbia Food & Wine Festival has grown from one day to a full five in its six years. Columbia’s food culture and expertise goes beyond the celebrations: it’s the chefs who are getting creative with those ingredients—and putting the Midlands on the map.

Spread of dishes at Terra in Columbia, South Carolina

Best Places to Eat and Drink

Customer picking out a bottle of wine at Lula Drake Wine Parlour in Columbia

Best Farm-to-Table: Terra
Raking in almost as many awards as years they’ve been open, Terra’s nearly 20-year commitment to sourcing from local farms is reflected in its weekly rotating menu based on what chef Mike Davis deems freshest and most flavorful.

Best Wine Bar: Lula Drake Wine Parlour
A stunningly wide selection of madeira, sherry, and grappa, along with small bites like their signature yangnyeom “KFC” (Korean Fried Chicken) make this James Beard Award’s Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program winner a must-dine.

Best Daytime Fried Chicken Spot: Drake’s Duck-In
Fried chicken done right, from the spot serving old school flavor since 1907. Don’t miss the fried bologna sandwich or the pimiento cheese served with a sleeve of Ritz crackers. The breakfast versions—with waffles or a biscuit—might be worth the extra early rising.

Best Hang: The Hoot
The “local roost for odd birds” makes everyone feel at home. A newer hot spot that seems like it’s been around for years, The Hoot offers casual fare and whimsical cocktails that you might not even suspect are fully plant-based.

Burger, fries, and a cocktail at Bourbon in Columbia, South Carolina

Best Place for a Drink: Bourbon
Owned by long-time Columbia restaurateur Kristian Niemi and a downtown staple for 10 years and running, Bourbon’s selection of more than 500 whiskeys paired with its Cajun-creole kitchen create a dining and imbibing experience worth repeating.

Best Coffee Shop: Azalea Coffee Bar
Sourcing coffee and tea from only women, Azalea Coffee Bar is a woman- and LGBTQ-owned
specialty coffee shop serving up beverages often named for iconic female historical figures.

Best Barbecue: City Limits Barbeque
If the lines don’t speak for themselves at Robbie Robinson’s Texas-style City Limits Barbeque in
West Columbia, the chef’s James Beard finalist status for the title of 2024 Best Chef: Southeast
certainly does. The housemade brisket dogs—and everything else—are worth the wait.

Best Sweet Spot: smallSUGAR
The perfect pan au chocolat does exist outside of Paris, along with a rotating selection of other
pastries, breads, macarons, and seasonal pastries that take advantage of what’s in season.

Biggest Claim to Fame: Pimento Cheese

A hotly debated topic, the origin of pimento cheese isn’t something Columbia will claim. But the city does herald a version, discovered in a fundraising cookbook from 1912, as one of the oldest recorded recipes. The recipe uses proper Southern ingredients—grated cheese, pimentos, and mayonnaise—and has become Cola’s entire personality on occasion. From calling the pimento cheeseburger an original Columbia combination from the early 1960s to establishing a pimento cheese passport in 2019, the enticing concoction is an integral part of the Midland’s culinary personality. The passport now includes 20 different restaurants including the classic version from DiPrato’s Delicatessen.

Room at the Hotel Trundle in Columbia, South Carolina

Where to Stay: Hotel Trundle

Rita Patel and Marcus Munse channeled their passion for architecture and preservation into three historic Columbia buildings to create a one-of-a-kind, 41-key boutique hotel that opened in 2018. The owners’ love for their city shines through in the choice to source art, provisions, furniture, and fixtures as close to home as possible. Steps from the hotel is The Flutter Wing, a five-suite expansion overlooking Main Street with views of the Columbia Museum of Art. The owners have also added a collection of additional freestanding residences restored to the same standards and with the same hospitality as the hotel proper for small groups to enjoy.

Where to Shop

Soda City Market
The producer-only Soda City Market held year-round on Saturday mornings on Main Street features about 200 vendors per week selling only what they grow and make themselves. A microcosm of Columbia, the market is where cultures intersect and where you’ll find local coffee, sauces, flowers, and street musicians and performers.

The Gourmet Shop
For specialty needs, head to this Five Points staple, open since 1979, with cheese, wine, kitchenware, gifts, and even caviar on offer.

City Grit
At this market and wine bar, you’ll find regional artisan goods produced by women and people of color, along with a surprising selection of grower Champagne. The operator, City Grit Hospitality, was named a 2023 James Beard Award finalist for Outstanding Restaurateur.