The Grand Strand is filled with beautiful places and great restaurants. If you play your dining cards right, you can experience both at the same time.
From oceanfront bars and grills to restaurants overlooking the scenic salt marshes of the South Carolina Lowcountry, the Strand is like one big all-you-can-eat-and-see buffet. Here are five hot spots with awesome food and views:
• Bandito’s: This large oceanfront cantina offers the flavors of Mexico and the Caribbean with views to match. Located at the north end of the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk, this sprawling, 3,000-foot restaurant also features a huge back porch that is just steps away from the beach. Enjoy fish tacos and frozen drinks while watching the waves roll ashore just feet away.
• Dead Dog Saloon: Really, any of the dozen or so restaurants on the Murrells Inlet Marsh Walk offer similar views, but the Dead Dog may be the coziest. Featuring comfy seats and even a hammock on the patio deck, the Dead Dog features great views of fishing boats bringing home the day’s catch. Much of it ends up on the Dead Dog menu, like the shrimp tacos and blackened grouper sandwich.
• Gulfstream Café: Located just across Murrells Inlet on the Garden City Beach peninsula, Gulfstream offers ocean views on one side of the restaurant and a beautiful vista of the inlet on the other. A large patio deck allows for a rare western view of sunset over the water, and the fresh seafood that comes into the adjoining marina is on the menu. Try the shrimp and grits and the crab cakes.
• Sea Captain’s House: This historic establishment has been serving fresh local seafood to locals and visitors for more than 60 years. The food is award-winning, and so is the view. Large pane-glass windows give guests a nice angle of the ocean and the screened-in patio porch is jut steps away from the beach. Southern cooking and creative seafood dishes complete the experience.
• Anchor Cafe: Located on the Intracoastal Waterway at one of the Strand’s most exclusive resorts, the Grande Dunes in Myrtle Beach, the Marina Inn features a large outdoor deck surrounded by yachts and other watercraft. The sun sets over the Waterway and provides the perfect backdrop as boats pass by. It’s a great place for a romantic date or happy hour dinks and appetizers with friends. If you’re lucky enough to have a boat, tie up and party down.