bowen's island restaurant

authentic steamed oyster. there at the end of a gravel road, which is blair witchish in the dark, is a plywood and stud shack laid on of top block walls, that is must have dining experience. you cant be a germaphobe and enjoy your visit, so if your expecting ultra white linens and clean tables.......dont go. cocktail sauce is dealt out of former gatorade bottles and the only service is the occasional dumping of buckets filled with discarded oyster shells. that is the beauty of the place. it knows what it is and doesn't pretend to be anything else.
the fried food is fair at best. the shrimp may be local but they are not fresh. thefishis whiting and no matter how you dress it, it will never be prom queen, just not that kind of girl. but.......they get oysters, they do everything right. a heaping mound of briny manna, served on a tray that in a former life saw 1000's of middle school mystery meats. they are steamed in the basement that feels like you walked into a secret clubhouse of ex-moonshiners that gave up "white lightning" for the marshie delicacy. the first one is best. still steaming and boiling within the shell. perfect cocktail sauce, that has the best consistency of any cocktail sauce i have ever had, paired with texas pete's hot sauce and squeezed lemon, it will keep you coming back again and again.
fanastic experience and very reasonable. i paid $13.00 and gorged myself on my own man vs. food challenge just to finish a single tray.
forget everything else on the menu and order a tray! you will understand immediately.

2006 was a long time ago for that james beard award!
if go at a time when the oysters aren't in season turn around and leave! we did not go at such a time. everything else there was ok, not great. only one thing one the menu was not fried. the fried shrimp was ok. the friedfishvery boney. the crab cake was clearly frozen from a box (too uniform).
i got the one not fried thing - frogman stew which is just a seafood boil. and it's just that. potato, corn, sausage, shrimp all boiled with no seasoning. bland bland bland.
by far worst and most boring meal of the trip

very disappointed. 2nd trip to bowen's. went in the summer two years ago. food was ok but the line was long and because of the wind direction, bugs made it almost unbearable to wait. but that isn't the restaurants fault so decided to try it again. wife and i waited 45 minutes and when we got to the counter to order, hostess said they were all out of fried oysters. and the line behind us was still an hours wait! we were disappointed but order seafood platters. fried shrimp was very good, friedfishwas good, but not great. crap cake was bready and appeared deep fried from frozen, not made fresh. disappointed in the hushpuppies, not homemade and something you would get a low endfishcamp. the fries were also not very good, but you do get a bunch. the slaw was great, but they only give you a large tablespoon's worth in a tiny paper cup. the setting, history and sunset are all cool, but if you are looking for good food, there are better options.

a nightmare in the form of a restaurant.. the blueprint for the minimalist genre of restaurants, chances are good that from the dining room to the restroom, bowen's will be like no other dining establishment you've ever visited.

if the food had been superior i could have ignored all the other negatives such as the noise, the long wait in line, the exorbitant amount of time it took to receive our food, the deficiency of service and the lack of available tables.

this must be where people go to give their alcoholism a memorable night out. most of the crowd was boisterous and obnoxious. i can't recall when i have been in a restaurant where the ambient noise level increased as the total number of occupants decreased.

i got stuck sitting next to a trash container and when the busboy emptied the trash from the tables, the noise he created went through my head like an oyster knife.

the hushpuppies were large, spherical sponges. their singular purpose was to soak up every drop of cooking oil they were fried in. they were disgustingly inedible. when a fried item absorbs this much grease it is a clear indication that the oil is old and needs to be changed. had i known how bad bowen's hushpuppies were, i would not have ordered a separate side of them. i really should have asked for a refund. fed to an unsuspecting pup, expect a knock on the door from the aspca.

thefishoffered that evening was whiting. at first, the portion size of the two fillets appeared huge. as i got further into the entrée however, there wasn't muchfishat all once all the barrage of batter, skin a few bones were accounted for. what little actualfishremained tasted fresh, however.

i was told by my wife that the shrimp were good but those offered by sullivan's restaurant on the island are better.

the fries were prepared adequately but they were unremarkably standard.

what passes for cole slaw was merely chopped lettuce with some vinegar and sugar added. i might have detected an onion bit in there somewhere but i'm still not certain.

if you are still determined to eat at bowen's, consider bringing earplugs and an abundant amount of patience.

not so good. i will say the steamed oysters were great, but nothing else was. we were so disappointed. the seafood platter was terrible my husband kept getting bones in hisfishand couldn't eat it. i had i the crab cakes which lacked crab meat the worse i have every had. the price of our dinner was high, especially when you have to go order your food, get your own drinks and condiments. i would not recommend this place so many better places in the area. oh, don't go there if its cold, little to no heat and doors are constantly being opened making it miserable we were there last week.

garbage. we went out to see a spectacular sc low country sunset and they have an awesome location to do that. we ordered some kind of seafood platter and it was total garbage. they must have been understaffed as well b/c the bartender was taking all of the orders from bar patrons as well as all of the people in line to get food for tables. thefishhad tons of bones in it and the shrimp etc.. was terriible. this is probably the worst seafood i've had in charleston. i actually left and had dinner elsewhere.

captin d's would have been better. i took my wife there for dinner last night..what a major disappointment. she got the fried oysters and i got the seafood platter. so much for fresh local oysters.. they were heavily breaded, lacked any type of seasoning and poorly cooked. i question the freshness of the oysters as they were mushy and tasteless. most likely frozen.
the sea food platter had shrimp, crab cake and a piece of nondescript fish. all three were frozen not fresh. thefishwas hard and chewy.
the bill came to $47 that included an iced tea and one local brewed beer which was excellent.
if you want a place to have a few drinks and enjoy a nice marsh view this would be a good place, but don't' come for the food.

delicious. the last review on here said everything tasted like fried food. wrong. i did enjoy friedfishand shrimp myself, which was fantastic, but different people in my party got the boiled shrimp, which was also fantastic. this place has an beautiful view while you eat, it's local, and they serve all the local craft beers(westbrook, holy city and coast). bowen's is very reasonable priced too. i spent 20 dollars with a tip, for thefishand shrimp dinner and a holy city pint. i would highly recommend bowen's if you are in the area. i would go again.

gross. just gross. everything tastes like fried...batter. ick. why must they ruin fresh, local seafood?


-----06 sep, 2010-----

bad night or bad food?. maybe going to this restaurant while they're redoing the place was a bad idea. out of five of us dining, not one of us was happy with our food. my seafood platter was extremely bland with flavorless (yet extremely greasy) shrimp andfishand an overcooked, dry crab cake. the shrimp & grits plate was something a child could have put together. that too had no flavor. thank goodness ketchup saved the day.

great place, really disappointing food.. perhaps this started as a fisherman's shack. he'd bring in the fresh catch and fry it up for you at night. it was probably terrific once but this isn't passable fried food. if all you are going to do is fry seafood, you'd better know how to do it. perhaps by the time you get your food you've had so much to drink you don't know the difference.
the food is greasy and poorly cared for. boring bagged fries and the worst hush puppies i have ever had anywhere. i don't think i have ever had a bad hush puppy. they're overcooked and hard as rocks. thefishwas less greasy than the oysters but wasn't boned or skinned. i got a piece of unchewable tail without knowing it in my first bite and bones in my second. thefishwould have been pretty good otherwise. i wishh they served something better than texas pete to go with it though. really? texas pete? the oysters tasted good but were sponges of oily nastiness.
i would have said something to someone but i seriously doubt anyone there really cares. i don't know this, it's just an impression. there's an "oyster room" downstairs. it's the first thing you see when you get there and i thought that you could just hang out down there and order steamed oysters. we stood in line for quite awhile before the oyster man looked at us and asked us where our ticket was. a sign would have been nice saying we needed to go upstairs and pay first then come down and pick them up.
we should have order all you can eat steamed oysters and had a couple beers and left. at least they couldn't mess this up and you could still enjoy being there.

the way it was.... this place is the way thefishcamps used to operate. order and pay for tour meal at the bar - there was a very bored dude taking orders. they bring put the order to your table - all served on paper plates. be aware it is an open air place. - no ac. the seconds are piled high and most all is deep fried. the shrimp and grits were the only non fried dish at our table. all good eats and reasonably priced.


-----10 aug, 2010-----

under construction.... well we tried to dine at bowen's last week while on vacation. we had read the southern living reviews and such, and had high hopes for a great no frills seafood meal. but when we arrived, it was obvious that the place is being upgraded with a new kitchen and dining area to serve the demand of new customers. but that is why we did not get to dine this evening - the kitchen was closed! why? - because the new kitchen exhaust vent had failed - no ventilation means no cooking. oh well that 's the price for progress - we'll try again next time we're in the area.

good food and bar. my friend and i went on a twilight kayak tour with coa and asked the guide if the restaurant next door was a good choice for dinner. he said they had great food and drinks and we didn't even have to worry about the paddling gear; so off we went. we were a little confused to begin with; not understanding if we were to seat ourselves then not knowing we needed to go to the register to place our order.
once we figured it out we placed our order, found a seat and enjoyed a drink while watching the sun sink over the marsh. their method of service is unorthodox at best as they pile several orders on one tray and run around yelling people's names until the food is claimed. we thought it was entertaining and it did not bother us a bit.
this is not a fine dine restaurant! if that is what you are looking for go elsewhere...there are plenty of places where you can go spend a fourtune...this is not that place.
our food arrived quickly even though there were packed and it was great! i had the seafood sampler with fried shrimp,fishand a crab cake, fries and hushpuppies. the shrimp were great, crab cake was ok not the best and thefishwas good though i didn't eat much of it...i was too full! my friend got the boiled shrimp and man were they good! our plates were cleared and we didn't mind slinking back to the bar to order more drinks. we thought it was a really fun not as touristy spot and will be back the next time we are in town.

food okay, atmosphere great!. the restaurant sits on a beautiful area of folly beach, tucked away in the marsh. they have outdoor seating that faces the waterway, so you can enjoy the sun set and boats traveling the river.

we had the lowcountry boil (frog stew i think they call it?) and the smallfishplates. the low country boil was great! thefishplates were just okay. the fried shrimp was good, but thefish(cod i think) and crabcake were just okay.

the other thing to note is that the steamed oysters are only available a very short period of time, and were not on the menu when we went :( get there early as you order your food then wait for a table to open up.

i recommend it because it was such a different place and atmosphere. plus beer and drinks were good and reasonably priced.

the oysters are good, shrimp andfishare fresh, but i was eaten alive by the little no-see'um gnats. made for a terrible experience.

best shrimp!. we went to bowen's island on our last night at folly beach. the place is rustic but we were warned. the guy taking orders at the register was friendly and had great stories if you had time to listen. the food was fantastic. i had the best fried shrimp ever! the coating was light and crispy and the shrimp cooked to perfection. thefishwas fresh as could be. my wife had shrimp and grits with smokey sausage. it was very good. we highly recommend this place.