Charleston is a Sunday town. Where most American dining cities lose their best tables on Sunday, the historic district keeps its steakhouses, its oyster halls and its Lowcountry rooms open, and folds in a Sunday ritual the rest of the country saves for special occasions: the Gospel Brunch. King Street stays lit, the raw bars keep shucking, and the only real planning is around the two or three rooms that do close. Seven confirmed Sunday tables follow, led by Halls Chophouse and Husk, with hours and dollar prices.
King Street stays lit on Sunday: Halls runs gospel brunch and dinner to eleven. Book Halls for a Sunday celebration.
Charleston treats Sunday as a working night, not a dark one. The city built its reputation on hospitality, and its marquee rooms, Halls Chophouse, Husk, The Ordinary, Peninsula Grill, all keep a Sunday service, several of them adding a Sunday brunch that has become a destination in its own right. The Gospel Brunch at Halls, with live singers between courses, is the clearest example of a Sunday tradition the rest of the country does not match.
The few closures are easy to map: FIG and Circa 1886 both go dark on Sunday, so a Sunday plan routes around them. The order below leads with the steakhouses and the modern-Southern rooms, then the oyster hall and the barbecue, with hours checked against each restaurant's published schedule. For the rest of the week, start with the Charleston dining guide.
Sunday hours: Sunday, Gospel Brunch 10:00–14:00 and dinner 17:00–23:00
The Hall family's King Street steakhouse is the loudest, warmest room in Charleston, and its Sunday Gospel Brunch with live singers is a city ritual. USDA prime steaks and the she-crab soup run about $70 to $140 a head. Dinner goes to eleven, seven nights. Book the brunch two to three weeks ahead; it is the hardest Sunday seat in town.
Sunday hours: Sunday, brunch 10:00–14:00 and dinner 17:00–22:00
Husk, the restaurant that reset Southern cooking under Sean Brock, works only with ingredients grown or raised in the South, and the menu changes daily on a chalkboard. A meal runs around $65 to $110 a head. It keeps a Sunday brunch and dinner in its Queen Street townhouse, one of the most sought Sunday tables in the historic district.
Sunday hours: Sunday, 17:00–22:00 (closed Tue)
Mike Lata, a James Beard Award winner, runs this seafood hall in a former 1920s bank on upper King Street. The raw bar and the fried oyster sliders anchor a $60 to $120 bill. It opens Sunday from five while closing Tuesday, so Sunday is one of its prime nights. Sit at the marble bar for the full effect of the room.
Sunday hours: Sunday, dinner 17:00–21:00 and brunch 09:00–13:00
The Peninsula Grill, inside the Planters Inn off Market Street, is Charleston's special-occasion benchmark, famous for its towering coconut cake. The dining room serves seven nights, with a Sunday brunch from nine. Around $70 to $130 a head. The garden courtyard is the table to ask for on a Sunday evening.
Sunday hours: Sunday, 17:30–22:00
Grill 225 at the Market Pavilion Hotel runs wet-aged prime and an old-school tableside service that fits a celebration. Sunday dinner runs half-five to ten, around $75 to $150 a head. The room is plush and clubby, the Sunday choice for a steak when Halls is fully booked.
Sunday hours: Sunday, 16:00–22:00 (Sun–Thu)
Lenoir cooks a vegetable-forward, wood-fired menu and opens Sunday through Thursday from four, around $55 to $95 a head. It is the lighter, more contemporary Sunday option among Charleston's heavier steak-and-seafood rooms, and the open kitchen makes the counter a good solo seat.
Sunday hours: Sunday, 11:00–21:00 (daily)
Rodney Scott won a James Beard Award for the whole-hog pork he smokes overnight, and his King Street pit runs every day including Sunday until the meat sells out. A plate is about $20 to $35 a head. It is the casual, essential Charleston Sunday lunch, and the line moves faster on a Sunday afternoon than on a Saturday.
Charleston's Sunday scarcity is concentrated in one booking: the Halls Chophouse Gospel Brunch, which goes two to three weeks out. Everything else on this list takes same-week Sunday reservations on OpenTable or Resy. Book Husk and Peninsula Grill a few days ahead for the prime evening window. For a first date, the courtyard at Peninsula Grill or the bar at The Ordinary set the tone; for a solo Sunday, the marble raw bar at The Ordinary is the seat and a strong solo-dining move; to impress a client, Halls or Grill 225 close the deal over a steak.
Charleston keeps more of its top rooms open on Sunday than most cities. Halls Chophouse runs a Gospel Brunch and dinner, Husk and The Ordinary both open Sunday, and Peninsula Grill serves dinner and brunch. Grill 225, Lenoir and Rodney Scott's BBQ all open Sunday too. FIG and Circa 1886, by contrast, are closed on Sundays, so plan around them.
The Sunday Gospel Brunch at Halls Chophouse is one of the hardest reservations in Charleston and should be booked two to three weeks out, especially for a window in the 11am to 1pm range. Dinner, which runs to 11pm, is easier and often has same-week availability. Reserve on OpenTable or by phone, and ask about the upstairs rooms for a quieter table.
The Ordinary on upper King Street is the city's oyster hall, open Sunday from 5pm with a raw bar of local and East Coast varieties, in a converted 1920s bank. Husk and Peninsula Grill also run seafood-strong Sunday menus. For the marble raw bar itself, walk in early at The Ordinary, as the bar seats are first come and fill quickly on a Sunday evening.
Yes. Charleston follows the US convention of 18 to 20 percent on the pre-tax bill for full service, with a little more at a steakhouse such as Halls or Grill 225 where the service is tableside. Larger parties may find an automatic gratuity added, so check before tipping twice. Sunday brunch service is tipped the same as dinner.
Hours verified against each restaurant's published schedule as of June 2026; confirm directly before travelling. Restaurants for Kings is editorial, not sponsored. Some reservation links may earn an affiliate commission, which never affects a ranking or a score.