Daufuskie Restaurants and Cafés
Restaurants on Daufuskie Island are few, small and seasonal, so call ahead: here is every place to eat and drink, and how to reach it.
At Freeport Marina, Daufuskie
Freeport Marina, on the Cooper River, is where the Vagabond boats from Harbour Town and the Island Head boats from Broad Creek land. The Freeport General Store, next to the restaurant, sells snacks and drinks and rents golf carts.
A food truck by the Freeport docks serving crisp, thin tavern-style pizzas in the evenings, from the crew behind Firemost’s shop at Broad Creek Marina on Hilton Head.
At Melrose
Melrose is on the Atlantic side of the island. Despite the name, it is a golf cart ride from Melrose Landing, where the public ferry from Hilton Head docks by Freeport Marina.
A family pub with burgers, wings, subs and pizza, pool and darts inside, a shaded patio and horses to feed. 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., closed Wednesdays.
The new beach club in the old Melrose Oyster House building, with pools, a gym and courts for members and a kitchen serving burgers, fried seafood and sweet potato tots. Check its social pages for hours.
The Saltwater Siren, a small shop on Avenue of Oaks, sells health foods and coastal treats. Melrose’s old raw bar, the Melrose Oyster House, has closed.
Breakfast, Coffee and Lunch Around the Island
Breakfast only, Tuesday to Saturday from 7 to 11 a.m.: biscuits and gravy, shrimp and grits and breakfast burritos, in the old Lucy Bell’s building on Benjies Point Road. It was the Island Shack Cafe until new owners renamed it.
Organic coffee, espresso drinks, frappés, milkshakes and frozen lemonade in an old white schoolhouse on School Road, with tables inside and out. Closed Sundays.
A lunch stand on School Road frying chicken strips, wings, shrimp and Vidalia onion rings, with picnic tables under the pines. Open a few days a week around lunchtime.
A general store and eatery on Haig Point Road, with pressed sandwiches, pizzas and a bar with TVs, and a deck and picnic tables outside.
Slow-smoked pulled pork and ribs with the house sauces, which are bottled to take home, served at a wooden bar inside or on the porch of a yellow building on Buckthorn Lane.
A dinosaur-themed ice cream truck and sweets shop: soft-serve cups and cones, cake slices and slushies. Hours are seasonal.
Drinks: the Distillery and Silver Dew Winery
Wine tastings in the old brick oil house of the Bloody Point Lighthouse, where Papy Burn made wine from 1953, beside a small vineyard of scuppernong grapes.
The winery shares its grounds with the lighthouse museum at the south end of the island; see Bloody Point Lighthouse for the keeper’s house and its hours.
About this list
Daufuskie Island dining is a dozen or so places spread along sandy roads. The Old Daufuskie Crab Company at Freeport Marina, where the Vagabond and Island Head boats land, is the one most day-trippers come for. At Melrose, near the public ferry landing, The Sportsman is a family pub open every day but Wednesday. In between are a breakfast diner, a coffee house in an old schoolhouse, a fried chicken stand, a barbecue restaurant, an ice cream truck, the island’s distillery and a winery at the lighthouse.
Hours move with the seasons and the owners’ schedules, and several places open only a few days a week, so call before you ride over; the cards give the days we could confirm. You need a golf cart or a bike to get between them, and our Daufuskie Island ferry guide covers the boats across. Two names you may remember are gone: Marshside Mama’s closed in 2018, and the Melrose Oyster House has closed too.
More ways to choose where to eat
Daufuskie Island, SC: getting there by ferry, getting around by golf cart, where to eat, Gullah history, Haig Point, beaches and golf, from Hilton Head.
Daufuskie Island ferry schedule, fares and docks: the public ferry from C.C. Haigh Jr. Landing, day-trip boats, water taxis and Haig Point's ferry.
Freeport General Store and Daufuskie Island shopping: the island's general store, Daufuskie Blues indigo, Iron Fish metal art and the Glass House studio.
Daufuskie Island things to do: empty Atlantic beaches, horseback rides, Gullah history, a lighthouse winery, art studios and lunch at Freeport Marina.
Frequently Asked Questions
What restaurants are on Daufuskie Island?
The Old Daufuskie Crab Company at Freeport Marina, The Sportsman at Melrose, the Driftwood Diner for breakfast, School Grounds Coffee, Frye’s Corner, D’Fuskie’s Store and Eatery, Up in Smoke BBQ, the Firemost Pizza truck, Scoopasaurus for ice cream, Corakko Beach Club at Melrose, and drinks at the Daufuskie Island Distillery and Silver Dew Winery.
Are Daufuskie Island restaurants open year-round?
Most are, but hours shrink off-season and several places open only a few days a week. The Old Daufuskie Crab Company is open every day. Call ahead before you ride over anywhere else.
Do I need a golf cart to get to the restaurants on Daufuskie?
Yes, or a bike. The Old Daufuskie Crab Company is on the dock where the Vagabond and Island Head boats land, a short walk from the public ferry at Melrose Landing, but everything else is a cart ride along sandy roads.
Do Daufuskie Island restaurants take reservations?
Mostly they do not need them. At the Old Daufuskie Crab Company you order at the bar, The Sportsman asks only for a heads-up for parties of more than 10, and the distillery takes walk-ins.
Where can I get breakfast on Daufuskie Island?
At the Driftwood Diner, Tuesday to Saturday from 7 to 11 a.m., or coffee at School Grounds Coffee on School Road, which is closed on Sundays.
What is Daufuskie Island food like?
Casual and mostly Lowcountry: deviled crab, fried shrimp and oysters at the crab company, barbecue, pub food, fried chicken and pizza. There is no fine dining open to visitors on the island.
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