Hilton Head's food scene is built on the water around it. The salt marsh, creeks and sounds produce oysters, shrimp, crab and fish, and the island's cooking draws on Gullah traditions, Southern home cooking and a long line of seafood houses that began as working docks. The key to eating well here is to follow the seasons and the water, and to leave the island now and then for Bluffton, Daufuskie and Beaufort.
Know the seasons
Local seafood is seasonal, and knowing the calendar helps you order the best. The Bluffton Oyster Company, the Lowcountry's most famous oyster house, gives the local seasons as roughly mid-September to mid-May for oysters, clams and mussels and mid-June to mid-January for shrimp, with soft-shell crab in spring. That makes autumn, and November in particular, a sweet spot: both oysters and local shrimp are available. Ask your server whether the shrimp are local; wild South Carolina shrimp are sweeter and firmer than imported farmed shrimp.
Oysters, the Lowcountry way
Lowcountry oysters typically grow in clusters on the intertidal mudflats, and the classic way to eat them is at an oyster roast, steamed in a pile and shucked at the table with a knife and a glove. In Old Town Bluffton, the Bluffton Oyster Company on Wharf Street on the May River is described as the last remaining hand-shucking oyster house in South Carolina; run by the Toomer family, it sells oysters, shrimp, clams and mussels from its small market, and the family's Bluffton Seafood House restaurant is nearby. Buying a bag of oysters there to steam at your rental is one of the great local experiences.
Dockside seafood houses
On the island's north end, Hudson's Seafood House on the Docks on Skull Creek is the institution. The Hudson family started it in 1912 as an oyster processing facility, and it became a restaurant in 1968; today it seats hundreds, serves locally sourced shellfish and fried seafood, and hosts dock entertainment on summer evenings, with seating first come, first served. Sunset over the creek is part of the meal. Elsewhere, look for restaurants on Broad Creek, at Shelter Cove and in Harbour Town, where waterfront tables at sunset are worth booking.
Lowcountry boil and other classics
The Lowcountry boil, also called Frogmore stew after a community on St. Helena Island near Beaufort, is a one-pot feast of shrimp, smoked sausage, corn on the cob and potatoes, boiled with seasoning and dumped on a newspaper-covered table. Shrimp and grits, she-crab soup, fried oysters, crab cakes and deviled crab are the other staples. On Daufuskie, Old Daufuskie Crab Company at Freeport Marina is known for its deviled crab and sunset views.
Gullah flavors
Gullah cooking is the foundation of much Lowcountry food, with roots in West African and Caribbean traditions: rice dishes, okra, greens, beans, sweet potatoes, fresh seafood and slow-cooked meats. Look for red rice, okra and tomatoes, and fried fish on menus around the island and in Beaufort County. On Daufuskie, Sallie Ann Robinson, a sixth-generation Gullah native known as the Daufuskie Chef, offers cooking demonstrations and talks on Gullah food traditions by arrangement, and the Coastal Discovery Museum's programs and the Gullah Heritage Trail Tour put the food in context.
Resort dining that delivers
In Sea Pines, the dining lineup includes Links, an American Grill, overlooking Harbour Town Golf Links, Harbourside and the Quarterdeck on the harbor, Harbour Town Bakery and Cafe for breakfast, and Coast, Oceanfront Dining at the Beach Club. Mid-island, the Omni Hilton Head's HH Prime focuses on USDA Prime beef and fresh seafood. At Coligny, the Tiki Hut at Beach House pairs beach-bar food and cocktails with live music every day. In Bluffton, Montage Palmetto Bluff's six restaurants make it a dinner destination, and in Beaufort, the Ribaut Social Club at Anchorage 1770 serves in one of the town's oldest houses.
Cooking your own seafood
With so many visitors in rental homes, cooking local seafood yourself is one of the best ways to eat on Hilton Head. Buy shrimp, oysters and clams straight from a seafood market such as the Bluffton Oyster Company, and ask the staff how they would prepare them. For a Lowcountry boil, start the potatoes first, add the sausage and corn, and drop the shrimp in for only the last few minutes so they stay tender. For steamed oysters, a big pot or grill, a wet burlap sack or towel, an oyster knife, gloves and a table covered in newspaper are all you need; cook until the shells just begin to open, and discard any that stay firmly shut. Serve with cocktail sauce, hot sauce, saltines and cold drinks, and eat outside.
Ordering like a local
Ask whether the shrimp are local and what came in that day. Order oysters by the cluster or the bucket in season, and fried oysters or shrimp when you want the classic plate. Try she-crab soup at least once, and save room for a slice of pie. At dockside restaurants, arrive before sunset for a waterfront table; many do not take reservations in busy seasons.
Markets and picnic supplies
Bluffton's farmers market sets up on Calhoun Street on Thursday afternoons for much of the year, with produce, seafood dishes, baked goods and live music; check current seasons. Coligny Plaza and Shelter Cove have casual spots and groceries for beach picnics.
A three-day eating plan
Day one: breakfast at Harbour Town, a picnic in the forest preserve, and a sunset seafood dinner on the harbor. Day two: shrimp and grits for lunch after the Gullah Heritage Trail Tour, and dinner at Hudson's on Skull Creek. Day three: deviled crab on Daufuskie, and a Lowcountry boil or steamed oysters from Bluffton at your rental to close the trip. Rules: follow the seasons, ask for local shrimp, book sunset tables, and leave room for one more oyster.