Why you should experience Plums Restaurant in South Carolina.
Plums Restaurant is a lively riverfront kitchen where Downtown Beaufort's waterfront culture, Lowcountry cooking, coastal seafood traditions, and relaxed Southern hospitality shape one of the city's enduring lunch destinations.
Set along Bay Street near West Street and just steps from Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park, this riverfront restaurant opens onto sweeping Beaufort River views while serving a menu rooted in fresh local seafood, Southern favorites, and seasonal Lowcountry ingredients. Wild-caught shrimp, regional oysters, sandwiches, salads, and longtime house specialties reflect the easygoing character of Beaufort's historic waterfront, where unhurried lunches and front-row river views have become part of daily life. Casual energy, fresh coastal flavors, and a setting that naturally encourages lingering over lunch have made Plums a fixture of Bay Street for decades. The result is a restaurant defined by Lowcountry flavor, waterfront dining, and one of Beaufort's most enduring culinary traditions.
What you should know about Plums Restaurant.
Plums Restaurant is best known for opening in 1986, becoming one of the longest-standing independently operated restaurants on Bay Street before evolving into the flagship of restaurateur Lantz Price's Beaufort hospitality group. Originally established by Price's mother with an art gallery occupying the front portion of the building, the restaurant later expanded after Price acquired the gallery space, allowing Plums to grow into its present-day riverfront kitchen and oyster bar while preserving its locally owned identity. The restaurant's emphasis on fresh local ingredients, sustainable seafood, and classic Lowcountry cooking eventually led Price to develop additional downtown concepts, including Saltus River Grill in 2001 and Hearth Wood Fired Pizza, helping shape Bay Street into Beaufort's premier dining corridor. Nearly four decades after opening, Plums continues serving the waterfront with a menu centered on coastal Carolina flavors while remaining one of downtown's defining independent restaurants.
Wild-caught local shrimp appear throughout the menu, from lightly fried baskets to creamy shrimp and grits, while crab cakes, oysters, fresh fish, hearty sandwiches, and colorful salads showcase the ingredients that define the Lowcountry coast. Warm biscuits with whipped honey-pecan butter begin the meal before seafood arrives with delicate corn succotash, stone-ground grits, peach vinaigrette, and bright seasonal vegetables that allow fresh regional ingredients to remain the focus. House-made dressings, balanced flavors, and thoughtful preparation reinforce a philosophy rooted in coastal simplicity, allowing the freshness of the seafood and the character of Southern cooking to speak for themselves.
How to fold Plums Restaurant into your trip.
Plums Restaurant works as the centerpiece of an afternoon exploring Beaufort's historic waterfront and Lowcountry heritage.
Begin at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park, where broad Beaufort River views establish the city's maritime character before walking directly across Bay Street for lunch at Plums Restaurant. Continue to John Mark Verdier House Museum, whose preserved Federal-style residence reveals Beaufort's antebellum prosperity through one of the city's finest historic homes. Conclude at Pat Conroy Literary Center, where exhibits celebrating one of the Lowcountry's most influential writers provide a fitting finale that deepens appreciation for the culture, history, and storytelling woven throughout Downtown Beaufort. The progression moves naturally from waterfront scenery to coastal cuisine before continuing through two places that enrich an understanding of Beaufort's architectural and literary heritage.
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