Why FIG matters.
FIG is a defining contemporary American restaurant where Charleston's Historic District's architectural inheritance meets Mike Lata's Lowcountry ingredient-driven cooking, three James Beard Awards and a consequential transformation of the city's independent dining community.
Positioned at the corner of Meeting and Hasell streets in Charleston's historic peninsula, the restaurant occupies a single-story commercial building amid preserved townhouses, established cultural institutions and the compact street network connecting the city's original commercial center with its northern residential districts. Its corner entrance leads into a dining room organized around closely arranged tables and an adjoining bar. A renovation introduced cooler wall tones, mirrors and restrained red accents, giving the interior a more contemporary character. The relatively low ceiling and compact proportions establish an intimate setting for extended dinners, and the bar accommodates diners seeking a more informal meal. The result is a comfortable neighborhood restaurant whose understated architecture places the emphasis on cooking, conversation and attentive service.
What defines FIG.
FIG is best known for helping establish Charleston as a nationally significant center for seasonal American cooking and producing three James Beard Award achievements across culinary leadership and wine service. Chef Mike Lata developed his early career in Atlanta, where his work at Ciboulette introduced a commitment to organic produce and relationships with regional farmers. In 1998, he moved to Charleston to become executive chef at Anson, working alongside Glenn Roberts, whose subsequent establishment of Anson Mills would contribute substantially to the preservation of Southern heirloom grains. Lata met Adam Nemirow at Anson, where Nemirow managed the dining room and developed the hospitality experience that would underpin their future partnership. Their collaboration brought together a chef interested in the agricultural resources of the Lowcountry and a restaurateur committed to informed, approachable service. The partners signed their restaurant lease on December 31, 2002, and opened FIG in April 2003, naming the establishment after the phrase Food Is Good. Its early success helped demonstrate the commercial possibilities of a restaurant whose cooking changed with the agricultural calendar and whose suppliers became integral to its development. Lata received the James Beard Foundation's Best Chef: Southeast Award in 2009, strengthening Charleston's national standing within contemporary American dining. Executive chef Jason Stanhope joined the restaurant during its first decade and eventually assumed greater responsibility for its kitchen. His work extended the restaurant's reputation for precise preparation and close relationships with regional producers. In 2015, Stanhope received the same James Beard regional chef award, making FIG an unusual example of a restaurant producing two winners in that category. The partners expanded their enterprise through The Ordinary, an oyster bar and seafood restaurant that opened in a former King Street bank building in 2012. That project extended their commitment to coastal ingredients into a separate dining establishment with its own architectural and culinary character. FIG underwent a substantial interior renovation in 2016, accompanied by improvements to its kitchen facilities. The restaurant's beverage team subsequently received the James Beard Foundation's Outstanding Wine Program Award in 2018, following several years of national recognition for its cellar and service. Stanhope departed in 2023 after fifteen years with the business, marking an important transition in its culinary leadership. FIG's twentieth anniversary brought renewed attention to its influence on Charleston's restaurant industry and the durability of its founding partnership. Its inclusion in the inaugural MICHELIN Guide American South in 2025 extended that recognition into a new period of regional restaurant assessment.
Mike Lata's cooking develops the agricultural and maritime resources of the South Carolina Lowcountry through classical preparation, careful seasoning and the natural relationship between seafood, vegetables and heritage grains. The menu changes with the harvest, allowing the availability of particular ingredients to determine the composition of dishes. Carolina Gold rice provides an important foundation through its distinctive aroma, texture and historical association with the region's rice-growing economy. Prepared as rice grits, the grain acquires a softer consistency that supports seafood and absorbs concentrated cooking liquids. Lata's squid ink Carolina Gold rice grits with grilled white shrimp and bottarga demonstrate this relationship through the rice's gentle sweetness, the shrimp's marine character and the concentrated salinity of cured fish roe. The preparation connects the grain with ingredients harvested from the Atlantic coast, developing richness through cooking technique and the natural qualities of the principal components. Ricotta gnocchi provides a complementary expression of the kitchen's European foundations, using fresh cheese to produce delicate dumplings with a tender interior. Accompanied by lamb Bolognese, the gnocchi absorb the sauce's concentrated savory flavor, and the richness of the meat supports the lightness of the pasta. The kitchen's treatment of vegetables follows the same attention to texture and seasonal condition, incorporating careful roasting, blanching and sauces prepared to complement their natural sweetness. Local tomatoes gain depth through their relationship with herbs, olive oil and acidity, and tender greens contribute freshness to more substantial preparations. Fish from the surrounding coastal waters receives restrained treatment designed to preserve the flesh's delicate texture and natural flavor. Roasting and pan-searing develop lightly caramelized surfaces, and accompanying vegetables and sauces provide contrasting acidity and richness. The kitchen's attention to shellfish extends through oysters, shrimp and other ingredients associated with the region's tidal estuaries. Their preparation connects the restaurant with the fishing communities and coastal environments that have supported Charleston's food traditions for generations. Seasonal meat dishes introduce a more substantial expression through carefully selected cuts, braising and reductions that concentrate flavor over extended cooking periods. The beverage program develops a corresponding relationship with the menu through wines selected for balance, acidity and their suitability for the changing ingredients. Small family producers contribute an important part of the cellar, connecting the restaurant's agricultural interests with winemaking traditions across Europe and the United States. Cocktails extend the approach through seasonal fruit, herbs and established classical preparations. FIG's culinary significance develops through the continuity of these principles, allowing regional ingredients and precise cooking to sustain an independent restaurant across successive changes in Charleston's dining community.
How FIG fits.
FIG works as the culinary centerpiece for a Charleston itinerary connecting the city's early scientific institutions, the architectural wealth generated by plantation agriculture and the preservation of domestic spaces that expose the relationships between slavery, commerce and urban life.
Begin at The Charleston Museum, founded on January 12, 1773, through an initiative of the Charleston Library Society to collect materials associated with the natural history of South Carolina. Its establishment preceded the American Revolution and drew inspiration from the British Museum, connecting colonial Charleston with contemporary developments in scientific collecting. The original collections were destroyed by fire in 1778, and collecting resumed during the following decades. Its subsequent holdings developed into an extensive assemblage of natural history specimens, decorative arts, historical objects and material associated with the Lowcountry's Indigenous communities. The institution's galleries connect Charleston's commercial expansion with the agricultural economy and social structures that shaped the surrounding region. Continue to Joseph Manigault House, completed in 1803 for a family whose wealth derived substantially from rice plantations and the labor of enslaved African Americans. Architect Gabriel Manigault designed the Federal-style residence with a distinctive central hall and a dramatic spiral staircase. Its carefully proportioned rooms contain American, English and French furniture associated with the early nineteenth century. The property passed through several subsequent uses before the museum acquired it in 1933, preserving an important example of Charleston's urban domestic architecture. The grounds incorporate a formal garden and interpretive markers identifying the former kitchen, stable and quarters associated with the enslaved household workforce. Conclude at Aiken-Rhett House, originally constructed in 1820 and substantially expanded under Governor William Aiken Jr. during the 1830s and 1850s. The property preserves an extensive urban household complex incorporating domestic rooms, service buildings and spaces occupied by enslaved African Americans. Its kitchen, laundry, carriage block and quarters retain architectural finishes and physical arrangements associated with the nineteenth century. Historic Charleston Foundation adopted an approach that preserves the building largely in its inherited condition, allowing changes in construction and occupation to remain visible. The family's European art collection survives within a dedicated gallery, connecting its commercial wealth with the cultural ambitions of Charleston's planter elite. The progression moves from the establishment of American scientific collecting through the domestic architecture of Charleston's rice-planting families and culminates in a preserved household complex revealing the labor and social structures underlying the city's historical prosperity.
Where your story begins.
Foresyte Travel reveals places that feel extraordinary long before you arrive.
Enjoy editorial crafted for luxury travelers.
Foresyte may earn a commission when you book.
