Restaurants in Goose Creek

At Back Home Bar & Grill, chefs toil in the kitchen until 2 a.m. every morning, churning out their entire menu of hearty eats inspired by down-home, regional recipes from around the country. They load up housemade hoagie rolls with gooey philly cheesesteak, boil fresh crustaceans for Maine lobster rolls, and top Chicago-style hot dogs with traditional accoutrements of celery salt, pickle spears, and Cubs fans' tears. Their fryers sizzle throughout the day, ready at any moment to crisp up lightly breaded Wisconsin cheese curds or Louisiana-style catfish to a perfect golden brown. Neon lights and rows of televisions broadcasting sports work in tandem to illuminate the full bar, where crowds dig into buckets of domestic drafts or tap their feet to live music.

The herringbone pattern of the bricks on the street just outside Eclectic Chef seems to point wandering feet right in the restaurant’s direction. In warmer months, the eatery’s patio welcomes guests beneath its large, red umbrellas, which offer shade as customers bite into crisp salads tossed with sliced strawberries or wild gathered greens. Guests can also feed on hot or cold sandwiches comprised of warm roast beef and slow-roasted barbecue pork, or paninis filled with barbecue chicken. In addition to the cozy café’s offerings, Eclectic Chef also offers personal-chef and gourmet to-go services, allowing busy diners to feed themselves and their families hearty, healthy meals.

Red umbrellas and baskets of flowers dot The Red Pepper’s outdoor patio, drawing diners into the fresh air for alfresco meals composed of classic Italian cuisine. In the kitchen, chefs craft sweets and savories from fresh ingredients such as tomatoes, basil, and ricotta cheese. During the evening, the head chef showcases his expertise with specialties such as canguro e speck saltimbocca, a kangaroo tenderloin scaloppini layered with sage, prosciutto, and a splash of cherry marsala sauce. The dinner menu also abounds with seafood and pasta dishes, which come with focaccia bread ideal for soaking up sauce or rolling into a straw for a cool soft drink. For dessert, the owner’s wife handcrafts chocolate-hazelnut tortes from an Old-World recipe her family has cherished for generations. Instead of grilling burgers atop their cars’ radiators, on-the-go diners can retrieve take-and-bake pizzas at the restaurant’s reception desk.

A gentle breeze rustles the tall grass growing along the river, where boaters dock in the 22 dedicated slips at The HydeOut at Dolphin Cove Marina. Once on dry land, sailors and mermaids on their lunch breaks saunter up a wooden walkway lined with wood planks and ropes to the restaurant's entrance. If they're lucky, live music will fill the air as they dig into their shrimp sandwiches, hillbilly burgers crowned with fried bologna, and Cajun-style gator gumbo. In addition to the southern-inspired cuisine, two stories of outdoor seating and a full bar help fulfill the eatery's mission to create a festive, casual atmosphere.