Review Fulton Five - Charleston

Cozy, romantic, established Italian restaurant tucked away in charming downtown Charleston. Fulton Five is a consistent go-to for a great evening of classic Italian cuisine and wine. We recently went for our wedding anniversary and had a fabulous meal and outstanding service. When you want to step away from trendy, this is your place!

Went for my wife's 29th birthday and had a wonderful time. The atmosphere is very romantic and the food was amazing. Can't remember the name of what I had but it was delicious and the picture speaks for itself. The real gem of the night was the AMAZING and friendly waitress Charli. She instantly made us feel comfortable and told us the story behind the art on the wall. My wife had one of the best birthdays ever and Fulton Five was a huge part of it

Beautiful ambiance for a lovely dinner. Fred took great care of our table of four. Beautiful food presentation, with delicious flavors.

All aspects of the meal including appetizers for the four of us were exemplary. Warm crusty loaf with individual oil for dipping. The best veal stock based sauce with my beet/chorizo tortellini pasta dish that I can recall in recent memory. The Chefs here know that which they produce will be appreciated by those with a taste for fine food. We will return next time we are in Charleston.

Romantic Italian. Quaint atmosphere. Excellent food.

They seated us despite not having reservations. This was on a Monday. A good sign. Appetizers of a salad and seafood salad we're excellent. At first it looked a bit like tuna salad, but it was anything but. Amazing texture and flavor. I could have had six of those. The main dishes we're excellent as well. I had the shrimp with pasta, the exact name escapes me, but it was in a cream sauce. The flavors were simply amazing. I'm pretty sure the pasta is made fresh. It tasted too good to have been dried. I was going to deduct a star since it took 45 minutes for our food to come out (the two tables next to us ordered after and received first), but the food was so good I just couldn't bring myself to deduct a star.

My husband and I visited Charleston and happened upon Fulton Five, which was very near our hotel. When we found the restaurant, it was late in the evening, around 9 PM, and the place was packed. We could tell just by peeking in that it must have been a special place by the atmosphere and happy patrons. The next day, we called and made reservations and couldn't have been more pleased that we did. It was the only way we could have been seated that night. Our server, Charlie, was phenomenal. She perfectly explained the menu to us, and we proceeded to order. Everything was exceptional, but our entrees, the duck and the sausage and gnocchi special, were two of the best meals we have had in a very long time. In fact, after learning that my husband and I were taking our first weekend away since our children had been born, our server asked if she could purchase our dessert for the night. We were floored. It only added to the already perfect night we were having -- and was delicious! Definitely order the tiramisu! We cannot recommend this place enough and will absolutely return one day!

This is one of our favorite restaurants in Charleston--usually a 5 star experience. I had the grouper special which was very good, but my husband's pork chop was pretty terrible. He should have sent it back, but didn't want to have everyone wait on him (we were eating with another couple). The waitress offered us a complimentary dessert which was delicious.

Found this place by accident last night; what luck! Food was phenomenal, service (Alicia) was excellent and the atmosphere was perfection. Gave our compliments to the hard working chefs back there. We thoroughly enjoyed our experience; what a find! One of the highlights of our trip.

This was a great and romantic place to eat. After meeting the reservation time, we were greeted by a great staff. The waiter was knowledgable and offered a good choice in wine. The soup was delicious, the special of the day was delicious and filling. I would totally come back to this restaurant if I'm back in Charleston for more than a day.

We were a little early for our 5:00 reservation, but they seated us and offered to bring us something to drink while we waited for them to officially open. The food was outstanding. Though the soup was just tepid, it was delicious. The chocolate expresso filet and specialty grouper dish were tender and very flavorful. Desserts were outstanding, especially the Panna Cotta. April, our server, was very attentive even though the restaurant began to quickly fill up. Would recommend to everyone. The serving sizes were more than enough so not sure why some said portions were small unless they chose a pasta dish which had two sizes to choose from.

If you are looking for a romantic, cozy little place to have a great meal Fulton Five is your place.

Delicious food, good ambience, friendly and knowledgeable waiter, great drinks..

This is the best restaurant in the world. Hannah is the best:)

Great atmosphere, great staff and great food. Would definitely go back

Great food, great service and great atmosphere!! If you're in Charleston it's a must. We will be back.

Insalata Funghi, Duck confit papardelle. Lamb chops. Tiramisu. Best of the Best in Charleston! Cozy, warm and excellent service as always!

We ate here before and enjoyed the food. We stopped in tonight and everyone was so rude my husband and I looked at each other and said, let’s go.... we will gladly give someone else our money for dinner.

Love Fulton Five in Charleston !! A great "tucked away" Italian Restaurant with great food!

The best restaurant in Charleston. Food, service,and atmosphere

I will go back every time I’m in Downtown Charleston Fulton Five all the way lovely !!love sitting at the Bar !!!

My all time favorite for delicious food, drink and ambience!

The osso bucco and rabbit ragu gnocchi were outstanding last night for our wedding anniversary

Very nice restaurant. Not too pretentious which is great. Great service and delicious food. Free Parking!<br/>Very nice restaurant. Not too pretentious which is great. Great service and delicious food.<br/>Danny and Kathryn Glenn<br/>Fort Worth, Texas

Exquisite Italian restaurant with romantic setting just off King Street in downtown Charleston. Classic Italian menu prepared to perfection. We enjoyed the Bolognese and the shrimp pasta with a bottle of L’armangia. Fulton is among our favorite Italian restaurants.

Unfortunately we had an unpleasant experience at Fulton FIve.  We were looking forward to a night out with out our four children.  We arrived at the restaurant a few minutes early for our 8:45 reservation. The restaurants atmosphere is quaint and cozy.  Our table wasn't ready - no big deal. We used the restrooms and  asked if we could sit at the bar and have a drink while we waited for our table.  No problem - we were seated at the bar and given a drink menu.  Bar tender disappeared for 15 minutes. ( Additionally, the bathrooms were filthy!  Standing water on the floor and disgustingly dirty toilet and sink - about like a gas station on the side of a highway  - couldn't believe it!!!)  After sitting patiently for 15 minutes without  any service, we left.  Hostess commented as we left " I told you we were working on your table".   Very disappointing!

Took my wife for her annual birthday dinner.  This will be the 13th year at this particular restaurant.  Wonderful meal of the filet, mashers and asparagus.  Absolutely the best meal I have had in Charleston this year.  Better than Oak Steakhouse and Halls Chops in my humble opinion.  Wife had groper that was a great portion and super taste.  Other couple had Ravioli and Pettini with an appetizer of muscles.  Great experience.  Staff friendly and efficient, our waitress was a little quiet, but good!  A go back to restaurant.

They helped me in a time of crisis. The manager David is an amazing person whom I appreciate more than words can express. I can’t say anything about the food at Fulton 5 (although it looked and smelled amazing!), but I would like to share my experience there anyways. David, this is the best way I could think of thanking you for your hospitality and kindness. I hope you see this.<br/><br/>I am a poor college student who decided to visit Charleston this spring. Unfortunately, while up there I locked my car keys in my car at about 9PM on a Friday night. Using my phone’s last 3% of battery, I asked google maps to find me a locksmith in downtown Charleston. For some reason Google maps took me to Fulton 5. Not sure why but I’m grateful for it! I waited outside this immensely classy and romantic establishment wearing gym shorts, flip flops and a Hawaiian shirt while my friend walked in. He explained our situation to the manager David who immediately came outside, told us to calm down and assured us that everything would be ok. He gave my friend and I a private table upstairs, charged our phones, made sure that we had water (and even gave us free sodas), let us use the staff bathroom, and didn’t bat an eye when I broke one of his drinking glasses. After my friend and I had calmed down, David advised me to call my parents and see if my insurance could get me roadside assistance. <br/><br/>Because of David’s help, I was able to get roadside assistance that was completely covered by my parents insurance. In a completely unfamiliar city with no idea what to do I was somehow able to find a genuinely kind person to help me in a crisis. I didn’t get any food from Fulton 5 so I don’t know if it’s as good as it smelled, but I can speak for the character of its employees. 5 stars!

Loved once /dissapointed second time. We went during rest. week food was great bread was like home made grandma's/second time not so good.We will try it again .we are from nyc .so we are used to good Italian rest.

Disappointment. My wife and I along with another couple went to Fulton 5 with great expectations. It was my wife’s birthday and I was so happy that I had planned properly and got reservations at the restaurant voted most romantic in Charleston. The restaurant was very beautiful, a kind of subdued elegance. My wife lived in Italy for several years as a child and it being her birthday was feeling nostalgic. Since Fulton 5 is an Italian restaurant my wife ask about a very common and traditional dish, not on the menu. This is where things went badly. The waiter informed my wife that there was plenty on the menu to choose from. My wife was very gracious and without skipping a beat agreed with the waiter and said, “You are right but would you please ask the chef if he would mind, if it’s to much trouble it won’t be a problem.” If you have never ordered off menu I don’t recommend it as the price is normally double as it is a special request and rightfully so. This waiter simply left the table without further comment. Once he returned he started taking orders until he came to my wife and she ask if he had talked to the chef. The waiter stated “No. They would not be able to do it anyway as he did not think they had all the ingredients and there was plenty to choose from on the menu.” My wife and I along with the other couple ordered our food and moved on with the evening. I ordered Brecheta as an appetizer and it was exquisite and without rival! My entree` was the filet and although it was not prepared as requested it was still very good. This was by no means a total disaster, however, when you are spending over $100.00 per person, including wine & coffee, for a two course dinner service I expected a much higher level of courtesy from the staff. In short we where very disappointed in the reaction of the waiter and as we live in a town with a great abundance of fantastic restaurants we don’t plan to return to this one.

Great Food. My husband and I dined there over the weekend for the first time. Recently moving back into the area we decided to try some new places. I found this location to be a nice place with great food and service. Looking forward to coming back to this place again with friends.

Creative food. We had the Prosciutto, Mozzarella app and the Seafood Salad app, both were outstanding. The flavors and presentation were awesome. The manager, (maybe owner) (female) behind the bar was extremely friendly and helpful, the rest of the staff was great too. The entree's were good, in fact I ordered a 1/2 portion of the Bolognese and liked it so much I ordered another! Desserts were a treat as well. This was a great dining experience.

Our favorite restaurant in Charleston, period. (Yes - beats Peninsula Grill, Husk, McCrady's, you name it). Everything about it is outstanding - good, service, atmosphere, wine list! There are other good places in Charleston, but none with the full Monty of elements, and none with Fulton Five's combination of casual elegance and intimate cosmopolitanism. We go at least once every time we're here! My HIGHEST recommendation!

My favorite Charleston restaurant. The food is incredible, the staff is wonderful and the place is beautiful.

Enjoyed it but I don't think it should receive the most romantic award. I enjoyed Fulton Five but it was not quite what I expected. FF is often named "Most Romantic Restaurant in Charleston", I did not get that. Now, it could be that in warmer weather it is romantic because they have an outside patio that looked lovely, however I don't think the actual dining room is romantic. It is small and could be cozy as the lighting is low but the noise level was very loud the night I went. The server was a little "snooty" which is not romantic at all. <br/>Now for the good stuff- loved the bread and oil as a starter! They give you each your own little dipping cup to enjoy the rich oil. For our appetizer we ordered the Insalata di Mare which is presented beautifully! It comes in a glass and you can see the layers of greens topped with a salad of lobster, shrimp, lump crab, roasted tomatoes and lemon mayo. The seafood was in big chunks and delicious. The kitchen was a bit slow with the entrees but we didn't mind because we were enjoying a bottle of Chianti (they have a varied wine list). When the meal came we were delighted with my husband's choice of Pettini but weren't so thrilled with my Risotto Fresco. The Pettini was Pan Seared Jumbo Sea Scallops over orzo with lump crab, tomato, and spinach with a balsamic brown butter sauce- wonderful! The scallops were so flavorful, the orzo perfect and the sauce was tangy, a perfect combination. My risotto included roasted yellow & red tomatoes, peperoncini, olives, and goat cheese. I liked the risotto, but the rest of it just didn't blend well together. In all it was a good meal, but I'm anxious to try it again this spring.

Good authentic italian.. This is a small restaurant on a side street that serves a limited menu of authentic italian dishes. The food was excellent!

An intimate, romantic escape. My wife and I love to settle in at the bar and lose track of time, savoring both the food and wine.

Eh.... I came here expecting "the most romantic restaurant in Charleston" and was disappointed. The food was good but overpriced for what it was. The service was good. The atmosphere was romantic...but there are more intimate, romantic restaurants in Charleston.

Truly romantic. If you're looking for a romanic atmosphere, this the best I've found yet. I think they dining room can seat maybe 30 people. It's tiny, which is wonderful. The service is wonderful, with very attentive waitors and management that joins right in. The food is scrumptious and some I would like to have on a regular basis. It's hard to find, so have a map or some clear directions, oh and a reservation.

Plate Presentation - Horrible!. Looking at their food pictures, all of their items are brown in color and the picture of the filet is too white...It's fine dining... Maybe it's because I'm a Johnson & Wales student looking to open a restaurant in Charleston, but plate presentation is horrible and makes me not want to try the food. I had wanted to go, but then I saw the reviews online and these pictures... Sorry, its not my idea of high-end fine-dining.

Best in Charleston. Great wine, delicious food, wonderful service. Have recommended to many friends and the all agree

EXCEPTIONAL EVERYTHING!!!!. Where do I begin to talk about my boyfriend and my amazing experience at Fulton Five??? First of all the ambiance is out of this world romantic. The service is extremely personal. David is the best, but all the staff is extraordinarily knowledgeable and personable. My boyfriend and I have gone to many upscale restaurants in Charleston, he is actually in the world of F&B also, but this by far surpasses anything we have experienced in our lovely hometown of Charleston. I took him there for his 27th birthday and he has never left anywhere so satisfied and neither have I. I can't sing this jewel of a restaurant's praises enough. It was truly the most incredible dining experience we've enjoyed ANYWHERE!<br/><br/>FYI: Do your pallette a favor and savour the amazing mussell appetizer.. Perfection!!!

Loved it!. I love this restaurant. It's located right off of King Street and is quite romantic---delicious food and good lighting---it just has that romantic feel inside---we dined in the upstairs portion of the restaurant off of the balcony and it was very cozy and intimate but more "fine dining" too. My husband and I liked and very much and we will definitely go back and recommend!

Haven't been there in 15 yrs. but there were 2chefs that had worked in N.O. and their food back in the early 90's to mid90's was some of the best Italian in charleston

Good food, intimate restaurant. Nice place for a date. The food is good and the staff is professional. Your dollar is well-spent here.

Much Ado about nothing. Too much fad about this restaurant, not authentic. Pretentious- to describe. Appalling bruschetta as an appetizer, and poor choice in the main and 2nd courses. <br/>Dessert was the only satisfying item on this paltry menu.

Amazing. We ate at Fulton Five the last night of our honeymoon. The food was the best we had during our week in the Charleston area. We called ahead and made reservations (as was suggested). The service was great, the interior was intimate, but the star of the show was the food. The chocolate espresso rubbed filet and the pork chops were fantastic. We couldn't stop eating. For dessert we shared a chocolate mousse cake, again, fantastic. The food was "lick the plate" good. With two drinks, the bill was just over $100, but it was worth it. <br/><br/>If you want a great meal, and can afford it, stop by Fulton Five next time you're in Charleston.

The best in Charleston. I'm thoughtless here trying to describe what a great experience I had dining at Fulton Five. The atmosphere is perfect, the food impeccable and the service to match. Would have to say this is easily my favorite restaurant in Charleston.

This was our third trip to Fulton Five, but our first since starting a food blog.  I had no doubts that they would deliver an outstanding dining experience (based on the first two visits) and I was not disappointed.  Fulton Five specializes in Northern Italian cuisine.  This focus allows them to consistently deliver amazing food, without being distracted by the latest foodie trend.  This is not to say that the food is boring in any way.  It is not!  They take the cuisine in great directions, while sticking to their roots.

I couldn't have been much happier with our Fulton Five experience. The service wasn't anything outstanding, but definitely not poor. It was much less "touristy" than most other restaurants in the area too, which I loved.

High Five For Fulton Five It's funny… the very evening after dining at Fulton Five and learning that it has been voted the most romantic restaurant in Charleston 13 years in a row, we had dinner with a couple who got engaged there. They spoke of the table they sat at and how wonderful the waiter and food was that evening. Fifteen years after their engagement, the restaurant has not changed. Antipasti Spoletto Tucked away in the Historic District on Fulton Street is another one of Charleston's hidden gems for dining, Fulton Five. It seats about 40+ people which includes seating at the bar, which was full. We were joined for dinner by our friends Dennis and Ginger owners of Carolina Coastal Properties (ccpsc.net) . We were warmly greeted by the hostess and quickly seated at a banquette table. Our waiter, David was personable, knowledgeable and a delight. He reviewed the specials, took our drink order and was back in a flash. The menu is interesting and inviting. It was almost difficult