Basic Kitchen

Basic Kitchen was a breath of fresh air on my southern food journey. Amidst the rich and hearty traditional southern fare, this place stood out as a haven for fresh and healthy cuisine. The staff were not just nice but incredibly accommodating, adding to the overall pleasant dining experience. Basic Kitchen felt like a refreshing escape, striking the perfect balance between indulgence and wellness. A must-visit for anyone looking for a lighter, yet equally satisfying, culinary adventure in the South

Came here for lunch on a Sunday, with 3 friends. The service was great, the food and drinks tasted great, and the atmosphere was great! We LOVED the corn ribs! My only qualm is that my plate was a bit on the small size compared to the size my 3 friends got. I ate all of it and was still hungry and I am petite. So, maybe the restaurant should make sure portions are consistent. We’ll come back when we pass by Charleston next time.

Basic Kitchen is a fantastic healthier lunch/dinner choice right in downtown historic Charleston! I absolutely love this place - everything is so fresh and flavorful, the atmosphere is bright and cheery, and service is wonderful! This past visit, we came for lunch, and we ordered: Creamsicle Mocktail, iced Golden Latte with an espresso shot, Pistachio Beet Dip, Caesar Salad with salmon, and Swordfish Tacos! Everything was top-notch - we would order it all again! The creamsicle mocktail tasted SO GOOD. If you’re wanting a fun unique drink, this is it. The golden latte was excellent and certainly a good recommendation if you’re wanting a healthy-tasting iced coffee drink, and the pistachio beet dip was incredible!! I don’t even like beets but this dip had such a great combination or flavors and spices, it was just awesome. It was like a better version of hummus. And then the two entrees were so, so good as well - swordfish tacos were cooked perfectly and not fishy-tasting at all (fish tacos can have that taste sometimes), and the Caesar salad had an amazing dressing and wonderful grilled salmon on top. Overall, even though it’s pretty expensive (prepare for that), I would highly recommend this place!!

My husband and I went here on our first visit to Charleston. We made a reservation which I would recommend as they seemed quite busy. The food options are decent - it’s not a crazy large menu but they have some good ones and pretty healthy options which is good. Very vegan and gluten free friendly as well. We ordered the red lentil and sweet potato soup to start - it was super good! So creamy and good flavor without overpowering. We also ordered the veggie burger and the peanut noodle salad. Both of these were really good as well. The veggie burger is house made and was delicious! It comes with sweet potato fries and we added a side of the vegan ranch which was really good too. Definitely recommend trying it. We got the soup pretty instantaneously but then it took about another half an hour to get the rest of our food. The couple next to us had ordered after and they ate and paid while we were waiting.. it was definitely odd and our waitress seemed to be avoiding our table but someone else came over and apologized to us about the wait. They didn’t offer us anything for the long wait which was a little disappointing. Overall really good food and good experience just was a little upsetting to wait so long without any explanation. On top of all of this, after getting back and looking at the credit card statement, we realized that the restaurant charged us a higher tip than we had left. Pretty disappointing to see after the service was not great.

The restaurant manager was at the front when we arrived. He was affable and engaging... he took the time to talk to me about the founder. He cycled from Savannah to the West Coast and being an avid cyclist I found the story fascinating. The food choices were very wide and a lot of them had gluten free and vegan options. I ordered the Rainbow Bowl with Salmon. The vegetables and other ingredients were well balanced and flavorful. The wine list was a bit sparse but had offerings for all tastes. There seemed to be a theme of offering great basic dishes that you can add proteins too. Several in our group had the burger and omg if we return I will definitely order one. It's a wonderful local spot hidden off the main streets and a must visit.

Very nice selection of vegan dishes. We tried the cauliflower wings, the burger, the basic bowl, and the rice pudding. All very good, particularly the home made vegan burger (the beets worked better than I expected) and the basic bowl. Also an innovative cocktail menu. We sat at the bar and the barman was excellent however we had a collection of used plates piling up that went unnoticed until we left. As it wasn't that busy, I think someone could have taken the initiative and cleaned up.

The best root dip with pistachio was the BEST appetizer on the menu! I liked the cauliflower bites but I wish it was crispier or a different coating. The buffalo sauce was too spicy but the vegan ranch was REALLY good. The vegan caesar salad was better than I thought. My frozen margarita drink was refreshing & tasty (I forgot the name but I think it was grapefruit flavor). I don’t recommend the good burger or naughty burger, it was very mid. No wow factor to it. However, I would come back here again for apps & drinks! Definitely reserve before coming it gets busy, I went on a Tuesday night.