Unique Restaurants

Charleston is no stranger to unique restaurants. In 1976, Robert Dickson and his wife, Pam, opened Robert's of Charleston, which managed to combine his dual passions: cooking and singing.

Still hitting the high notes, Robert and company continue to entertain in voice while daughter and chef MariElena Dickson Raya and husband and manager Joe Raya take Robert's of Charleston's menu to new levels of culinary arrangements.

Also, Fonduely Yours in Mount Pleasant has managed to parlay a 1960's favorite into a themed restaurant that offers cheese, meat and dessert fondues.

Six Tables

664 G Long Point Road, Belle Hall Shopping Center, Mount Pleasant

971-8850

www.sixtablescharleston.com

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The concept behind Six Tables is private dining. It presents the best of all possible worlds: an intimate space for dinner for two, a gracious and well-appointed dining room for entertaining up to 24 guests, weekly wine tastings menus, and its namesake six-course menu beginning with Champagne and ending on a sweet note of a seasonal dessert.

The regular six-course tasting menu is $75 per person, and the paired wine tasting is $35. Other menus are offered and priced accordingly or for the occasion.

In a setting of polished elegance, the table is set with fine china, crystal, candles and the mellifluous tones of music made for magic. However there is no slight of hand when it comes to the chef's talent and Dean Layes hospitality.

The menu changes seasonally and weekly. Chef Jeremy Holst's French sensibilities lend stature and competence to a menu entrenched in French techniques, modern American creativity and the stable of regional Southern ingredients and culinary roots.

Six Tables is the answer to the foodie paradox — ours is a culture that seems to care more and more about what we eat and where it comes from but have less and less time to prepare it. To return to that age of elegant dining without the pomp and circumstance, pull up a chair at Six Tables.

Bowen's Island

1870 Bowen's Island Road, James Island

795-2757

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In 2006, Bowen's Island restaurant was awarded a James Beard Foundation Award as an American classic. Its appeal is timeless and its cinder block building is a no-frills statement of "restaurant decor."

With graffiti-covered walls, mismatched furniture, and its oyster room, Bowen's Island was a monument to simple fish camp days and a family's commitment to a local culinary treasure known as the oyster roast. Five months after getting the award, Bowen's Island burned to the ground.

Robert Barber, grandson of founders Jimmy and May Bowen and present owner, quickly rebuilt this iconic structure.

Today, the marsh oyster clumps are shoveled onto your table and in the month's with "r" in them, there is no finer use for a shovel.