The Royal Tern is the perfect place to go for all things seafood! From appetizers to entrees, everything is amazing. My favorite dishes include the Ahi Tuna, Biscuits, and of course their fresh raw bar.
Amazing food and fantastic experience! One of my favorite restaurants. The only negative is that the restaurant gets loud but well worth putting up with that for the food. Love this place. Make sure you order the biscuits.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jack Norton
Fantastic food and wonderful
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Emyle Ferreira
We went to dinner on Friday, I ordered a fish dish, my husband got a Ribeye with a side of shrimp and fries, we also ordered the grilled oysters and a Crème brûlée as dessert. On Saturday, when we woke up, we had stomach problems. My husband’s case was really worse, we were considering to go to the doctor. We believe that the Steak was probably the problem, since my husband ate most of that and I had a couple bites and he was worse than me. Overall I don’t recommend this restaurant. A bill of 200$ to get food poisoning isn’t fun.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 5
ali mylin-otherson
We had a fantastic dinner. From the service to the food!! Thank you guys for a great experience. We can't wait to get back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Rene Pregent
From the minute we walked in to the minute we left, it was a positive experience.I had the grilled flounder. Out of this world. It might have been the best meal we have had since we arrived. We four all thoroughly enjoyed our dinners and can't wait to go back.The staff were excellent. Super service with discretion and efficiency.My only complaint is that we've been here for five weeks and didn't go earlier. Live and learn.Highly recommend this most excellent restaurant.Dietary restrictions: Our table mate has shellfish allergies and the server assured her that her dish would be cooked separately in a fresh pan.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Erika Gilly
As always, we had an amazing experience tonight. The scallops carpaccio is to die for. My husband loves the clam chowder. On a whim, we got a steak tonight that was incredible. Our server, Sarah, was such a delight. We continue coming back as the food, service, quality of care and atmosphere are always delightful! Thank you for being such a wonderful addition to John’s island.Dietary restrictions: They do an amazing job as I have a milk allergy but can eat some butter and cheeses not made from cow’s milk.
Multiple people recommended the Royal Tern so we trusted and had dinner. Meh! Fine dining it is not, mediocre food and service from a suburban restaurant it is. There are far and few ‘fine dining’ restaurants off Kiawah on Johns Island which may be the only reason this is recommended. 4.9 stars on Resy? Spend your money (and less of it) else where. While the food and service weren’t bad, they weren’t on par with the great dining experiences in Charleston or one or two other restaurants say in Freshfields. Also too much olive juice in the dirty martini. Sorry.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 3
Richard Richter
Mediocre at best. No sides come with entrees. Cannot cook a steak and a very limited menu. Service is really slow and doesn’t come around much so make sure you ask for everything with your order..
Excellent all around! Service by Lacy was impeccable. We dined on the porch much quieter than the communal dining room. Scallops and Flounder were top notch!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jane Southey
Our lovely dinner was ruined by our server who chased one of our party out of the door because the tip portion of her bill had not been filled in (the tip had been left on her behalf by another member of our party). The owner of the restaurant was unresponsive to our concerns and was rude and arrogant.Vegetarian options: Always need more vegetarian and vegan options
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Whole Flounder
matt b
Consistently amazing food, service, and environment. Love this place. Highly recommend
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ali Taylor
We have visited The Royal Tern on many occasions! Atmosphere is light, smells Heavenly, service is consistent, FOOD is excellent. Lots of flavor, nice portions, beautiful presentation. Thank you Ben and John for always saying hello, floating the room, and making sure everyone is satisfied! You can definitely tell you care! Will definitely be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Whole Flounder
Mark Kotlarich
The food was excellent. Service top notch. Oyster selection and preparation are fantastic. Just be aware you will pay top dollar, but we'll be worth it.
The Royal Tern is the perfect place to go for all things seafood! From appetizers to entrees, everything is amazing. My favorite dishes include the Ahi Tuna, Biscuits, and of course their fresh raw bar.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seafood Tower for 2, Hush Puppies, Rolls, Tuna, Honey Butter
Phenomenal!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Scallop Carpaccio
Amazing food and fantastic experience! One of my favorite restaurants. The only negative is that the restaurant gets loud but well worth putting up with that for the food. Love this place. Make sure you order the biscuits.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Fantastic food and wonderful
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We went to dinner on Friday, I ordered a fish dish, my husband got a Ribeye with a side of shrimp and fries, we also ordered the grilled oysters and a Crème brûlée as dessert. On Saturday, when we woke up, we had stomach problems. My husband’s case was really worse, we were considering to go to the doctor. We believe that the Steak was probably the problem, since my husband ate most of that and I had a couple bites and he was worse than me. Overall I don’t recommend this restaurant. A bill of 200$ to get food poisoning isn’t fun.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 5
We had a fantastic dinner. From the service to the food!! Thank you guys for a great experience. We can't wait to get back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
From the minute we walked in to the minute we left, it was a positive experience.I had the grilled flounder. Out of this world. It might have been the best meal we have had since we arrived. We four all thoroughly enjoyed our dinners and can't wait to go back.The staff were excellent. Super service with discretion and efficiency.My only complaint is that we've been here for five weeks and didn't go earlier. Live and learn.Highly recommend this most excellent restaurant.Dietary restrictions: Our table mate has shellfish allergies and the server assured her that her dish would be cooked separately in a fresh pan.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
As always, we had an amazing experience tonight. The scallops carpaccio is to die for. My husband loves the clam chowder. On a whim, we got a steak tonight that was incredible. Our server, Sarah, was such a delight. We continue coming back as the food, service, quality of care and atmosphere are always delightful! Thank you for being such a wonderful addition to John’s island.Dietary restrictions: They do an amazing job as I have a milk allergy but can eat some butter and cheeses not made from cow’s milk.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Scallop Carpaccio, Clam Chowder
Multiple people recommended the Royal Tern so we trusted and had dinner. Meh! Fine dining it is not, mediocre food and service from a suburban restaurant it is. There are far and few ‘fine dining’ restaurants off Kiawah on Johns Island which may be the only reason this is recommended. 4.9 stars on Resy? Spend your money (and less of it) else where. While the food and service weren’t bad, they weren’t on par with the great dining experiences in Charleston or one or two other restaurants say in Freshfields. Also too much olive juice in the dirty martini. Sorry.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 3
Mediocre at best. No sides come with entrees. Cannot cook a steak and a very limited menu. Service is really slow and doesn’t come around much so make sure you ask for everything with your order..
Restaurantji Recommends
Excellent all around! Service by Lacy was impeccable. We dined on the porch much quieter than the communal dining room. Scallops and Flounder were top notch!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Our lovely dinner was ruined by our server who chased one of our party out of the door because the tip portion of her bill had not been filled in (the tip had been left on her behalf by another member of our party). The owner of the restaurant was unresponsive to our concerns and was rude and arrogant.Vegetarian options: Always need more vegetarian and vegan options
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Whole Flounder
Consistently amazing food, service, and environment. Love this place. Highly recommend
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We have visited The Royal Tern on many occasions! Atmosphere is light, smells Heavenly, service is consistent, FOOD is excellent. Lots of flavor, nice portions, beautiful presentation. Thank you Ben and John for always saying hello, floating the room, and making sure everyone is satisfied! You can definitely tell you care! Will definitely be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Whole Flounder
The food was excellent. Service top notch. Oyster selection and preparation are fantastic. Just be aware you will pay top dollar, but we'll be worth it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seafood Tower for 2, Rolls