Leon’s Oyster Shop
The BEST Fried Chicken
In preparation for my first time in Charleston, I scoped out restaurants for months. I had to be aware of what others in my group ate because of dietary restrictions and preferences, but Leon’s Oyster Shop seemed to be a people pleaser. It has a super cool vibe — kind of a coastal dive. It’s an old garage converted into a restaurant. And better yet, the menu offered something for everyone.
Don’t forget to make a reservation
We got there, and the place was PACKED. Thank god we had a reservation. I HIGHLY recommend you book one ahead of time.
A lunch smorgasbord
Once we got settled, it was time to order. It was almost an impossible decision. Everything looked good. With such a big menu, it was nearly impossible to decide! We had to pick and choose. Here’s what we tried:
Frozen G&T. Who doesn’t love a G&T? And frozen drinks on a hot day? Sign me up. It was super refreshing, with a punch of lime. Basically, it’s an adult slushie.
Oysters. James River from Virginia. They were medium body and creamy. The mignonette was sweet and acidic. The cocktail sauce was great — fresh with a bit of a punch to it. They were a very solid choice.
Hushpuppies: honey butter. Unfortunately, these were super dry. The outside was amazingly crispy and a little salty. The inside had a distinctive jalapeño flavor with the corn… without being spicy. The flavor was top notch. They were definitely better with the butter, as it added moisture back into them. The restaurant offered to replace them (such good service), but we had so much food that we didn’t want them to waste a batch simply so we could take a bite.
Charred oysters: half dozen; lemon, parsley, butter, parmesan. These had a great flavor - super garlicky. They weren’t as meaty as I’d have liked or imagined; however, they weren’t dried out at all. Not my first choice from the menu, but I’d order them again.
Fried Brussels Sprouts: piperade, red wine vinegar. They were nice brussels sprouts. They were crispy, vinegary, and a bit tart.
Scalloped Potatoes. Overall, the flavor was a knockout. Cheesy – perhaps gruyere, with a pepperiness to them. Quite addictive. I’m a texture guy though. While these are absolutely a must order due to flavor, I really wish the top layer was nice and crispy.
Fried Chicken: breast, wing, leg, thigh, or the whole bird. You order fried chicken a la carte here — they charge you by the piece. We ordered three pieces because we wanted to try so many things, and I regret not ordering more. THIS WAS THE BEST FRIED CHICKEN I’VE EATEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE! The chicken was covered in a thin, super-crunchy layer of batter. It had that perfect level of crispiness, where you can hear it crunch, but it’s also not going to break a tooth. The coating had hot sauce in it, which gave it nice heat. It might be a little hot if you don’t like spice, but to me it was phenomenal. Then you get to the actual chicken meat — it was super juicy, moist, tender chicken. It was the definition of succulent. F*ck me up, this was so good. A MUST order.
Shrimp roll: horseradish mayo, celery, herbs, potato chips. Very good, but pales in comparison to the fried chicken. Let me be honest… pretty much everything did — because that chicken was so effing good. The shrimp roll was creamy, like a new England style lobster roll, but not overwhelmingly so. It was served on a grilled brioche roll and came with a side (we ordered the cucumber salad), which was also excellent. It was coated in a classic Asian dressing we all know and love — sesame, ginger, soy, with a little sweetness, but also a little pepperiness. Fantastic.
My rating?
All in all, I highly recommend Leon’s Oyster Shop. The chicken is a 10/10; however, the total experience was an 8/10 (still extremely good). There were a few things that I wish had been a little different, but even if my experience were exactly like this every time, I’d need no arm twisting whatsoever to make a reservation.
