Restaurants & Dining
Food Dude Finds Five Myrtle Beach Area Restaurants With Fireplaces
Baby, it's cold outside, but that doesn't mean you can't warm your body and soul inside and out with a nice meal by the fire at a Grand Strand restaurant.
Myrtle Beach may be primarily a summer vacation destination, but there's still plenty to do when the weather turns south of cool. One of the Food Dude's favorites is a romantic dinner beside a roaring fire. Awww yeah!
It's not easy to find fine dining with a fireplace, or to get that special table close enough to the flames to hear the snap, crackle and pop. But here are five fire-side favorites where you can eat and feel the heat:
Chuck's Steak House
Chuck’s may not be the most romantic spot in town, unless your date like stuffed animals. And I’m not talking about Teddy Bears…more like Bambi’s family tree.
But when it comes to fire, this Restaurant Row establishment takes the hot cake with three (count them, three) fireplaces in the huge dining room that doubles as a taxidermy museum. Enjoy a fireside chat or come inside to warm up while sitting on the outside patio deck overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway.
There are as many types of critters on the menu as there are on the walls – ribs, chicken, shrimp and lobster – but the star is the steaks – big, thick cuts of beef grilled to perfect over open flame. Your party can get a little toasty too with so many fireside seating options.
Frank's Outback
This is the Food Dude and Dudette’s favorite place to dine on the Grand Strand, and the outdoor fireplace is a big reason why. With birthdays that fall in November and March, it’s usually the perfect time to sit on the patio and fight off the nighttime chill in the air with a seat close to the fire.
Of course, the menu also has a lot to do with Frank’s appeal. Fresh Pawleys Island seafood prepared with a Southern twist makes this place perfect for a romantic meal. But there’s nothing like sharing a bottle of wine beside the roaring fire in relative privacy since few are adventurous enough to brave the outdoors.
The Library
1212 North Kings Highway, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
This downtown Myrtle Beach establishment is a classic, featuring top-notch table-side service and European and Continental cuisine in a fine dining setting that keeps upscale clientele coming back for more.
But perhaps the best feature is the traditional fireplace that sets the mood and atmosphere. Reservations are required or highly recommended no matter where you sit, so a fire-side table should be booked in advance.
If you want to keep your rendezvous on the down-low, you can always tell your friends you spent the night at “The Library.” They don’t have to know that the only book you read was a menu and the only studying you did was the flickering flames in your dining partner’s eyes.
Longbeards Bar & Grill
Cozying up by the fire doesn’t have to be romantic, and no one is going to confuse this man cave of being a chick magnet. But the food is good and the easy access to an open flame is unprecedented.
Not only is there a hunting-lodge style fireplace in the main dining room, but the outdoor patio deck offers accommodations with your own fire pit. Play cornhole and keep your hands warm between sips of cold beer and beanbag tossing.
The menu is as manly as the decor of deer heads that adorn the walls, featuring great steaks and game, such as the buffalo ribeye and wild boar ribs. Other sportsman’s favorites include the quail and grits and plenty of pigskin on the TVs.
Salt Water Creek Cafe
4660 Highway 17 Bypass, Murrells Inlet, SC 29576
A great place to take a date without being too fancy-schmancy, this Murrells Inlet eatery doubles the open-flame experience with a two-side fireplace that divides the main dining room.
Patrons on both sides can enjoy the roaring fire and an excellent seafood lineup, including great sushi, grilled salmon and a unique little dish called the lobster omelet.
But this “upscale-casual” restaurant also features more down-to-earth dishes like fried chicken livers in the house special Creek Gravy and a meatloaf sandwich. Nothing like a little comfort food by a cozy fire.
