Restaurants & Dining
Terry’s Top 10: Non-Smoking Restaurants on the Grand Strand

Cigarettes almost seem like a side item at most breakfast places, where the smell of pancakes and sausage are drowned out by the scent of smoldering ash trays and coffee. But in addition to serving up some of the most affordable and delicious breakfasts, lunches and dinners in town, Bob Evans also snuffs out the smoking.

Lots of places are famous for their burgers and fries, but Five Guys does it while also forbidding smoking in their establishments. The national chain out of Washington, D.C., was ahead of the curve in the non-smoking trend and the local outlet seem to be reaping the dividends over their smoke-filled competitors.

This Japanese restaurant at Broadway at the Beach is one of the few that offers a smoke-free environment at the popular entertainment and shopping complex. The only smoke you will be smelling here is the sweet aroma of the hibachi chefs stir-frying up some shrimp, steak and fresh vegetables.

The town of Surfside Beach was the first locally to ban smoking in restaurants and bars in the city limits, but Bubba’s stands out as the place to go in the heart of smoke-free Surfside. Fresh seafood items are served up at a fraction of the cost compared to other deep-sea eateries and the meal can be enjoyed in a smoke-free environment.

The only smoke you’ll find in this Garden City Beach barbecue shack is the scent of hickory chips that smoke the meat until it’s fall-off-the-bone tender. Because BBQ houses are traditionally country establishments that are smoker-friendly, this one is a rare find for enjoying the flavor of smoked pork, beef, ribs and chicken without the foul odor of tobacco smoke.

This Windy Hill establishment is an institution, serving up delicious seafood and Lowcountry cuisine for almost a quarter-century. But unlike many long-standing restaurants, Chestnut Hill has gone to a smoke-free format that allows everyone to enjoy its excellent food. This place has the best Sunday brunch on the Strand.

This family-style restaurant has been a local’s favorite for decades, but recently relocated from the Surfside Beach Pier to downtown Myrtle Beach. Longtime patrons don’t mind the extra drive, primarily for the affordable, home-cooked meals and family atmosphere, but also for the smoke-free air that is hard to find in many meat-and-three formats.

Connected to Wahoo’s Bar, this Murrells Inlet must-go provides a smoke-free environment for both diners and bar patrons. In fact, all of the Divine Dining Group’s restaurants – Divine Prime, River City Cafe, Kono, Kansas Prime, etc. – follow the same non-smoking regulations whether they are casual or fine dining.

This national chain is famous for its romantic atmosphere, and it all begins with the smoke-free air that allows the rainbow of aromas to fill the air. With each table preparing their own concoctions in the table-mounted fondue pot, this place smells like an open-air market of flavors stewing in hot broths and spices. The scented candles also make for a nice mix.

Seafood lovers would probably visit this popular establishment even if it wasn’t smoke-free, but the clean air that allows the smell of the fresh catch of the day pervade the dining room is just another reason they keep coming back for more. The new sushi bar and outside picnic tales provide plenty of options for seating that aren’t limited by smoking.