Diners' Choice: Neighborhood gem restaurants in Hilton Head

OpenTable

Updated December 05, 2024

Looking for the best restaurants that are the best neighborhood gems in Hilton Head? You’re in the right place. Each month, OpenTable analyzes nearly 2 million global diner reviews from the past four months. We sort the results by location and category to help you discover new favorite restaurants. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

Pomodori - Hilton Head

4.9

4.9 (1821)

$31 to $50

Italian

Hilton Head Island

About the restaurant

Due to the intimacy of our Restaurant and to guarantee your dining experience reservations are almost always required all year long.

Please be mindful when booking reservations. If you select "outdoor seating" you will be dining on our screened in patio. Requests for bar seating can only be made by calling the restaurant - not through reserving times on Open Table. For same day reservations please call the restaurant after 3:00 for the most up to date availability!

Our Food is Fresh, Our Wines are Old, Our Recipes are Timeless, Our Family is Yours.

Grazie,
Amanda

Top review

PaulaVIP

Dined 1 day ago

As always, we were well treated. This is our favorite restaurant on the island, casual, and cozy with wonderful service and incredible food. Angie is our favorite, orecchiette with broccoli rabe and sausage, while I tried the chicken Milanese which will be hard to pass up in the future. The house wine is also lovely. Thanks for a fabulous experience and meal. Merry Christmas!

The Pearl

4.8

4.8 (2861)

$30 and under

Seafood

Bluffton

About the restaurant

Bringing to Old Town Bluffton a bright, fresh take on the dining experience, The Pearl Kitchen & Bar will please your palate with the freshest of ingredients prepared in a manner that will excite, entice, and keep you coming back for more.

Top review

Sarah

Dined 6 days ago

Happily surprised with bubbles for two to celebrate my husband’s birthday!! It was a warm welcome for our first visit. Food was excellent (salmon dish and lobster/shrimp carbonara dish) and service was attentive. Decor is simple but the restaurant was full of people and quite festive. A real gem! Excited to return!

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Popular dish

Shrimp + Grits

Popular dish

Peach + Banana Bread Pudding

Popular dish

Grouper Casino

Ruby Lee's

4.8

4.8 (359)

$31 to $50

Southern

Hilton Head Island

About the restaurant

The new Ruby Lee’s on Wild Horse!
The new Ruby Lee’s offers more of what patrons of Hilton Head Island have come to love and expect in the past: delicious southern cooking and a comfortable yet stimulating atmosphere that offers the perfect way to enjoy sports or outstanding blues, jazz and soul from local and regional artists. If you’re not familiar with Ruby Lee’s, it’s a locally owned restaurant, started by Tim Singleton (known to Low-country residents as an athlete and head coach). The restaurant is named for Singleton’s late grandmother who is the inspiration for the Southern-style menu. The new and revamped version of the original; yet it still captures the Southern feel-good themes that have an uncanny way of making you hungry for fried chicken, shrimp and grits, corn bread, and sweet tea the moment you walk in the door. If, for some reason, you’re not quite ready to eat after walking in the door of Ruby Lee’s, you’ll notice a pang of hunger once you look at the menu.

Top review

Monroe

Dined 3 days ago

Great food. It was a slow Wednesday night so we got special attention from the owner.

Lagerhead Tavern

4.7

4.7 (1171)

$30 and under

American

Hilton Head Island

About the restaurant

LagerHead is not your typical tavern; Chef Michael Toscano, a James Beard “Rising Star Chef” Semi-Finalist, inspires the dining experience at LagerHead Tavern. The name and décor for LagerHead were inspired by the indigenous Loggerhead Sea Turtle and the natural beauty of Hilton Head Island. Developed by Chef Toscano, the menu showcases southern comfort food with a twist, using fresh, regional ingredients and features signature items such as our House-Smoked Chicken Wings and the Low Country Reuben featuring in house pulled pork and smoked ham. The Grilled Salmon Salad is completely unique in that we use fresh grilled salmon that we prepare every morning. Fresh Grilled Oysters are also a Lagerhead Staple, shucked fresh per order and prepared using garlic butter and breadcrumbs for an oyster packed full of low country flavor!!

Top review

RosalieVIP

Dined 1 day ago

Butternut Squash Salad a definite must have. Have also enjoyed their Delicious Ribs as well as Burgers. Service is exceptional. Great ambience to meet friends for Lunch, views of the Golf Course. When weather permits great outdoor dining as well.

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Popular dish

Chicken Piccata

Gusto Ristorante

4.7

4.7 (1814)

$30 and under

Italian

Hilton Head Island

About the restaurant

Gusto Ristorante is a Northern Italian restaurant with a touch of the South at the Sea Turtle Marketplace in Hilton Head Island.
The executive chef and owner Giancarlo Balestra with his wife Nancy bring the vibrant flavors of his native hometown of Rome, Italy to Hilton Head. The couple who met in Rome 28 years ago discovered their shared passion for food and adventure and have since owned and operated restaurants in Aspen, Co, Winter Park, Fla and Saratoga Springs, NY. They fell in love with Hilton Head and decided to jump into this new exciting culinary adventure, hence the name Gusto, which means flavor and taste in Italian but also means a zest and enthusiasm for a delicious taste of life. The restaurant has a full bar, extensive wine list.

Top review

SteveVIP

Dined 5 days ago

Great food, service, wine, atmosphere, and garlic bread the best.

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Popular dish

Bruschetta di Pomodoro

Roadhouse Ribs

4.5

4.5 (640)

$30 and under

Barbecue

Beaufort

About the restaurant

Located in Port Royal, The Roadhouse is a purveyor of classic American barbecue from the southeastern region of the USA.

Top review

JASON

Dined on Dec 6, 2024

Amazing food and service. Truly a hidden gem. Everyone was so welcoming and helpful with the menu and options. Wonderful experience.

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Frankie Bones - Bluffton

4.5

4.5 (2275)

$30 and under

American

Bluffton

About the restaurant

A walk through the doors into the fabulous Frankie Bones Restaurant & Lounge takes you back to the carefree style of the early 1960s and t's restaurants in the big cities across America. Frankie Bones serves coveted American-Italian cuisine seven days a week and is located next to WiseGuys on Main Street on Hilton Head Island and off Buckwalter Parkway in Bluffton. Lunch at Frankie Bones is about signature sandwiches, homemade soups, fresh seafood, crisp flatbreads, entrée salads, and premium pasta dishes. Always fresh and always fabulous! Served from 11 AM until 4 PM, Monday through Saturday, Frankie Bones is the perfect atmosphere for a business or family lunch.

Top review

Bob

Dined 1 day ago

Frankie Bones always offers an extensive menu along with specials of the day. The food is well prepared and delicious. We had a nice Christmas lunch with our friends.

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Popular dish

Pork Schnitzel

CRUDO Bluffton

4.4

4.4 (58)

$30 and under

Seafood

Bluffton

About the restaurant

We source the freshest possible seafood and produce available from dedicated farmers and fishermen. Our chefs take great care in using the finest ingredients available and looks forward to creating your new favorite dishes.
Try one of our delicious craft cocktails or a time honored classic that is treated with respect to tradition. Highly allocated Bourbon and Tequila play a prominent role on our back bar.

We are committed to finding great bottles from all over the world made by vignerons and farmers, not factories. Featuring the Verre de Vin tower, we can offer a greater variety of wines by the glass including Cru class Champagne! Come see what Certified Sommelier Brian Behnke has available.

Top review

Tyler

Dined 6 days ago

Super cute restaurant with great food. We had more apps and everything we got was delicious.

Tio's Latin America Kitchen

4.1

4.1 (204)

$30 and under

Latin / Spanish

Hilton Head Island

About the restaurant

Chef Lynden Zuniga grew up in Honduras, CA and worked in kitchens through high school to pay rent. He quickly realized making people happy through his cooking would be his lifelong passion. Shortly after marrying his wife Sally, they dreamt of their concept of Tio's and in 2018 it became a reality!

Quality matters. We're committed to serve the highest quality steak, pork, chicken, and seafood. Our proteins are always fresh- sourced locally and domestically across the United States.

You'll hear the sizzle of the grill in our open kitchen as each meal is made to order. Pairing our high-quality proteins with our delicious salsas and vegetables, rice, beans, and tortillas is a winning combination. We pride ourselves on making great tasting food made with simple ingredients.

You might be entering Tio's for the first time as a guest, but we hope you leave as a friend. We hope you enjoy your experience. Thank you for dining with us.

Cheers,
Lynden & Sally Zuniga

Top review

Chuck

Dined on Nov 25, 2024

Wonderful and fats service once we placed our order. Great selections on the menu as there is something for every taste.

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