Alluette’s Café

The food is amazingly good and is all locally produce and cooked after you get there. Not touristy and the staff is really nice. Only complain i can think of is that the wait is long, but that’s due to the food being cooked after you order it in order to keep it as fresh as possible.

I went to Alluette’s after reading about it in the New York Times. We were in Charleston for 3 days and this was our favorite meal for a number of reasons: the food was local and fresh, the menu is vegetarian/​vegan friendly without sacrificing flavor, and Alluette & Freddie spent a good amount of time at our table discussing their passion for healthy living. I learned a number of things from them that I will apply in my daily diet, including swapping cayenne pepper for black pepper on the table.
Alluette’s a very special place! & Bill Murray goes here so you know it’s good. I ate the Bill Murray black bean burger, of course.

Best Blackbean burger I’ve ever had — and it’s made from scratch. My friend loved the Lima Bean Soup and her burger. Owner is as sweet as can be and you can tell she genuinely loves what she does.
There are a few signs that let you know that their food will take some time — and that is true. It’s worth the wait — but if you’re in a hurry it might not be the best option.

Such a cute place with warm friendly staff. It’s nice to go away from the touristy areas of charleston. The food is AMAZING! We’ve eaten at the places with 600+ reviews and the fancy places in charleston and this place beats them both. It’s the best food we’ve had so far. Everything is organic, fresh, local and no pork.
My husband is a vegetarian which is very difficult to find in charleston but they had a homemade black bean burger that was delicious and we would go back just for that. I had the flounder sandwhich which was equally delicious and I could tell the fish was fresh. Even their cole slaw and salad dressing was unique, simple, and crave-​able. The only downside is that it’s a little pricey, but the friendly atmosphere and knowing you’re eating well lessens the blow.

Really weird spot. Went here with a couple of friends because I heard they had good organic food. Food was pretty iffy on quality and service was really strange. I remember coming into the restaurant, and thinking it was weird that there was no bathroom, I really had to go but the solution for the store was to run a block and a half and use a gas station one. Weird strike number one
I sat at a table and ordered an appetizer. It was a thing of hummus and chips. I don’t think the chips were fresh, the hummus was OK. I liked the arugula that came with it. It made me think that for 9 dollars I should have gotta fresh pita at least.
I never got water while there, water was not complimentary, or tap, it came from a water cooler. Strike 2. My friends got a portabello burger and I got a hamburger ordered medium rare (I wanted to get rare but the waitress/​owner told me I really wanted medium rare, which I didn’t). It came out medium well (not that pink at all) and the bun looked like those flat breads you buy at the super market next to bagels and stuff. That seemed strange. Burger was so wet it dripped from the bottom and the bottom became super soggy.
Service again was really weird. The owner kept jnterjecting herself into conversation from across the restaurant. Very awkward. she seemed to make a point to mention her high standards and pallette, the fact that she goes to Italy very often and goes to high dining and finds it sub par, and was oddly fixated on hating pork. She mentioned stomach worms a lot while I was eating which seemed pretty gross. She really hated pork to a crazy amount. Tried leaving after getting our checks but she kept talking at us, not sure about my friends but I felt uncomfortable. I think it would have been appropriate if she just asked us how our food was, or things like that. I’d love to learn about the ideas behind the food, and not neccesarily the daily life of the owner.

We had an absolutely lovely, delicious lunch here on a cold Tuesday afternoon, and immensely enjoyed everything served to us as well as the caring, expert service and attention by Freddie.
My wife, not a vegetarian, ordered the the house specialty fried chicken and enjoyed it very much. Boneless, fresh-​made and a beautiful presentation on the plate.
As a vegetarian, I ordered Bill Murray’s Black Bean Burger, which was delicious, served with a layer of fresh cole slaw on top and house-​made ketchup, with a side of four fresh-​cut wedge fries. Sprinkled with a little of the cayenne pepper on the table and the house special sweet iced tea, it was all decadently delicious.
Freddie gave us great service and was a delightful host.
We heartily recommend Alluette’s for their fresh, wholesome food, warm atmosphere and caring service. There’s no doubt all the food is prepared and served with love and care.
Our only quibble with the restaurant is with the pricing. Our modest meal of a small portion of fried chicken and a small side salad, my black bean burger and a small portion of fries, two iced teas and two cups of the delicious lima bean soup, came to more than $ 50 before tip. The bean burger, a daily special, was $ 15. We don’t think fresh has to be that costly.
But it was a real treat eating lunch at Aluette’s and they have a well-​deserved reputation for excellent, fresh, wholesome food.

You would never know what to expect from this place based on its outer shell but once you walk inside it is amazing. The staff/​owners make you feel right at home and the food is amazing. It wasn’t at all what we expected and that helped to make the experience so special.
NOTE: This is an experience and they are serious about their slow cooking. Make sure this place is your main event or your evening schedule will be completely thrown off track.

I LOVE this place!!! I was lucky enough to just stop by on my out of Charleston looking for a vegetarian place on Unilocal.Boy did I find the best spot.
I came at a weird hour (3ish) and was the only costumer. I had the most incredible conversation with Alouette and her server. I could taste the freshness in the food and the care that was taken in its preparation was fantastic. I felt like I was in her kitchen as we continued to converse as she made me a delicious fish sandwich. I felt right at home the minute I walked in the door.
I support her mission to really promote farm to table and she really stands by it. Wish I could go more often.

Excellent service. Great place. Great food. Geechi girl sauce is amazing. Lima bean soup is the best I’ve ever had. Don’t judge from the outside. This place is awesome.

What a fun restaurant. I just got an insulting message from one of their employees from a review I posted over six months ago. Let’s focus on getting a sandwich together in under 45 minutes before you question how vegetarian/​vegan I am. The answer is that I am not but neither is Alouette’s.
Enjoy the wait people!

Another reason to not judge a book by its cover! From the outside, there is nothing that appears very welcoming, but stepping inside only takes a moment to feel like family.
Wait staff was warm, knowledgable, and eager to share the history and flavor of the family-​owned café. With one of our three diners vegan, one gluten-​free, and one a seafood lover, we all were very pleased with the options.
It is a bit pricey, but you feel good supporting a place that works hard to cook local, cook healthy, and leaves you smiling from the experience.
This was my second visit, and will definitely be there again!

I’m glad Alluette’s is here in Charleston. It was well worth the walk from the Francis Marion Hotel to find it. The atmosphere is cozy. I ended up spending WAY more money than I thought on my to-​go order of miscellaneous sides, wanting to taste the lima bean soup, organic fries, and why not two cookies ($ 3.50 each!). The soup was good, though it had some ingredient that didn’t make my buds sing. The fries were the winning entry, for sure, with homemade ketchup, though again, I’m glad I didn’t ask for the price ($ 5!). I got my order in good time and there were lots of reviews to read on the walls while I waited.
I was a little annoyed at feeling like I was keeping the person waiting on me from continuing a phone call, but hey, I may do the same to waitstaff even if I don’t mean to be rude. All this said, because there are untasted flavors to be experienced, I will return when I come back to Charleston, and perhaps even order an entrée.

This was the most awkward meal we had in Charleston.
We stopped by for dinner because of the overwhelmingly positive reviews. We were hungry and there were only two other tables in the place. Great, right? Wrong. A whopping hour and half later, we finally received our food — I think I ate about 8 ounces of ice just to stifle my hunger. The shrimp creole was tasty and I enjoyed my fried chicken. The entrees were modestly-​portioned (which is great) but slapped with fine-​dining prices. I have no problem paying good money for a good dish, but «fine-​dining» price tags come with certain basic expectations/​guarantees that include «fine-​dining» atmosphere and reasonable wait time. I am not at all knocking on AC for its rustic home style, but it doesn’t match the prices they are charging.
What irked us more however were all the ways the employees pointed to their accolades (This is Oprah’s favorite dish! Look at all the awards we got…). When we were heading out, the waiter was talking to another table who considered ordering one of the entrees we got. He turned around to us and said «Wasn’t that good stuff? Tell him it was really good». Yea… uncomfortable…as if I was going to say «it was good but way too expensive for what we got».
Making food from scratch is no excuse for 1.5 hour wait. There, I said it. I’ve been to plenty of restaurants as part of this new farm-​to-​table movement in recent years and none had made us wait this long and made it seem perfectly normal. I have no beef against these nice folks but they need to bring their egos down to earth and not lose sight of the customers who made them famous in the first place.

Great place with great owners… No pork around these parts but you can still get some seafood. This place is what i would call ANTI-​soul food… not «soul food» not «vegan» nor «vegetarian»… It’s health conscious to the point of almost unreasonable but also without specifically catering to vegan/​vegetarian customers. The owners are very passionate about their way of life and it’s interesting to talk to somebody who believes so much in their message (even if you don’t agree with them 100%). What matters is that the food is tasty and fresh. The prices are not low, as expected… definitely worth a visit if you’re health conscious or are looking for an interesting conversation.
PS… the highly «praised» iced tea… not my… umm… cup of tea lol… strange fruity concoction… meh… i’d rather have a regular iced tea any day ;)

I really don’t understand the good reviews of this place. We came here for an afternoon lunch and were promptly seated. However, it literally took 1.5 hours for us to get our sandwiches. The place was practically empty so i don’t understand why. We kept asking our waitress if the food was ready and she kept blowing us off. Since we had been there for so long, we asked to move our seats to the outdoor patio to enjoy the afternoon. The patio looks nothing like the image they posted. It looks like a junk yard with crap everywhere and all the seats at the bar are broken through. Just completely disgusting. Oh i forgot to mention the sewer smelled tiny bathroom filled with restaurant supplies.
I would steer clear of this place unless you feel like killing a few hours for mediocre food that is way overpriced. Oh, and lastly, they don’t serve soda because it isn’t organic, but they do offer budweiser, corona and miller light. go figure.

Seriously, this food is so so so so good! We had 2 black bean burgers on gluten-​free bread, one girl burger and one Lima bean soup. We all shared and everything was delicious. Insider tip, they had tons of gluten free stuff. We even got a few vegan GF cookies to go. Oh! And the tea was sweetened with pineapple juice. Yum! Go here. Now! Tell everyone! Everything is fresh, local and made with love.
Support this local restaurant, I need to keep places like this open so I can eat at restaurants!

Wow– EVERYTHING was awesome — from the tea and Lima bean soup to the fish and seafood stew and salads, «roe shrimp» was especially amazing and delicious.
Can’t say enough about this fresh organic and deliciously prepared food !!!
Must try!
dying to go back!

I’ll preface my review by saying I’m a price conscious diner. That’s not to say I won’t drop a lot of money on a good meal, but it’s gotta be worth it.
I give one star for friendly service, and one star for tasty food (I’d give another half if I could).
My friend and I had a groupon, so I got to go twice. Both times was shocked at the prices they are charging. $ 20 for 8 pieces of shrimp, coleslaw, and fries?! It feels like eating in someone’s family room — which can be really fun. I love me a local family place. But not for a $ 47 dinner (1 appetizer, 1 salad, 1 entrée, no drinks) that leaves me hungry at the end of the meal. I also had two experiences that made me feel a little tricked — first, the Groupon stated that dinner entrees ranged between $ 12-​$ 14, and there was one entrée on the menu in that range. Everything else was between $ 18 and $ 35. Second, at the end of my first meal, the waiter came around with cookies, insisted we take one, and then charged us $ 4 for it! $ 4 FOR ONE COOKIE?! Please.
The food was tasty, except for the collard green sandwich, which was soggy and unimaginative. I have tried the shrimp, fries, coleslaw, chicken salad, fish stew, burger, and collard green sandwich. All fine to eat but none were riveting.
Overall, I’m really disappointed, because I want to support the healthy/​local thing they’re doing. And they are nice people. But it is truly the most overpriced place I’ve dined in Charleston and I can’t in good faith recommend it to fellow Unilocalers.

Came here based on Unilocal recommendation. Couldn’t be happier. It’s a small cozy place which seats about 30. Local art on the wall, soft jazz music playing in the background. I came at 1:30pm on a Saturday and was only about the 5^th person here but I could imagine it gets busy on a Saturday at 12pm.
Order a water only at first but couldn’t help my self from ordering a sweet tea based on everyone’s recommendation. Glad I did. The tea was delicious and you could taste the fruit that sweetens it, not any sugar.
I had a cup of the Lima bean soup and the turkey sandwich. Soup was amazing and you can taste the freshness of all the ingredients. Turkey sandwich, hand down the best sandwich I have ever had.
On my way out talked to Alluette about how good her food was. Everyone was so friendly. They even had me sign a guest book. Such a great environment!
For a local place which uses local and organic produce you won’t find anywhere better.

Ever wanted your personal chef? I feel like she is when I am here. Eager to please with my weird diet or Gluten free, vegetarian and always organic, in season veggies and fruit. Home made served with a granny hospitality.
Indoor and outdoor seating, brought our doggies outside originally. Wonderful eclectic décor, yet homey. very personable and comfy.
Local bakery goods, coconut milk, tofu, everything I need is here, including love.
Pray you get a chance to meet Alluette, quite a celebrity, more an inspiration.