The after-golf, early dinner crowd at Ella & Ollie’s.
WRITTEN BY Sandy Lang
PHOTOGRAPHS BY Peter Frank Edwards
We’re nearly 50 miles from Charleston by the time we reach the golf course at the far end of Edisto Beach. Following the road through a gate and past resort-style homes, we arrive at Ella & Ollie’s, which overlooks one of the greens. We’re arriving on a great night at this seafood-forward restaurant—soft-shell crab season is in full swing. (Other nights and seasons, the special might be fresh stone crab claws or pork chops from Walterboro’s Keegan-Filion Farm.)
Seated in a large dining room with a long bar, we order one of those fried whole crabs over succotash and a couple of glasses of rose—the softie is delicious and tender in a light, crispy fry batter. New Orleans-style barbecue shrimp in a peppery sauce is next, and we mop that up with slices of grilled baguette. Then there’s the golf-ball-size “grit puppies”—looking on the outside like a hush puppy but filled with andouille sausage and creamy, melty grits.
Chef Brandon Rushing and his wife, Katherine, are obviously having fun with this menu and the space. Color-drenched batiks by Charleston artist Mary Edna Fraser adorn the walls, showing aerial views of the Lowcountry islands, marsh, and ocean we’ve been exploring. The Rushings fell in love with this scenery.
(Left to right) The fried soft-shell crab with pea shoots over succotash and tomatoes; Chef Brandon Rushing’s beef carpaccio.
After culinary school in Portland, Oregon, Brandon moved to Edisto and worked in kitchens at the Old Post Office on Edisto Island and Blossom in Charleston before opening Ella & Ollie’s in 2016 as co-owner and executive chef. Then, in 2020, the couple founded Briny Swine, a waterfront raw bar and smokehouse that’s just across the fairways at the fishing boat docks on Dock Site Road. Oysters and barbecue are the primary fare there—adding yet another take on Edisto and Lowcountry flavor, just a road trip away.
Location: 21 Fairway Dr., Edisto Beach, inside Wyndham Ocean Ridge (ask at gate for directions)
Miles from Charleston peninsula: 49
On the Menu: New Orleans-style barbecue shrimp, pork chops from Walterboro’s Keegan-Filion Farm, grit puppies, succotash, rib eyes and burgers of Brasstown beef, and bread pudding, plus a full bar
Hours: From 5:30 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday
Contact: (843) 869-4968, ellaandollies.com
Nearby Adventure: Edisto Beach State Park, 8377 State Cabin Rd., southcarolinaparks.com/edisto-beach
