There are plenty of places to eat in and around Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Whether you’re looking for breakfast foods, family style meals, or something fancier, you’re sure to find what you’re craving. As we were traveling as a family (and with a three week old baby), we spent our meals at family friendly restaurants. Although there were high chairs and crayons at most places we ate, we didn’t ever have to sacrifice on taste! Here are three of (what we think) are the best restaurants in Myrtle Beach.
Our first stop was a favorite with the locals; Johnny D’s Waffles and Bakery. They’re only open from 6:30 AM until 2 PM and the place is always packed. We stopped in for breakfast, although they serve lunch as well. I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to try, as the menu is extensive. Imagine 10 waffle choices in flavors like Banana Split, Coconut Banana, and Chicken and Waffles. If waffles aren’t your thing, they offer omelets, eggs benedict, pancakes, french toast and other traditional breakfast choices.
After chatting with the waitress about restaurant favorites, we tried the Cinnaroll Waffle, The Red Velvet Waffle (a house specialty), and a sausage and cheese omelet. According to Chef Jamie, who stopped to chat with us, the Red Velvet Waffle is made with 1/2 cake batter to create a light, fluffy texture. The portions were large, and my son is used to me eating part of my meal and passing the rest to be shared with the rest of the family. He watched in dismay as I finished off my entire Cinnaroll waffle, except for the few bites I had shared with the family as a taste test.
What can I say? It wasn’t just a normal waffle. The addition of a homemade cinnamon sauce and freshly made cream cheese icing made it a breakfast and dessert. I didn’t even need to add syrup. Johnny D’s is located on North King’s Highway and is an unpretentious looking building and would be easy to miss, but you don’t want too!
Finding good gluten-free food while you travel can be hard. When you have celiac disease, you always have to research where you’re going to eat in advance. On our trip to Myrtle Beach, I was excited to see so many restaurants with gluten free options. One of these restaurants is Surfside Beach Pizza, located in the small town of Surfside, just a short drive from Myrtle Beach. If you’re not gluten free, don’t worry! There are plenty of options for wheat-eaters, as well.
The gluten free option is a pizza crust, with any toppings other than the meatballs or the eggplant. While we were there, they also had a gluten free chocolate cake for dessert. I ordered the white pizza on a gluten free crust. Of course, I also had to get the chocolate cake. For blogging purposes, of course. The rest of our party had the pasta ala vodka, a steak and cheese sandwich with mushrooms and onions, and a cheese calzone. The sandwiches don’t come with fries, but you can order them on the side, which we did.
Our waiter was well-versed in gluten free, and he also informed us that all sauces were made to order. You could really taste that the sauces weren’t from a jar or from a big vat, and all of our food was steaming hot when it arrived at the table. The chocolate cake was one of the better gluten free desserts I’ve had since being diagnosed. The prices were reasonable, and the portion sizes were big- the calzone was as big as my face! If we lived in the area, we would probably be regulars at this pizza joint. In fact, the crowd when we were there were mostly local regulars. Most of them knew each other (and the staff) by name!
Surfside Beach Pizza is a hole in the wall, hidden in the middle of a line of shops. Don’t let the appearance fool you, though. Surfside Pizza is serving up pasta and pizza that would make any fancy Italian restaurant proud.
Aunny’s Country Kitchen in Georgetown, South Carolina, is located a short drive away from Myrtle Beach. Historic downtown Georgetown is a great place to visit while you’re in Myrtle Beach, and it has no shortage of cute restaurants and shops along the Harborwalk. Aunny’s, like most restaurants in Georgetown, is located on Front Street. It’s recognizable by it’s sign, which features a rooster.
Aunny’s is real home-cooking, and just about as close are you’re going to get to dining in someone’s grandma’s house while you’re traveling. There is a base menu, but the most popular meal is the “daily special,” which features a meat and two “vegetables,” along with cornbread or rolls. Like any good restaurant in the South, you’ll find macaroni and cheese listed as a vegetable, along with options like neckbone pilaf or collard greens.
We all ordered the “daily special,” getting barbecue chicken, meatloaf, fried chicken, and a smothered pork chop as our meats. Between the four of us, our sides were collard greens, neckbone pilaf, squash casserole, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, and creamed corn. The macaroni and cheese was highly recommended by our server, and it was worth the order. All of the sides were warm and fresh, and tasted like they were homemade. All of the meats were good as well, although the stand out was the smothered pork chop. You probably can’t go wrong with any of the daily specials.
Aunny’s Country Kitchen was clearly another spot that was popular with locals, because there were plenty of Georgetown citizens getting lunch there when we arrived. The restaurant is small, so it could fill up quickly. Luckily, even though there were several other tables filled when we arrived, we got our food quickly and the server was attentive- even personable, taking time to talk about life with us while we decided on what to order.
There are so many places to eat in Myrtle Beach that it can be hard to choose. You could probably eat somewhere different every night for a year! Although we definitely plan to try new restaurants when we return, you can guarantee that we are going to return to these family favorites in the future.
We found Surfside Beach Pizza just by sheer luck the last time we were there. We will ALWAYS go back. WONDERFUL!
Johnny D’s is a must!! Awesome food and service!! Always try to eat breakfast a few times when we are down visiting.
Hello … My name is Jamie and I’m the Chef at Johnny Ds. Thank you so much for this write up. It’s amazing. I really appreciate it and I hope everyone can make it in to see us soon 🙂
I think I would love that waffle place as I love me some waffles
My sister lives in SC. We need to check these places out the next time we visit.
Yummm… Everything looks so good! So many delicious options and I’d love to have a Red Velvet Waffle.
I love that you found a GF pizza. These places all sound good. And though it’s not as fun as eating out, you’ve inspired me to make waffles for the kiddos for breakfast this morning.
Wow all of these places sound great! I must plan a trip to Myrtle Beach with my family soon!
I love all the places and the foods look so delicious. I wish I have a chance to taste all these foods.
Red velvet waffles!? Oh my goodness!! This looks so good!!
I would love to visit all three restaurants that you share, especially the one who serves pizza. Oh, I am hungry right now!
We are heading to Myrtle Beach later this summer. I will definitely checkout these places to eat. Those waffles look amazing.
I’m not exactly looking for gluten-free food but those pictures really look tempting and delicious. Thanks for sharing these from Myrtle Beach!
Wow, these are all looks delicious It makes me so hungry lol
Oh, everything looks so yummy! I haven’t visited Myrtle Beach yet but I would like to someday.
The pancakes and pizza is already making me hungry. There are indeed a lot of great food choices at myrtle beach.
My kids are hooked on all things cinnamon. They would love that waffle! I need to head to Myrtle Beach to try them.
All of this food looks fantastic! Good food is the cherry on top of an awesome vacation!
All of that food is making my hungery. Looks delish!!
What a great list. I love to find little local places to eat and not always have to go to the chain places. That Red Velvet Waffle sure looks good!
I’ll have to check out Surfside Beach Pizza the next time I’m in Myrtle Beach. It’s hard to find good gluten-free restaurants when we travel!
Those waffles look delicious! I don’t make waffles very often but now I’m hungry for them.
It’s always good to know about good places to eat when you’re traveling. I got a lot of ideas for making waffle day special until we get back to Myrtle Beach SC try some of the delicious items mentioned.
My mouth is totally watering after looking at all of these delicious photos. I am a sucker for authentic homestyle Southern cuisine, so a visit to Aunny’s is a must.
I am a HUGE waffle fan. That red velvet waffle looks to die for! Thanks for sharing these yummy eats!
Thanks for sharing this info! I will have to check out at least one of the places, it is going to be hard to pick just one!
This looks like a wide range of places to eat in Myrtle Beach. I have never been there but I really would love to go to see it sometime!
Looks like a lot of yummy places to eat up! I don’t know if I could choose just one place. So many delicious options!
Yum, I’d have to try out Aunny’s Country Kitchen for some home-cooking. It sounds like Myrtle Beach has a lot of great restaurants though!
Wow these all look delicious! I would love to give all of them a try if I’m ever in Myrtle beach!
I love the look of all that home cooked food! Finding new places like this is awesome.
Those waffles look absolutely amazing. I am a huge waffle fan!
We’re just a short few hours from Myrtle Beach and we have been wanting to take a weekend road trip there so I’m going to keep these recommendations in mind because we’re total foodies.
Oh when I visit I am so going to these restaurants! Those waffles look Amazing!
It sounds like there are some pretty amazing places to eat in Myrtle Beach. However, you really have me sold on Johnny D’s Waffles and Bakery. I am dying to try some of those delicious looking waffles!
Wow, that waffle looks incredible. I’d love to have a Red Velvet Waffle for dessert! It is totally making me hungry right now. I wish I could visit that place today!
Good heavens I’d love to travel to Myrtle Beach for the food lol. Everything looks so amazing and delicious. I’ll have to add these to my list of places to eat at.
OH my goodness you just made me totally hungry. Myrtle Beach is one of the places in the US I haven’t been to yet surprisingly as we road trip around the country a lot! This food definitely makes me want to go just for that. Any other great ideas to visit in the area once we’ve filled our bellies?
Oh wow! I need to visit Johnny D.’s! That red velvet waffle looks absolutely fantastic!
I haven’t been to SC in years!!! I have to go back again. Such a beautiful place. My son loves waffles and would probably freak out, make us eat there every day and beg us to take some home! hahaha
Everything sure does look yummy!!
My son would be gaga over the waffles restaurant. They are his breakfast favorite.
My family has been vacationing in North Myrtle for almost 30 years! We have our favorite restaurants, but I’m always looking for more to add to my must visit list. I’ll have to add these. Yum!
If you want right off the farm goodness, try Magnolia’s, across from the Hilton Grand Vacation Club on S. Ocean Blvd. It’s not very big and has a real homey atmosphere, The buffet is slap your mama good–best chicken and dumplings this southern girl has ever eaten, and I grew up in the country where my grandparents raised their own chickens. I thought Grandma Grace made the best chicken and dumplings until I ate at Magnolia’s.