To many residents' chagrin, the media's love affair with the Holy City continued in 2025. Below is a list of all the awards, accolades, and honors that were bestowed upon Charleston, its businesses, its restaurants, its people, and more.
FYI – You can click on the award name to learn more.
- Best Biscuits And Gravy You’ll Ever Taste: Maple Street Biscuit Company - Family Destinations Guide
- Best Cheeseburger In South Carolina: Big Gun Burger Shop & Bar - LoveFood
- Best Hole-in-the-Wall Spot for Fried Chicken in South Carolina: Bertha's Kitchen - Cheapism.com
- Best Hors d’Oeuvre: Beet Hummus Rounds by Hamby Catering & Events - Catered Arts Through Innovative Excellence (CATIE) Awards
- Best Independent Hotel: The Dewberry - Virtuoso's Global Awards
- Best Italian Restaurant in South Carolina: Carmella's Cafe & Dessert Bar - 5 Reasons to Visit
- Best New County Retreats - The Dunlin, Auberge Resorts Collection, Johns Island - AFAR
- Best New Hotels - The Dunlin, Auberge Resorts Collection, Johns Island - Town & Country
- Best New Hotels of 2025 - The Dunlin, Auberge Resorts Collection, Johns Island - Esquire
- Best New Southern Getaway - The Dunlin, Auberge Resorts Collection, Johns Island - Modern Luxury
- Best Produce Markets & Local Farms in South Carolina: Charleston Farmers Market - GuideToSC.Com
- Best Seafood in South Carolina: 167 Raw Oyster Bar - Yelp
- Best Steakhouse in South Carolina: Halls Chophouse - LoveFood
- Gold Medal for South German-Style Hefeweizen: Holy City Brewing - World Beer Cup
- Gold Medal for Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout: Indigo Reef Brewing Co. - World Beer Cup
- Happiest Small Beach Town in America - Beach.com
- Hot List 2025: The Dunlin, Auberge Resorts Collection, Johns Island - Condé Nast Traveler
- No. 1 Best Fine Dining Restaurant in the U.S.: Revival - TripAdvisor
- No. 1 Best Small City in the U.S. - Condé Nast Traveler
- No. 2 Best Food Destination in the U.S. - Traveladvisor
- No. 2 Seller of 12-ounce Pabst Blue Ribbon cans in the world: Recovery Room
- No. 2 Top Island in the U.S.: Kiawah Island – Condé Nast Traveler
- No. 3 Best Beach Bar in the South: The Windjammer - Southern Living
- No. 3 Best City in the U.S. - Travel + Leisure
- No. 3 Best Continental U.S. City Hotel – Wentworth Mansion
- No. 4 Best Seafood Dive in the South: - The Crab Shacks - Southern Living
- No. 4 Best U.S. Restaurant for Food & Drink: Lowland Tavern - Food & Wine
- No. 5 Best U.S. City for BBQ - Yelp
- No. 6 Beach in America: Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island - Dr. Beach
- No. 6 Best City to Find a Job - Wallethub
- No. 6 Best City to Start a Career - Wallethub
- No. 6 Best U.S. City for Food & Drink - Food & Wine
- No. 6 Best Seafood Dive in the South: - Bowens Island - Southern Living
- No. 7 Best BBQ Joint in the South: Lewis Barbecue - Southern Living
- No. 7 Best Island in the United States – Kiawah Island
- No. 8 Best Midsize College City in America - Wallethub
- No. 9 Best Continental U.S. City Hotel – John Rutledge House Inn
- No. 9 Best Resort in the South: The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort - Southern Living
- No. 9 Best Travel Destination in the U.S. - Traveladvisor
- No. 10 Best Boutique Hotel: Wentworth Mansion - USA Today 10Best
- No. 10 Best Classic Hotel in the South: Francis Marion Hotel - Southern Living
- No. 13 Best Place To Live In 2025 - U.S. News & World Report
- No. 14 Happiest City in America - Wallethub
- No. 16 Best BBQ Joint in the South: Palmira BBQ - Southern Living
- No. 17 on the list of ‘Top 100 Places to Eat’ for 2025: Jack of Cups Saloon - Yelp
- No 18 Best City for Summer Jobs - Wallethub
- No. 34 Best BBQ Joint in the South: Home Team BBQ - Southern Living
- No. 39 Best BBQ Joint in the South: Melvin's BBQ - Southern Living
- No. 41 Best BBQ Joint in the South: Rodney Scott's Whole Hog BBQ - Southern Living
- No. 44 Best BBQ Joint in the South: King BBQ - Southern Living
- Best Best Barbecue Joint in South Carolina: Lewis Barbecue - Southern Living
- Bronze Medal in the U.S. Open Beer Championship's Barrel-Aged Breakfast Stout category: Low Tide Brewing's Brunch with Santa Stout
- Bronze Medal in the U.S. Open Beer Championship's Belgian-Style Fruit Beer category: Holy City Brewing's Painkiller Witbier
- Gold Medal in the U.S. Open Beer Championship's Root Beer (non-alcoholic) category: Low Tide Brewing's Marsh Water Root Beer'
- One MICHELIN Keys Hotel: HarbourView Inn - MICHELIN
- One MICHELIN Keys Hotel: Hotel Bennett Charleston - MICHELIN
- One MICHELIN Keys Hotel: Post House - MICHELIN
- One MICHELIN Keys Hotel: The Dewberry - MICHELIN
- One MICHELIN Keys Hotel: The Spectator Hotel - MICHELIN
- One MICHELIN Keys Hotel: The Pinch Charleston - MICHELIN
- One MICHELIN Keys Hotel: 86 Cannon Charleston - MICHELIN
- One MICHELIN Keys Hotel: The Dunlin, Auberge Resorts Collection - MICHELIN
- One of Eater's All-Time Eater 38: Chubby Fish - Eater
- One of Eater's All-Time Eater 38: Husk - Eater
- One of the Best Bakeries In The South: Weltons Tiny Bakeshop - Southern Living
- One of the Best Beach Towns in the South: Sullivan’s Island - Southern Living
- One of the Best Beach Towns in the South: Folly Beach - Southern Living
- One of the Best Beach Towns in the South: Kiawah Island - Southern Living
- One of the Best Beach Towns in the South: Isle of Palms - Southern Living
- One of the Best Burger Restaurants in South Carolina: Smash City Burgers - Go To Destinations
- One of the Best Dive Bars in America: Recovery Room - Huckberry
- One of the Best Hotels in the South: The Dunlin, Auberge Collection – Condé Nast Traveler
- One of the Best Hotels in the World: The Dewberry - Travel + Leisure
- One of the Best Hotels in the World: Hotel Bennett - Travel + Leisure
- One of the Best Hotels in the World: John Rutledge House Inn - Travel + Leisure
- One of the Best Hotels in the World: The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort - Travel + Leisure
- One of the Best Hotels in the World: The Spectator Hotel - Travel + Leisure
- One of the Best Hotels in the World: Wentworth Mansion - Travel + Leisure
- One of the Best Hotels in the World: Zero George - Travel + Leisure
- One of the Best Resorts in the South: The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort – Condé Nast Traveler
- One of the 50 Best Restaurants in America: Chubby Fish - New York Times
- One of The 100 Best New Hotels of the Year: The Dunlin, Auberge Resorts Collection, Johns Island - Travel + Leisure
- One of the 100 Greatest American Restaurants of the 21st Century: Chubby Fish - Robb Report
- One of the 100 Greatest American Restaurants of the 21st Century: FIG - Robb Report
- One of the 100 Greatest American Restaurants of the 21st Century: Husk - Robb Report
- One of the 20 Best New Restaurants in the South: Lost Isle - Southern Living
- One of the 20 Best New Restaurants in the South: Marbled & Fin - Southern Living
- One of the "23 Best Restaurant Dishes We Ate Across the U.S. in 2025": Beef Cheeks at Palmira Barbecue
- One of the "23 Best Restaurant Dishes We Ate Across the U.S. in 2025": Blowfish Tails at Chubby Fish - New York Times
- One of South Carolina's Best Hole-in-the-Wall Restaurants: Bertha’s Kitchen - Cheapism.com
- One of South Carolina's Best Hole-in-the-Wall Restaurants: Workmen’s Cafe - Cheapism.com
- One of the Editors' Favorite Wine Bars: Graft Wine Shop - Wine Spectator
- One of The Marathons Worth Traveling For In 2025: Kiawah Island Marathon - Forbes Traveler
- One of The Most Exciting Hotel Openings of 2025: The Cooper - Condé Nast Traveler
- One of The South's Most Legendary Dive Bars: The Griffon - Southern Living
- One of The Southern Restaurants At The Top Of Our Readers' Bucket Lists: Chubby Fish - Southern Living
- One of the Top Resorts in the South: The Beach Club at Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina – Condé Nast Traveler
- One of the Top Resorts in the South: The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort – Condé Nast Traveler
- One of the Top Resorts in the South: Wild Dunes – Condé Nast Traveler
- One of the Top 100 Best Places to Live in America - Livability
- One of the 23 Unexpected City Vacations to Add to Your Travel Bucket List: Hotel Emeline - Good Housekeeping Magazine
- Silver Medal in the U.S. Open Beer Championship's Brown Porter category: Holy City Brewing's Pluff Mud Porter
- South Carolina's Best Museum: The Charleston Museum - Condé Nast Traveler
- Two MICHELIN Keys Hotel: The Loutrel - MICHELIN
- Triple Five-Star Rating: The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort - Forbes Travel Guide
- Wine Spectator's 2025 Restaurant Awards – Charleston Grill
- Wine Spectator's 2025 Restaurant Awards – Costa
- Wine Spectator's 2025 Restaurant Awards – Circa 1886
- Wine Spectator's 2025 Restaurant Awards – Halls Chophouse (Downtown AND Summerville)
- Wine Spectator's 2025 Restaurant Awards – Husk
- Wine Spectator's 2025 Restaurant Awards – Legami
- Wine Spectator's 2025 Restaurant Awards – Magnolia's
- Wine Spectator's 2025 Restaurant Awards – Marbled & Fin
- Wine Spectator's 2025 Restaurant Awards – The Ocean Room
- Wine Spectator's 2025 Restaurant Awards – Peninsula Grill
- Wine Spectator's 2025 Restaurant Awards – SAVI Cucina + Wine Bar
- Wine Spectator's 2025 Restaurant Awards – Water's Edge
- Wine Spectator's 2025 Restaurant Awards – Wild Common at Cannon Green
- Wine Spectator's 2025 Restaurant Awards – Zero Restaurant + Bar
- WTA 500 Tournament of the Year: Credit One Charleston Open - Women’s Tennis Association