The January Hit List: Three Sirens, Sermet’s Courtyard, Frannie & The Fox, and More

The newest restaurant from the Stems & Skins team was touted for its seafood-focused menu. Though it’s been open only a few weeks, it’s already clear that it’s so much more. Sure, there’s New Orleans barbecue shrimp, cold oysters, and beautiful local fish selections treated well by chef Jonathan Lippe, but there’s also a relaxed vibe, friends meeting friends over draft cocktails or wine, and some of the sexiest wallpaper choices in Charleston. Named for three sisters of Zeus who wooed potential suitors with a variety of charms, this new restaurant already lives up to its namesake.

If you’re near Broad and King Streets during breakfast, lunch, or brunch — especially on the weekends — then you probably already know where Millers is based on the big crowd waiting to get inside. They’re waiting for fluffy biscuits topped with bologna, fried chicken, or pimento cheese; waffles festooned with bananas and meringue; or even the brunch burger on a brioche bun. The decor is Instagram profile pic-worthy and the drinks are bubbly, so skip the line and get a resy to reserve your brunch bliss.

Keep it cool and casual with some beers, burgers, and boiled peanuts at Holy City. This brewery has been a local mainstay for years, but their expansion from Dorchester Road to the paneled taproom and production brewery in Park Circle upped their profile and their seating capacity. Sandwiches and burgers rule here when it comes to food, and of course beers are the thing (don’t miss their iconic Washout Wheat), but there’s a full cocktail menu and a couple of wines on draft too, so the whole gang can feel at home at this hometown favorite.

Located next to Earth Fare, this restaurant is an homage to Florence Moseley, great-grandmother to the owners, who was known for her down-home seafood dinners and rum punch. You’ll find that rum punch on the cocktail menu (along with a sweet peach sangria), and plenty to eat along with it, from blackened shrimp or fried oysters, to fried chicken by the bucket available for takeaway. Make granny proud and serve some for your next game night.

Longtime Charleston restaurateur Sermet Ashlan brought his signature style to Daniel Island a few years ago, and the Courtyard is consistently rated as one of the top spots in the island community. True to its name, there is a signature courtyard, but there’s also scallop risotto, roasted tomato and mushroom soup, and sweet potato agnolotti, all sure to keep the winter chill away until sea breezes beckon once again for beach days. Until then, call a friend or two and tuck into the courtyard for an evening.

The New Year’s healthy-eating resolution doesn’t have to be a drag at Basic Kitchen. The emphasis is on flavorful, fresh, clean food, so many of the dishes are vegan but anything but bland. The menu shifts with the seasons, but keep an eye out for pistachio beet dip, local shrimp with harissa mussels, and of course, plenty of veggie bowls. There’s a good burger (veggie) and a naughty burger (beef) too, and an inventive natural wine list if you can’t decide between that angel or devil on your shoulder.

If baked goods are your blankie when the weather turns cold, Glazed Gourmet Doughnuts on King Street has a rotating menu of hand-cut doughnut flavors that habitually sell out each day. The bakery has been open since 2011, using fresh fruit and whole ingredients in many of their signature flavors, from PB&J to Chocolate Tahini to Curried Up!, a curried cocoa and ginger combo that surprises with a bit of spice. The menu rotates at the whim of the bakery, so you’ll basically be rolling the dice as to what you get, but to get anything, make sure and visit early. They are closed on Monday; the remainder of the week, closing time is 3 p.m. — or until they sell out.

Tucked inside the Emeline hotel, the quiet, cold month of January might be one of the best times of the year to visit this wood-fired restaurant. The cool and bright courtyard is made warm and bright with heaters, string lights, and a crackling fire, so settle in for the evening and order plenty of favorites, from Storey Farm Chicken Confit to pizzas and some Blue Crab Fritters, which are what hushpuppies want to be when they grow up. Chef Tim Morton knows how to treat seasonal ingredients, and the staff knows how to make its guests feel welcome. After a meal, the courtyard just might have you wanting to pull up a cot close to the fire.

Local fast-casual chain Verde has your salad days covered. From signature creations such as the Southern Harvest with roasted chicken, apples, pecans, and sweet tea vinaigrette, to the housemade dressings and dizzying build-your-own fresh options — hello, eight distinct green and grain bases — eating healthy is easy in the Lowcountry. Many of their salad fixings are sourced locally, and all the goodies are served to you in compostable containers, so the virtue of a meal at Verde extends beyond just your personal waistline.

From January 11 to 15, this loved-by-locals petite pizza palace is holding its Red Sauce Week, running a special weeklong menu focused on classic Italian-American fare with an emphasis on pasta favorites. On the beverage side, there will be house wines by the half or full carafe and a special martini menu. It’s throwback trattoria time, so if you’re ready to sing about your supper like Ol’ Blue Eyes himself, then you know where to go.