Back when dinner cost a dollar and fifty cents, cars had fins and televisions were brand new. Picture a seafood platter piled high with fried fish, hushpuppies, and coleslaw, served in a family kitchen on the South Carolina coast.
One family started serving that platter in 1948, and they never stopped. The recipes stayed the same.
The fryers stayed hot. The welcome stayed warm.
Generations of families have pulled up chairs, passed plates, and left with full stomachs and happy memories. The smell of frying fish still drifts through the parking lot.
Trends come and go, but this one just kept frying fish the way Grandma taught them. The building may have aged, but the spirit inside has not.
This one is worth the drive for anyone who loves a good story with supper.
A Family Kitchen With A 1948 Start
Harry Truman was president when Lee’s Inlet Kitchen first opened its doors to hungry families. That was 1948, and the restaurant has stayed in the same family ever since.
You will find it right on the main road through Murrells Inlet.
Founders Eford and Pearl Lee started the business with simple goals. They wanted to cook good coastal seafood and treat guests like neighbors.
That idea clearly worked. Today the restaurant is known as the oldest family-owned restaurant in Georgetown County.
It also holds that title along the Hammock Coast, a stretch of South Carolina shoreline. Plenty of places along the coast have opened and closed over the decades.
Lasting this long takes more than luck. It takes steady cooking, loyal guests, and a family willing to keep showing up.
For you, that history means something practical. You are eating at a place that has had many years to figure out what works.
Think of it as a restaurant with a very long resume. Few kitchens in the region can point to a start date that old.
So when you pull into the lot, remember the timeline. Families have been sitting down here since your grandparents were young.
The Dollar Fifty Seafood Platter That Started It All
Imagine handing over a dollar bill and two quarters for a full seafood platter. In 1948, that was the price of a platter at this little coastal kitchen.
Prices have changed a lot since then, of course. Still, that old number tells you a lot about how far back this story goes.
A dollar fifty in 1948 was real money for many families. Eating out was a treat, not an everyday thing.
That makes the restaurant’s long run even more interesting. It was serving families back when a night out meant something special.
The platter idea never went away either. Seafood platters still anchor the menu today, just at modern prices.
You can think of the current menu as the grown-up version of that first plate. The roots are the same, even if the receipt looks different.
Here is a fun way to use this fact. Bring it up at the table with kids and ask them to guess what dinner cost in 1948.
Watch their faces when they hear the answer. It turns a regular meal into a small history lesson.
Little details like this make a restaurant more than a place to eat. They give you a story to carry home along with your leftovers.
From Gas Station To Growing Dining Room
Not every famous seafood spot began life as a restaurant. This one operated from a building that was once a gas station.
That detail might surprise you. Pumping fuel and frying flounder are not exactly the same line of work.
Over time, the business outgrew its small start. The dining room has been expanded six times over the decades.
Six expansions is a lot for one restaurant. Each one suggests more guests kept coming through the door.
You can read the building like a timeline. Every addition marks a moment when the family needed more seats for more people.
Restaurants that grow slowly like this often keep a homey feel. The space reflects years of change rather than one big makeover.
Google describes the place as an informal institution on the main drag. That fits a spot that grew bit by bit from humble beginnings.
Here is a tip for your visit. Take a moment outside to look at the building before heading in.
Knowing its gas station past makes the structure more fun to notice. You are eating inside decades of family decisions.
It is a good reminder that big stories can start small. A modest roadside building turned into one of the coast’s longest-running kitchens.
Fourth Generation Hands On The Recipes
Family businesses rarely make it past the second generation. Here, the fourth generation of the Lee family is now running things.
Adrian Dorman and Ashton DuBose took over the restaurant in 2025. They carry forward a business their great-grandparents built.
That is a big responsibility. Plenty of guests have years of memories tied to this kitchen.
The restaurant takes pride in keeping the original cooking methods and recipes. Many of those recipes trace back to Eford and Pearl Lee.
For you, that means consistency matters here. The goal is not to reinvent dishes every season.
Instead, the focus stays on traditional Southern and Lowcountry cooking. It is food rooted in this part of the coast.
Passing recipes down is a quiet kind of skill. It takes patience to teach someone exactly how a dish should be made.
Each generation adds its own care to the work. Yet the core of the menu stays tied to the founders.
If you visited years ago, this may be comforting news. The family behind the counter still has the same last name in its story.
And if it is your first visit, you get to taste that history fresh. Not many restaurants can offer recipes with this kind of family line.
She Crab Soup With A Trophy Shelf
Winning a chowder contest once is nice. Winning it seven times starts to look like a habit.
The She Crab Soup here is a seven-time winner of the Murrells Inlet Chowder Contest. That is a strong record in a town full of seafood cooks.
Murrells Inlet takes its seafood seriously. Beating local competition again and again says something about a recipe.
She crab soup is a classic of the Carolina coast. Ordering it here connects you to a regional tradition.
The soup also shows up often in guest conversations online. It is one of the most mentioned dishes in Google reviews for the restaurant.
A smart plan is to start your meal with a cup. That way you save room for the main course.
If your group likes sharing, order one and pass it around. Everyone gets a taste of the contest winner.
The menu also lists other soups and starters if crab is not your thing. Still, the award history makes this one hard to skip.
Food with a story tends to taste more memorable. Knowing about those seven wins makes the first spoonful a bit more fun.
Consider it the restaurant’s edible trophy. You just get to enjoy it instead of dusting it.
Fried, Broiled, Or Grilled, Your Call
Decisions, decisions. The seafood here can be fried, broiled, or grilled, depending on your mood.
Much of the seafood is sourced from the Carolina shores. That local focus fits a restaurant this close to the coast.
Hand-peeled fantail shrimp are one notable choice. The restaurant highlights them as part of its traditional lineup.
Flounder and deviled crab are also frequently mentioned by guests in reviews. So are shrimp and grits and blackened salmon.
The owners have explained that they keep seasonings simple. The idea is to let the local seafood speak for itself.
That is helpful to know before you order. If you like bold heat, the blackened options may suit you best.
Prefer something lighter? Broiled seafood is a good path to try.
Craving classic coastal comfort food instead? The fried platters carry on the tradition that started in 1948.
Sides matter too. Pimento cheese grits come up often in guest reviews.
A good strategy for groups is to mix cooking styles. One person orders fried, another broiled, and everyone trades bites.
That way you sample the full range of the kitchen. It is a tasty way to learn what you like best for next time.
Landfood And Menus For Little Ones
Not everybody at the table wants seafood, and that is perfectly fine. The menu includes a section of landfood for those folks.
Steaks and chicken are part of that lineup. It means picky eaters do not have to sit out dinner.
This matters a lot for family trips. One person in every group seems to dodge anything with fins.
The restaurant also offers kid and senior menus. That makes it easier for grandparents and grandkids to eat together.
For a place that has served families since 1948, this makes sense. Feeding every age group has always been part of the job.
Here is a helpful hint for parents. Look over the kids menu early so little ones can choose quickly.
Hungry children tend to be happier when the order goes in fast. A plan helps the whole table relax.
Seniors may appreciate having their own menu too. It gives more choices without guessing at portions.
Mixed groups often struggle to agree on one restaurant. A menu with sea and land options solves that puzzle.
So bring along the steak fan and the shrimp lover. Both can leave satisfied, and nobody has to compromise much.
A Southern Living Shout-Out And Practical Tips
Big magazines notice when a small family kitchen keeps doing things right. In 2023, Southern Living named this spot the Best Seafood Restaurant in South Carolina.
That is quite an honor for a place that began in an old gas station. It also explains why the restaurant draws so many visitors.
The place holds a 4.5 star rating on Google from nearly 2,000 reviews. That is a large crowd of opinions to earn.
Several recent reviews mention complimentary hush puppies with honey butter. They are the most talked-about item in those reviews.
Planning helps make your visit smooth. The restaurant serves dinner and is closed on Sundays.
Some recent reviews note waits during busy times. Arriving earlier in the evening may help your group get seated sooner.
Outdoor seating is available while you wait, according to guests. Parking around the building is also mentioned in reviews.
One more tip comes from a recent guest. A 3 percent charge applies to card payments.
The atmosphere is often described as old school. Think comfort and history rather than flashy decor.
Put it all together and you get a simple formula. Good seafood, family roots, and a story that started with a $1.50 platter.
Address: 4460 US-17 BUS, Murrells Inlet, SC 29576.
