Restaurant in Charleston, United States
Casual, flavour-forward, and OAD-ranked.
Xiao Bao Biscuit holds a Michelin Plate (2025) and three consecutive Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats rankings, making it one of Charleston's most decorated casual restaurants. Chef Joey Ryan's Chinese-influenced kitchen on Rutledge Ave delivers genuine culinary credibility at an accessible price point. Open Monday through Saturday, easy to book, and a strong call for groups who want flavour over formality.
Xiao Bao Biscuit is the right call for anyone who wants a casual, flavour-forward dinner in Charleston without the formality or price point of the city's New American circuit. It earns a Michelin Plate (2025) and a Pearl Recommended rating, and it has appeared on Opinionated About Dining's Cheap Eats in North America list every year from 2023 through 2025. For a special occasion that doesn't demand white tablecloths, or for a group that wants something with genuine culinary credibility at a price that won't require negotiation, this is a strong choice on Rutledge Ave.
Chef Joey Ryan runs a kitchen that sits comfortably outside Charleston's dominant Southern and New American narrative. The cuisine is classified as Chinese, but the restaurant has built its reputation on a loosely Asian, market-driven approach that draws on a range of regional influences. That positioning has kept it relevant and well-regarded long enough to accumulate a consistent awards record — OAD ranked it #72 in 2023, #107 in 2024, and #117 in 2025, which reflects a large and vocal following even as its relative ranking has shifted.
The room at 224 Rutledge Ave is casual. This is not a venue designed for hushed celebration-style dining in the way that FIG or Vern's are. Groups considering Xiao Bao Biscuit for a special occasion should factor that in. The energy skews lively and informal, which makes it a better fit for a birthday dinner among friends than a business meal or an anniversary where atmosphere carries significant weight. There is no confirmed private dining option in the current data, so groups wanting a dedicated space should call ahead to confirm availability before planning around it.
It is open six days a week, Monday through Saturday, 11 am to 10 pm, and closed Sunday. That consistent daily-to-night availability is useful for travellers with shifting schedules. Lunch service starting at 11 am gives it an edge for daytime visits, and hitting it at lunch typically means a shorter wait and a more relaxed pace than peak dinner hours.
Xiao Bao Biscuit sits within a city with a strong dining scene across price points. Browse our full Charleston restaurants guide for a complete picture, or explore our Charleston hotels guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide to plan the rest of your trip. For Chinese-influenced restaurants with serious culinary intent in other cities, Mister Jiu's in San Francisco and Restaurant Tim Raue in Berlin are two points of reference at the higher end of the category. Other Pearl Recommended casual spots worth knowing in Charleston include Malagón Mercado y Taperia and Lowland.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xiao Bao Biscuit | Chinese | Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats in North America Ranked #117 (2025); Michelin Plate (2025); Pearl Recommended Restaurant (2025); Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats in North America Ranked #107 (2024); Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats in North America in Ranked #72 (2023) | Easy | — |
| Rodney Scott's BBQ | Barbecue | Unknown | — | |
| 167 Raw | Oyster Bar | Unknown | — | |
| Edmunds Oast | New American | Unknown | — | |
| FIG | New American | Unknown | — | |
| Husk | Southern | Unknown | — |
How Xiao Bao Biscuit stacks up against the competition.
Book a few days out for weekday lunch; weekend evenings fill faster and a week's notice is safer. The restaurant holds a Michelin Plate and has appeared in OAD's Cheap Eats North America rankings three consecutive years, so it pulls consistent demand. Walk-ins are worth trying at opening (11 am), particularly on weekdays. Sunday is the one day they're closed, so factor that in.
Dress casually. Xiao Bao Biscuit sits in the casual end of Charleston's dining spectrum — the same neighbourhood that includes relaxed neighbourhood spots on Rutledge Ave. Clean jeans and a t-shirt are fine; no one is dressing up for this room. Save the blazer for FIG or Husk down the road.
Chef Joey Ryan runs a kitchen that doesn't follow Charleston's dominant Southern playbook — expect Asian-inflected cooking that sits outside the grits-and-BBQ circuit. It's ranked #117 on OAD's 2025 Cheap Eats North America list (up from #72 in 2023 and back from #107 in 2024), and holds a Michelin Plate, so the quality-to-price ratio is the main draw. Come at lunch if you want a lower-pressure introduction; the menu runs all day through 10 pm.
For a low-key celebration where the food is the point, yes — the Michelin Plate recognition and OAD ranking give it credibility without the formality. For a milestone dinner where ambiance and wine service carry weight, FIG or Husk will serve that occasion better. Xiao Bao Biscuit earns its place on a celebratory shortlist through cooking quality, not ceremony.
Lunch is the lower-friction option: easier to walk in, same menu, and the room is less pressed. Dinner gets busier as the week progresses toward Friday and Saturday. Both run until 10 pm Monday through Saturday, so there's no abbreviated lunch service to worry about. If you're visiting on a Sunday, note the kitchen is closed — plan around it.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
