Peninsula Grill
112 N. Market St., downtown 723- 0700
Chef Bob Carter and restaurateur Hank Holliday worked magic when they created 'P-Grill' nearly 10 years ago, and the place is as good today as it was the day it opened. The dining room staff is educated and focused, while the plates rolling out of the semi-open kitchen show off similar uniform excellence from the culinary team in the back of the house.
This is luxurious, semi-Southern food using the best ingredients and consummate skill in preparation. Many high-end restaurants begin to feel tired after 10 years: Peninsula Grill gives the impression it has many more good years to come.

Charleston Grill
224 King St., downtown 577- 4522
Chef Bob Waggoner?s growing resume had us thinking perhaps he might be unable to uphold the level of excellence he originally created when he took the top job in the kitchen of Charleston Grill. We needn?t have worried. Unabashedly luxurious in both menu and surroundings, this restaurant offers the best of Southern cooking, filtered through the sensibilities of Waggoner?s classic French training.
Service is top-notch, the food is beautiful, inventive and delicious, and the room inspires megalomania. Dining here makes anyone royalty for a night.

Cypress
167 East Bay St., downtown 727-0111
We?ve always been fans of Cypress, now in its fifth year of business. It?s a place that takes chances, nearly all of which somehow work out swimmingly. After all, this is a place where spring rolls appear on the same menu as foie gras, and the lighting changes colors by the minute. Don?t be distracted - chef Craig Deihl is cooking old-school American classics ( like Steak Diane and Chateaubriand) with a modern flair, and the results are usually remarkable. Throw in what is arguably the city?s most elegant and visually stunning bar, and the experience that is Cypress is complete.

Sienna
901 Island Park Drive, Daniel Island 881- 8820
After years at The Dining Room at The Woodlands, Ken Vedrinski came into town and began crafting fine Italian food at Sienna. The dining room is gorgeous and sophisticated, the servers are real professionals, and nine times out of ten, the food is spectacularly delicious. What?s more, Sienna is even great for lunch, serving a truffled mushroom-topped burger that nearly brought tears to our eyes. The light and tasty salads are delicious too, but that burger, with a big pile of fries and endless refills of peach iced tea, is a destination meal we didn?t expect to find in this upscale Italian universe.