LumièreCharleston
Candlelit dining room at Lumière with white tablecloths, brass accents and glowing amber light
French Fine Dining · Charleston

An Evening Written
in Candlelight

Classic French technique, the Lowcountry's finest harvest, and a dining room that glows like the last hour of dusk. Lumière is Charleston's table for nights worth remembering.

Reserve a Table View Menu
Intimate candlelit table for two set with crystal glasses, linen napkins and fresh flowers
Our Story

Paris Trained.
Charleston Rooted.

Lumière began with a simple conviction: that the soul of French cooking — patience, precision, generosity — belongs beside the abundance of the South Carolina coast. Chef Étienne Rousseau left the kitchens of Paris for the docks and farms of the Lowcountry, and never looked back.

Housed in a restored 1890s merchant building on King Street, our dining room seats just fifty-four guests each evening. Every plate is composed to order. Every candle is lit by hand.

Read Our Full Story
From the Kitchen

Signature Plates

A glimpse of the evening's menu — dishes that have become quiet legends among our regulars.

Sliced seared duck breast fanned over cherry gastrique with glazed baby turnips

Canard aux Cerises

$46

Dry-aged duck breast, Bing cherry gastrique, glazed turnips, duck-fat fingerlings.

Three golden pan-seared diver scallops resting on saffron beurre blanc

Coquilles Saint-Jacques

$42

Diver scallops seared in brown butter, saffron beurre blanc, shaved fennel, sea salt.

Dark chocolate soufflé rising from a white ramekin dusted with cocoa, served with crème anglaise

Soufflé au Chocolat

$18

Valrhona dark chocolate soufflé, vanilla-bean crème anglaise, twenty minutes of patience.

Explore the Full Menu
Executive Chef Étienne Rousseau in a white chef coat, arms crossed in his kitchen at Lumière
The Chef

Étienne Rousseau

“Great cooking is not invention. It is attention — to the season, to the farmer, to the person across the table.”

Trained under three Michelin-starred houses in Lyon and Paris, Chef Rousseau spent a decade at the pass of Le Meurice before an oyster roast on Wadmalaw Island changed everything. At Lumière he cooks a cuisine of two homelands: French in its bones, Carolinian in its heart.

Étienne RousseauExecutive Chef & Founder

Meet the Team
Word of Mouth

What Our Guests Whisper

“The duck arrived and the table went silent. I've eaten in Paris, Lyon, and New York — Lumière belongs in that sentence. Charleston is lucky to have it.”
Caroline BeaufortCharleston, SC
“We celebrated our thirtieth anniversary here and the staff treated it like it was theirs too. The soufflé alone is worth the drive from Savannah.”
James & Eleanor PruittSavannah, GA
“Impeccable without being stiff. The sommelier steered us to a Chinon I still think about. This is what fine dining should feel like — warm, unhurried, alive.”
Daniel ReyesNew York, NY
“From the first pour of Champagne to the hand-written menu they sent us home with, every detail felt considered. The most romantic room in the city.”
Whitney CalhounMount Pleasant, SC
Hours

Dinner Service

Tuesday – Thursday · 5:30 – 10:00 PM
Friday – Saturday · 5:30 – 11:00 PM
Sunday · 5:00 – 9:00 PM
Closed Mondays

Find Us

King Street

214 King Street
Charleston, SC 29401
Valet parking each evening
from 5:00 PM

Reservations

Join Us

(843) 555-0164
reservations@lumierecharleston.com
Parties of 7+ by phone, please

Lumière's historic brick exterior on King Street glowing with warm window light at dusk
Tonight Awaits

Fifty-Four Seats.
One Unforgettable Evening.

Tables are released thirty days in advance and evenings fill quickly — especially Friday and Saturday.

Reserve a Table