Circa 1886

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Carriage House with a Serious Kitchen

Circa 1886 opened in 2000 inside the original carriage house of the Wentworth Mansion®, a five-star property on Wentworth Street in the heart of historic Charleston. The building dates to 1886, and its original architectural details — exposed brickwork, intimate proportions, candlelit rooms — set the tone for what happens at the table. The restaurant is part of Charming Inns®, a family-owned collection of boutique hotels founded by Richard Widman in 1982, and it carries that heritage of personal hospitality into every service.

Chef Marc Collins and the Lowcountry Table

Executive Chef Marc Collins has led the kitchen since 2001, making him one of the longest-tenured fine-dining chefs in South Carolina. His path to Charleston ran through a culinary apprenticeship aboard a private yacht, training under Culinary Olympics gold medalist David Spadafore and French chef Guy Collinet, and an executive chef posting at the Fairmount Hotel at age 23. In Charleston, Collins helped launch the first Charleston Wine + Food Festival in 2006 and has since earned the festival's own "Marc Collins Chef Award," South Carolina Chef Ambassador recognition, and a 2020 Local Food Champion award from Small Luxury Hotels of the World.

His cooking is rooted in contemporary American cuisine with a firm Lowcountry foundation: seasonal ingredients sourced from local farms and regional purveyors, classic Southern flavors reframed through modern technique. The menu takes two forms — the Ashley and Cooper six-course tasting menus, named for the rivers that frame the Charleston peninsula — alongside a refined à la carte selection that changes with the season. Dishes from recent menus give a clear sense of the kitchen's register: beet-infused cobia sashimi with coconut foam and sea beans; jumbo lump blue crab with gnocchi and parmesan crema; dry-aged Duroc pork chop with char siu and sweet potato beurre blanc. Executive Pastry Chef Ashley Cardona, named Pastry Chef of the Year 2025 by the South Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association, handles the dessert courses with equal precision.

Recognition That Reflects the Room

The wine program has earned Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence continuously since 2004 — a record that speaks to the depth and curation of the list rather than its size alone. Wine pairings are available alongside both tasting menus, and the restaurant also hosts intimate wine dinners and cocktail classes throughout the year. AAA has awarded Circa 1886 its Four Diamond designation every year since opening, and TripAdvisor placed it among the top 1% of restaurants worldwide in 2025.

The dining room draws guests celebrating anniversaries, milestone birthdays, and rehearsal dinners, and the team is practiced at private events of all scales. For those who want to experience the kitchen without committing to a full tasting menu, a curated three-course early evening experience is available for the first seatings of the night. Whatever the format, the combination of a landmark building, a chef with nearly a quarter-century of institutional knowledge, and a wine list that has impressed critics for two decades makes Circa 1886 one of the most coherent fine-dining propositions in the American South.