Fun-Themed Restaurants In and Around Myrtle Beach
Shelbi's note: I love discovering fun restaurants, and if they have a theme, sometimes my friends and I also dress accordingly so we match! It makes going out twice as fun.
There are so many amazing spots to dine at across the Grand Strand. What can spice up your dinner and make it even more exciting is when the restaurant is perfectly themed with the food it serves! Going to these spots will create a more memorable experience on your vacation, and you’re guaranteed to try something unique that you probably don’t have at home.
Here is the list of restaurants we’ve curated for your next themed night out:
Welcome to the sea, ladies and gentlemen! Get ready to be immersed in the coastline with lighthouses, sea creatures, ships, and more. Benjamin’s is a seafood buffet serving over 150 items including your ocean favorites like fish, oysters, crab, crawfish, crabcakes, etc. Don’t worry, it also includes a fine selection of ‘land food’ like ribs, chicken, salad, soup, and others. The exterior of the restaurant looks as if you’re entering a lighthouse, then once inside, it’s as if entering a ship with helms, sailor hats, sea creatures, and other things hanging from the walls and ceilings. If you weren’t in the mood to go to the beach, you will be after visiting Benjamin’s!
Step into the history of music through costumes, records, and instruments at Hard Rock Café. At Broadway at the Beach, right off Celebrity Circle, is a music heaven featuring artists both old and new. The American-style eatery has multiple locations worldwide, each uniquely designed with a ‘music’ theme. In Myrtle Beach, you can grab a brochure and walk through the restaurant to explore things such as an outfit worn by Lady Gaga, or James Brown’s boots. Once you’ve had your fill, you can grab a table and eat from the variety of favorites like steak burgers, seafood, steaks, and salads. It’s not hard to miss this stop, with a huge 40-foot-tall red guitar on top of the main entrance!
Get ready to take dinner and live music to a whole new level. The House of Blues is a famous chain for concerts and shows, but they also have a restaurant where you can enjoy good grub at the same time. Alternatively, the venue also hosts a murder mystery dinner every other week. Enjoy a three-course meal while trying to solve who the murderer is amongst you at the tables. This interactive dinner will have you buzzing with anticipation and laughing through the whole thing, as the actors and guests go through a series of questions and puzzles. And, who knows, if you solve the crime, you might get a prize!
Transporting you to island time, this Polynesian Fire Luau will give you a show you’ll never forget. The company is a Samoan family from the village of Nu’uuli on the Tutuila, American Samoa island. Those who attend will witness traditional dance by performers dancing to live Polynesian music from Hawaii, Tahiti, Tonga, New Zealand, and Samoa. This two-hour-long event will captivate you, allowing you to explore the culture not only through dance but also through food. There is a dinner buffet available with dishes like hula chicken, sticky rice, island potatoes, kalua pulled pork, and more. It is indoors and the evening finale is a 15-minute fire knife performance.
Calling all knights and princesses, be prepared for a night full of tournaments, drama, and victories. Located inside a castle, guests enter this medieval-style venue as armor, swords, and helmets adorn the walls. The queen kicks off the evening to see who is worthy of taking the title of ‘Defender of the Throne’ between the different knights. So, cheer on your favorite team while they joust and fight on horses to see who is the best. Simultaneously, soak up the four-course meal you will be served, the menu varying depending on dietary restrictions.
Join Captain Blackbeard on this adventure through the sea at Pirates Voyage. Watch crews be led through a ship in the middle of an arena, battling on land and in water to find the pirate’s gold. Get splashed by water and see the most adorable sea creatures that come and go along the way. There are mermaids, pirates swinging, captains yelling, and deep-sea wonders to watch in awe. Feast on a four-course meal during the process, with half o’ roasted cackler (chicken), swashbucklin’ sugar-cured ham, cob-o’ butter corn, matey’s mac ‘n’ cheese, and more. If you want an even better experience, arrive early to be turned into a pirate or mermaid yourself!
Get ready for an adventure back in time, when neither hotels nor cars lined the streets of Ocean Boulevard. This murder mystery dinner will transport you, your friends, and your family to the Wild West, a time when everyone wore cowboy boots, lived in saloons and bars, and met people of many kinds on the streets. You’re in charge of discovering who the killer is while you munch on crisp salad and a traditional Italian entrée and dessert. Surrounded by Western charm and people from all over, you must determine with wit and skill who is the perpetrator before your time runs out.
Have you ever heard of Jimmy Buffet? If not, you’ll know who he is after Margaritaville, and you’ll want to return every time you come back to visit. Featuring over 15 types of margaritas plus specialty cocktails, this experience will have you wishing you lived at the beach! The large establishment at Broadway at the Beach has tables built out of boats and large mixers as statues, so you are sure to know your feet should be in the sand somewhere. The ceilings are painted with islands and there are palm trees around every corner, but the best part is that it’s all inside so you can enjoy it in the comfort of air conditioning.
Step back to the age of dinosaurs and volcanos at DinoLand Café. Enjoy this immersive experience with animatronic dinosaurs next to your table while you dine. It’ll take you into the land of the ice age with the woolly mammoths and the Flying Dragon bar where you can grab a drink of your choice. It’s perfect for kids to look in wonder at all the different animals and take funny photos in between meals like lava mountain ribs, flaming burgers, sizzling dinosaur steaks, and more. The ceiling is covered in greenery with dinosaurs gliding around, allowing you to make memories with your family that will last forever.
A real Southern meal means dishes full of sides and main courses that are passed around the table for everyone to share. At Paula Deen’s you get that full experience, just as if you were at someone’s house. Here you will be thrown into the Southern culture with long, family-appropriate tables and dishes galore such as fried chicken, country fried steak and white gravy, creamed corn, poppyseed tossed salad, and various other mouth-watering foods. The second floor of the restaurant is for seating, which overlooks the water at Broadway at the Beach, and the first floor is a Paula Deen Store where you can find all your favorite ingredients and Southern accessories to take home.
