Middleton's Village BBQ

An 1892 family vinegar-pepper sauce on Highway 17

Middleton's Village BBQ is a barbecue restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina.

Pitmaster Eliot Middleton has generations of family history in the McClellanville area, and he built his Awendaw pit around a sauce that predates almost every barbecue joint in the state. The vinegar-and-pepper recipe traces to his great-great-grandmother in 1892, reputedly a worker on the area's post-Civil War farms — a heritage story few pits anywhere can match. Destination BBQ calls the result truly authentic South Carolina barbecue.

The roadside spot on Highway 17, a converted biker bar with a big outdoor pavilion, plays like a backyard family reunion: cornhole, bonfires, and weekend live music. The cooking backs the setting. Pulled pork carries that sharp 1892 vinegar tang, the St. Louis-cut ribs pull clean, and the fried ribs are the curveball that regulars order to convert first-timers. Banana pudding closes it out. The whole place runs on lineage — a specific family, a specific sauce, a specific stretch of coast — rather than a concept.

• Style: Lowcountry / South Carolina Style
• Price: $$
• Neighborhood: Awendaw
• Serving since 2020

What to order

• Pulled Pork
• Fried Ribs
• St. Louis-Cut Ribs
• Banana Pudding

How it scores — 8.4/10 overall

• Smoke: 8.5/10
• Bark: 8.2/10
• Tenderness: 8.6/10
• Consistency: 8.2/10
• Value: 8.7/10
• Atmosphere: 8.6/10

Visiting

• Address: 5105 N Hwy 17, Awendaw, SC 29429
• Phone: (843) 928-4742
• Website: https://www.middletonsvillagebbq.com/

Hours: Wed–Sat 12–7pm

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