The votes are in. After a close battle, Early Bird Diner has been named the best chicken + waffles in Charleston by our readers.

Early Bird — located at 1644 Savannah Hwy. — has been serving the Lowcountry for 13 years and recently celebrated this milestone with an iconic sign and a fresh, colorful mural on the exterior.

The diner has also been nominated for Best Breakfast in Charleston, Best Restaurant in West Ashley, and Best Brunch in West Ashley in Charleston City Paper’s Best of Charleston 2022 Awards. Cast your vote.

Congrats, Early Bird. 👏

Bracket Introduction

With the NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments kicking off this week, we’re joining the fun of bracket competitions with a face-off of our own.

We asked you to share your favorite chicken + waffles in Charleston with us, and now — thanks to you and the help of a random generator — we have the official lineup for our bracket.

Who’s in the running
Going head-to-head in the first round are:

How it works
Beginning today, we will host several voting rounds within our newsletters and social channels to determine Charleston’s best chicken + waffles. Who moves on is up to you. Vote for your favorites, and the restaurant with more votes moves on. Simple as that. We’ll go until we have a champion, which will be announced the week of March 21. You will be able to vote once per round.

How to participate
Vote for the restaurant you’d like to see advance to round two using this poll. You can vote for all four spots or as little as one. Once we count all the votes, we’ll share an updated bracket and new poll in an upcoming newsletter.

Want to fill out a bracket to see if you can guess who will win? Download and print the image above to take the competition up a notch. If your bracket is correct, send us a photo for a shoutout + bragging rights.

Ready to cheer your “team” to victory? Vote here.