There was an old house on Queen Street in Charleston. The home was one of the last noncommercial buildings on the street. It had a dog that belonged to nobody, but called the porch home. Finally, the family sold their home to a group who wanted it for a restaurant. They moved, but the little dog stayed. He stayed through the construction and stayed as the new restaurant opened. He became kind of the dog host for the restaurant and became part of the place. The porch, you see belonged to him. Sadly he died, but his spirit lives on. Poogan was his name and today the restaurant bears his name.

The story is a good one. The place is an old house that is now in the center of things. It's all about southern hospitality and good, low-country food.

There are several rooms you can eat in, or you can eat outside on Poogan's famous porch.

This is a good place for down-home, low-country food. I had the She Crab Soup and it was delicious. I also had the Gumbo and it too was worth coming back for. Breana loves the bread here and we all dug into the desserts. I had a piece of real Key Lime Pie and it was outstanding. We left full and very happy.

I like Poogan's a lot. The staff is on top of things and friendly. The food is outstanding and unique to this region of our country. The place is pleasant and who can resist the great story that goes along with this place?!

We were cheerfully greeted in the entry hall of this 1880s townhouse and led past the formal dining room in the former front parlor, through the dark but elaborately decorated bar in the center of the house and out to the beautiful sun parlor in the rear of the house. All the tables were set with white cotton table clothes, white napkins, silver ware and sparkling crystal water glasses. There was an elegant formal fireplace in the room. Four sets of arched French doors allowed a view of a brick patio surrounded by tropical vegetation where more tables were available.

Low Country shrimp salad, $8.95, Carolina crab cakes, $8.95 or Calabash seafood platter, $8.95 looked good but I decided to settle for Albertha's she-crab soup, an award-winning Charleston tradition, laced with sherry, $4.95 a bowl. Bob ordered the special of the day, Southern fried pork chops, mashed potatoes, gravy and collard greens, $7.95.

The soup was elegantly served in a bowl with a lip and was creamy and delicious with bits of crab meat. Bob was served a generous portion of batter dipped pork chops. The mashed potatoes were freshly made from real potatoes and the collard greens were delicately spiced. A thick delicious biscuit with butter was served before the meal. We broke our usual tradition of no dessert and shared a delicious piece of chocolate cake with fudge filling, $4.95.

Zoe, an old spinster schoolteacher, who once lived there and now haunts the place, was written up on the back of the menu and is featured in the Charleston Ghost Tour, but we didn't see her.

Hours:7 Days a Week,Lunch 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM Dinner 5:30 PM -10:00 PM Sunday Brunch 10:30 AM - 2:30 PM

Credit Cards:American Express,Visa,Master Card. Checks are not accepted.

I ran across this restaurant by accident while taking a Ghost Tour. As a matter of fact, this converted house is a featured stop on almost all the ghost tours. Hearing how this restaurant was named would have been enough of an inducement to try it, but is also alledgedly haunted by two sisters who used to live in the two story residence. When the current owner purchased this two story residence in the 1970's with the idea of converting it into a restaurant, it came with a stray dog complete with a nametag with Poogan written on it. Poogan used to virtually live on the porch and hence the restaurant was named Poogan's Porch.Poogan is burried just off the porch he used to love so much and is memorialized by a small likness of himself.

This is a downhome kind of place that you would expect to find on the Andy Griffith Show or something. It's hard to tell it is a restaurant at all except for the sign.The food and service here are excellent though.

I had the Brace of Carolina Quail with country ham, cheddar grits,and black bean relish for $14.95. My wife opted for the Filet Mignon topped with Madierra demi-glaze and a little sprinkle of Clemse blue cheese for $18.95. Both meals were excellent and we split a Bread Pudding for desert, probably the best bread pudding I've ever had.

Do feel cheated about one thing however,I didn't see the ghost.