Caviar & Bananas

Charleston, United States

3.8

Closed now

31 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards
Free Wi-Fi

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 843-577-7757
Website:
www.caviarandbananas.com
Address:
51 George St, Charleston, SC, 29401
King Street
Categories:
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
No
Delivery
Yes
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good For
Lunch
Parking
Garage, Street, Validated
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
No
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Average
Alcohol
Beer & Wine Only
Outdoor Seating
Yes
Wi-Fi
Free
Has TV
No
Dogs Allowed
No
Waiter Service
No
Caters
Yes
Good for Working
Yes
Good for Groups
Yes

Today

Today 7:00 am – 8:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (Charleston) 3:20 AM Wednesday, June 4, 2025

Business hours

Monday 7:00 am – 8:00 pm
Tuesday 7:00 am – 8:00 pm
Wednesday 7:00 am – 8:00 pm
Thursday 7:00 am – 8:00 pm
Friday 7:00 am – 8:00 pm
Saturday 8:00 am – 8:00 pm
Sunday 8:00 am – 8:00 pm

Description

Specialties

From the ordinary to the extraordinary, Caviar & Bananas gourmet market and café offers an epicurian experience to excite the senses. With a sleek interior, the upscale specialty food destination brings a metropolitan shopping experience to downtown Charleston. Featuring gourmet prepared and made-​to-​order epicurean edibles including sandwiches, salads, sushi, artisanal cheeses, charcuterie, boutique wines, an espresso/​tea bar and more! Open daily and serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch. Stop in for a meal or just enjoy a glass of wine or draft beer with a cheese & charcuterie plate.

History

Established in 2008.

Locally owned and operated, Caviar & Bananas was «born» in 2008 with its first location on George Street and its second «express» location that followed in the Historic Market Street Great Hall in 2011. Husband and wife team, Margaret and Kris Furniss who share a love of all things «food» created a place where you can find «everything from the ordinary to the extraordinary.» Caviar & Bananas is proud to have a «scratch» kitchen where everything is created fresh on-​site daily. From the pastries and baked goods, to the house-​smoked chicken and salmon in the sandwich department right down to the gluten-​free salad dressings. With offerings for breakfast, lunch, dinner, weekend brunch and everything in between. Caviar & Bananas is sure to have something for everyone.

Meet the Business Owner

Margaret and Kris F.

Business Owner

Caviar & Bananas is a concept conceived of by husband and wife team Margaret and Kris Furniss. Self-​proclaimed ‘foodies’ they met while working together at a high-​end restaurant in New York City. She, a College of Charleston alumni and he, a New York native, they share a love for all things culinary.

Upon completing her Masters, Margaret spent several years working in marketing and advertising creating brands and launching products for the mass market. Kris started his career in the financial world but found himself picking up Gourmet Magazine as opposed to the Wall Street Journal. He soon decided to change gears and pursued a career in the food industry managing several upscale restaurants and eventually high-​end food retail.

Once they tired of corporate America, the two decided to go to work for a new employer — themselves. It wasn’t long before they left the big city for the warm weather and beauty of the low country to create Caviar & Bananas.

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31 reviews of Caviar & Bananas

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Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for creating this amazing grocery store. Excellent food from the food area… had dinner here the other night. Amazing bakery goods. Bravo! Clean space and very friendly staff. Yay!
Place rating: 1
Goose Creek, SC
Decided to try something new. It wasn’t good. Expensive but not good. Couldn’t refund or exchange for something different. Starbucks would’ve let me try something else. It’s sad but that’s why Starbucks owns the market and places like this have to have really high prices to survive. I would’ve preferred to have liked this place but… just like so many expensive places, there’s no regard for the customer.
Place rating: 5
Cleveland Heights, OH
Great spot for breakfast and lunch. I usually get the duck confit sandwich, which is AMAZING. Prices are on the higher side of being a café, but the tastiness justifies the pricing thankfully. I do not drink coffee, so I cannot comment on that topic. The pastry selection is on the smaller side, but the quality is REALLY good.
If you need something quick and tasty, this is the place.
Price to tasty ratio — Good
Place rating: 4
Manhattan, NY
The chicken salad is the BEST. They have very good coffee as well. Ironically, a lot of times they are out of bananas.
Place rating: 3
Carlsbad, San Diego, CA
Overpriced market, but the coffee seems to be popular with the locals. The line was extremely long, but I did not try it. I purchased two overpriced sandwiches and a couple drinks from the markets use.
Place rating: 5
Charleston, SC
Hip, industrial style café. Definitely feels like you’ve stepped outside of Charleston. Great food!!! Beer, wine, gourmet chocolates and snacks, coffee, pastries and more.
I got the duck confit sandwich and my friend had the holy city sushi roll, both were amazing!
Place rating: 4
San Francisco, CA
It could be more robust in its offerings (eg limited baguettes, cheeses, and the like). Still, quality provisions = a good thing.
Place rating: 2
Marietta, GA
Don’t ask for salad instead of grapes to accompany their delicious quiche! Good food but not very accommodating.
Place rating: 4
Newport Beach, CA
Good spot albeit a little confusing regarding where you order and pay (more on that in a minute.) We had lunch here our first day when we were loopy off the red eye. We split a Cuban panini, chips and grabbed some drinks (lots of juice, water etc options). This place is cute in that gourmet market way where you could lose yourself looking at local jams, bitters, bbq sauces and other curios. It’s no surprise that the create popular (and pricey) gift baskets here. If I was local this would be a go-​to spot for housewarming and hostess gifts.
We stopped in Sunday after a late night in the city and got brunch. I got avocado toast with and egg and fruit. The avocado mash was so cold that the egg felt cold by the time I bit in. The flavors were good and egg cooked properly but a coldish runny egg is not great. My husband has the breakfast burrito with pulled pork and that was excellent and filling (should have split it!).
You order breakfast in one spot and get a ticket to pay at the counter. I went to the coffee/​pastry bar area to grab coffees and was told that you pay there for your coffee. Not realizing this my husband also paid for our coffees at the main register. A small bump in otherwise good experiences here.
Place rating: 5
Pittsburgh, PA
I loved this place. What a great idea! They utilized the space so well with so many options available for everyone. There are a few shelves in the middle of the room with food and snacks to purchase which give it a market feel. But then there is a coffee/​espresso bar with breakfast options such as sandwiches or oatmeal. They also have a build our own salad bar where you tell them what you want in your salad and they make it in front of you. There is a sandwich station where they have made to order sandwiches with lots of unique spreads and options for your sandwich. And they also had a deli case filled with premade selections such as pasta salads, chicken, a huge bowl of some sort of kale salad. etc. etc. There were tables to sit at throughout the place too if you wanted to eat in.
We bought 2 bags of chips, ordered a made to order sandwich that they made into a panini and then also grabbed a bit of pasta salad. Everything was delicious and I wish I had one of these places in my city! They have clearly marked gluten free options for sandwiches and salads too!
Place rating: 4
Lutz, FL
Went there for breakfast while on vacation and ordered the breakfast egg sandwich. Very good although I prefer to have the cheese melted. The Earl Grey tea with honey was very hot and good. It’s packed with college kids and very popular. I would like to go back for lunch.
Place rating: 5
Mount Pleasant, SC
A lot to choose from! The prices are also affordable too. Services was excellent. The waitress was very friendly and attentive. Food was excellent as well.
Place rating: 5
Ballston Lake, NY
Came here on a whim walking down King and it turned out to be the best decision we made this weekend! The chicken biscuit was unreal. It’s a great spot for not only brunch but coffee! Friendly staff and fast service. Will most definitely be returning.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
what a great place to appeal to all cravings
I had the French dip sandwich… excellent!
Place rating: 5
Birmingham, AL
Went to this place every morning while I stayed in a condo a block away. A huge variety of foods good for breakfast, lunch, or just a snack!
Not the traditional Charleston fine dining, but a great stop if you need some quality food quickly!
Place rating: 5
Greer, SC
You are coming to Greenville? YOU ARE COMING TO GREENVILLE!!! Thank you!
I’m too excited for words!!!
Place rating: 1
Chicago, IL
7 dollars for a dirty chai that tastes like
A cup of milk. I take breaks from coming here because of how outrageously expensive their stuff is. Go to Starbucks
Place rating: 2
Mount Pleasant, SC
This was our second trip to C & B and unfortunately, will probably be our last. I get it. Yes, it’s an absolutely beautiful food market, but on this trip we picked up a few small cuts of different cheeses, crackers and wine for the night s dinner. I was unbelievably saddened when we got home and opened not one, but 2 cuts of the cheeses only to find them completely covered in mold. And BEFOR you all chime in to say, but you can cut mold off of cheese! I Googled it and everything I read online said, and I quote, «Mold generally can’t penetrate far into hard and semisoft cheeses, such as cheddar, Colby, Parmesan and Swiss. So you can cut away the moldy part and eat the rest of the cheese. Cut off at least 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) around and below the moldy spot.» The down side to this is that the slices we purchased were so small, you couldn’t get an inch, let alone a half inch from any side to cut off the mold. We had purchased several, small sliced wedges to a large variety; so by the time you cut off an inch her and an inch there, your down to a very, very, little amount of cheese. Good for us, we did buy some prepared foods and salads, along with some larger slices of cheeses and cured meat. Opened a bottle of wine and ate and drank away to save the night. All in all, it is a beautiful store; but I don’t see going out of our way to come back when we pass other places like Whole Foods on the way home. While we were there I also sampled some lime and cilantro marinated shrimp and picked up a small dish of the prepared chicken salad. I have to say, the chicken salad was bland and very dry. I know! How do you make a dry, bland chicken salad? I think they can do better, and try harder for the prices they charge. I miss Dean & Deluca,
Place rating: 4
Charleston, SC
This place is a bit pricey for what you get BUT it is delicious. Fun people watching inside and outside the joint. And the fact that the guy at the register wore a bike helmet the entire time he was working was a hoot*
*we apologize sir, if this was not intended as a joke and rather a necessity. We can’t think of what would necessitate a BIKE helmet per se but we don’t wish to offend.
Place rating: 4
Atlanta, GA
This is a small market with a café menu. You order at the counter and they bring your food out to you. You can also order coffee at the counter. The Bacon and Egg sandwich on sourdough was terrific (though I’d spend the extra $ 1 to get cheddar cheese added). Prices aren’t exactly cheap but what do you expect when Caviar is in the business name.
They also have a case full of different types of desserts and pastries. Unfortunately, the cookie of the day (Dark Chocolate Peppermint) we had wasn’t that good, but I’d be open to try others.
Seating is very limited so you may have to get your food to go, or stand and eat.
Place rating: 4
Newtown Square, PA
We were looking for a quick breakfast before driving out to Folly beach and found this place on Unilocal so I can only attest to the breakfast. It was the perfect place for a quick bite, but still had great options. Everything seemed really fresh too. The blueberry muffin and homemade granola bar were both good. We also got a breakfast sandwich and lemon raspberry bar. There are several tables so you can eat in the store as well. Their lunch menu looked inviting and they offer prepared foods. This place seems like a popular spot for students attending the college of charleston since it is down the street. The staff was very friendly too.
Place rating: 4
Mount Pleasant, SC
This place is adorable! I really enjoy the shop aspect as well as the diversity in their selection. They are very accommodating (they have great gluten free bread). Their breakfast options are very good — I particularly enjoy their breakfast burrito but many of my friends go for the lox bagel. There are very few searing options inside due to the shopping section in the middle, but it typically isn’t hard to find seating. The St. Phillip street garage beside it is the closest parking option.
Place rating: 3
Atlanta, GA
Bottom line: decent food that doesn’t at all warrant the ridiculous price tag. If I could, I would rate it 2.5 stars for this reason alone. The $$ is laughable for what you’re getting.
We came for lunch before heading back to Atlanta. Nice, trendy atmosphere, similar to what you’d find in DC or LA. We ordered two sandwiches and a kale salad with two sweet teas. All in all, our lunch was an absurd $ 33. My sandwich– Italian Chicken Sausage– really was quite good. Unfortunately, at $ 9.75, I’ve had similar and better sandwiches for $ 2 – 3 less. My wife’s veggie banh-​mi was also not bad, but not worth the absurd price tag, which also hovered around $ 9. For almost $ 10 per sandwich, you would expect chips/​some type of fruit, or at least a more sizable serving. Nope. The wait for two sandwiches was also in excess of 15 minutes (with no line whatsoever– one order ahead of us), and the sweet tea wasn’t any good. For a place like this, they should also have had a wider local beer and wine selection, with possibly a few draught options.
Its not a bad place– I did like the sandwich. But in the end, it was a sandwich. There is no escaping the absurdity of the prices for what you got, even though the quality was good. Additionally, with all the excellent dining options in Charleston, there really isn’t ever a reason to visit this place again. I wouldn’t recommend.
Place rating: 4
Charleston, SC
We depend on C&B because its so central – close to the middle of town and consistently good quality. Recently we tried their newly redone brunch menu – a much wider array of choices than existed before. We very much enjoyed the eggs benedict on quinoa/​veggie cake with whole wheat muffin. Their usual lunch/​dinner choices are solid and while not super-​adventurous are quite decent for the prices. There isn’t table service — you order then pick up your selections after their heated or prepared (salads and sandwiches). Looking forward to trying more of their new brunch selections…
Place rating: 3
Tallahassee, FL
This market has so much to offer that it’s difficult to choose. The pastries look incredible and the assortment of peanut butters and condiments are incredibly tempting.
We came here for breakfast and it was fairly crowded. You almost certainly will have to find a place to sit on campus because the tables move fast.
I ordered the omelette with goat cheese, spinach and roasted bell pepper. The fruit I got on the side wasn’t very ripe, so I suggest picking a different side. If you’re trying to keep your meal healthier I’m afraid you don’t have any other options.
My husband ordered the fried chicken biscuit and he was extremely disappointed. The biscuit was a little on the stale side and the chicken was salty. The salt from the chicken would have been fine if they put more gravy on the sandwich. The gravy was nonexistent.
The grits on the side were also a little disappointing. It was a little watery and didn’t fit the description of smokey jalapeño. It tasted more like grits with reconstituted cheese– like the kind you get in your instant Mac and cheese.
I’m still giving them three stars because the coffee is great and if you order and pastry or from their food bar it may be easy to avoid some of their let downs
Place rating: 1
Kodak, TN
Every weekend a bunch of us order lunch delivered… we are all in search of a good lunch… that satisfies… taste good… is not gonna break the bank… and delivered will still be palatable…
Well this place did not impress, (may be it was the off the wall name that lured us in)…must say the menu sounded great… but fell short… way…
I had a California roll. that tastes like it came from Ca… not at all fresh… honestly did not eat it… all because of fear of becoming ill… when the coloring and texture is off… not a good sign!!! There was an array of salads… sands ordered and all were very very disappointed… lack of goodies in salads… small portions… not at all. fresh and flavorful as hoped…
We will not retry… it was unanimous…
Place rating: 4
Boston, MA
Another nice little spot for any quick grab to eat or have a drink. Menu is set up like what you would see in Whole Foods. They also have a nice selection of beer. However I am a home Barista and a bit of a coffee snob so I will say coffee is comparable to Starbucks. I asked for a cappuccino and got a giant latte cup with some foam on top so I wouldn’t get coffee here again.
Place rating: 5
Dallas, TX
I love this place! It is so stinkin’ cute and the perfect market/​café to visit anytime of day.
I really don’t have anything else to say other than… If you’re a foodie and you heart gourmet markets, come to Caviar & Bananas!
That is all.
Place rating: 4
Charleston, SC
Great food and an excellent option for lunch delivery, but EXPENSIVE.
To be fair, there are quality ingredients and a wide array of options… But $ 15 for grilled cheese and fruit is a little steep.
Pros:
Quality ingredients
Quick and easy delivery
Award-​winning duck sandwich
Cool atmosphere
Cons:
Hurts your wallet
Not much seating
Place rating: 4
Atlanta, GA
Had some down time and was wondering if there was a market similar to Atlanta’s Alon’s or Charlotte’s 7th Street tucked away somewhere in Charleston that wasn’t the Charleston City Market, which I eventually paid a visit to anyway.
My luck there was Caviar & Bananas, an unlikely sounding combo, or maybe it’s something pretty amazing like bananas wrapped in collards or whatever. If so, I’d love to know, but found C&B and grabbed brunch.
C&B can’t compare to 7th Street, but it has a dash of Alon’s market, for any familiar. They have some decent paninis and brunchy style food plus C&B will even serve up some creative sushi if you’re in the mood for that too. A menu that stretched from meat & cheese boards, paninis, southern, gourmet salads, and sushi to order while they also had a display case choked full of prepared items like lasagna, a varying amount of slaw, pasta, and potato salads. They also have a nice selection of packaged sweets and chocolates.
I ended up trying the B.E.L.T. which was a normal BLT with scrambled eggs and a side of jalapeño grits. The BLT was alright. safe ball park type of thing, really enjoyed the grits, however. The spice level was nice and they were seasoned well. Their drink selection was a little lack luster for me, but that’s cool.
The market itself was very small. The huge windows at the front gave a lot of lighting and there was a decent amount of seating inside and out. I wouldn’t say it’s the best market of that nature I’ve had the pleasure of perusing, but if I was a local they’d be at the top of the game for an apt lunch spot.
Place rating: 4
Charleston, SC
Yum! I went here a Sunday afternoon to grab lunch with friends. There were lines at all the stations and it was pretty crowded but we got our food faster than expected. My sister and I split the pimento BLT. It came on sourdough and was served with pickled green tomatoes. Normally, id prefer red tomatoes but the pickled green was a nice change up. The pimento cheese add an extra kick to the standard BLT. The sandwich was pretty big for 8 bucks. Also, always a bonus is free wifi.
My only complaint is they don’t have a soda fountain or at least I didn’t see one. Usually, I like to have a cup of water instead of the bottled drinks they had to choose from to save a little dough. They might have served a cup of water but not completely sure.
Overall, Id go back for lunch or breakfast again. The atmosphere was nice, variety of options and reasonable costs.