La Vista - Daufuskie Island

You must drive your golf cart when visiting Daufuskie Island beyond the abandoned Melrose Resort to discover excellent food and amazing views. You will see boarded cottages by the sea as you make your way to this recently opened restaurant. You can look up the history of the investor for Melrose Resort who took advantage of so many with his lavish lifestyle on others money. The new owner of Bells at the Beach is helping revitalize some of the old resort and needs support of locals and all visitors. Once you arrive at Bells at the Beach, you will NOT be disappointed! Cocktails are delicious, friendly staff and service is great. You don’t want to miss this stop because the restaurant is waterfront offering relaxing sounds, gorgeous views and a walk on the beach is only steps away with your drink in hand. There is a gazebo that offers a great photo opportunity for your group. Could be a wonderful spot for a wedding. Try the steak sandwich with waffle fries for your lunch….YUMMY!!!!

After months of avoiding the place based on previous experience (see previous review), we decided to try again for a late lunch, based on reading that ownership and management have changed. The lunch menu is basically sandwiches, burgers and a couple of other items like crab bites. The bar is now featuring Daufuskie distillery products-based cocktails. The good news is that the food and service were very good, a big improvement over our last experience a few months back, although in fairness, there were only a handful of people in the place when we got there. If it had been as busy as when it first opened, the outcome might have been different. The bad is that there were still signs of the mayhem from a late night party the night before, and that's why I graded a 3 at this point.. Attention to detail is still needed, but we were impressed enough that we will try again for dinner and see how it goes. The location/setting is so perfect that we really want to see a successful operation here. It's still not clear what identity they are trying to establish. Seems like somewhere between sports bar and casual dining. They are having taco nights, pasta nights and live music, late night bar parties, etc. which sends kind of mixed messages to the locals, but there are signs that this might become a good mid-range restaurant for casual dining. And just a side note on costs. Do not expect prices on this island to be competitive with those off island. Food is ferried or barged over and I'm sure trying to order just the right amounts is very tough, often resulting in running out of items, which is not unique to this restaurant or any other here. Not an excuse, just reality, so yes, prices do tend to be higher over here.

What a Hidden Daufuskie Island gem! After driving the golf cart through the woods you emerge upon the beautiful Calibogue sound and right there on the beach is Bells. This place has a wonderful menu and a good wine list. I will describe it as upscale rustic. They tend to be busier on the weekends than the weekdays. When we were there we were two of about 15 people total. I was expecting marginal food but instead we found our food was cooked flawlessly. Steak was perfect and hot, the shrimp scampi was delicious. The cocktails were great. I would definitely go back anytime. Be sure to check ahead of time if they’re open or what their schedule is, using Facebook messenger. They answer this very quickly.

Totally relaxing day trip, weekend getaway or week long vacation, family friendly, safe place to chill the marina is lit, Mel rose cottages are the best accommodation, golf cart driving’s the way to get around. Historically Gullah Geehee but very little signs of their past existence there. Be sure to find the local wine(they have non alcoholic). Bells at the beach and Lucy’s bell both have fantastic food and service: Boat entry only

Ambience was nice. Mixed drinks were good. Beer could have been colder. Very clean in appearance. Once we did get a server, he was polite, energetic and accommodating. Food took forever to arrive, but it was very good! Prices were high, but it is what it is on an island. Would have spent much more on beer and liquor if those prices were moved down a bit. Still better than the Crab House as far as bang for the buck overall!