Banana Cabana

I had the Beach Burger, and it was delicious. It’s a burger with slaw and chili on it. I thought it was not as flavorful, however, as I would have liked. Definitely enjoyed the food, but there was nothing special that makes this restaurant stand out. I had Cocoberry drink with the burger. It was like a wicked pink slushee. Pretty good and could taste rum a little.
Overall good food, pretty tidy, casual atmosphere, minimally crowded for dinner, throw back rock music.

Was not happy with the food at all. The Crab Cakes were a mushy mess that had small pieces of shells throughout the whole cakes. The service was not bad, and that is why they get a 2 and not a 1 star.

Super friendly staff! This was my last stop of the weekend. I finally had a good (s)he crab soup that wasn’t inundated with peppers and it was delicious!

For 2 ½ years of my life, I lived on and off the Outer Banks. It’s the pure definition of a tourist trap — population 500 year-​round and population 40,000 tourists from O-​H-​I-​O during the summer. Compared to that, I don’t even realize that Charleston is a tourist city. All this changes whenever I have friends in town and I inadvertently go touristing myself, as was the case that I wound up at Banana Cabana.
One of my friends from high school was down for a long weekend and invited me to tag along on her vacation. Sign me up! My Charleston friends don’t even like to go to the beach, so I was super excited to be invited to the beach and a restaurant that serves boat drinks. («Boat drinks. Waitress, I need two more boat drinks.»)
We arrived around 6:00 on a Monday night and I was instantly taken back a decade in time. Banana Cabana reminds me of the ridiculous tourist traps on the Outer Banks where no local would ever go to… and I love. It was bar food, frozen drinks complete with whipped cream and a cherry, and an acoustic cover singer all with an ocean view. I was in heaven! I should also mention that my blue boat drinks were oh so tasty. The nachos are insane — they may not be the best nachos I’ve ever had, but they’re pretty great and are stacked high on a large pizza tray. We also split the crab cakes, jalepeno poppers, and hush puppies. This all coupled perfectly with the Jack Johnson covers of 2005.
To some Banana Cabana might be hell, but for me it was heaven on earth. Sure, it’s a total tourist trap, but it makes me want to be a tourist in my own town. All and all I am B-​A-​N-​A-​N-​A-​S for Banana Cabana.

We love coming to the Banana Cabana. A great view, live music, and mixed drinks makes for a relaxing vibe. My favorite is the Greek pizza. My husband said the shrimp was some of the best he had on vacation!

Dinner with a show and a view, how better can that get? Sadly, mine did not go too well because it started raining. The waitress and hostesses were very friendly and made me feel welcomed.
Fresh is the first word to describe the food. I ordered the Shrimp ‘n Crab pizza and every bite you take you can taste how fresh the seafood really is. My friend ordered the Macho Nachos and it was delicious as well. The nachos were piled sky high with fresh toppings. The strawberry daiquiri was well worth every penny I paid, and everything else on the menu as well. I will for sure come back multiple times.

Horrible waste of time. We were seated outside after waiting about 15 minutes, so things didn’t start off so bad. However, once we were seated we sat there alone for 20 minutes while watching 5 different servers ignore us. I have no idea why we were ignored, since we watched other tables have their orders taken. After sitting idle for the 20 minutes outside we just got up and left. No one even noticed that we left. We went somewhere else nearby and had service within 2 minutes of sitting down. Do yourself a favor and skip the ocean view at Banana for actual food and service (unless you’re ok with doing nothing).

My family and I went to Banana Cabana for a nice night after a long drive to our vacation spot. We luckily came across this relaxing restaurant with live music and generous portions of fresh seafood. The hush puppies were a little over fried and the table we dined at outside was a random fold table that they brought out for larger parties. Even with those issues, I would still recommend it to anyone.

Nice little beach bar. Great pile of nachos, went well with that Palmetto ale. Everyone was happy with their wide variety of choices. Even had a talented singer/​guitarist we enjoyed very much. Great start to our vacation.

So I was feening for some fried shrimp for a cheap cost, and this did the trick! The hubby and I arrived in this little restaurant/​bar a few minutes before they closed. The sign said wait to be seated by the staff was chilling at the bar so we proceeded to walk to the bar. The staff finally noticed us and said we could sit anywhere we wished. We sat at a booth and our waiter immediately came with our menus. The menu is pretty vast with a lot of fried food and other options. I ordered the shrimp and fries. I asked the waiter could I substitute for some hush puppies. He said I couldn’t but since they were closing he would get me some that were already cooked! Thank you sir! I also ordered their strawberry daiquiri and a frozen margarita. The hush puppies, shrimp, and fries were good and hit the spot of fried «bar“seafood! The daiquiri was really good and I really enjoyed it! I ended up leaving my whole margarita on the table, it was not very good. The inside of this place is not fancy, so don’t think other wise. My service was really good and it did the trick to fill my hunger. Three thumbs up!

This place has a fun atmosphere with good food. The cold drinks are excellent, especially the rotten banana. We had the nachos, the artichoke and red bell pepper quesidilla, blooming onion, and she crab soup. All of it was very good with huge helpings. We sat outside and there was a nice breeze from the ocean. They had live music, but this guy was playing some songs that seemed like pretty old to me and I am not that young. My teenage kids seemed to enjoy this place. No reservations were needed and all I all this was a great experience.

This is our go-​to on Isle of Palms. Everyone in the family can find something on the menu. Juicy burgers and a fantastic mojo chicken sandwich! Nightly specials on the board. Pizza, seafood, HUGE plate of nachos (order the chicken nachos made with chicken from the house rotisserie!) and a pretty decent Greek salad. We can’t get out of here without a frozen cocktail! Swimsuit friendly with a coverup. Walk up from the beach. Dining inside (air conditioned!) or outside on porch or patio.

Go beyond the bar and onto the back patio… it’s a different world. Service is always quick and friendly, drinks are good, patio view is beautiful. As a local I’ve never really eaten anything but the nachos once (and don’t order them, they were not good). They really need to renovate the bar area, as it is currently stuck in the 80s. It’s the first thing people see when they walk in so they should def spend the money to update it. Floors, finishes and everything. 3 stars because there’s a lot of potential but it’s just not there which is why we only hit it once a year or so.

Loved this place! My friend and I split a pitcher of long island iced tea and it was delicious! The waitress was also very nice!

While there are a couple other places to grab ice cream, this yogurt stand is terrific. They had flavors like Birthday Cake, Mixed Berry, Cocoanut, Tart Vanilla, etc. All the toppings you could want, including a Jiffy peanut butter dispenser.
Very friendly service, clean and great quality. I will come back.

Typical beach restaurant. Great view on the roof!
The appetizers looked like they were thrown together, nothing too spectacular.
The fish was great! We had Mahi Mahi and Grouper.
Giving it 4 stars because I rarely give anything 5 stars.
We will defiantly be back during beach season. It’s a great place to take anyone visiting too!

My friends and I took a spontaneous trip to Isle of Palms as an end of summer getaway. After leaving Isle of Palms we did what every tourist does … Find one of the local places next to the beach to eat at. We were strongly advised to go to Coconut Joes, but, chose Banana Cabana instead.
We sat outside and were able to see the ocean front and there was also a guy singing as we all ate or waited for our food to come. The service was great and the atmosphere was very relaxing. However, the food was way below par, especially for the prices you pay.
I ordered crab shrimp pizza, which is unique in itself. However, it was veryyyy bland and even slightly watery. It seemed as so they made the dough for the pizza, put the pizza sauce on top and after cleaning the crab sprinkling it on top and covering it with cheese and topped it off with shrimp. The problem with that is it has absolutely no sense of flavor! Just a bit of fishy-​ness due to the fresh crab and a slight taste of pizza sauce, that tasted very much so like squashed tomatoes. Everything could have used a lot more seasoning. The shrimp could have been marinated as well as the crab. The pizza sauce was missing a certain zest that most have. Therefore, I was thoroughly disappointed, as were my friends with their dishes.
We decided that when we return to Isle of Palms we will definitely try Coconut Joes as most suggested we originally do.

Our first time to IOP so we weren’t sure where to go. It didn’t have terrible reviews on Unilocal,so we decided to try it out.
The atmosphere when you walk in is very «local beachy» for lack of better words. Nothing extremely exciting, nothing fancy, yet comfortable. Our party, as well as another couple, got a feeling the hostess was ignoring us. It definitely wasn’t the friendliest start, but could have been worse. We were seated and greeted right away. Our server, whose name escapes me, was great. Our drinks came out fast as well as our food.
The macho nachos were insanely huge and delicious. The fried shrimp basket was good, nothing special. The taco salad was delicious as well as the crab cakes.
Not sure if we would ever visit here again, but we didn’t dislike it at the same time. I just think there are better places to venture!

I’ve only been here in the past for a quick drink and to soak up some sun on their back patio. But this time I came for the food because of all the 5 star reviews I’ve read. No doubt this place is on prime real estate right on the beach. It’s definitely a dive bar feeling on the inside and when you walk in, it just looks like it’s been around from some time. I think it would be cool to see them update it a bit. As for the outside, there really is nothing for this place to do to sell you on it. The sounds of the beach waves, post card view, and sunshine sells it all.
Our server was attentive and helpful and thank goodness because the menu is a bit overwhelming. I ordered the shrimp and sausage quesidillas and was told it was an excellent choice. Oh, it definitely was. It was HUGE and just packed with deliciously sauteed shrimp and sausage. It came with fries and big dollops of sour cream, salsa, and guac. I couldn’t finish it for how big it was. I’ll definitely return to try some more seafood.

I have vacationed to Isle of Palms several times and we ALWAYS make a point to go to the Banana Cabana!!! We LOVE the macho nachos… especially when Rick will make them late at night for us :)
Did I mention we love the nachos? We usually spli tit for lunch and barely finish. These nachos are awesome, they are not soggy yet they have plenty of toppings!
We also love their quesadillas … shrimp and shrimp/​sausage are high on our list.
Love their classic old time feel yet their outdoor seating with live music is wonderful addition!
If I could transplant this place to Cary, NC I would be there at least once or twice a week!
they make their own bloody mary mix which I think is nice, I know bloody mary mixes can be a touchy subject for people but I respect a restaurant that makes the effort.
****Please go for me if you read this because I can only get down there about once a year!