The Cottage Café on Calhoun Street in Historic Old Town Bluffton, South Carolina.
Old World Charm. Southern Hospitality. Award-Winning Cuisine.
The Cottage was first built back in 1868 by J.J. Carson — known for his bravery in saving the life of General Stonewall Jackson during the Civil War battle of Chancellorsville. Carson also organized the First Baptist Church of Bluffton, and services were held at the cottage until the church building was completed.
Make a Reservation Now
Due to our intimate setting and limited seating, we ask that you make a reservation for parties of seven or more.
Call 843.757.0508 for reservations.
Leslie Rohland, owner and head chef at The Cottage Café, Bakery & Tea Room has been committed to bringing customers innovative cuisine, true Southern hospitality — and preserving a piece of Bluffton history — since she first opened her quaint eatery in 2009. At that time, noting that Bluffton was in need of a bakery — and with no restaurants on Bluffton’s “main drag” — she decided to use her culinary skills to open a café. She worked to restore Bluffton’s historic cottage — renovating it and transforming it into what today has become one of Bluffton’s most established, historic and popular restaurants.
The café, which offers both indoor and outdoor dining on the porch in the art-rich historic district, offers sophisticated cuisine with a Lowcountry flair and features a wide variety of fresh local fare.
Today, the award winning Cottage serves fresh, scrumptious fare for breakfast, brunch, lunch and afternoon tea. The pastries, breads, pies, and cakes -especially their award-winning wedding cakes — are renowned. We feature specialty teas and house-roasted by our own Bluffton-based micro-roastery May River Coffee Roasters, as well as a full bar. The Cottage Café is ideal for indoor or outdoor dining, as well as small parties and events.
Over the past decade, the Cottage Café has been the recipient of numerous local and national culinary awards – including being named one of South Carolina’s “10 Best” Shrimp & Grits in the national USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards, and numerous Good Food Awards — a prestigious national honor given by the Good Food Foundation to foods that represent the highest standards of quality, sustainability and social responsibility. The Cottage Café’s national award-winning Shrimp & Grits was also honored with the “People’s Choice Award” for Best Shrimp Recipe at the 2017 Beaufort Shrimp Festival.
List Of Our Awards | |||
2021 Sun Select Today Awards: 2021 Best of Bluffton Awards: 2021 Good Food Awards: 2020 Hilton Head Monthly Reader’s Choice Awards: 2020 South Magazine: Greatest Travel Spots 2020 Best of Bluffton Awards 2020 Best of Bluffton Awards 2020 Good Food Foundation 2020 Millenials in Bluffton 2019 Hilton Head Monthly Reader’s Choice Awards | 2019 International Flavor Awards: Artisan Flave 2019 Best of Bluffton Awards 2019 Best of Bluffton Awards 2019 Sun Today Select Awards 2019 Sun Today Select Awards 2019 USA Today 10Best Reader’s Choice Awards 2019 Island Packet 2018 Good Food Foundation 2018 Sun Today Select Awards 2018 Best of Bluffton 2018 Best of Bluffton | 2017 Beaufort Shrimp Festival 2016 Hilton Head Monthly Reader’s Choice Awards 2015 Sun Today Reader’s Choice Awards 2015 Sun Today Reader’s Choice Awards 2015 Hilton Head Monthly Reader’s Choice Awards 2015 Hilton Head Monthly Reader’s Choice Awards 2014 Sun Today Reader’s Choice Awards 2014 Sun Today Reader’s Choice Awards 2014 Hilton Head Monthly Reader’s Choice Awards! 2014 Hilton Head Monthly Reader’s Choice Awards | 2013 Hilton Head Monthly Reader’s Choice Awards 2013 Bluffton Today, Best of Bluffton Awards 2013 Bluffton Today, Best of Bluffton Awards 2013 Peanut Festival 2012 Hilton Head Monthly, Reader’s Choice Awards 2012 Pistachio Cake, Bluffton Today 2012 Bluffton Today, Best of Bluffton (BOB) Awards 2011 Bluffton Today, Best of Bluffton (BOB) Awards 2011 Hilton Head Monthly, Reader’s Choice Awards 2010 Hilton Head Monthly, Reader’s Choice Awards |
Come experience the history, cozy ambiance and award-winning cuisine, of Bluffton’s famous Cottage … and enjoy scrumptious food in a truly special Southern setting!