I was the only Non-Black customer for the first 20 minutes of my visit, so I knew the food here was going to be awesome! I came at 2pm Friday, but there was still steady flow of customers, sometimes up to 10 people waiting! Friendly staff all around, a young teenage gal greeted with a free frozen koolaid slushy. I ordered the Fried Fish, which they bread and deep fry for you fresh! It was 3 medium large pieces of moist tender whiting fish, covered in a crispy batter with nice seasonings, so sauce required! My first time eating red rice...it was great! As was the mac n cheese and collard greens. With a lemonade, it all came to $20 including tax. 90% of the customers seemed to taking their food to go...Ambiance is lacking with older furniture and they are remodeling. Also no air conditioning. So I can't quite give it 5 stars overall. But the food is great and a good value!

This place is amazing. So authentic and the staff there are so kind helpful and warm. Give it a try. I had the fried chicken, the greens, the yams, the okra. Next time we visit Charleston we will go again.

Definitely a small local joint. Don't come here expecting anything fancy but the food is really good and the service is friendly and efficient. The whole time I was there there was a line to the door. Fried chicken is great- perfectly seasoned. The white rice with Lima beans and pork was soooooo good . Never had it before and not sure why I don't see it other places. The collard greens were okay, Mac n cheese was solid. The yams, OMG the yams. I can't even begin to express. the only reason it isn't 5 starts was because the seating space was def a bit run down. I know it's a low key place that is going for a feel but just felt a little shabby.

This place is the gem of low county soul food! Food was absolutely amazing!! The service was nice but there can be a line, but the keep it moving! The prices are right!!

I love the fact that it's a long time, family-oriented restaurant. Like some places, the food may be different depending on who the cook is. Mostly affordable but wish they were open later.

Best fried chicken I've had in 35 years of life!! It's perfectly crisp, the flavors just POP! You can do dark meat or wings. When it's 3 in the afternoon on a Friday, and there's a line to the door, you know it's worth the wait. Cornbread was perfectly prepared. We had the red rice with sausage, mac and cheese, and okra soup for sides. Okra soup and red rice were definitely the favorites. There's about ten tables inside- most upstairs in a neat historic style loft. Loved our experience and the food, will absolutely be back!

The fried chicken is perfect. Wings are fried to order. They are worth the wait. The owner very sweetly provides "cold cups" -- frozen punch with fruit -- while you wait.

People say come here for the fried chicken, TRUST THE PEOPLE. The menu is a bit hard to understand what things cost (just chicken is 3.50). Got an order of a chicken with the sides of okra soup and rice with Lima beans. The okra soup was sticky and had a more acidic taste from the tomatoes and helped cut out some bitter taste of okra. The Lima beans over rice was good, but not a must get imo (I just don't like beans that much). I finished everything...and I knew exactly what I had to do next. I went up to line and ordered another chicken. The chicken skin is so crispy and thin, I don't like fried chicken when the breading is too thick, and this was just so right. Then once you break through the skin, you get met with this piping hot moist meat and you remember this is how fried chicken should be done. This is no frills, and what I love is that it's all locals that come here and even at random times (I came at 3pm). What I don't love is the location and parking, but I love how it's stuck with its roots and not tried to be anything it's not. You have to come here!

Bertha's is small and unassuming, so you'd have to know it was there. The parking lot is tiny so you may have to find street parking. There was a line consistently while we were here. There's no posted menu, but the food is sitting out in trays. I couldn't really see what was there though, until we got right to the front of the line. And at that point, I felt rushed to make a decision because of the line, so having a menu would've been nice. But on to the food. I had fried fish, mac and cheese, and yams. It seems that the sides are a la carte because she charged us for each side separately, as opposed to being included in a meal. My mom was with me, and got the oxtails. Honestly, I didn't like the fish at all. I'm not sure what kind of fish it was, but it just tasted greasy with not much flavor. But, the yams and Mac and cheese were BUSSIN BUSSIN (as the kids say). I'm not from Charleston, but this was a restaurant that I had seen was recommended, so I decided to give it a try. The sides were great, and if I were in the area again, I would come back to try a different entree.