14 South Carolina All-You-Can-Eat Buffets Where Dessert Always Steals The Spotlight
South Carolina knows how to feed a crowd, and nowhere is that more obvious than at the state’s all-you-can-eat buffets. Sure, the fried seafood and smoky barbecue get top billing, but let’s be honest: most of us are really there for what comes after.
The dessert spread is where these spots truly shine, turning a simple meal into a full-blown sugar satisfaction. I’ve spent more Sunday afternoons than I can count pacing buffet lines, strategically saving stomach space for round two at the sweets table.
These 14 restaurants understand the assignment, piling their dessert bars high with cobblers, puddings, cakes, and soft-serve that make you rethink your dinner choices halfway through.
1. Captain George’s Seafood Restaurant – Myrtle Beach
The room feels like a tall ship, and the buffet sails on for days, right down to a sprawling dessert spread that regulars film like it’s a tourist attraction of its own. Come hungry; you’ll want a plate just for sweets after the seafood.
Layered cakes sit beside fruit cobblers, and the sheer variety makes decision-making nearly impossible. I once watched a family debate pie versus pudding for a solid five minutes.
It’s not just quantity here. The quality keeps people coming back, turning first-timers into repeat visitors who know exactly which corner holds the chocolate cake.
2. The Original Benjamin’s Calabash Seafood – Myrtle Beach
A landmark with an in-house bakery, this AYCE giant pairs mountains of Calabash-style seafood with scratch-made desserts that taste like they came from Grandma’s oven. The bakery case glows like a lighthouse at the end of dinner.
Freshly baked cookies and cream pies anchor the lineup, while seasonal cobblers rotate based on what’s ripe. Everything here gets made daily, and you can tell.
Locals know to pace themselves through the crab legs so there’s room for at least two dessert plates. It’s a calculated strategy that pays off every single time.
3. Captain Benjamin’s Calabash Seafood – Myrtle Beach
Go for the crab legs, linger for the dessert bar: strawberry shortcake, cobblers, puddings, cookies, and yes, a chocolate fountain that becomes every kid’s North Star. It’s unapologetically over the top in the sweetest way.
The fountain draws a crowd, but don’t sleep on the fruit cobblers bubbling nearby. Peach and blackberry versions rotate, and both deliver that warm, just-baked comfort.
I’ve seen grown adults load up three dessert plates here without a hint of shame. Honestly, the atmosphere encourages it, and nobody’s judging your second helping of pudding.
4. Giant Crab Seafood Restaurant – Myrtle Beach
This whimsical, waterfront buffet ends with a magnificent dessert bar where baklava-style kataifi and layered cakes nudge you into one more pass. Save room; you’ll be glad you did.
The kataifi is a surprise star, offering a crispy, honey-soaked twist you don’t usually find at seafood joints. Paired with classic Southern layer cakes, the dessert lineup feels both adventurous and comforting.
Waterfront views make the meal memorable, but it’s the sweets that seal the deal. Plan your exit strategy accordingly, because leaving without dessert feels like a missed opportunity.
5. Crabby Mike’s Calabash Seafood – Surfside Beach
Animated sea critters, heaping seafood, and a dedicated dessert bar that makes it dangerously easy to add cobbler and soft-serve to your just one more bite plan. It’s a beach-vacation classic for a reason.
The soft-serve machine sees more action than the salad bar, and the cobblers arrive warm enough to melt your ice cream on contact. Kids love the theming; parents love the dessert selection.
I took my niece here last summer, and she insisted on soft-serve before dinner. Sometimes you just have to let the buffet rules slide.
6. Crab Daddy’s Calabash Seafood Buffet – Murrells Inlet
Under the glow of giant, animatronic sea life, the buffet runs past 100 items and lands in a lane of delicious desserts. Expect cream puffs, cakes, and sweets that make a victory lap out of dinner.
Cream puffs here are light, airy, and filled just right, sitting alongside rich chocolate cakes and fruit-topped tarts. The variety means everyone at your table finds something worth a second trip.
Animatronic crabs and lobsters keep kids entertained, but the dessert bar keeps adults planted at their seats, plotting their next move. It’s organized chaos in the best possible way.
7. Simply Southern Smokehouse – Myrtle Beach
All the country comforts, fried chicken, veggies, pork, culminate in grandma-style desserts. Banana pudding and cobblers are the hush-the-table final act here.
The banana pudding is creamy, layered with vanilla wafers, and tastes like Sunday supper at your favorite aunt’s house. Cobblers arrive bubbling, with crusts that crunch just right under your spoon.
It’s the kind of place where you loosen your belt before dessert, not after. Portion control doesn’t exist here, and honestly, that’s part of the charm that keeps the locals coming back weekly.
8. Magnolia’s at 26th – Myrtle Beach
A locals’ buffet for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, where the nice selection of desserts is half the fun of a low-key feast. Think classic Southern sweets to finish a beach-day plate.
Pecan pie, coconut cake, and bread pudding rotate through the lineup, offering familiar flavors done well. It’s not flashy, but it doesn’t need to be when everything tastes this homemade.
I stumbled on this spot after a long beach walk, and the dessert bar alone justified the detour. Sometimes the best finds are the ones that don’t shout for attention.
9. Shealy’s Bar-B-Que – Batesburg-Leesville
A true SC institution: the hot bar, salad bar, and dessert bar are all part of the buffet, and that dessert island, with cobblers and puddings, has fueled countless family road trips.
Peach cobbler and banana pudding anchor the sweets lineup, both made fresh daily and served in quantities that suggest they know exactly what you’re here for. The dessert bar sits front and center, impossible to ignore.
Generations of South Carolinians have finished their barbecue plates here, then headed straight for round two at the dessert station. It’s a rite of passage.
10. Little Pigs Barbecue – Columbia
This all-you-can-eat BBQ buffet is famous for smoky pork and sides, but the regulars talk about the banana pudding and even peanut butter pudding with the same reverence. It’s comfort food that ends on a sweet, soft note.
Peanut butter pudding is the wild card here, rich and creamy with a nostalgic flavor that feels like childhood in a bowl. Banana pudding holds its own, layered thick and topped with real whipped cream.
I’ve overheard more than one debate about which pudding reigns supreme. Both sides have valid points, so the only real solution is to try both.
11. Doc’s Barbeque & Southern Buffet – Columbia
Open for weekday lunch and on Gamecock home-game Saturdays, Doc’s is a lunchtime legend: meats, veggies, and the kind of banana pudding and fruit cobbler that tastes like church-social classics.
The banana pudding here is silky, balanced, and generously portioned. Fruit cobblers rotate based on the season, offering peach, blackberry, or apple, depending on when you visit.
Timing your visit around a football weekend means navigating crowds, but the dessert payoff makes it worth the effort. Just arrive early and stake your claim.
12. Western Sizzlin – Florence
Steakhouse spirit, Southern buffet soul, and a dessert setup that includes an ice-cream bar and sweets folded into dine-in meals. It’s the place where kids negotiate for dessert first.
The ice-cream bar offers multiple flavors and toppings, turning dessert into a DIY sundae adventure. Cakes and brownies sit nearby for those who prefer something baked over frozen.
I’ve watched parents cave to the dessert-first argument here more times than I can count. When the ice-cream station is this visible, resistance is futile for everyone involved.
13. Schoolhouse Bar-B-Que – Scranton
Set in a restored 1930s schoolhouse, this country buffet teaches a masterclass in happy endings: all the desserts and soft-serve you can eat come with the spread. Class dismissed; dessert begins.
Soft-serve machines stand ready alongside trays of brownies, cobblers, and pies, all included in your buffet price. The schoolhouse setting adds nostalgic charm, making dessert feel like recess all over again.
It’s quirky, cozy, and unapologetically indulgent. The kind of spot where you leave with a full belly and a smile, already planning your next visit before you reach the parking lot.
14. Hog Heaven BBQ & Raw Bar – Pawleys Island
Rustic, Lowcountry comfort with a daily buffet, then on to banana pudding, cobblers, and Oreo-cream desserts that read like a reunion potluck. The name promises heaven; the dessert table delivers it.
Oreo cream dessert is the unexpected hero here, layered with cookies and cream in a way that feels both homemade and indulgent. Banana pudding and cobblers round out the lineup with familiar, comforting flavors.
Pawleys Island charm meets serious dessert game, and the result is a buffet that feels like a neighborhood secret. Locals guard this spot fiercely, and after one visit, you’ll understand why.