Kultura Charleston

Kultura has emerged as one of Charleston's most acclaimed Filipino restaurants since opening in July 2023, earning national recognition and expanding to a larger location in October 2025. Founded by Executive Chef Nikko Cagalanan (James Beard Award Emerging Chef finalist 2024) and his wife Paula Kramer, the restaurant was named among Eater's Best New Restaurants in America 2023, Esquire's Best New Restaurants 2024, and Food & Wine's Best Filipino Restaurant in South Carolina. Chef Cagalanan, who grew up in Bacolod, Philippines, began with pop-up dinners under the name Mansueta's (honoring his grandmother Lola Mansueta who taught him to cook) before establishing Kultura's brick-and-mortar presence. The New York Times named Cagalanan's arroz caldo one of its best dishes in 2024, praising the comforting rice cooked in flavorful broth topped with trout roe, XO sauce, fried garlic, chile crisp, and soft-boiled egg. The restaurant relocated from its original 73 Spring Street location to a larger 1,965-square-foot space at 267 Rutledge Avenue, more than doubling the footprint with a professional kitchen, walk-in cooler, fryer (enabling finally serving the oft-requested lumpia), and dining area accommodating large parties. The expanded location features Filipino-inspired decor including woven rattan mat-lined walls, carved wood paneling, and drapes sourced from the Philippines, creating an atmosphere that celebrates Cagalanan's heritage. The menu showcases modern Filipino cuisine using local Charleston ingredients woven into traditional dishes: snapper curry, butternut squash in coconut milk, afritata in puff pastry, banana ketchup-glazed ribs, yellowfin tuna in coconut leche sauce, and housemade noodles. Sundays feature special kamayan communal feasts ($65 per person) where food is served on banana leaves eaten with hands in traditional Filipino style. With a comprehensive cocktail program by beverage director Jessica Ford and reservations recommended due to popularity, Kultura represents Filipino cuisine's rising prominence in American fine dining.