Even with fine dining establishments trending toward upscale twists to childhood comfort foods (think mac ’n’ cheese with lobster bites), The Grilled Cheese & Crab Cake Company of Garden City Beach has taken this concept all the way.

Here, that hot melted cheese between two grilled pieces of bread is the staple, paired with a variety of innards, including its signature Maryland-style crab cake.

This no-frills storefront diner in the Oasis Plaza strip mall hangs its hat on “The CrabMelt.” This house darling features melted Monterey Jack on Texas toast, adds in a crab cake and finishes with sliced tomato.

You can have a grilled cheese with a French fried lobster tail, deep-fried oysters, jumbo fried shrimp and even chicken tenders. For the seafood-inclined, you can ditch the grilled cheese altogether and focus in on some of “Capt. Max’s Pickin’s” like crab balls, Tiki Bay Shrimp wontons or Buffalo popcorn fish nuggets.

There’s also a line-up of “SeaWiches” like a Codfish burger with American cheese, a “SeaDog” on a toasted New England-style top bun and the Yuengling Lager-battered scallop roll.

But for the purist, longing for the warmth and comfort of a hot lunch the way mother would have done it, the Old Fashioned Grilled Cheese with a bowl of Old Fashioned Tomato Soup will fill your tummy and nurture your soul.

The Grilled Cheese & Crab Cake Company charges $12.95 for one of the lobster tail sandwiches, and the “Ultimate Crab Cake” rings in at $7.95.

“One nibble and you’re hooked” is the diner’s motto, and, judging by the lunch crowd, it must be true!

The Grilled Cheese & Crab Cake Company
Oasis Plaza
2520 U.S. 17
Garden City Beach, SC
(843) 947-0855
11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday