Editor's pick: the shack end of North Myrtle, where the seafood stays plain

Not every dinner needs a view. A few minutes off the Barefoot strip, Duffy Street Seafood Shack does the unglamorous version of the same coast: fried and steamed seafood, a bar side that runs a weekday late-afternoon happy hour, and no pretence about any of it.

Why it earns a slot here: it is the most honest price-to-plate ratio in the area, it seats a walk-in without drama, and the bar high-tops are the local answer to a boardwalk that gets very touristy between June and Labour Day.

What to order: steamed rather than fried if you want to taste the shrimp instead of the batter. The fried baskets are competent and enormous, but steamed is where a shack like this proves whether the seafood is any good, and this one holds up. Sides are an afterthought — order accordingly.

When to go: early on a weekday, or as a pre-dinner stop when the strip is at its worst on a concert night. Weekend evenings the room is loud and the wait is real, and you lose the main advantage of choosing it in the first place.

Know before you go: it is casual to the point of plain, there is no water view, and seating at the bar is first come. Bring cash-level expectations about the room and high ones about the shrimp, and it consistently delivers.