Navy Yard Charleston's waterfront Italian restaurant is now open. Here's what to expect. - Dining and Cooking

Nicholas Phillpott (left) and Avonn Dorsey (right) join friends for dinner in the dining room of Riva Mare, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in North Charleston. Grace Beahm Alford/Staff

NORTH CHARLESTON — Coastal Italian cuisine has found a home at Navy Yard Charleston.

Riva Mare is now open at 2154 Noisette Blvd., Suite 500, giving the waterfront redevelopment project of the former Charleston Naval Base, which closed in 1996, its first full-service restaurant.

The Italian destination is part of the Indigo Road Hospitality Group, whose restaurant roster includes Oak Steakhouse, Indaco, O-Ku, Brasserie La Banque and other eateries across Charleston and the Southeast.

The rooftop dining room of the new Riva Mare is open serving coastal Italian in North Charleston. By Grace Beahm Alford gbeahm@postandcourier.com

Patrons who visit Riva Mare, a new concept for the group, take an elevator to the top floor of Storehouse Nine. They walk by the kitchen to find an indoor-outdoor expanse with views of the Cooper River.

Leading the culinary programming is executive chef Sean McMullen, who joined the North Charleston restaurant after serving as chef de cuisine at Asheville, N.C.’s Luminosa. There, he helped the wood-fired Italian eatery earn a Michelin Green Star for sustainability and a Bib Gourmand designation in Michelin’s new American South guide.

Liz Jarck, Grace Bilicki and Stefanie Elling take dinner on the rooftop patio at Riva Mare on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in North Charleston. Grace Beahm Alford/Staff

At Riva Mare, his menu highlights fresh seafood, handmade pasta and seasonal ingredients. From head-on shrimp to hamachi crudo and grilled octopus, the appetizer selections include both raw and cooked fish, while pastas range from corn-filled agnolotti to spaghetti with whole lobster. Pizza, shareable sides and a handful of entrees, such as whole fish and a half chicken with salsa verde, round out the rest of the offering.

Riva Mare is open from 4-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 4-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information, visit rivamarechs.com.