One Hot Mama’s – Hilton Head Island, SC

• One Hot Mama’s is a Southern BBQ joint under the direction of Food Network Chef, Orchid Paulmeier.
• It’s part of the Serg Restaurant Group that includes other island favorites Giuseppi’s, Nectar, and Skull Creek Boathouse & Dockside.
• They are famous for their wings, which have won HHI Wingfest, but make sure not to miss the Banana Pudding.

There was a shake up on Hilton Head Island. Local favorite Lucky Rooster unexpectedly closed. That allowed Nectar to slide down the road and take over its space. Then the Serg Restaurant Group renovated Nectar’s dining room and One Hot Mama’s moved in. Serg operates Nectar and One Hot Mama’s as well as Giuseppi’s and Skull Creek Boathouse & Dockside.

Orchid Paulmeier is the executive chef of One Hot Mama’s. She opened One Hot Mama’s in 2007. It now has two locations, Bluffton and Hilton Head. She was a contestant on season seven of Food Network Star and She’s famous for her wings which have won Hilton Head Island Wingfest multiple times. She has also received well deserved accolades for her Banana Pudding.

We visited mid afternoon and they were only about a quarter full. Service was casual and a little slow, but the food more than made up for it. The wings were good and I’d like to try more flavors. We got the Italian Stallion which is a blend of garlic parmesan and Frank’s Red Hot. I didn’t realize we could have had two different flavors on the same, or I would have tried Maui Wowii which won Wingfest in 2012.

The Carolina Cuban, which was decorated with a little flag to celebrate the 4th of July, combined smoked pork, oak pit ham, jack cheese, dill pickles, and Carolina Gold BBQ sauce. This is a very nice twist on a Cuban, using the bbq pork and Carolina sauce. Even better than the sandwich though was the spicy dirty rice we had for a side. One Hot Mama’s saved the best for the last with their banana pudding. It uses Chessmen cookies in place of Nila Wafers. Although it doesn’t look big, this is more than enough for two people, so rich and so good.

Below are the photos of our meal on July 2, 2025.

One Hot Mama’s
35 Office Park Road
Hilton Head Island, SC

For more see our travel bites page.

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