Charleston Beer, Wine & Booze

Upper King · $ · bar food, burgers

The Post and Courier's alphabet guide gives it the letter A and calls it one of the oldest of the city's dives, 37 years old when the guide ran. After a fire burned its original location it moved to 467 King Street in 2000, ahead of the redevelopment that became the Upper King nightlife district. The paper notes pool tables, affordable drinks, and that it is one of few downtown places serving food after midnight ... a dozen burgers, cheesesteaks, loaded fries and nachos.

Isle of Palms · lowcountry, seafood, southern, breakfast

Acme describes itself as a no-frills beach grill with a full bar and deck serving Southern coastal cooking. City Paper readers voted it Best IOP Restaurant and Best IOP Brunch in 2026. A regular on r/Charleston says they always plug it for dinner and brunch that is not high-end.

Daniel Island · mexican

A Mexican cantina on Island Park Drive on Daniel Island with a house cocktail list. The site's own structured data files it under Charleston, 29492.

Avondale · cheese, charcuterie

Avondale Wine & Cheese has been pouring in the Avondale strip of West Ashley since 2006 and describes itself as female-owned. City Paper readers named it Best Wine Selection for 2026 and runner-up for Best Wine Bar.

Cannonborough-Elliotborough · cafe, european

Babas takes its cue from the neighborhood cafes and bars of Italy, France and Spain, running from morning coffee and pastries into sandwiches, wine and cocktails at night. Cannon Street is the first of its rooms. A third opened on Wentworth Street in January 2026, and the Post and Courier reported in August 2026 that the Meeting Street cafe would move into the former Rodney Scott's BBQ building at 1011 King Street.

Harleston Village · cafe, european

Babas on Wentworth is the newest room from the Charleston cafe that started on Cannon Street. Explore Charleston says it opened in January 2026 as a European-inspired cafe in a 1931 building with an outdoor patio. It runs from morning coffee into evening drinks. The group's Meeting Street cafe was reported closing at the end of September 2026, with a move to 1011 King Street.

Middle King

Bangkok Lounge is an upstairs karaoke bar on King Street that calls itself Charleston's only seven nights a week karaoke bar. City Paper readers named it Best Karaoke Night for 2026.

Eastside · bar food

Bar Mash is a bar and kitchen at 701 East Bay Street, open from 4pm Monday to Saturday with a daily happy hour and the kitchen going until 10pm.

North Charleston

Bar Polari describes itself as a special hideaway for the LGBTQ+ community in Charleston, on Reynolds Avenue in North Charleston. The site names Brent Compagni as owner. It was the LGBTQ Bar runner-up in City Paper's 2026 readers' poll.

French Quarter · french, crepes, cocktails

A basement bar, which is rare in a city that floods. The venue's own site calls it 'one of the only below-street-level bars in the city' and a 'bar clandestin', located beneath the French restaurant Brasserie La Banque at 1 Broad Street. Guests go down the building's original historic staircase into a room with soft lighting and Art Deco influenced furnishings. The menu is crepes, cocktails and champagne, and walk-ins are taken first come, first served.

North Charleston · ramen, izakaya

Weems Pennington taught himself to make ramen about five years ago, went to Japan in 2025 to study it, and opened this ramen bar on Reynolds Avenue in December 2025 with Sharon Brown as general manager. There are four bowls ... shoyu, shoyu lite, miso and a vegetable ramen on fennel and shiitake broth ... plus karaage three ways and korokke. Cocktails are named after albums. It serves food until 12:30am, walk-ins only, behind a bright green mural near King BBQ.

Lower King · cheese, charcuterie

Bin 152 calls itself Charleston's oldest wine bar. Its cheese and charcuterie menu runs to more than 40 selections, sold a la carte, and it is open until midnight seven days a week.

Downtown Peninsula · pub food

The Blind Tiger is a pub on Broad Street with an outdoor patio. The site explains the name: blind tiger was the late 1800s term for an illicit drinking and gambling house.

James Island · american, burgers

The Post and Courier describes casual American food with a reliable beer list ... soft pretzels, fried chili-spiced shrimp, bacon cheeseburgers ... and patio seating. City Paper readers voted it Best James Island Happy Hour in 2026.

Middle King · $

A King Street address with no King Street frontage. The bar's own site calls it a local dive bar, and its structured data gives the address as 354 Unit B King St. The local guide Exploring Charleston (8 November 2025) says it opened in 2006, sits down Burns Lane between Meeting Street and King Street, and is reached through a hidden entrance off King Street, with live music on weekends.

Avondale

Charles Towne Fermentory brewed Salt Circle Oyster Lager in 2026 with local oysters from Steamboat Creek Oyster Farm and fresh citrus, with 5 percent of sales going to the Toadfish Conservation Coalition, City Paper reported. The paper names Adam Goodwin as the brewer and refers to a James Island production taproom.

Johns Island

Charleston Distilling was founded in 2011 and says it chose Johns Island deliberately, fifteen minutes from downtown. The tasting room pours cocktails made with its own spirits, runs tours, and has a fire pit outside.

Mount Pleasant · seafood, southern

The restaurant of the Charleston Harbor Resort at Patriots Point. Every table looks across the harbor to the Charleston skyline, the USS Yorktown and the marina, and the Bridge Bar on the roof is the sunset perch. The kitchen is a member of the Good Catch program and says it sources locally and responsibly.

James Island

The Pour House has been booking live music since 2002 and runs two stages on Maybank Highway, an indoor room and an outdoor Deck Stage. Its site lists Kwei Fei and Jack of Cups Bebop as the food on the property. City Paper readers named it Best James Island Bar for 2026.

Upper King · canned cocktails, frozen drinks

Four barstools in an alley. The owner group, Charleston-born Holy City Hospitality, says the bar is nestled between 39 Rue de Jean and Coast Bar & Grill on Hutson Alley, with only 4 barstools inside and more seating outside on the alley. It pours canned cocktails, beer and wine plus two frozen drinks, a Bourbon Cheerwine Slushie and the house Hutson Alley Hooch, and small bites come over from Coast. The group pitches it as the stop before dinner or before a show next door at the Charleston Music Hall.

Folly Beach · global, tacos, vietnamese, mexican, caribbean

Chico Feo was founded in 2013 and calls itself a permanent fixture of Folly Beach that is always evolving. The site carries a surf report next to the menu and a calendar of music. City Paper readers voted it Best Folly Beach Restaurant, Best Folly Beach Bar and Best Folly Beach Happy Hour in 2026, and it is the first taco answer from the beach on r/Charleston.

Upper Peninsula

Citrus Club is the bar on the eighth floor terrace of The Dewberry hotel on Meeting Street, which calls it the highest rooftop bar in Charleston. Lunch reservations run from 12 to 2. It was the Rooftop Bar runner-up in City Paper's 2026 readers' poll.

North Charleston

Coast calls itself a small, family owned craft brewery on an old Navy base, making beer with organic and local ingredients. The taproom has a full bar and kitchen and opens Thursday to Sunday.

Mount Pleasant · american, burgers, pub fare

A Coleman Boulevard gastropub with 16 rotating taps that calls itself a Mount Pleasant institution. It serves lunch, dinner and brunch six days a week. Its sister is Maybank Public House on James Island.

Park Circle · bbq

Commonhouse is the Park Circle neighborhood brewery, with an outdoor yard it calls CommonGround. Swig & Swine, the Charleston barbecue group, opened its fourth Lowcountry location inside the brewery as the food partner.

Eastside · bar food

The newest bar in a building with a long local memory. The Post and Courier reported in August 2026 that Dive In opened in June 2026 at 525 Meeting Street, a single-story building that was once home to the Black-owned Thunderguards Motorcycle Club and then to Palace Hotel, which closed in 2025 after less than two years at the address. Owners Fitz Gaines, Lamar Bonaparte and Tyler Wicker have been involved in Republic Garden & Lounge, Red Palm Tavern and Bourbon N' Bubbles downtown. Picnic tables sit on the patio in front.

Ansonborough

Doar Bros. is a small cocktail bar on Meeting Street with a short snack menu that includes truffle popcorn with brown butter, scallions and parmesan.

Upper King

Dudley's is the LGBTQ bar on Ann Street, just off Upper King. City Paper readers named it Best LGBTQ Bar for 2026, and its Dragified show won Best Drag Show.

Sullivan's Island · pub food

Dunleavy's has been a pub on Middle Street since 1992. The site says it was founded by Patti and Bill and is now run by Bill and Jamie, and calls itself part of an endangered species, the family-owned and operated business.

The Neck · brewpub, pizza, pub food

The brewery and taproom of the Edmund's Oast group. The Post and Courier calls the kids menu reliably good ... cheeseburgers and chicken fingers ... and describes a huge courtyard where children can run around, with easy parking. It also notes the area around the brewery is under renovation through late 2026 while the taproom stays open. Dogs are welcome outside only.

Johns Island · coffee, beer

Estuary roasts and sells its own coffee and pours beer under the same roof, open from 7am until 10 or 11 at night. It also runs workshops.

James Island · pizza, wings, burgers

Fam's is a James Island brewpub on Folly Road that makes both New York-style and Chicago-style pizza, plus wings and burgers. Its site says it has been open nine years. It was the Porter/Stout runner-up in City Paper's 2026 readers' poll.

Park Circle

Firefly runs its distillery and tasting room on Spruill Avenue in North Charleston with a concert lawn that hosts a seasonal series. The site lists a food menu and food trucks. City Paper readers named it Best Distillery for 2026.

French Quarter · seafood, lowcountry, raw bar

Fleet Landing sits on the harbor beside Waterfront Park and bills itself as Charleston's best waterfront dining and raw bar. The venue says it has been open for two decades. It reports three Post and Courier Charleston's Choice wins ... Best Downtown Restaurant, Best Waterfront Restaurant and a tie for Best Seafood Restaurant. The largest party it can seat is 10.

Upper King

Forte is a ticketed jazz room on Upper King with one set on Wednesday and Thursday and two on Friday and Saturday. It was the Jazz & Blues Club runner-up in City Paper's 2026 readers' poll.

West Ashley · pub food, pizza

A West Ashley brewery with a full kitchen and its own arcade room. The venue's site says 'Family and Dog Friendly!', welcomes leashed dogs on the patio and points families to the arcade.

Upper King · french

Félix is a cocktail bar and small plates room on Upper King, with a kitchen that stays open until midnight every day. City Paper readers named it Best Place for a Girls Night for 2026.

James Island · bar food, american, burgers

Garage 75 is a James Island bar on Folly Road full of games: billiards, skeeball, Golden Tee, bowling, Mario Kart and dozens more. It was the Arcade Bar runner-up in City Paper's 2026 readers' poll.

Avondale · $ · pub food, burgers, bar food, southern

A West Ashley neighborhood bar that City Paper says has been operating in Avondale since 1952. In June 2026 the paper listed its blue plate specials at $9.95 ... country fried steak or pot roast with two sides and a soft drink or iced tea, weekdays 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

North Charleston

Ghost Monkey started in Mount Pleasant and moved in 2024 to North Charleston, where it pours in Beer Alley at Striped Pig Distillery.

Upper King

Graft is a bottle shop with a wine bar inside it at the top of King Street. City Paper readers named it Best Wine Bar for 2026.

Daniel Island · burgers, smashburgers

The Daniel Island room of a Charleston-born smashburger and margarita bar that calls itself a neighborhood burger joint. The group lists three rooms: Charleston, Daniel Island and Isle of Palms.

NoMo · burgers, american

Heavy's is a Charleston burger bar with three rooms: Morrison Drive downtown, Daniel Island (891 Island Park Drive) and Isle of Palms (1012 Ocean Boulevard). It won Best Burger in the 2026 City Paper readers' poll. On r/Charleston it is the first burger most people name, with a loud minority who call it overpriced.

NoMo

High Wire has been distilling on the peninsula since 2013 and says all of its spirits are produced in its downtown Charleston distillery. It was the Distillery runner-up in City Paper's 2026 readers' poll.

Mount Pleasant

Hobcaw is a Mount Pleasant brewery on Long Point Road with a warehouse taproom, outdoor space and a rotating food truck schedule.

Park Circle · brewpub, raw bar, pub food, bar food, oysters

The Post and Courier calls it 'the mecca of family-friendly restaurants': covered outdoor seating, picnic tables, and beyond them a large area for children with a basketball net and full-size Jenga blocks, on a property that sits along Noisette Creek. The Walrus is the in-house raw bar. The venue lists four event spaces, live music on Fridays 5pm-8pm and team trivia on Wednesdays.

Hampton Park Terrace · bbq, southern

Founder Aaron Siegel came from fine dining, per Destination BBQ, and Home Team cooks a multi-regional menu instead of one barbecue tradition: smoked wings, pulled pork, brisket, ribs, turkey. The frozen Gamechanger cocktail is the house drink. The venue lists a kids menu and a sauce list; wood species is not stated on the pages fetched. Charleston-born group, also in Columbia, Greenville and Aspen. The downtown room has a fenced gravel yard with chalkboards for children, a large bar and a big courtyard.

Sullivan's Island · bbq, southern

Founder Aaron Siegel came from fine dining, per Destination BBQ, and Home Team cooks a multi-regional menu instead of one barbecue tradition: smoked wings, pulled pork, brisket, ribs, turkey. The frozen Gamechanger cocktail is the house drink. The venue lists a kids menu and a sauce list; wood species is not stated on the pages fetched. Charleston-born group, also in Columbia, Greenville and Aspen. The venue says the Sullivan's Island room is a block from the beach, with band posters and island artifacts on the walls, an open window bar, a covered porch, and regularly scheduled live music from local and touring artists.

Mount Pleasant · bbq, southern

Founder Aaron Siegel came from fine dining, per Destination BBQ, and Home Team cooks a multi-regional menu instead of one barbecue tradition: smoked wings, pulled pork, brisket, ribs, turkey. The frozen Gamechanger cocktail is the house drink. The venue lists a kids menu and a sauce list; wood species is not stated on the pages fetched. Charleston-born group, also in Columbia, Greenville and Aspen. The Post and Courier says the Mount Pleasant room has a huge outdoor area with tables, TVs, a chalkboard and room for children to roam.

West Ashley · bbq, southern, wings

Founder Aaron Siegel came from fine dining, per Destination BBQ, and Home Team cooks a multi-regional menu instead of one barbecue tradition: smoked wings, pulled pork, brisket, ribs, turkey. The frozen Gamechanger cocktail is the house drink. The venue lists a kids menu and a sauce list; wood species is not stated on the pages fetched. Charleston-born group, also in Columbia, Greenville and Aspen. The venue describes West Ashley as rustic, with tin paneling and gas lanterns in the spirit of old honky-tonks, two outside porches, Monday team trivia, and says it is home to University of Georgia alumni on game days.

French Quarter · southern, lowcountry, new southern

Husk has been cooking Southern food from local purveyors since 2011, and the Charleston room on Queen Street is the original; Nashville and Savannah came later. Sean Brock was the founding chef and is no longer involved, as The Post and Courier notes. Charleston City Paper lists Ray England as chef in its Summer 2026 Top 50. The Bar and Patio sits next door in a nineteenth-century kitchen house and pours a deep list of bourbon and Southern spirits, first come, first served. The Post and Courier ties the kitchen to biscuits, country ham and Carolina Gold rice. It is Recommended in the inaugural MICHELIN Guide American South.

Daniel Island

Indigo Reef is an independent craft brewery in the 29492 part of Charleston. Cachita's Kitchen cooks on site and also opens for lunch from 12 to 2.

French Quarter · southern, seafood

Iron Rose is the bar and restaurant of the Mills House hotel at Meeting and Queen streets. Explore Charleston reported in spring 2026 that Suzy Castelloe had been appointed executive chef, with a focus on seasonal Southern coastal cooking.

Isle of Palms · seafood, raw bar

A marina restaurant on the Intracoastal Waterway. The venue calls itself family-friendly, with direct access by boat, weekly live music and sunsets. Explore Charleston lists yard games, kid-friendly trivia nights and a full kids menu; the Post and Courier mentions corn hole on the spacious patio and says to start with hushpuppies.

Folly Beach · $ · global comfort food, curry, indian, asian, global, international, comfort food

A small Folly Beach room with a courtyard out back that the street does not show. The saloon quotes Charleston Magazine on its own site: 'a haven for vegetarians, vegans and omnivores alike, with sidewalk booths and a sunny back courtyard'. City Paper's Top 50 for summer 2026 says co-owner and chef Lesley Carroll rotates the menu with the seasons, with dishes such as red curry mac and cheese and Tom Kha Gai gnocchi. The Post and Courier's food editor calls it his Folly Beach favorite.

Folly Beach · polynesian, seafood, tiki

Koko's is the tiki kitchen and bar at the foot of the Folly Beach Fishing Pier. It calls its food 'Follynesian' ... Folly's island mood with the flavors of Polynesia ... and books live music and Music Bingo. The careers page ties it to Avocet Hospitality.

The Neck

LO-Fi is a small brewery on upper Meeting Street Road that also hosts shows, sold through Eventbrite. It was the Locally Brewed Lager runner-up in City Paper's 2026 readers' poll.

Eastside

Last Saint calls itself an eastside cocktail bar, on Meeting Street. City Paper readers named it Best Cocktails for 2026.

Upper King · $$ · seafood, oysters, fried chicken, southern

Leon's opened in early 2014 in a converted auto body shop on upper King Street, per The Post and Courier; the venue calls it a former garage. It comes from Brooks Reitz and Tim Mink, the team behind Melfi's and Little Jack's Tavern. The house list is fried chicken, oysters, salads, cheap beer, soft serve, rosé on tap, frozen gin and tonics and grower champagne. City Paper prints the full name as Leon's Fine Poultry & Oysters. It was named a Bib Gourmand in the inaugural MICHELIN Guide American South on 3 November 2025.

NoMo · $$ · bbq, texas barbecue, texas bbq

Pitmaster John Lewis serves Central Texas barbecue here, sliced to order at the counter from smokers he designed and welded himself, as the venue tells it. The Post and Courier says the Charleston original opened about a decade ago and has since spawned rooms in Greenville and Atlanta. It is known for smoked brisket, beef sausage and corn pudding with Hatch green chiles, and it has a large bar and a backyard patio. This is Texas-style beef barbecue, not a South Carolina sauce tradition. It was named a Bib Gourmand on 3 November 2025.

James Island · sushi, tacos, hibachi

Locals is a sushi restaurant that is also a sports pub, with nigiri and rolls beside tacos, hibachi and wings, and a sushi rolling class on the third Thursday of each month. The Post and Courier notes a patio and a second-floor loft at the Folly Road room. City Paper readers made it runner-up for Best Sushi in 2026.

Johns Island

Low Tide brews on Maybank Highway on Johns Island. There is no kitchen ... food trucks rotate outside, and Monday is bingo night. City Paper readers named it Best Johns Island Bar and Best Johns Island Happy Hour for 2026.

Middle King · southern, new american, lowcountry

Lowland is the restaurant of The Pinch hotel, run by Method Co., and it spreads through an 1834 house: a tavern with a copper bar and a wood-burning fireplace, a small parlour room, and an upstairs dining room with hand-painted murals. James Beard winner Jason Stanhope opened it and left after about 17 months for Sullivan's Island, per The Post and Courier. Executive chef Matthew Dion, a New Englander who cooked at FIG and The Ordinary, runs it now. Across the alley, The Quinte is a nineteenth-century room used for large parties. The Post and Courier points to the biscuits, crudos and the tavern burger. It is Recommended in the inaugural MICHELIN Guide American South.

Folly Beach

Lowlife is a bar and kitchen a block off Center Street on Folly Beach, with brunch, dinner and drinks menus. It was the Folly Beach Bar runner-up in City Paper's 2026 readers' poll.

Park Circle · irish

Madra Rua has been the Irish pub on East Montague Avenue in Park Circle since 2003, with Irish fare its site says is made from scratch daily. City Paper readers named it Best Authentic Pub for 2026. A second pub is in Summerville.

James Island · american, burgers

Maybank Public House is a restaurant and tap room with burgers, ribs, tuna and mac and cheese. It asks parties of five or more to reserve.

Sullivan's Island · mexican, tacos, baja

The Sullivan's Island room of Mex 1 Coastal Cantina, a Charleston-born taqueria and margarita bar. The Post and Courier reported in April 2026 that Mex 1's owners were opening a music-driven tavern at The Refinery in Charleston. Mex 1 is on the bill for the Island Club's Taste of Sullivan's Island on 17 October 2026.

Hampton Park Terrace · $ · pub food, burgers, bar food, american, wings

A Hampton Park neighborhood bar north of the Crosstown, away from the visitor streets. City Paper named it the 2026 Best of Charleston winner for Best Meal Value, and its Fig Lebowski burger ... whipped feta, bourbon onion fig jam and crispy prosciutto ... won the most creative category in the paper's 2026 Burger Throwdown. Owner Mike Tronoski told the paper the kitchen runs a different burger special every day.

The Neck

Munkle brews Belgian and German style beers on Meeting Street Road in the Neck brewery district. Explore Charleston quotes its motto as hospitality, fun and great beer.

Upper King

Music Farm is the standing-room concert hall on Ann Street, off Upper King. Its box office is run out of Charleston Music Hall at 37 John Street on Thursdays and Fridays.

Park Circle · burgers, american

No Bull opened in West Ashley in 2023 as a reworking of the Tex-Mex restaurant 3 Matadors, closed there without warning, and reopened in early 2026 in the former Southern Roots Smokehouse on East Montague. Owner Travis Glen runs it under the Lucky 17 Restaurant Group. The pitch is freshly ground burgers, hand-cut fries and hand-breaded chicken, with half-price burgers on Wednesdays and two-for-one on Tuesdays when The Post and Courier wrote it up.

Cannonborough-Elliotborough · wine, beer, snacks

A bar inside a bookshop on a residential corner. The Post and Courier (17 May 2024) wrote that when you walk into the corner store at 50 Bogard Street there is a long wooden bar with black barstools to the left and bookshelves of titles for sale to the right. Co-owners Jenny Ferrara and her husband, Michael Bourke, longtime Charleston residents, opened it in 2024 because they like to read while having a drink and wanted to build a little clubhouse. On 11 June 2026 the paper reported it ranked sixth in USA Today's 2026 10Best Readers' Choice Awards for independent bookstores, the only South Carolina shop on the list. It draws people before and after dinner at Chubby Fish, Vern's and Bistronomy by Nico.

Park Circle

Pinky & Clyde's is an arcade bar on East Montague Avenue with original arcade cabinets, signature cocktails and snacks. Kids are welcome on Saturdays from 12 to 2. City Paper readers named it Best Activity Bar and Best Arcade Bar for 2026.

Folly Beach · american, burgers, breakfast

Planet Follywood says: 'Since 2004 we're a family owned island staple for good times, great food and southern hospitality.' Breakfast is served Friday to Sunday mornings, burgers and daily specials after that, with late night snacks and live music until 2am.

Sullivan's Island · burgers, american

A burger tavern on Middle Street carrying the name of Edgar Allan Poe. It is one of the island restaurants pouring and plating at the Island Club's Taste of Sullivan's Island fundraiser on 17 October 2026.

Upper King · southern, american

Prohibition is a bar and restaurant on Upper King with music most nights: bands on Thursdays, DJs on Fridays and brunch sets at the weekend. It has a large heated patio and a private room for up to 150.

The Neck · $$ · tex-mex, mexican, new mexican

John Lewis's West Texas and El Paso inspired room, a short walk from Edmund's Oast Brewing Co. Explore Charleston points to the 'Los Ninos' menu of corn dogs and cheese quesadillas, strawberry limonada for children, and an astroturf lawn right outside for them to play on.

North Charleston · tacos, mexican

Rebel Taqueria describes itself as tacos, tequila and cold beer on Reynolds Avenue in North Charleston. A regular on r/Charleston plugs two dollar street tacos on Tuesdays and an all you can eat taco brunch on Sundays. City Paper readers voted it runner-up for Best Tacos and Best Margarita in 2026.

Upper King · $ · bar food

Where the people who make the drinks go for one. In City Paper's September 2026 survey of local beverage professionals, an Indaco bartender said that when he wants something casual he will most likely be at Recovery Room Tavern, and another finalist for the paper's 2026 Best Bartender came up working there. The Post and Courier lists it among the city's quality dives alongside The Griffon, Cutty's and Burns Alley.

Shem Creek · seafood, american

A dockside beer-and-seafood spot on Shem Creek that calls itself 'a friendly spot to enjoy a cold beer & fresh seafood in a laid back setting', with views of the creek's wildlife and the sunset. It lists Best of Charleston wins going back to 2004, including Best Waterfront Bar and Best Outdoor Patio.

Upper King

Republic is a garden bar and lounge on Upper King with live DJs and VIP table service. Its site quotes City Paper calling it a fabulously stylish mothership on King Street.

NoMo

Revelry brews on Conroy Street in the peninsula's brewery district and is known for the rooftop bar on top of its taproom. Its own site now also points to a second location on Folly Beach.

North Charleston · pub food

Rusty Bull is a North Charleston brewery with a full kitchen; its site names the owners as Ben and Brian.

Mount Pleasant · southwestern, tex-mex, tacos

A Southern take on Southwestern cooking, with a wood fire in the kitchen, fresh-juiced margaritas and a long tequila list. The bar is built from a reclaimed cotton mill. Sunday brunch comes with endless mimosas. It is a small local group with other Charleston-area rooms.

Mount Pleasant · cheese, charcuterie, tinned seafood

Saint Urban's is a 350 square foot wine, cheese and cocktail bar on I'On Square that opened in July 2023, run by partners Warren Johnson, the cheesemonger, and Chad Besenfelder. City Paper profiled it in September 2026 for a dirty martini made with Spanish Perelló olives, French bread pizza on Tuesdays and a Wednesday night called Weenies + Tinis.

Shem Creek · $$ · seafood, bbq, oysters, lowcountry

A seafood and barbecue house on the Shem Creek docks, opened in 2017 by Wade Boals, Brett Yearout and Joel Olindo. Wade is the son of Ronnie Boals, who opened R.B.'s Seafood Restaurant next door in 1985 and was one of the people who turned the creek into a place to eat; the menu still carries the Boals Family Crab Dip and a coconut cake. The restaurant closed from 5 to 12 January 2026 for its first major renovation, with a food window called The Wagon serving at the Mill Street entrance in the meantime. It has a Gazebo Bar and prints a dog treat menu.

French Quarter · cocktails

A windowless cocktail room reached through a custard shop on East Bay Street. The Post and Courier (16 April 2024) called it about as close to a hidden bar as Charleston gets: it sits behind the drink fridge of Charleston Custard and Candy Co., in the back of Big John's Tavern at 251 East Bay Street, and ringing the bell takes guests inside. The room is decked out in antique furniture with tables separated by see-through white curtains. The name is a nod to the 2004 Lustra song written for the film EuroTrip. It accepts reservations and the menu leans on classics.

Cannonborough-Elliotborough · small plates, seafood, cocktails

The bar next door to the hardest table in town. The Post and Courier's 2026 itinerary (14 January 2026) says to pop by Chubby Fish's next-door bar, Seahorse, for some of the top cocktails in Charleston. The bar describes itself as a small cocktail bar and supper club with great cocktails, excellent wine and a small, ever-changing food menu, and it does not take reservations.

Isle of Palms · american, seafood

A Front Beach restaurant and rum bar on Ocean Boulevard that pitches itself as a family friendly spot with patio views, craft cocktails and local beers. Moultrie News named Benj Farmery as owner or co-owner of Smugglers, IOPizza and Papi's Taqueria in March 2026, when he told the island's chamber that winter cash calls were heavy and argued against restaurants shutting for the season.

North Charleston

Snafu is a North Charleston brewery known for sour beers; City Paper readers named it Best Locally Brewed Gose/Sour for 2026. It serves snacks and brings in food trucks several times a week.

Downtown Peninsula · italian, southern italian, pasta, pizza

Sorelle opened in February 2023 in a renovated stuccoed brick building on Broad Street, backed by Ben Navarro's hospitality company, per The Post and Courier. Chef Nick Dugan cooks Southern Italian food with Lowcountry ingredients; Charleston City Paper also credits Adam Sobel. The building holds a mercato, a central bar, a wine room and a main dining room, with a third-floor private room designed by Meyer Davis Studios. The Post and Courier names the tajarin al ragù and the swordfish piccata. It is Recommended in the inaugural MICHELIN Guide American South.

West Ashley · bbq, southern

Southern Roots says it works with local meats, produce and beers. It has live music, outdoor seating, a private room called The Edisto Room, and a locals night every Wednesday with half-priced prime brisket smash burgers.

Park Circle · mediterranean, tinned seafood, charcuterie

Stems & Skins opened in 2016 on East Montague Avenue in Park Circle and pours natural wine with Mediterranean-style plates, tinned seafood, charcuterie and cheese. Its site lists a 2026 James Beard Award semifinalist nod for Outstanding Wine Program, and Food & Wine called it one of America's most important natural wine bars.

North Charleston

Striped Pig has been distilling since 2013 and describes itself as a woman-owned, family-run distillery. The tasting room serves specialty cocktails, tours run Wednesday to Friday afternoons, and Ghost Monkey Brewery pours beer on the same site.

Shem Creek · lowcountry, seafood, sushi

A Shem Creek bar and restaurant pairing Lowcountry classics with sushi, with weekly live music on the water. It stands where Ronnie Boals opened R.B.'s Seafood Restaurant in 1985, according to the history page of Saltwater Cowboys next door. The contact address points to Bottlecap Group. Mount Pleasant Magazine still lists it under its earlier name, Sunsets Waterfront Dining.

Upper Peninsula · mexican, tacos

A Charleston-born taqueria group that also has rooms in Folly Beach, Summerville and Asheville. Explore Charleston points to the 100 percent vegan scratch-made guacamole, vegan black beans, build-your-own nachos, burritos and rice bowls, and the crispy avocado taco. The downtown room has a large back patio and a kids menu.

Johns Island · sandwiches, bar food, wings, pub food

Tattooed Moose is known for Mike's Famous Duck Club, which the site says was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and for duck fat fries. City Paper readers voted it Best Fries in 2026. The kitchen runs late ... to midnight most nights and 1am on Friday and Saturday ... and the bar stays open to 2am.

Shem Creek · new american, seafood

A Shem Creek restaurant with an indoor bar and a waterfront dock bar, owned by Andy Palmer and Jeff Condon; the site credits Dianne and Cecil Crowley as co-founders and Denis Crutchfield as executive chef. Live music plays on the creek Friday and Saturday from 6 to 9 pm, and the T&T Room seats up to 32 for private dinners.

North Charleston · cocktails, raw bar

A speakeasy hidden inside Holy City Brewing, run by Johnny Caldwell, one half of the Charleston duo The Cocktail Bandits. The Post and Courier reported on 30 January 2026 that it sits behind the brewery bar, behind what looks like a wall of beer cans and taps ... give the wall a nudge and it opens into a small room with its own bar, a few tables and chairs, a record player and shelves of vinyl. A light above the wall is green when the room is open with space and red when it is closed or full. The menu is split into Classics, Signatures and Bites, and a raw bar is available on request.

Eastside · cocktails

A bar inside a bar. The Post and Courier (27 June 2025) reported that a yellow door at the back of the cocktail lounge Last Saint leads to a tucked-away speakeasy with six barstools and three booths, run by bartenders Bri and Andrew Travis. There are no menus ... guests name a base spirit and a few adjectives and the bartender builds the drink, at $16 each when the paper visited. Last Saint itself comes from the group behind Bar George on James Island and Ok Donna downtown.

Eastside · american, burgers

Marc and Liz Hudacsko opened The Archer in August 2024 as what City Paper calls the more grown-up sister to their Rutledge Avenue spot Berkeley's. It is a restaurant and cocktail bar with free parking on site and a daily happy hour. The kitchen serves until 11pm and the bar until midnight.

Upper King · small plates

The Belmont is a cocktail bar on Upper King that stays open until 2am every night, with charcuterie, flatbreads and shared plates.

Isle of Palms · seafood, southern

A seafood house at the foot of the Breach Inlet bridge, family-owned since 1997. The restaurant says it pioneered a focus on fresh local seafood when it opened, and the daily fish comes grilled, broiled, blackened or roasted. Upstairs is a rooftop bar; the screened Waterfront Deck looks over the inlet, the marsh and the sunset. Sundays are seafood boils.

Upper King · bar food

The Brick calls itself a Charleston sports bar, on Ann Street just off Upper King, open until 2am every day. It was the Sports Bar runner-up in City Paper's 2026 readers' poll.

Upper King · cocktails

The bar calls itself 'tucked away on Charleston's bustling upper King Street' and an upscale lounge dedicated to the craft cocktail. The Post and Courier (16 April 2024) put it with The Gin Joint, Blind Tiger and Prohibition as speakeasy-style bars that are 'not really hidden in plain sight', and noted that the owners do not push the speakeasy label even though bloggers and reviewers do.

Eastside

The Commodore is a live music and dance room on Meeting Street. Its site says the club started in the early 80s as A Touch of Class before it was revived under the current name, and that entry is ages 23 and up. City Paper readers named it Best Jazz & Blues Club for 2026.

French Quarter · seafood, new american, lowcountry

The Establishment opened in May 2018 in the James Gregorie House, built around 1791 and named for the Scottish merchant who lived there. Executive chef Elliott Howells has been in the kitchen since opening and took the top job in 2021; he came to Charleston in 2002 and trained at the French Culinary Institute, per Charleston Wine + Food. The menu centers on sustainably sourced seafood and changes daily. The house has two dining rooms, a wine cellar, two private rooms and a chef's counter on an open kitchen, plus live music on Saturday nights. It is Recommended in the inaugural MICHELIN Guide American South.

French Quarter

The Gin Joint is a cocktail bar on East Bay Street that takes no reservations and no call-aheads; hosts seat people as they arrive. It also runs cocktail classes.

French Quarter

The Griffon is a pub on Vendue Range. Its site calls it Charleston's Best Pub and posts two rules: no reservations, no pets.

Sullivan's Island · seafood, raw bar, caribbean

The second Longboard ... the first opened on 1 May 2015 in Cruz Bay on St. John in the US Virgin Islands. The Sullivan's Island room is a hybrid of that original and its sister restaurant The Easterly on St. Thomas: seafood-led, with a raw bar, weekend brunch and Caribbean-leaning cocktails.

Shem Creek · american, seafood

A tavern on Mill Street at Shem Creek. Moultrie News reported ahead of its opening that it would open in July next to Shem Creek Bar and Grill.

Mount Pleasant · southwestern, southern, texan

Chef and owner Ben Berryhill's restaurant, which the site calls 'the intersection of South by Southwest' ... Southern cooking crossed with his Texan background. It bills itself as the islanders' hangout, with a bar that opens at four and a Sunday brunch.

The Neck

The Refinery is an outdoor amphitheater and events venue on upper Meeting Street in the Neck.

Ansonborough · $$$$ · new american, contemporary, modern american

The Restaurant at Zero George is the dining room of the Zero George boutique hotel in Ansonborough, and it works out of an unusually small kitchen. Chef Vinson Petrillo runs a tasting menu that The Post and Courier describes through technical dishes such as a liquid-nitrogen shrimp cocktail and wagyu over Japanese charcoal. The hotel also runs The Caviar Bar, which draws on Petrillo's time as chef de cuisine at Caviar Russe in New York, and a cooking school with chef-led classes. It is Recommended in the inaugural MICHELIN Guide American South.

French Quarter · american

The bar on top of The Vendue hotel in the French Quarter takes no reservations. Its site says City Paper readers have named it Best Rooftop Bar every year since 2007, and they did again in 2026.

NoMo · $ · american, bar food

A bar and music room in an old ironworks on the upper peninsula. The venue says it is in the Ole Charleston Forge building and has served food, drink and live music since 2011, with the kitchen open until 1 a.m. every day. The Post and Courier's 2026 itinerary sends readers there for $5 pitchers of Miller High Life on a patio that faces the Ravenel Bridge, and City Paper (June 2026) points to the $13 disco fries and the $12 patty melt.

Johns Island · southern, cocktails

A bar in a small building behind a roadside Southern restaurant, a few miles from the Ravenel line. The Post and Courier (16 April 2024) described it as a neighborhood hideout in a small structure behind Angel Oak Restaurant, with specialty cocktails, live music and most of the restaurant's food menu. Chef Jay Kees, a Culinary Institute of America graduate from Mississippi, opened the restaurant with his wife, Nicole, in 2012 and follows what the paper called a plow-to-plate philosophy using Johns Island farms. The restaurant's own site tells guests they can 'enjoy the speakeasy bar behind the restaurant'.

Park Circle · sandwiches, american, pub food, bar food

The Moose is known for the Duck Club ... duck confit, applewood smoked bacon, hickory smoked cheddar and garlic aioli on a Hawaiian roll ... and for a long craft beer list. Guy Fieri featured it, and the venue notes a 2024 return on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Its own site now lists two rooms, Park Circle and Johns Island, and the tourism office says it has been a local favorite since relocating to Park Circle.

Cannonborough-Elliotborough · wine, small plates

A wine bar in a house, not a storefront. The Post and Courier's 2026 itinerary (14 January 2026) describes it as tucked inside a 150-plus-year-old single house in Cannonborough-Elliotborough, steps from Chez Nous and Chubby Fish. Sommelier Matthew Conway opened it in October 2021 with his wife, Carissa. Micah Pearson runs the food menu. The same owners run The Press, a burrito window next door.

Isle of Palms · bar food

The Windjammer has stood on Front Beach at Isle of Palms since 1972, with an indoor stage, an outdoor beach stage and sand volleyball courts. Shows at 9pm and later are 21 and up. City Paper readers named it Best IOP Bar and Best Waterfront Bar for 2026.

North Charleston · american

Tideland is a North Charleston brewery on Dorchester Road with a 5,000 square foot beer garden, a fire pit and a full kitchen that does lunch, dinner and weekend brunch.

Ansonborough

Trio is a nightclub on Calhoun Street that says it has been open since 1994, with DJs, live music and dancing on Friday and Saturday nights.

Cannonborough-Elliotborough · pub food

Two Blokes opened its second taproom on August 11, 2026 in a restored 19th-century building on Cannon Street near MUSC, the Post and Courier reported. It has a small-batch system for experimental beers, wine from Grassroots Wine, and a kitchen doing hand-cut fries, pretzels with beer cheese, wings and flatbreads.

Mount Pleasant

The original Two Blokes brewery and taproom on Long Point Road in Mount Pleasant. The Post and Courier confirmed in August 2026 that the flagship remains open alongside the new Cannon Street room.

Upper King · pizza, pub food

Uptown Social opened on Upper King in 2018 and calls itself a cornerstone of the King Street scene, with live music every night, pub fare and Brooklyn-style pizza by Anthony Falco.

Upper King · cheese, charcuterie

Vintage Lounge is a wine bar on Upper King with more than twenty wines by the glass, a bottle list of over 200 selections, and cheese and charcuterie.

Shem Creek · seafood, american

A Shem Creek seafood restaurant on Shrimp Boat Lane with an outdoor bar on the lower level facing the creek. Sunday opens with a brunch buffet from 10 to 2.

Mount Pleasant

Westbrook brews in Mount Pleasant and pours 22 rotating beers in an air-conditioned taproom with a beer garden outside. Bottles, cans and crowlers are sold to go. In 2026 co-owner and brewer Edward Westbrook made Crab Claw Lager with Sullivan's Fish Camp, City Paper reported.