Charleston Beer, Wine & Booze

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.