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.
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.
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 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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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