Charleston Bars: Upper King

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.