Dudley's on Ann is downtown Charleston's longest-running gay bar, open for 28 years on Ann Street with happy hour every weekday, karaoke Mondays and drag shows Wednesday through Sunday.
Tip: Open 16:00 to 02:00 seven days. Karaoke Monday 21:00 to 01:00; shows Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday 22:00, Friday and Saturday 20:00.
Address: 42 Ann Street, Charleston, SC 29403
Groovers on Calhoun is Charleston's only proper vinyl listening bar, a small retro-leaning room with live blues Wednesdays, vinyl DJs Thursday and weekends and a live-jukebox Monday from a rotating crate.
Tip: Wednesday to Monday from 19:00; closed Tuesday. Sunday $6 drinks and shots; the back room takes requests off the in-house records.
Recovery Room on Upper King is the perennial Charleston dive: ice cold PBR, late-night gourmet tater tots, pinball, pool and bingo or trivia at 21:00 nightly. Voted top dive in South Carolina.
Tip: Open weekdays 14:00 to 02:00, weekends from noon. Kitchen runs late food until 01:30; DJs Friday and Saturday, no cover.
A.C.'s Bar & Grill on King has been Up All Night since 1987, the College of Charleston dive with pool tables, a kitchen running until 01:30 and PBR at $2 a can. King Street's oldest dive.
Tip: Bar open 11:00 to 02:00 daily; kitchen Monday to Saturday until 01:30, Sunday from 16:00. Order the Death Burger or loaded fries.
Bar Polari on Reynolds Avenue in North Charleston is the newer LGBTQ cocktail room, a hideaway on the Park Circle strip with a craft cocktail list and a calendar of drag, comedy and queer DJ nights.
Tip: Monday 16:00 to 22:00, Tuesday to Thursday 16:00 to 00:00, Friday and Saturday 16:00 to 02:00, Sunday 14:00 to 22:00. Cover on themed nights.
Groovers on Calhoun is Charleston's only proper vinyl listening bar, a small retro-leaning room with live blues Wednesdays, vinyl DJs Thursday and weekends and a live-jukebox Monday from a rotating crate.
Tip: Wednesday to Monday from 19:00; closed Tuesday. Sunday $6 drinks and shots; the back room takes requests off the in-house records.
Recovery Room on Upper King is the perennial Charleston dive: ice cold PBR, late-night gourmet tater tots, pinball, pool and bingo or trivia at 21:00 nightly. Voted top dive in South Carolina.
Tip: Open weekdays 14:00 to 02:00, weekends from noon. Kitchen runs late food until 01:30; DJs Friday and Saturday, no cover.
Burns Alley Tavern on King is the back-alley dive opened in 2006, hidden through La Hacienda or down Burns Lane, with wall-to-wall stickers, pool, jukebox, karaoke and PBR until 19:00 for $4.
Tip: Open noon to 02:00 seven days. Two entrances: one off the alley, one through the back of La Hacienda. Cash bar runs faster than card on weekends.
A.C.'s Bar & Grill on King has been Up All Night since 1987, the College of Charleston dive with pool tables, a kitchen running until 01:30 and PBR at $2 a can. King Street's oldest dive.
Tip: Bar open 11:00 to 02:00 daily; kitchen Monday to Saturday until 01:30, Sunday from 16:00. Order the Death Burger or loaded fries.
Tattooed Moose at Park Circle is the second Charleston location of the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives anchor, a huge bar room with a craft beer list and Mike's Famous Duck Club sandwich on the menu.
Tip: Open 11:30 to 02:00 daily; kitchen until midnight Sunday to Thursday, 01:00 Friday and Saturday. Drag Bingo nights with Ava Clear on the calendar.