The dark times are over, college football returned over the weekend and the NFL season kicks off tomorrow. It’s the best part of the transition into fall for many and the only thing that matters for many more. We love football, but we love everything the bars in Charleston do to host the best watch parties and generate the biggest crowds for games even more.
There’s nothing like watching a nail-biter of a game in a packed bar full of fans. So here’s a breakdown of the 10 best bars downtown to catch the games this season, plus some awesome specials and happy hours.
10: El Jefe Texican Cantina
El Jefe is known for its mechanical bull and tacos but they also have an awesome set up for college football and NFL games (they also have watch parties for UFC fights!). If sitting at the bar is your thing, they’ve got TVs at their indoor bar and on their outdoor patio. Plus every table in there has a view of their many other TVs, including a massive screen in the middle of the dining room.
As for specials, they’re happy hour is 4 – 7 pm on weekdays and features $5 tacos, margaritas, tequila and well drinks, plus $4 Tecate. Taco Tuesday is one of the best with the same happy hour offerings the entire day, adding $3 Shiner Bock & Tecate.
9: Edmund's Oast Brewing Co.
EOBC seemingly can fit any vibe you need it to, and football season is one of them. One of the more bar-like brewery taprooms in the city, they’ve got big TVs above the bar and on walls throughout the dining room.
On top of that, every day from 4 – 5 pm is Power Hour; half off everything consumed in-house. A perfect way to start or end the watch party.
8: The Brick
The Brick is a great spot for almost any sports game with plenty of screens within view of every table. Interestingly, they are one of few sports bars in Charleston that’s aligned with a specific team: the Virginia Tech Hokies. It’s an electric atmosphere watching games with a room full of a teams’ fans. If that’s not your thing, they still play every other college football and NFL game during the season.
To sweeten the deal they have a $5 happy hour from 4 – 7 pm Monday – Friday. It features all house liquor, select drafts / bottles, house wine, fried pickles, mac ‘n cheese bites, loaded shoe-string fries, and mini corn dogs! All great snacks for watching the games with a beverage.
7: Mac's Place
Another team-aligned bar is Mac’s Place. An Irish Pub that doubles as a Chicago-loyal sports bar. If you’re a Bears fan, there’s no reason to go anywhere else. Mac’s has a great wood-interior pub feel but is covered in sports memorabilia and TV screens (also lot’s of arcade games). It’s one of my favorite bars in Charleston even without football being on, but during the season it’s packed with football fans.
They’ve also got happy hour 4 – 7 on weekdays with $1 off all liquor, beer, and wine!
6: The Alley
The Alley is one of the most unique bars in the city with a full bowling alley in the back, and a ton of arcade games like skee-ball and Ms. Packman. They’ve got a great bar for watching games but if you’re at a table there’s a massive projector screen for big games.
The Alley also has $3 domestic beer and house wine during happy hour from 4 – 7 Monday – Friday. Even better is how well their weekly specials line up with the NFL schedule. Mondays have $5 select shots and $12 buckets of Miller, Coors and High Life. Thursdays have $4 burgers and select local drafts. And our Bartopia favorite Sunday Funday features the same $12 buckets, $4 Bloody Marys and Mimosas, and ½ off loaded Tots or Fries! Check out their Bartopia page below for even more specials.
5: Charleston Beer Works
CBW is one of the better known sports bars in Charleston and they’ve got a great bar set up inside and outside. It’s a great atmosphere for all sporting events but especially college football.
Plus they’ve got a line-up of specials every day of the week including live music, bingo, and trivia. Plus they’ve got $5 local drafts and $12 pitchers on happy hour from 4 – 7 on weekdays. Check out their Bartopia page for all the details.
4: Home Team
The Home Team franchise has a cult-following in Charleston, but their downtown location is one of my favorite places for sporting events. Their bar TVs are visible from the entire dining room and during football season it becomes buzzing with an entire room of fans watching the same games. They don’t have happy hour but they often bring new food specials out for a limited time.
3: The Blind Tiger
Blind Tiger is undeniably one of the best bars in the city, there’s a reason they just barely lost our Bar Madness tournament in March. 2 inside bars and an outdoor bar with a massive outdoor patio, there are so many options for watching the games. If there’s no room at the bar, there are massive TVs lining the walls all around their outdoor tables. I watched the USC vs UNC game there last weekend and it was a great atmosphere.
There’s a whole stack of deals and specials throughout the week. Happy hour is from 4 – 7 pm weekdays with $5 local drafts, house wine, and house liquor. There are too many to name here but Tuesdays are 50% off for all hospitality and F&B workers (full F&B discount compilation coming soon). Check out all their specials on their Bartopia page below.
2: King Street Dispensary
Many of you likely know Dispensary as a nightlife spot rather than a sports bar, but they’ve got an awesome set up for football season both inside and out. Plus they’ve got a crazy amount of deals and specials.
Happy hour features 50% off all local beer & spirits from 5 – 7 Monday – Friday. For game days, grab $20 Bud Light and Modelo buckets on Saturdays and Sundays. Check out some of their other food and drink specials below.
1: Bay Street Biergarten
BSB is on East Bay and a little tucked away from the King Street crowds but it’s one of the best environments for football. They have massive outdoor and indoor bars and screens everywhere. The place gets so packed with football fans that you’ll honestly have a blast even if you don’t care about who’s playing.
Their happy hour is loaded with $5 bar snacks, well liquor, wine, $5 off liters, and $2 jello shots from 4 – 6 on weekdays. Plus on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays they have Game Day Specials like $45 Cathead Seltzer pitchers, and Pigskin Pick ‘Em; 3 for $30 on select food items!
I hope this list gives you some new spots to try on game day! There’ll be more highlights of bars like this coming soon for other parts of Charleston. I encourage you to grow you list of bars to watch football using the Bartopia app or website. Click our logo below or use the “Sports Bars” category to search for yourself. You can combine this with any other searches like location, happy hour, or even as specific as “margarita deals.”
Tag us on social media if you hit any of these on game day and as always, happy drinking!
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