SC has 3 of the most legendary dive bars in the South, Southern Living says. Why they’re epic
Southern Living editors have come up with a list of 25 legendary dive bars in the South and three are in South Carolina.
“In the South, the definition of a dive bar is anything but strict, with historic dimly lit dives, breezy sand-floored tiki spots, old-school piano bars, beloved college town haunts, and almost anywhere you can find a cheap drink and live music on any given night able to make the cut,” the magazine said. “Yet, Southern dive bars also set themselves apart with unique qualities, such as food menus boasting better-than-your-grandmother’s fried chicken or eclectic annual events like a fish-tossing competitions and two-stepping tournaments.”
Perhaps, but better than grandma’s might be going a little too far.
In South Carolina, the editors, who travel the South reporting on restaurants, found The Griffon in Charleston, Scotty’s Beach Bar in Surfside Beach and The Esso Club in Clemson divey enough to make the list.
The Griffon is located on Vendue Range, steps from Waterfront Park, and is known for the accumulation of dollar bills stapled to the walls by patrons for over 25 years. It’s small. It’s grungy indeed and it calls Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer “Hipster Fuel,” one of 16 draft beers on tap. There are more than a dozen in bottles, from Miller High Life to Holy City Pluff Mud Porter.
The food is hamburgers, fish and chips and sandwiches.
“The Griffon certainly doesn’t care what you think of the dollar bills on the walls or incessant classic rock playing in the background,” Southern Living said. “It’s just going to be what it is, which is the Lowcountry’s favorite grungy little dive bar.”
The ambiance is English-style pub.
In Surfside Beach, Scotty’s Beach Bar is a “homey haunt,” Southern Living said. “It’s an unspoken rule that anywhere near a beach there needs to be a watering hole where flip-flops are welcome and there might be a bit of sand on the floor. Scotty’s Beach Bar is just that.”
Located on Seaside Drive next door to Surfside Oceanfront Hotel, Scotty’s offers lunch and dinner daily, with live entertainment and karaoke. Readers of Trip Advisor have a range of opinions from a must-see, great local haunt to musty smelling dump.
Southern Living recommends a cocktail called Pain Killer, dark rum, pineapple juice, orange juice and cream of coconut.
And then there is The Esso Club in Clemson.
“Now, every college town boasts a favorite sports bar, but few have a bar so collectively beloved as The Esso Club at Clemson University, which first opened in 1933,” Southern Living said.
Indeed.
The property was rightly so, a gas station to start.
Located in the shadow of Death Valley, the bar in 1997 was named Sports Illustrated’s “#2 Must See Sports Bar in the Nation.” Besides the paraphernalia of Clemson gear hanging on the walls the bar is known for its “Build Your Own” Bloody Mary bar.
It sells “wangs and fanger foods,” as well as a tiger den appetizer sampler, cheer ‘em on cheese fries and bird dog sliders. And just how hot is the Oconee Power Plant Chili? Nuclear?
