West Columbia
Bill’s Music Shop & Pickin’ Parlor
710 Meeting St., West Columbia, 803-796-6477, billsmusicshop.com. The longstanding Bill’s has long hosted legendary Friday night bluegrass jams, but it also hosts occasional concerts featuring top-flight bluegrass and old-timey musicians.
Boze’s Restaurant and Bar
2736 Emanuel Church Rd., 803-359-8998. Wings and beer!
Calloway’s Bar & Grill
2410 Augusta Rd., West Columbia., 803-926-1199, callowaysbarandgrill.com. Pool tables, big-screen TVs, food — what more do you want from a sports bar?
Chevy’s Sports Bar
3902 Platt Springs Rd., West Columbia, 803-957-4151. Sports bar and billiards hall.
New Brookland Tavern
122 State St., West Columbia, 803-791-4413, newbrooklandtavern.com. New Brookland Tavern is Columbia’s longest-operating rock club, but it’s a damn fine bar, too, offering a fine array of specials and a bar stocked with much more than Pabst Blue Ribbon served up by friendly staff. Recently opened a kitchen as well, serving sandwiches.
Platinum West
1995 Old Dunbar Rd., West Columbia, 803-794-6277, theplatinumplus.com.
Platinum West is a strip club — meaning you’re paying a premium for the, uh, extra service. (i.e., the women aren’t wearing clothes.)
Rooster’s Den
1215 Augusta Rd., West Columbia, 803-794-8200. A members-only bar in Triangle City.
State Street Pub
136 State St., West Columbia. 803-796-2006. An across-the-bridge institution, State Street Pub wins its crowd with pool, cheap beer, sports and plenty of charm. Loads of beers on tap. You’ll need to be a member, but you should be.
Cayce
Average Joe’s Entertainment Bar
3813 Augusta Rd., 803-888-3178. Diverse and frequent live music; pool tables; karaoke; more.
D’s Wings
920 Axtell Dr., Cayce, 803-791-4486. Come for the wings, stay for the cold beer and sports bar atmosphere.
The Filling Station
2208 Memorial Dr., Cayce, 803-995-5534. Homey bar and grill.
Henry’s
2108 State St., Cayce, 803-661-8494, henrysgrillandbar.com. Like the Henry’s on Columbia’s Devine Street, this bar offers a cozy combination of traditional bar eats and reliable drinks.
Karl’s Korner Pool Room & Tavern
1800 Memorial Dr., West Columbia. 803-791-1772. As you can guess from the name, Karl’s Korner is all about the pool, with leagues and tournaments happening all the time.
Mile High Club Bar & Grill
2308 Airport Blvd., Cayce, 803-926-0110. Sports bar and grill with karaoke and dance music.
Murray’s of Cayce
2433 Charleston Hwy., Cayce, 803-926-1809. Bar and grill with pool room and game room.
Ozzie’s Country Island
1420 Charleston Hwy., 803-739-8335. A longstanding country music bar, with line dancing and frequent live music.
Steel Hands Brewing
steelhandsbrewing.com Cayce: 2350 Foreman St. Massive, professional new brewery in Cayce has it all, from outdoor spaces to a stage for live music to a solid beer lineup.
Vice
625 Frink St., Cayce. facebook.com/pg/vicebarsc. Welcoming gay bar hosts karaoke, drag shows, comedy and more.
Lexington
Angry Fish Brewing Co.
angryfishbrewingco.com. Lexington: 106 Fabrister Lane, Suite C, 803-520-7470. IPAs, sours, lagers and more from this hospitable Lexington spot. Food trucks visit often.
Bar of Lexington
1668 Two Notch Rd., Lexington, 803-359-0250. Small, homey bar. Occasionally hosts live music.
Carolina Wings & Rib House
105 Northpoint Dr., Lexington. 1767E S. Lake Dr., Lexington, 803-356-6244, carolinawings.com. What can we say about this Midlands institution? It carries a good selection of bottled beers, and the assortment of buffalo wing flavors is enticing, too.
The Casual Pint
217 Saluda Springs Rd., Lexington, 803-358-2337, lexingtonsc.thecasualpint.com. Lexington location of the low-key bottle shop and craft beer bar.
Charlie’s Sports Break
2046 S. Lake Dr., Lexington, 803-808-6844. Happy hour drinks and bar games. Cash only.
Goodfellas Grill & Bar
760 U.S. 378, Lexington. 803-951-4663, goodfellasgrillandbar.com. Classic Southern food and a laid-back atmosphere define this Lexington bar.
Grady’s
850 S. Lake Dr., Lexington, 803-957-7665, facebook.com/gradysbilliards. Pool hall with a bar and grill.
The Hidden Tavern
240 Wing Hill Dr., Lexington, facebook.com/thehiddentavernlexingtonsc. Private bar near downtown Lexington.
Hitchhiker
421 New Orangeburg Rd., Lexington, 803-957-0307. Private bar.
Keg Cowboy
108 E. Main St., Lexington, 803-957-2337, keg-cowboy.com. “No crap on tap!” is the motto of this exceptional tasting room, and its rotating beer selections live up to its goal.
Krafty Draft
269 Charter Oak Rd., Lexington, 803-567-2812, kraftydraft.com. Feast on daily food specials while sampling a wide assortment of draft beers. Brews some of its own, too.
Old Mill Brew Pub
711 E. Main St., Lexington, 803-785-2337, oldmillbrewpub.net. Cozy, neighborhood-style brewpub in downtown Lexington makes some great beers and big burgers. Occasionally hosts live music, too.
O’Hara’s Public House
131 E. Main St., Lexington, 803-785-4025, oharas-public-house.com. Aims to pair Irish classics with American comfort food and a wide selection of beer and other libations for a distinctively Lexington pub experience.
Schooners
364 Longs Pond Rd., Lexington, 803-520-6843. Schooners is a pleasing if unassuming bar and grill that offering daily specials, cheap wings, televisions and live music.
Shooey Malone’s
1605 N. Lake Dr., Lexington, 803-520-8604. A bar with live music, pizza and other stuff.
Skeeter’s Bar
2544 S. Lake Dr., Lexington, 803-708-1870. Bar with bike night, shag night, live music and karaoke.
Ventures Sports Bar & Grill
5531 Edmund Hwy., Lexington, 803-755-8168. Bike-friendly sports bar.
Wings ‘n’ Ale
154 Ellis Ave., Lexington, 803-359-4475. Specializing in wings, beer and pool, Wings ‘n’ Ale has an ample supply of all three. Classic and modern rock flows as freely as the brew. Not your khaki and button-down crowd.
Irmo/Harbison
British Bulldog Pub
1220 E10 Bowers Pkwy., Columbia, 803-227-8918, thebritishbulldogpub.com. A British pub in the middle of Irmo’s urban sprawl. Rad. A dinner menu of traditional U.K. cuisine is augmented with specials on Guinness and Irish whiskeys, but the Bulldog doesn’t forget us Yanks, offering basketball (and soccer, too) on big-screen televisions and multiple, cold domestics.
Carolina Ale House
277 Columbiana Dr., Columbia, 803-407-6996, carolinaalehouse.com. Southeastern chain grille-and-grog offers good eats, a good beer selection and plenty of televised sports.
Copper River Grill
1230 B8 Bower Parkway, Columbia, 803-749-4647, copperrivergrill.com. Copper River Grill is a destination drinking spot for the entire Irmo/St. Andrews area. A super-large bar area means you’ll always have someplace to sit, but it still gets crowded the later the night progresses.
Dave and Buster’s
100 Columbiana Circle, Columbia, 803-576-4800, daveandbusters.com/columbia. A sports bar-style bar and grill and arcade rolled into one. No, you can’t pay for beer with arcade tokens.
Hemingway’s Saloon
7467 St. Andrews Rd., Irmo, 803-749-6020, hemingwaysmusicpub.com. A sports bar, a great restaurant and a nice little music club all rolled into one.
Hooters
5195 Fernandina Rd., Columbia, 803-407-9464, hooters.com. Hooters is renowned for its chicken wings.
Tsunami
1290 Bower Pkwy., Columbia, 803-407-3873, tsunamicompany.com. Like its sister Vista location, Tsunami’s elegant, contemporary atmosphere and ample seating area complement its extensive sake, wine and beer selection.
Wild Wing Café
1150 Bower Pkwy., Columbia, 803-749-9464, wildwingcafe.com. Come for the 33 flavors of wings, stay for the party atmosphere and a steady stream of regional rock bands. Tons of TVs means lots of sports to watch.
Chapin/Lake Murray
The Frayed Knot
1701 Dreher Island Rd., Chapin. 803-945-1792, frayedknotsc.com. Down-to-earth bar and grill with lakeside deck seating.
J Peters
502 Old Lexington Hwy., Chapin, 803-816-4114, jpetersgrill.com. South Carolina-based grill-and-grog chain.
Liberty on the Lake
1602 Marina Rd., Irmo, 803-667-9715, libertytaproom.com/locations/irmo-sc. Offers all the accoutrements of Liberty’s downtown drinkery with the added scenery of Lake Murray. Forty-eight beers on tap.
Moonshiners Patio Bar & Grill
1345 Old Chapin Rd., Lexington, 803-520-0621, moonshinersbar.com. Lakeside bar and grill with a relaxed, casual vibe.
Rusty Anchor
1925 Johnson Marina Rd., Chapin, 803-749-1555, rustyanchorrestaurant.com. Sliding glass doors opened most of the year offer a great view of Lake Murray. Live entertainment on The Quarterdeck outside jazzes up the summer months.
Schooners
6226 Bush River Rd., Columbia, 803-661-6138, schoonersbarandgrill.com. Schooners is a simple unassuming bar and grill, offering daily specials, cheap wings, televisions and live music.
Social Grill
1002 A J Amick Road, Chapin, 803-764-1594, socialgrillsc.com. Contemporary tavern offering plenty of beers on tap, plenty of big-screen TVs and a pretty nice patio.
Tipsy Toad Tavern
103 Beaufort St., Chapin, 803-932-4470, thetipsytoad.com. The Tipsy Toad features a good beer selection and Vista-style atmosphere in the more suburban Lake Murray area.
Batesburg-Leesville
The Front Room
230 W. Church St., Batesburg, 803-730-7953. Cold beer, big-screen TVs, pool tables. Some live music, too.
Kathy’s Bar & Grill
1120 S. Lee St., Batesburg, 803-657-5131. Bar and nightclub with pool tables and live music. Hosts events occasionally.
Find live music, karaoke, trivia and more in the club calendar at free-times.com/music/nightlife.