Charleston
You're flying out of Charleston Airport, you have 90 minutes to kill, and you'd like to do better than a Pret. Good news: airport drinking has improved more in the last five years than the previous fifty. Pre-flight drinks at Charleston Airport range from chain reliability to surprisingly polished hotel-style bars in the airport hotels. This is barsforKings's editor-curated guide to drinking better at Charleston's airports.
Downtown · $$$
Husk's bar room.
Upper King · $$$
Charleston's most awarded cocktail bar.
Upper King · $$$$
Oyster bar with a serious cocktail program.
King Street · $$$
Restaurant-bar with a French-influenced cocktail menu and a neighbourhood-feel crowd.
Want a real drink before flying? The fastest play is to get to airport hotels next door — most run polished bars that beat anything post-security. We list them at the bottom. If you've got 60 spare minutes pre-airport, see our shortlist of bars in Charleston proper at the end.
Plays for Charleston Airport: post-security, pre-security, lounges, and the airport-hotel cheat code.
Pre-flight drinks, hotel-bar reviews, and the openings we're watching across 176 cities. Friday mornings, no filler.
Looking beyond Charleston? See our guide to the best airport bars worldwide, or compare airport bars city by city.