Southend Brewery & Smokehouse

hiikeeba

Texas

4.28/5  rDev +25.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$$

I read the reviews of this place before visiting Charleston and decided to try it anyway. I'm glad I did. We arrived at 1:30 pm, and had to wait a bit for a table, which we expected because of the size of our party. I had smoked ribs that were very good. I tried a pale ale first, but was disappointed. It was bronze colored with a nice head, but a smoother flavor with almost no hop flavor. I was hoping for something hoppy to cut through the barbecue flavors. I tried the sampler and learned that i wasn't served the pale ale.

All in all, it was a great place! I hope to go back.

07-25-2006 18:46:08 | More by hiikeeba

nickfl

Florida

3.35/5  rDev -1.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 3 | $$

A big, slick brewpub right in the middle of the Charleston historic district. This is a very large reastaurant with two floors of seating and a glass enclosed brewhouse right in the middle of the dining area.

The food and beer are both pretty mediocre. The menu has a smokehouse theme, but it is kind of phoned in and certainly doesn't compare to the real, down home BBQ joints that can be found in this part of the country. The beer is standard, 90s brewpub stuff and on the weak side of average at that. The best of the lot was the pale ale, which had a nice hop character, but it didn't make up for the lackluster Black IPA or the flat out awful Red Ale.

Overall, it's an out of date, touristy pub that really isn't worth a visit considering the proliferation of genuinely good restaurants and beer bars in this town.

03-28-2012 07:04:25 | More by nickfl

avalon07

South Carolina

3.43/5  rDev +0.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3 | $$

A: I've always thought this was a cool old building: Multiple stories, big high ceilings, exposed brick walls, the beer ranks right in the middle of the place enclosed by a glass partition. For a place right in the touristy part of town, it's not bad. One debit: the insufferable disco music they were playing on the stereo.

Q: Quality was iffy. Aside from the six house brews, there were only macros available.

S: The bartender was alright - not exactly what I would call the friendliest guy, but prompt and courteous. I didn't quiz him on the beers.

S: I tried one of each of the six house brews. It's a mixed bag. Two were pretty good, while the others were mediocre or worse. The only other beers on the menu were Bud, Bud Light, and Bud Light Lime. Could be better.

V: The house beers are $4.50 apiece, which I guess is standard for craft beer. The macros were about the same.

On the whole, this is an uneven place. It's always had potentialto be something great.

01-13-2012 18:53:26 | More by avalon07

GJ40

North Carolina

3.4/5  rDev -0.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | $$

I stopped in for a beer while in Charleston only because I happened to be passing by.

It’s in a great old building with multiple floors that are open in the middle. The décor is authentic and comfortable with worn wood floors, exposed beams and a high ceiling. The kitchen area in the back is exposed to the dining area.

They had five on tap plus two guests. I was disappointed not to find an IPA but I went with the Pale Ale and it was pretty good. The bartenders were outgoing and helpful.

My expectations were low going in but I was somewhat impressed. I wouldn’t make an effort to visit but if in the area (which many tourists are), it’s a decent place to stop in for a beer.

06-21-2011 10:41:02 | More by GJ40

ExtraStout

Massachusetts

2.75/5  rDev -19.4%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 2 | food: 3 | $$

Cool looking building for sure, lots of high ceilings with glass and brewing equip everywhere. Beers were unimpressive to say the least. I did like the stout, which was the only redeeming beer.

The food was only okay though. Wife's salad was nothing special and the pizza tasted like a supermarket frozen pizza. Friendly host and bartender, I just wish the beer came in a touch nicer. The beer is below average but I am sure I could have done worse.

One great thing, there was no line to worry about.

05-23-2011 23:23:57 | More by ExtraStout

mjmadden

North Carolina

3.2/5  rDev -6.2%
vibe: 3 | quality: 2.5 | service: 5 | selection: 2 | food: 4 | $$

Stop in for lunch at Southend Brewery & Smokehouse this past weekend. The place was nice, normal brew pub scene. It very clean, seems to be well run, and it was nice to be able to eat outside.

The selection of beer was a little below average for a brew pub. I would have expected a few more beers, plus they were out of one or two, but the service was tremendous. The beer was nothing to write home (had an Iron Man Wheat) about but the food was good (had a vegetable sandwich).

Ok place to stop, but to be honest there are more desirable place to go for a pint in Charleston.

02-14-2011 15:19:10 | More by mjmadden

lewwjr

Virginia

2.54/5  rDev -25.5%
vibe: 1.5 | quality: 3 | service: 2.5 | selection: 2.5 | $$

What an empty shell of what once was. The place is in need of a major upgrade- at least some fresh paint a clean rag and new attitude. The brewer seems to be trying hard but when your out of some of your main brew, that's a bad sign. The seasonal brown ipa was on point and a great product. The wheat was southends consistent brew and it was also great. I realize that this is the last of the southend mohiccans and tourist are still knocking down the doors. But, the owners need to mirror the brewer and give the place some attention.

11-13-2010 16:03:20 | More by lewwjr

thagr81us

South Carolina

3.6/5  rDev +5.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 4 | $$

Went here while taking a day trip down to Charleston. Walked in and was immediately blown away by the display of their brewing vessels in the middle of the restaurant encased in glass. The appearance and design of the restaurant was very nice indoors. We were seated quickly and the waiting staff were very polite and fast to respond to empty drinks. I sat down to the sampler myself, but was disappointed to find that their Scarlet Ale was currently out. I was however given a refill of one 5 oz glass with any of the other beers of my choice. Overall I enjoyed hanging out at this restaurant, but was quite unimpressed by their beer overall. My favorite of the 7 I tried was probably their Pale Ale. This place is worth visiting at least once if you are down that way, but I don't know if I would go back myself. However, it is really close to the Charleston Beer Exchange (2-3 blocks).

05-07-2010 12:26:50 | More by thagr81us

wesbrownyeah

Florida

3.7/5  rDev +8.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5 | $$

Well to start things off I looked this place up and looked foward to going, due to it being the only on-site brewery in Charleston and I will say upfront I was happy to visit! Opening statement being four days five growler fills and some bad-ass wood cooked pizza.

A- Beautiful red brick three story building with Ghostbusters style sign that states its name boldly. Opon entry I notice the metal brewing tanking in the middle of the first floor that reached the second next to an stylish elevator. Semi attractive waitresses and host are also a plus. Nice bar setting in the back left of the first floor is where I was found most of the time pintin' and growler fillin'.
Q- The beer was good and thats that. Decent styles and repesentation but not on target this visit. Food was priced right with my sausage and pepperoni pizza that was sprinkled with goat cheese was excellent, perfectly pared with the Bombay pale ale.
S- Selection was decent but limited to simple but to the point choices. I caught myself wondering if I wanted to eat or just drink here.
Family friendly menus.
F- Food was cook to order and was exactly what you ordered and tastey and fresh. My girlfriend
ordered angel hair pasta with chicken that was quite the treat.
V- This Restaurant was a great addition to my vacation and was a breath of fresh beer on demand. "I'll be back".

04-19-2010 22:33:14 | More by wesbrownyeah

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.73/5  rDev +9.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$$

Set in an impressive three-story building in the middle of the French Quarter of Charleston. With tall ceilings and an atrium center where you peer through the glass at the second floor brewery equipment.

The menu is eclectic with southern styled dishes, traditional bar food, stoned hearth pizzas, and a small selection of "smokehouse" items. Alas, these were fair to good. The beer was universally light in body for all of the styles. The flavors improve dramatically as they darken.

The family joined me on Christmas eve. The service was excellent. Of course, I always believe that this is more of a reflection of the particular server's skills. Ours was attentive, pleasant and quick.

Given that it was in the middle of a touristy area, the prices were okay, but high otherwise.

12-25-2009 04:01:24 | More by smcolw