City Lights Eastside

Delicious small bites and a great addition to that side of town! The owner is South African which shows thru in their menu selections on sandwiches and “hand pies” - such as Guinness and Beef and well as pepper steak. Milk tart as well. My wife is South African and said these are the most authentic Samosas she has had in the US - not large and dense like Indian samosas, these are made with a thin puff pastry. Everything was delicious! Vibe outside is comfortable, complete with a friendly “shop cat” who may come say hello.

This is one of the most eclectic and beautiful coffee shops that I have ever been in. The entire shop plus the patio exudes love and talent from the gorgeous woodwork to the fiesta ware used to serve coffees and food, to the Barbee bathroom and the beautiful tropical patio. Service for us has always been wonderful with friendly servers and efficient service. The food is.delicious; the various coffee drinks tea and the mimosas have always been perfect to us. The themed pop-up nights with ethnic foods are wonderful. Need I say more!

I highly recommend City Lights! The owners are very sweet and they’ve done an impeccable job with both the interior decor as well as the spacious patio space. Definitely come by and visit, you won’t be disappointed.

This is my new favorite coffee shop in Charleston. The owners are the most sincere, personable, And kind people; their passion and love for their Local community is self evident upon walking through their doors. They serve a wide variety of coffees and tea and always have Unique rotating seasonal beverages. As someone with food sensitivities, they have always been extremely accommodating to any special request. I hope to soon become a local here and look forward to visiting again!

Unique coffee shop + in Eastside neighborhood. I'm not gonna lie, this used to be a sketchy area in Charleston. To be fair there were lots of sketchy areas in Charleston in the not to distant past. As with many cities, some of the most creative spaces come from these areas and City Lights is one of them. They have the usual coffee offerings as well as beer and wine and even samosas! I highly recommend this place due to the charming atmosphere, very friendly staff, great coffee and delicious Samosas!

Attended evening event. The new location is wonderful. Great place for locals. Had a mocha. Wonderful selection of baked goods. They catered the food. It was fresh and lovely. Great cheeses.

This is a quaint coffee shop in a historical building that is very cute. The service was excellent and the coffee was fantastic. Also ordered the avocado toast which was excellent. I think the most intoxicating aspect of this coffee joint, however, is the atmosphere which is rustic and welcoming. I very much enjoyed this spot

The patio is an escape to paradise! The service is absolutely incredible. The bathrooms are clean and decorative! The coffee is strong. New favorite coffee spot.

The most unique, cozy, authentic coffee shop/cafe in Charleston! The attention to detail in the decor, architecture, and menu is top notch ! It's hip without being pretentious, it's welcoming, it's delicious! If the weather is nice, check out the charming outside seating! And make sure to pop into the bathrooms, they are works of art... oh ,and peak into the medicine cabinet over the sink ;)

This weekend I had the yummiest breakfast sandwich ever from City Lights Eastside. Just a Bacon, Egg, and Cheese on a delicious everything bagel. Their coffee shop is super communal, and it's very cozy in there. It's the type of place you want to hang out for awhile. They have games too. Kind of pricey.

If you haven't eaten at or had coffee/latte at City Lights Coffee, you are m.i.s.s.i.n.g o.u.t.!! The service is beyond friendly (and talented at their craft). Their sausage breakfast sandwich is crazy good. The coconut latte is my favorite. Great owners who care immensely about the neighborhood and their customers. They know (and remember) every customer! Wonderful location. Amazing art in the cafe. Everything about it is my new favorite coffee shop.

I love this place! I live right around the corner from this place and go there probably once a week to get a breakfast sandwich. It's a relatively new place and the staff is always friendly. I usually get takeout orders which they use SkyTab for and the order is usually ready to get picked up within 15 minutes. During the week they sometimes stay open in the evenings for live music and also have some alcoholic beverages to choose from.

Stopped for a light lunch on our way out of the city. They had gluten free bread for all their sandwiches and a gluten free breakfast burrito, which is what brought us in! We tried the classic turkey and the BLT both on gluten free bread and loved both! They were toasted and soft and didn't fall apart like gluten free sometimes does. A little pricey for just sandwiches, I think it was around $25 for just the two sandwiches, but I expect gluten free to be a little more anywhere. Would for sure go again!

City Lights was a perfect Sunday morning stop! It was quiet around 10 am, we got in right before a little rush! There's indoor and a cute patio seating that's private with a fence from the street/neighborhood. The bathroom and decor of this shop is so unique! Tons of GF options! I got a GF burrito it was amazing and my husbands Taylor Ham Sammy was fantastic. He had a smoothie and I had a Chai Latte. Both of us enjoyed our drinks. Lots of options to take and go as well from their fridge area! We found street parking pretty easy with a short walk. Highly recommend a stop here.

Verily I vouch for the vivacious and vintage vibes permeating every portion and producing a palpable pulse of prodigious import. The owners put a lot of love and soul into City Lights Eastside, breathing life into their humble shop and creating something greater than the sum of its parts. More than just a fancy face, they have every trace of the space designed to form the missing third place. A spot outside of work and home, a spot for community. On top of all that, they've got some banging food too! A little South African flavor and flair sprinkled here and there, plus amazing coffee milkshakes (my newfound favorite way to have my coffee).

The owners have put so much work into the space and it shows! They have fantastic hours and often have live music on the patio. Pricing is fair and service is top notch!

My favorite cafe in Charleston, maybe ever. Kindest and friendliest staff, most creative and delicious coffees ever! I literally want to live in City Lights. My latest favorite per staff recommendation is an iced honey ginger matcha, the ginger simple syrup is made in house! (shoutout to April for that amazing rec)

I absolutely love City Lights! The owners and staff are so welcoming and friendly and it's the perfect place for community. They are constantly doing pop up events and featuring local art. Whether you're looking for a great cup of coffee and breakfast burrito in the morning or a happy hour spot (they also have non-alcoholic options!!) - this is the place for you.

Guy who is presumably the line cook seemed like he was more worried about chatting rather than making food so I ended up being late to work. Dope place but if you're trying to stop by for a quick bite would not recommend coming here. Definitely a place to go to when you have 20 minutes to wait on a simple sandwich, hate to leave a negative review on a cool place but even though regular costumers are important make sure to make a good impression on new ones too. Also since they realized how long I had been waiting the sandwich was made poorly. Don't really expect this place to keep the 5 star rating they have if this is the service they're starting to provide.

Such a great cozy spot to post up and read for a little bit. The food offerings took me by surprise with how much they had to offer and everything I tried was delicious! Cant wait to come back here. Also, it was too cold to enjoy at the time but the outdoor space was spacious and had lots of seating!