John King Grill & Dueling Piano Bar

We decided to give John King Grill & Dueling Pianos a shot while in Charleston and we’re so glad we did! We loved the laid-back vibe and how easy it was to sit inside or out. The dueling pianos upstairs had a $20 cover, and while we didn’t stay long enough to check it out this time, we definitely plan to come back for the full experience. The food was delicious, our server was super friendly, and everything felt like a great value overall. Whether you're looking to chill or enjoy some live music, this place has something for everyone. We’ll be back for sure!

We were going back to the hotel and thought we would pop in just check it out, but we ended up staying after we talked to Chris at the door. We had a great time and they played a great variety of songs. Next time we're in town we will be back! (Didn't try the food)

SO happy we decided to stop here! We had our dog and it was late, but Chris seated us on the patio instantly, plus he brought water & a doggie treat for our tired puppy. We had cocktails, and THE BEST beignets I've ever had with this to-die-for caramel bourbon sauce. Perfection!! Great vibes, and fantastic service from Chris and Melody. 10 out of 10! Thank you - Highly recommend checking it out. :)

Service and food was excellent Keller and Sammy were the BEST! High recommended! Must try the fried green tomatoes!

This was our favorite restaurant/ bar we attended, and even went back twice during our time in Charleston. The food was delicious, the drinks were very good as well. The bartenders were very nice as well. Great atmosphere. This place was one of the few reasonably priced places on King St. Oh and the music was certainly a plus. My husband had the Blue Cheese burger and I had the chicken Cesar wrap and both were very good.

The Charleston burger was fantastic! Jetta M was our server and she was so sweet! The man at the host stand was incredibly professional and nice! The fries were seasoned to perfection.

Let me start off with high hopes with this place. The entire experience was a complete disappointment and waste of money. The term "dueling pianos" is no where accurate. It was more of a complementary pianos. There was not dueling or challenging each other. The entire show was G rated. It was more of a sing along than anything. It was no where near a dueling event. Second, the bathrooms were absolutely disgusting. The guy's room was covered in vomit that smelt like days old plus evidence of it was in the trough toilet and sink. I deal with dead bodies for a living and the bathroom was worse than most things I see or smell. Third was the cost and drinks. The drinks were super sugary ( which I like sugar) and were way too much. The water was bottom of the barrel water bottles that you had to pay for. No free water. Plus food was very expensive. Lastly, the entire place was smelly and absolutely filthy. Nothing looked like it had been clean in years. If you are looking for a dive bar that stinks, overpriced, and a song along, this is your place. If you don't want this then find another place in Charleston.

Very lively place! We did not go upstairs where the action was with the dueling pianos but could hear it perfectly from the bar below. Great people watching both inside and also sitting at bar and looking out. This is a good place for groups and everyone we met inside were super friendly. Downstairs bartender was a great guy who made some nice custom cocktails for us. Recommend a stop here if you are walking about this area of town

Bar food on king. Which service. Restaurant has amazing food but it is typical bar restaurant. Has live music on occasions.

The stars in this review are for the waitstaff and bartenders. They are phenomenal and on top of things. Really wanted to love this place but unfortunately the music fell flat.....literally. Pianos are out of tune. Felt like the musicians are going thru the motions and don't have a passion for what they are doing. The main musician adlibbed thru songs hoping the crowd would carry the songs and did very little singing. And oh the auto tune......sorry to be so blunt. The place stays packed but crowds quickly roll in and out

The waitstaff and bartenders here are phenomenal. We received excellent service the entire time. We had a larger group of 7 girls and the waitress was incredibly attentive. The cover of $10 seemed excessive and then our group spent almost $500. The drinks were really expensive as was the food and the quality of food/drinks/shots weren't anything too special. The environment is very fun, but I don't really think you are getting any bang for your buck.

Very entertaining spot if you need something to do in Charleston. There is a cover charge but the entertainment is good. To request a song comes with a price ($20) so I would never do that. Overall a very fun place but it does get rowdy the later it gets.

Feel like this is your typical dueling piano bar where you have to pay an obscene amount to get in ($10), then when you do the drinks are expensive. Then on top of that you throw the piano people a tip and they never play your song. Of course live music is great, but definitely been to better piano bars in other places, and other bars on this street. Would not recommend.

This is standard bar food, it's nothing to write home about, but if you have a hangover this is a great place to be. In fact they even have a burger style called the hangover (I recommend the fried chicken) there isn't usually a long wait so if you're on King and hungry this is a good option for you too. The burgers are a classic and they make their own pimento cheese so if you're looking for a starter that one is solid. To complete your post "too hard the night before" meal they make a great Bloody Mary, the wait staff is all incredibly friendly and it's in a perfect location.

ALWAYS a good time at John Kings. Live music, good drinks, friendly staff. What more can you ask for? One of my favorite places in Charleston, hands down.

Our group was extremely satisfied with the excellent service and delicious food at this establishment. The town was bustling with excitement for the bridge run, and we decided to stop here for a meal afterwards. Despite being a large group, we were pleasantly surprised to only wait for less than five minutes. The hostess was truly impressive in her ability to navigate through the busy crowds and accommodate our group. Our overall experience was fantastic, with quick service and a pleasant wait.

Draft beer was moderately cold. Not much colder than room temperature. Service was exceptionally slow despite there being two tables inside. Waitress said she will "talk to my manager" when asked to change a TV station (the reason we came to this place early), then proceeded to tell us the manager is too busy. "Won't be able to get to it for a while". There's now 4 tables of people. Would not return based on service and drinks. Update: ordered a dark and stormy. Received a watered down rum and no ginger beer and no lime. The ginger beer was flat and I had a lemon asked bartenders to remake it and it was worse.

Gem on the corner of King Street and John Street. We stopped in for a quick cocktail and appetizers. Service was extremely fast ...as we visited here after the busy lunch hour. They're were a few patrons at the bar and around the diner - we sat inside - as the afternoon breeze was extremely breezy. Drinks Tequila Sunrise ...the first drink tasted watered down while the second drink I gulped down in 10 seconds. Lol Appetizers : Mozzarella sticks ( fried to perfection paired with marinara and ranch sauce ) Fried onion rings : Great taste however , the onions were cut very big . I had to cut them in half. Stop edible paired with spicy sauce/ marinara/ and ranch sauce. We enjoyed our food and took our waters to-go. Restrooms - There is one shared restroom for males and females. Outdoor tables for guests to sit as well.

My favorite bartender Tamera at the John King bar ***USED TO**** be the bomb. Well to be accurate, Tamera still IS the bomb - hardworking, charming, friendly etc. etc. but she's no longer at this establishment. Pity - She was the only reason we came into John King.

We came here on a Saturday after St Patrick's Day. They opened the windows onto the street, which made for some amazing people watching We mostly stayed downstairs, but went upstairs to see what was going on. It was more of a club atmosphere upstairs. Overall cool place, but not the nicest in terms of atmosphere since it's a little dive bar-y. Cool location being on the corner and with all the windows. Great people watching though

We enjoyed a night with the dueling pianos venue and loved all of it. The performers were great with pleasing the crowd and taking all the suggestions to play. They played the harmonica, drums & guitar alongside the pianos. Grade A+ talent

Fun spot to enjoy live piano music/dueling pianos. People were quite rowdy at times and it can be hard to get a table. If interested in a nice after-dinner cocktail, I recommend the Godiva Chocolate Martini.

Visiting Charleston for the weekend and found this gem. We had an option to sit downstairs or upstairs "upstairs had live piano music". Downstairs we ate some bar food "garlic parm chicken tenders" and made our way upstairs, great service overall and everyone was super friendly.

Staff was great. As for ordering food, well, you will get it the way they want you to have it. When asked about the order, we got the 'well, I specified it correctly on the order' and the shrug of the shoulders. I laughed and almost replied, "So, you ordered it correctly from the kitchen, BUT, didn't check that order before bringing it out to us??" We did get a discount after asking, so there is that..... Food was ok, probably won't got back to eat. Maybe to listen to the dueling pianos though?

We needed a break so we headed to Charleston for a date night (with the puppy). While walking down King Street it was definitely "beer 30" time for a pit stop. Came across John King grill and dueling piano bar. Utilized the sidewalk seating and was greeted by several of the staff and a manager? Who brought out bacon for Ali the pup. Our server, Chris, was awesome. Kept eye on our table and took care of all our needs without having to ask. May come back for dinner to check out the dueling pianos. Definitely worth the pit stop!

Came in today to see Tamera, our all time favorite bartender to find she was GONE? What gives Bro?

Deanna was a GREAT bartender! Had an amazing experience! Felt like being in the bar from Cheers, just a passer through who was able to bond with strangers for hours over some wonderful beers and drinks!

Best choice in town It's pretty much ran by a couple of my friends love jack the manager he's always polite and is extremely nice to everyone, and they have a Chefn named Noah who's very talented in the kitchen and always has a great attitude perfect place for a food beer good food never had a bad experience it a 1000/1000 best bar and q Workers Jack and Noah the beat workers I've ever seen any that the food was 10/10 "One of the best bar joints in town I highly reckonmomd the Hangover buegwr! They have have the best crew in Charles to!!Grilled Chicken

Great bar up front to sit for lunch. When in Charleston we make sure to stop in for their awesome burgers. Staff is friendly and service is quick. Have only really eaten here for lunch when in town which is 1-2 times a year. Plenty of tvs for watching the game.

Our first dinner in Charleston; arrived around 5ish and sat outside. Service was prompt and friendly and our server made solid recommendations. I went with wings since why not? While pricey, they tasted fine and had killer bleu cheese to dip. Onion rings are also excellent. Most of our group got burgers and sandwiches which they enjoyed. I think another got one of the wraps. I forget which one but he devoured it and then fell asleep. Guess it must've been that filling! Since we got here early, we probably didn't experience the fun that happens when the pianos come out (I assume based on the name, they have those here). That's too bad since I love live music. That'll be something we check out next time we return. And we are returning for sure!

Megan was such a delight! Very down to earth! All around made my first trip to Charleston feel very inviting! Made us feel right at home. Was very attended.

I really liked this place. We were having a fairly early dinner so we missed the dueling pianos. I'm sure it is awesome. Next time for sure. I had the Royale with cheese. Very good and I loved the onion rings. My son had a wrap. My wife had a patty melt with cold slaw. It was some of the best slaw I've tasted. Service was very good. It wasn't crowded at all so the servers were front and center and very friendly. Food was out really quick and hot. The only reason for 4 stars was the drinks. Not very strong at all! I ordered 2 Jack Daniels and coke. The 2nd one was weaker than the first. Overall, I really liked JonKing and would definitely go back again.

This is strictly a review of the Dueling Pianos. We didn't eat and the service and ambiance were fine. First of all it is a $10 cover to go upstairs to listen to the music - that's OK if it was worth listening to. We've been to a number of dueling piano bars and they are always fun. The acoustics were not great here to begin with but the music was really bad. We listening for a while - yes we paid $20 just to get in - but it never got better. We inally had to leave when they played a song and the only reason I know what it was was because I recognized the words--no idea what music that was :(

Ok so, I'm not going to lie - we had a few drinks before we came here so just keep that in mind. We were heading back to our hotel and realized that we should have food after our bar hop. Of course we decided this when we were almost to our hotel so we went into the first place that we came to and this was it. The service was good and I guess the pianos must be upstairs because I didn't see or hear them downstairs where we were. I had a cheeseburger and it was fine, not bad but nothing special either.

A great place to people watch and listen to some great music. I enjoyed the atmosphere and our drinks were spot on.

Delicious burger and chicken wings! Aly did a terrific job serving! She is on top of it ! Very upbeat place! Will be back when in town!

This place was great!! We sat outside for a quick lunch, and I loved their Swiss Mushroom Burger! Our waitress was great and super quick, and the menu looked great!

We were told it was a $10 cover - but were charged $20 ea for the dueling pianos. Ok, we paid up and headed upstairs. Managed to grab a table and settled in for the entertainment. We had a couple drinks and after an hour, our server pointed out the sign on the table. Printed in the tiniest font possible it said they "requested" a $50 per hour minimum to sit at the tables. Really? for 2 people to spend $50 per hour? We managed to get it to $50 but for that reason alone I wouldn't go back. The dueling piano players were fun, but kept asking for requests from the audience along with a donation to play that request. All good but it was super crowded and too many people in a crowded space. We came out of there smelling like grease, smoke and spilled alcohol. I would not go back.

Shrimp por boys at midnight were amazing paired with a old draft beer on a Tuesday night. Recommend for late night fare. Haven't been during dinner hours to comment on the dinner meals or atmosphere. Looking forward to getting back to witness the pianos

First time in Charleston and stumbled in. Had a blast! Most dueling piano bars have, well, just two pianos, but this bar had that and a band. The three players rotated around playing the pianos or the drum; a guitar made an appearance every once in awhile too. Much higher production value and better experience for all the songs they played! They played around with some lyrics, like saying Benny has Tourette's in Benny and The Jets. They also had a $100 minimum for Nickelback songs. Really great time for my first night in town!

Loved this spot! Friendly staff and an open kitchen concept. They hold dueling piano shows Wed-Sat. Indoor and outdoor seating. The burgers have two patties and are cooked/assembled really well. While burgers are their staple they also have a decent selection of other items. Great side salads. They have good beer and non-alcoholic beverage selections. The staff are knowledgeable about the beers and willing to throw out ideas if you're unsure of what you have a taste for.

Great spot for a late night meal! We arrived around 11pm after driving all day. Great service and our food came out FAST. We started with the sampler platter...loved the pretzel and beer cheese but everything was great on the platter. I order the Diablo burger which was great. The chicken bacon ranch wrap was huge and fantastic. We also got a chicken Philly can't say it was bad but I personally wasn't a fan. Would definitely come back!

Evan went above and beyond to help us! Couldn't have been any nicer and made for a great experience!

I was very dissapointed to find out KD is no longer working here. She has bien my go to bartender for months- the food here isn't great but she kept me coming back for good company. It is a shame they have lost their best employees. The managers have scared away many great workers recently. I used to come in multiple times a week and the two female managers never seemed to do much besides yell and eat and sit around.

Just okay food and server took a beverage bottle away before it was done. Also, server refilled one person's water and not other. Weird vibe.

Ordered the 3 Tenders w/ Fries and a pineapple juice for delivery. They forgot the fries and the juice. Not a happy camper.

Always a fun time here. The drinks are alittle pricey and a bit "watered" down. The waitresses are hit or miss-sometimes they are very attentive or sometimes it's just faster to walk up to the bar yourself. Also if you want your sing played make sure you pay more than $10. They also sometimes don't play the full song.

Miss Tamara is the best bartender in all of Charleston she's fast, polite, personable, and always make sure that everybody knows everybody at the bar. It is a tremendous attribute for a bartender I give this place five stars on that alone. However, they have a new manager who wanders around and doesn't do anything, and I overheard him barking at staff, which made me very uncomfortable hearing him berate people that were working so hard to serve people. I think the upper management auto reconsider the kind of management that they have in place.

Great food in a great location. service was great even on Christmas Day. I would recommend to anyone!! Great eating experience

Worst piano players in SC. Either get new equipment or new talent. One guy didn't know the words to any songs... shocking with the technology available. They spent the majority of the short time we were there making the crowd sing and ruining music. Not worth the admission.

We were seated and no server came to the table. While we are sitting there, I notice a server is seated two tables behind us doing side work and rolling silverware. We sat there over 5 minutes and nobody came to drop off water or say anything to us. Then, another table behind us was sat. As soon as that table was sat, the server that was rolling silverware jumped up and went over to them immediately. After she talked to them and took their drink order, my husband stopped her and asked who our server was. She gave us a dirty look like she was bothered by us and said she'd look into it and took off. We didn't feel confident that we would be served so we just left.

Ageism by one of the cast. Really offensive especially after spending a huge amount of tips for song requests. Not okay. So many better things to see in Charleston.

Wings were good. Service was slow but friendly. The place could use a good cleaning. They get a four because the wings were done well and different from anywhere else. Honey gold is a version of honey mustard. Hot honey is the honey gold with Buffalo. It was tangy and spicy and crispy! Side salad was okay. The tomatoes tasted a bit off. So I picked them out and ate the rest.

Our server Bri was fantastic. Food was great, and laughs were even better.

Walked in off the street and the wife had a chicken wrap that was stuffed and delicious. My Charleston burger was good with added Swiss cheese and cole slaw on the side. KD was a great server and super aware of us. The food came out really fast. Best smash burger Ive had.

The dueling pianos were great. My complaint is the service. We paid a cover to get in, and then ordered a drink. We decided not to get a second drink (driving home) and the bartender told us 'seats were for paying customers only'. Mind you, cover was $20 each. And the drinks were $10 each. So I guess we didn't count as paying. ‍

Singers were horrible. I sent $25 thru their lame Venmo for Sugar by Maroon 5 & they only sang half of the song. They stared at their phones the entire time for the words, no crowd interaction. They made a girl in the crowd leave because she was stealing the show... sad!

Quick overnight visit to Charleston and hungry for a burger. Saw they offered a burger with pimiento cheese named the "Charleston" and thought I'd give it a try. Ordered through Uber eats. Arrived before the quoted time. They restaurant charges for any sauce including ketchup and mustard. Ordered the Charleston burger, the Royale burger, and pretzel bites. The bites very over fried and very dry. They beer cheese was pretty thin but did have a nice flavor. I ordered a salad instead of fries, which I did not receive. The Charleston burger was fine. Couldn't taste the pimiento cheese at all. The burger meat seems to be of lower quality. The meat just fell apart, similar to crumbled ground beef you'd use in a ground beef tomato sauce. Flavor wise it was t bad, but for a $55 dollar dinner, expected a little more.