The Griffon
American restaurant · Charleston
18 Vendue Range, Charleston, SC 29401
Highlights
The Griffon is a cozy Charleston pub filled with signed dollar bills, serving up hearty fish 'n' chips, burgers, and a friendly vibe over craft brews.
The Griffon is a cozy Charleston pub filled with signed dollar bills, serving up hearty fish 'n' chips, burgers, and a friendly vibe over craft brews.
"Sitting on almost 30 years of crumpled dollar bills and memories, the Griffon is a Charleston legend. Co-owners Dan Wenz and Scott London keep the Vendue Range bar casual with an emphasis on good beers and affordable food. The dining room at lunch is an egalitarian scene of craftsmen chatting with Broad Street lawyers and families on vacation. A chili dog with fries will set you back $10.99." - Erin Perkins
"This renowned dive bar offers multiple sauce options on its chicken wings, most notably its famous “buffiyaki” creation. Make sure to bring an extra dollar bill, as the Griffon’s walls are covered in George Washingtons stapled on by visitors looking to leave their mark." - Erin Perkins, Parker Milner
"Twenty years in, The Griffon is only getting grungier, and better for it. It’s part college bar, part tourist destination, part industry hangout—because if there’s one thing a College of Charleston senior has in common with Sean Brock and your Uncle Joe, it’s that they all want to drink a beer in a dark and cozy early-1800s home on a Thursday afternoon. Any inch of the walls, back bar area, exposed rafters, even the doorframe that is not covered in dollar bills is probably covered in bumper stickers (“Honor Thy Music: Country Music Hall of Fame”; “The Charleston Beer Exchange”). There’s a wide beer selection, from PBR and Coors Banquet to craft options like a Coast Brewing Kolsch from right in town, and there are fried pickles and club sandwiches to soak it all up. Of all the American bars that attempt to hark back to some English pub, The Griffon can actually do it. PRO TIP: Try a locally produced Westbrook White Thai (it’s the bright yellow can), a witbier brewed with lemongrass and ginger that’s both light and interesting enough to carry you through all night. THE DETAILS: Opens at 11 a.m. on weekdays and noon on weekends, and does day drinking as well as late-night (which in Charleston means 2 a.m.)." - Condé Nast
"The Griffon is a welcome respite from the tourist traffic on East Bay Street. The little dive bar near Waterfront Park started in 1996, which was also when the practice of stapling dollar bills to the wall began. Order the fish and chips to soak up all the local beers." - Erin Perkins
Bourdain drank: beer, Jägermeister, Brock’s 1991 Stitzel-Weller bourbon Drinks date: Sean Brock, executive chef at Husk
