Sam’s Uptown Cafe

Awesome place, awesome staff, good food, drinks are on point, and I’m from out of town but was welcomed as if I was a local. And the crowd is about as friendly as can be. If you’re bin town, check it out for yourself.

Good food and affordable prices. Staff is friendly, and the music isn’t too loud like other bar type restaurants. The turkey was real honest turkey, not sliced lunch meat, and the buffalo chicken sandwich was spot on; not too mild, not too spicy. Good place to have lunch or dinner during the week. Weekend crowd is a little more boisterous.

The prime rib sandwich is delicious. It’s a wonderful place for lunch. I liked the atmosphere. The smoking patio is great. I will surely eat there again.

If you’re not a local, don’t bother. We were looking to check out a local place and decided to try this place out instead of Pies & Pints as they were pretty much the only two places open past 9. Staff acted as if they couldn’t care less to serve us, drinks were watered down, and the food was subpar even for bar food. The bartender said our fries were the whitest she’d ever seen and it must be because they just changed the grease. No honey, it’s because they didn’t cook long enough. We were ignored the whole time and pretty much had to beg for our check to leave. What a sad experience for our first time in Charleston.

Yaaas, this is *the* local bar to go to — you’ll recognize that by all the staff from the other bars hanging out there after their shifts.
Not a huge selection of craft local beers but I was able to try 3 distinct beers during my evening there all craft and local. However I fear if I had stayed for another beer after that it would have been a High Life. Point being don’t seek this spot out as the craft beer lair but as the badass local bar to chill at and meet folks in town. For that purpose it rules.
Best jalapeño poppers in town, hands down. I didn’t try anything else of their food but of their poppers are any indication this place is deep fried salvation.
Friendly people at the bar and a nice bartender. Good bar food and cheap beer with a few better beers and a relaxed atmosphere. And big screens if you want to get down with the sports games.
The sort of place it feels good to stop in for a beer and a no-​frills laid back night.

Great place to grab drinks downtown, and they have excellent burgers too. Mike is the best bartender in town.

No cider, out of Titos, not starting off on the right foot. Hopefully the burger will make up for it.
UPDATE
Burger was okay. Onion rings were overlooked. I remain unimpressed.
Bar had a rather peculiar smell too.
There are better places in downtown Charleston for sure.

Best burgers & wings in town and you can wash them down with a tasty beer (great section on tap or bottle) or your favorite liquor drink. They also have wraps, salads, soups & other various sandwiches & appetizers. And they serve food until 2am!!!

Great food, super awesome staff. Stopped in here while traveling for work, couldn’t have been more pleased. Awesome pork belly/​bacon/​Gouda burger on special. Good beer.

What a pleasant little hole in the wall. Read reviews on Unilocal and decided worth the visit. Great decision. Food was incredible for a bar. Boyfriend ordered the prime rib sandwich and said it was the best sandwich he has EVER eaten. I had the turkey burger (cause veggie unavailable) and it, too, was delicious. We shared an order of onion rings that melted in our mouth. Took a little bit of time to get the food for the amount of people in the bar but then decided perfection takes time! Not an obvious store front, had to look for it but well worth the search. And they offered beer specials during HOCKEY games. A plus for a college coach and a hockey director for state of Michigan!

I’m going to begin with I never received my order, but don’t let that discourage from reading my review.
1) I called and placed an order for delivery at 7:30pm, I was told that they would be about 30min.
2) An hour passes by (I know shame on me, but i thought «hey they must be busy»), no delivery. I call to find out whats going on. They haven’t even started on my order. They then tell me that they will have it out in 30−45min.
3) Another 45 minutes pass, no order. I call and they tell me they haven’t even started on my order. To make things worse, the person tells me that they don’t deliver. Needless to say, I cancelled my order.
If they don’t delivery why does their Unilocal,google page and their website all say they delivery. This is the worst service I have received.

Five stars isn’t enough. They know your name. They serve a reuben that would shame half of Queens. Sam’s is the fourth part of the holy trinity.

Good food and good service — that’s the main take away.
But it is a bit dive bar-​ish and hard to find. Someone else called it a «hole in the wall» and that’s pretty accurate.
Still if you want friendly, quick service and good wings you won’t be disappointed.

Wings «hot” — 5 stars! Had takeout twice there this week. Philly cheesesteak is what’d you’d expect, nothing special, but the wings are top-​notch!

Definitely need to order the French Dip with jalapeño bacon. This is not something that is shown on the menu. I promise that you will not be disappointed. This was recommended by one of the bartenders. Phenomenal!

I had lunch here yesterday along with dinner because it was open late. For lunch I had the French dip sandwich which turned out to be very tasty and delicious. The homemade chips were great, and the French dip meat was tender and juicy. When I arrived later that evening at approximately midnight, I ordered the Mac & cheese bites as an appetizer. For my meal I ordered the steak wrap. Although my steak wrap came out wrong the first time, my waitress took care of it immediately. I would recommend eating at this place because it is a nice atmosphere, and The staff seem very friendly.

Great sized tv for sports. Good beer selection, including local beers. Bartender was really personable. Bathroom was in basement, unclean, and looked like at least one rape a week happens there. Aside from that, highly recommended at least for a beer or two.

This is the kind of easygoing place a woman could go and have a drink (alone) and trust that she wouldn’t be harassed. The people are friendly and the food and beverage — excellent! It’s a comfortable, wood-​floored place where about any attire fits in fine.

I give this place 5 because I love the food and they keep at least a few great craft beers on the menu, plus they have solid performers come thru. That is a home run to me. Sports fans will enjoy the giant projection screen with other Tvs as well. This place is usually my go-​to after work. I have never had a bad time and it is a really nice location. Keep in mind this is a night bar!

With the exception of weekday lunch service, Sam’s is a bar first and restaurant second. However, it’s a pretty good bar (and the food’s okay, too).
The bar has the standard mix of medium and top-​shelf liquors and a half-​dozen taps, along with Jaeger and Fireball dispensers. The draft selection varies but there’s usually a couple of craft or craft-​ish beers to choose from and a decent, but not overwhelming, bottle/​can array. Prices are standard issue for the area: $ 3 for a Pabst tall boy to $ 6 for a glass of craft. Service is pretty efficient, mostly attentive, and friendly.
The menu is mostly sandwiches and deep-​fried bar food. The signature item is the Samburger, a half-​sausage half-​beef hamburger that’s solid. The wings are also worth checking out. Most of the sides come out of a bag (does any place really make its own jalapeño popper?) but for a bar, it’s not bad. Also, and this is pretty important, the kitchen stays open LATE. If Sam’s is serving alcohol, it’s also serving food. The pre-​cut fries taste a lot better at 1:00 a.m.
There’s also live music on the second floor most weekends and some week nights, with a decent sound system and reasonable cover charges. And it’s also a regular meeting place for several social groups, like book clubs and beer appreciation groups. All-​in-​all, Sam’s is a place worth going.