The Smoking Lamp

Stopped on a Tuesday after work. Traffic was light and plenty of room to set up a computer for some after hours work with a cigar and beer. I appreciated the small but quality beer options. They had several Belgians and American craft beers. The cigar selection was average at best. I found something that I could enjoy but love a big well stocked humidor to choose from (inspire of big humidor, options were mediocre). Lastly, patrons included hipsters enjoying hookah and roll your own cigarettes. I prefer a cigar shop that frowns on cigarettes personally but hey, this is South Carolina! There were no confederate flags displayed.

Wonderful ambience, friendly staff, great selection. They held an event yesterday so all acids and blondies were out of stock. Boooo!!! Selected a cherrybomb. Just as wonderful as an acid cigar. Smooth, sweet, fabulous! Prices super reasonable!

Great hookah bar. Staff are so friendly and nice environment. Nice placed to relax and smoke your hookah (and cigar if you’re into it).

Walked in hoping to find a good cigar and chill out, walked out empty handed with a headache. At first I thought it was just the hookah smell from the cloud we walked through, but it didn’t smell right in that humidor. As we looked over the selection, the smell only got worse. Like a moldy basement w/​a sharp acidic vinegar smell, nothing I’d ever remotely smelled in humidor before. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Husband joked he got his tobacco fix from walking through the unventilated cigar and hookah smoke.

Great atmosphere and comfortable chairs. The owner was very helpful and made sure my visit was perfect. Small place, decent cigar selection, drinks available, very relaxing. I will be back the next time I am in the area and have some time kill. –D.O.

Was not impressed. The staff basically ignored us the entire time we were in the store. The humidor is a very nice size, but basically had rows and rows of empty shelves ! The selection was just not that great. This seems like a prime location and wasted space to me. I see so much potential not being utilized. Maybe it’s just too touristy, I don’t know. We visit a lot of cigar shops as we travel all over the country & my husband knows his sticks. It is rare that we never buy anything, but we were just not moved to do so.

Inattentive staff made me feel like I was intruding their conversation in order to buy something from their store.
Ironically, with the 3 couches and ample chairs, seating is a still a bit awkward.

The selection was blah. They carry almost the entire Davidoff line but other brands fall short with inventory. The blueberry drink is a must have here. A local treat. The shop worker was a «young kid» mid 20’s was very pleasant and knowledgable.

Low lit, comfortable sofas and chairs. And most of all: you are allowed to smoke inside!

Nice assortment of Davidoff, and subsidiary companies ie Camacho & Room 101. As well as Perdomo Edicion de Silvio, Montecristo, Partagas, H Upmann, Villiger. Then things take a curveball when I look and see cigars from Meyer & Dutch eg Graycliff 1666… Ramon Bueso… Gurkha Centurion (hasn’t been officially produced for a wee bit over seven years or so). Though when all is said, the humidor is quite sparse with a few dead boxes.
Walked out of the humidor with a Davidoff Millennium Petite Corona, a Puro d’Oro Sublime, a Room 101 HN Papi Chulo, and a 101 SA 213, all for a very reasonable $ 40.12
They’ve a beautiful selection of pipes, Davidoff & Dupont accessories, as well as Atoll. Spent some time looking (wasn’t asked if I wanted to see anything, like the Gold Dunhill Rollagas that caught my eye) so eventually I gave up and sat down and had a cigar.
What really got me was threefold, one: no means of smoke abatement (trilateral smoke from cigars, cigarettes, and hookahs (although some of the smoke scents I couldn’t recognize, perhaps something that aught not belong)), two: hookahs everywhere being smoked (yes I understand that it’s a college town, and hookah use is extremely prevalent by particular collegial cliques and persons in general) perhaps they be smoked in the available back room during prominent visiting hours, so as to promote a cigar lounge for tourists and other visitors to use. Third: I couldn’t differentiate tobacconist from patron (not from appearance, but general demeanor).
Next time I’m in town, I’ll definitely not be dropping in.

Nice place, but I was a bit disappointed they didn’t have a larger cigar selection. They only carry mild-​to-​full, with no flavored cigars. The cigar I purchased for $ 10.00 had a difficult draw and little flavor. They have lots of room in the humidor and should add more of a selection. Very nice staff and neat atmosphere! I felt however, Hookah seems to be more of the focus for this space.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed but i’m a big fan of cigar bars and i love the whole atmosphere around it.
The Smoking Lamp is one of those bars where you pass by and you just know you are going to stop and smoke, drink and relax.
The sign outside says it all: «Husband Parking». Since i’m not a husband, it’s just parking for me. Long term parking that is. Not only do you have a fine selection of cigars, they also bring you a good selection of beers and wines.
The interiour is very inviting but since in Charleston, I rather live outside and than i would like to have some more cosy and comfortable furniture.

A nice chill little cigar bar in downtown Charleston. Nice and knowledgeable staff. Not really a college student hang out; although it’s very close to the College of Charleston campus.

Love this place.
Laid back. Quiet. Very polite staff. I love it here
Great place to study too!!!

A couple doors down from the lovely and historic Francis Marion Hotel you will find The Smoking Lamp. You can lounge in luxurious leather chairs and smoke your pipe or a cigar, or go to the back room and smoke a hookah on some cushions. They also sell beer!
All they’d need to do is sell firearms and ammunition to make this one of the most awesome places to lounge ever. You could get the ATF all in one place ;-)

I REVOKE MY EARLIER REVIEW.
I returned to the Smoking Lamp a couple days ago with some friends, and it was the worst. It is the Mountain Dew of Smoking Shops. The guy working was SUPER rude to us… we were a larger group, and we had been asking him questions for about 3 minutes while discussing what kind of hookah flavors and how many and whatnot– and he actually said «Could you guys, like, hurry up so we can get this over with?» There was no one else in line. There was no one else even walking around the shop! He was just being a little sourpuss.
And it seemed like prices went up– we had to pay $ 30 for a hookah for 5 (Apparently there is a $ 10 price jump between 4 and 5 people? It was hard to get a clear explanation from this chump.)
We asked to smoke in the back room, since last time we had been there it was a luscious little lounge with cushions and drapes, but when we went to sit, we found it totally bare, save the stack of storage boxes we had to squeeze past to get inside! There was one empty table in a gross, cold room with a cement floor and a partially deconstructed ceiling. We asked to move out onto the upper patio, but they said it was wet, which was odd since it hadn’t rained in days…
LAME.
Two stars for the memories of a brighter time.

It was a Friday evening and I was in a chill mood. Debating what to do, I decided to try the cigar bar around the corner from my hotel. A cigar and a rich Three Philosophers sounded like a good pairing.
The place has a good atmosphere, a few leather chairs and couches to relax on and some magazines to read. Also there are a lot of interesting stuff around the shop to keep you curious.
I’ll be honest, I don’t know much about cigars. I smoke one may 2 – 4 times a year, so I definitely appreciated their friendly staff that was willing to help me pick one out. Then to the beer cooler… while I was disappointed they didn’t have Three Philosophers, they did have a nice selection of some Belgian ales. I settled on a 750 of Delirium Nocturnum. This was going to be a tasty evening.
I got comfortable on one of those leather chairs and made friends with a few other folks in the shop. It was a nice evening.
Also… They have a selection of wines, coffee, teas, and espresso if any of those are your bag. They do not however have any liquor (scotch, bourbon, rum, etc) due to South Carolina law.