Manhattan’s Bar & Grill

We went there last night with a few friends and we were all pleasantly surprised. It looks very divey but the service was great (the wait person and bartender were extremely busy) but even with that we didnt have to wait for drinks. We ordered 5 different kinds of wings and I have to say they were fantastic. I would definitely go back for the wings alone. We also had cheese fries that came with gravy, cheese, onions and bits of steak. I didnt care for them but most of the table did. The owner came over and introduced himself to us, which was very nice. Overall a really nice evening. We will definitely be back.

Stopped by for happy hour and it wasn’t bad. The décor inside reminds me of an old location although they are fairly new. Bartender was very helpful and explained menu well. Ordered quesadillas and they were not bad, didn’t wow us, but not bad. Will go back as this is a good watering hole.

I somehow ended up at Manhattan’s twice this week, and I don’t live nearby. It’s a total locals bar, so everyone here knows each other. Cool vibe there, and it’s Charleston so plenty of cute girls. Pretty friendly staff and good service for a locals bar. Would I go here if I didn’t know anyone? Absolutely not. But as it turns out I enjoyed hanging out here.

This is the tale of an undercooked burger, an overworked bartender, and music loud enough to rattle my brain.
I had just finished helping my sister move into her new digs when she decided we were going out for dinner. I was exhausted so I did not argue. Manhatten’s is just around the corner in a small shopping center off Highway 17. It was right at the beginning of the dinner hour on a Saturday night.
Manhatten’s is a cozy little locally-​owned joint. They have high tables and a long wooden bar with seating for about 30 – 40 people. They have a pool table, cornhole, a dartboard. From what some of the regulars told me this is THE place to be during sporting events with their dinner and drink specials, large screen TV’s, and games.
But despite all that, they hit the fatal Three Strike Rule for me and restaurants.
#1 — When I ordered my burger I was very specific to tell the waitress/​bartender (more on that in a moment) that I wanted to cooked well done with NO pink. I don’t like pink on my hamburger meat. Pink is fine on bologna, but not my burger. When I finally chomped down on the burger almost 30 minutes later it was pink in the middle. And the edges. And everywhere. Fail.
#2 — The poor bartender/​waitress/​buswoman had to take care of the entire place by herself. The entire night I only ever saw this one woman working at the bar, serving drinks, taking orders at the tables outside the bar, and bringing food. I mean seriously I felt so sorry for her I almost offered to go into the kitchen and pick up my own food if it was ready. My beer glass hit empty twice. I had to walk over the bar to get the check. Fail.
#3 — They had live music from a local band. Yay! It was so loud I couldn’t hear my own thoughts. Fail! I’m all for local bands playing live music, but when you have a narrow building with low ceilings and brick walls you have to tell the band to turn it down a bit. I spent most of the night having to talk directly into someone’s ear which, you know, is a bit awkward when it’s your sister. Fail.
The seasoned fries were good, the beer was cold, and seats were comfortable. The locals love it and come out frequently throughout the week. There are some perks, but I was not sold. It was great once, maybe twice, especially if the sister wants to pay. But as for me? I won’t be spending my own money here.