Best Bars in Greenville

If the walls could only talk, The Cazbah's bar would have volumes to tell about the revitalization of Downtown Greenville. Established at a time when the city's revitalization efforts were only just beginning, The Cazbah has seen it all and quenched a lot of thirsts in the process. While beer offerings are minimal, the wine list is extensive and carefully curated and cocktails are always new and refreshing. Tapas cuisine like Lobster Cigars and Lamb Lollipops are Greenville mainstays and it is nearly impossible to leave without ordering a few extra plates of the goodies coming out of Downtown Greenville's smallest kitchen.

On game day, there is little debate on where to see your favorite team take the field. Hall of Fame Sports Bar has more television screens going than your local Best Buy sales floor and it is easy to get whiplash trying to keep up with it all. The full-service bar maintains a commitment to a quality craft beer selection, something that other sports bars can easily overlook. Additionally, it is easy to slack off on the food menu when you are catering to a predominantly captive audience but Hall of Fame does no such thing and kicks out some high-quality burgers, wings, and other sports bar cuisine.

If you want to go to a bar in Downtown Greenville that transports you to a place that is most definitely not Downtown Greenville, WXYZ Bar at Aloft is your ticket out of town. The ambiance at the hotel's bar is decidedly cosmopolitan and feels like something you would find in Manhattan or Chicago, not Downtown Greenville. That sense of big city Ritz makes WXYZ an incredibly fun place to visit for a late-night cocktail on a night on the town. Plus, if you have one too many, you can always check in to a room without even leaving the bar.

The Trappe Door is one of those places that just feels like a cool experience even before you set eyes on the place. As you descend down the staircase beneath Barley's, the vibe is both inviting and maybe just a bit dangerous. The ghosts of whatever occupied this space before are friendly and warm the room as you find your seat at the bar and face the tough task of deciding between the longest Belgian beer selection in town or some seriously creative cocktails. My advice is to plan to stay long enough to try a couple of each of them.

For the quintessential dive bar, check out the Greenville institution that is Zorba's Lounge. Concealed by a windowless exterior, inside you will find a watering hole that looks and feels exactly as it did in the 1970s. The clientele is blue and white-collar alike, all walks of life deemed equal upon walking through the door. If you are in the mood for high-end craft brews and frilly cocktails, you are in the wrong place but sometimes you just need a Budweiser or a Jack & Coke and, for that, there is no better spot in town than Zorba's Lounge.

What location always makes a bar better? The one on the roof, of course. That is why Up On the Roof, perched on the rooftop of Downtown Greenville's Embassy Suites, is the perfect place to enjoy your next drink. Panoramic views of the city skyline and the mountains beyond make for a scene you could soak in all day and evening long. The fact that they offer a wide variety of both domestic and craft beers, wine, and cocktails means they have a little something for everyone and the full-service restaurant kitchen is kicking out some seriously good food while you are at it.

The British have been gathering in pubs since before America was a twinkle in their eye. For that reason, the British public house is a classic environment to enjoy a drink with your friends and neighbors. The Velo Fellow was specifically created with that goal in mind and it satisfies in every way. A great craft beer selection is complemented by house-made craft brews made right on-site while the wine and whiskey offerings are extensive. Whether you are in the front room tipping one back with friends or enjoying a show in the listening room in the rear, the Velo Fellow is the perfect bar to go back to again and again.

Vault & Vator, the brainchild of the former owners of the beloved American Grocery, is the purest example of a bar in every sense of the word. The entrance is nondescript, the lighting is dim, and the speakeasy vibe transports you back to another era in American history. The cocktails are phenomenal and, while there is technically a food menu, this is not a place you come to hungry. Vault & Vator is for drinking and, to that point, drinking really, really well. There are some rules to the joint â€" no cell phones, proper attire, and no Red Bulls â€" and they are all tailored to maximize the experience of going to a bar where the drinking is taken seriously.

The Upstate award for cocktail creativity (if there was such a thing of course) without a doubt goes to Bar Margaret. The cocktail menu changes daily with the only regular entry on the menu being the Cola Fashioned. Try that one once and you will have no doubt why it is irreplaceable but, then, get a taste of the daily specials and revel in the fact that this just might be a one time experience, simply demanding you to come back the next weekend (or day, even) to see what else they are mixing up behind the eclectic but cozy bar. Bar Margaret's food menu is on point as well as the Damn Good Burger is both A) as advertised and B) the perfect balance to a couple of good drinks.

Society Sandwich Bar & Social Club is everything the name suggests. While they are serving up some of the best sandwiches in town, delicious cocktails and ales make it a libationary paradise. Whether you just want a great craft beer to wash down Friday's lunch hour or you crave the more party-like vibe of the evenings the upstairs bar has to offer, Society has a little something for everybody depending on the time of day or which of the two bars you choose. Beer drinkers will enjoy the IPA collaboration with Yeehaw Brewing around the corner and the drink menu is extensive enough to fit any mood.