A couple weeks ago we got a sneak peek of a new restaurant opening today on East Bay Street, the Bay Street Biergarten. This traditional biergarten will have communal tables with self-serve taps accessed with a pre-paid card – a first for Charleston. Private tables also have their own taps and guests can access a beer wall with six different beers on tap.
Charlestonian Laura Patrick and business partners Greg Pierdon and Ryan Workman launched the Biergarten with an eye toward featuring flavorful beers from spirited breweries alongside traditional Bavarian food with a southern twist in a unique and open space.
“We’re all such huge beer fans and Charleston is a big beer town, but we noticed that in spite of that the area was missing a true, traditional biergarten,” Patrick said. “We got to work on this concept right away and it’s come together better than we could have imagined.”
The space has rustic accents, including wooden tables, floors, tap walls and even a giant wooden bear named Barley and his smaller sidekick, Hops. Guests also have access to an outdoor patio for enjoying a local brew and the great Charleston climate.
The Biergarten will feature Palmetto, Westbrook, Frothy Beard, Coast and Holy City breweries to start, with Holy City’s Pluff Mud Porter heavily used throughout the food menu. For the food, think pork, pretzels and mustards for the menu with a side of Southern, such as shrimp wrapped in grits all created by Chef Jason Walker. “We went through 63 pretzel recipes before we found the right one,” Walker said of his beer-infused pretzels.
Bay Street Biergarten will be open for happy hour and dinner and available for corporate and business lunches.
Bay Street Biergarten
549 East Bay St., Charleston
Hours: 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Friday; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday (brunch will be available).
Info: baystreetbiergarten.com or Facebook