Top 20 Best Beach Bars in America
After decades of summer travel, thousands of tequila shots & countless hangovers, our highly qualified beach bar team offers up a ranking of the Top 20 Beach Bars in America. Please note that we did not take any sponsorship dollars in creating this list.
Updated Jan 2022
20. Surf Bar – Folly Beach, South Carolina
Fifteen minutes south of historic downtown Charleston, Surf Bar welcomes locals and visitors alike with tasty food, cold beverages, chill surf films and the best live music on Folly Beach with no cover. Enjoy their crazy-popular cheese-steak sandwiches or a wood-fire grilled 1/2lb burger. Sip on Surf Bar’s signature Painkillers, or enjoy a fresh Mojito after a day at the beach.
19. The Beach Chalet, San Francisco
Everyone knows San Francisco is not what it used to be. The city’s counter culture fabric was cut in half by millennials wielding a giant pair of Google scissors. The Beach Chalet is evidence of such a drastic change, but much, much earlier than the techie invasion. The building was designed by Willis Polk, who was supervising architect of the Palace of Fine Arts and opened in 1925 in as a city-run restaurant with changing rooms for beach goers.
After World War II the city leased the Beach Chalet to the Veterans of Foreign Wars for $50 a month. They featured gambling, strippers and lewd films. The VFW moved out after the city bumped the rent to $500 a month in 1979.
It’s now a fancy ocean view restaurant, brewery and outdoor music venue, but the vibes from the old VFW days still remain. There is still a slightly haunting but comfortable vibe in the restaurant and the back patio. I highly recommend The Beach Chalet on a sunny, cloudy or rainy day, it’s an extremely versatile beach bar!
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