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A couple of years ago, a fellow English teacher and road tripper from a nearby school district posted pictures about her trip to Charleston on Facebook.  Ever since I saw the pictures of Kayla’s trip with her family, I knew I wanted to go.  One place she highlighted really caught my eye–Poe’s Tavern.  I teach an Edgar Allan Poe story, “The Masque of the Red Death,” to sophomores every year.  One year I even taught “The Cask of Amontillado” to freshman.  This may make me a nerd, but I also have an Edgar Allan Poe action figure that I take out when it’s time to do these stories.  The English teacher next door, my teacher bestie Rachael, celebrates Poe with a special day of food and films every year.  Visiting Poe’s Tavern just seemed right.

Some Background

Since we drive to Walt Disney World, I try to find places of interest to visit on the way home to Missouri.  We go a little out of the way, but it’s worth it.  We’ve been sneaking up the east coast.  This year I wanted to get a taste of Charleston, South Carolina.  It truly was just a taste; we were only there for a night, but I know I want to go back.  We actually stayed across the bridge in Mount Pleasant, so we had a quick drive to Sullivan’s Island for dinner at Poe’s Tavern.

Poe's Tavern Sullivan's Island

Sullivan’s Island is a laid-back beach town with shops, bars, and restaurants blocks away from the shore.  Many locals travel by golf cart, and it’s common to see people walking their dogs.  The restaurant does have its own parking lot, but I could see that it could fill quickly on busy nights.  We arrived after it had been raining most of the day, so the crowd may have been thinned a little.

A Little About Poe’s Connection

Three streets pay homage to Poe–Poe Avenue, Gold Bug Avenue, and Raven Drive.  When Poe was eighteen years old, he enlisted in the army and was stationed at nearby Fort Moultrie.  He stayed there for a little over a year.  He enlisted under the name Edgar Allan Perry, and he often seemed to hide his time there.  One of his stories, however, is set on Sullivan’s Island.  His story, “The Gold Bug,” has a great description of the island.

Poe’s Tavern

Poe's Tavern Sign Sullivan's Island

I loved all of the Poe details here.  References to Poe abound.  On the outside, you can see the Gold Bug on the sidewalk.

Gold Bug on Sidewalk at Poe's Tavern Sullivan's Island

Pay close attention to the stairs leading into the restaurant.

Poe's Tavern Stairs on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina

You can see evidence of the day’s rain.  When we entered the restaurant, we encountered a line to be seated.  Here’s a picture of the kitchen.

Poe's Tavern Kitchen on Sullivan's Island in South Carolina

We didn’t have to wait long, though.  They soon felt confident enough to start seating people outside again.  We got seats at the railing looking out into the patio seating and the street.

Sitting on the porch at Poe's Tavern on Sullivan's Island in South CarolinaOutside access to the bar was behind us.

Poe's Tavern bar on Sullivan's IslandThe menu is really fun.  The hamburgers and chicken sandwiches are all Poe-themed.

Menu at Poe's Tavern on Sullivan's Island, South CarolinaIf you regularly follow my blog, you know that my husband and daughter are extremely picky eaters.  They mostly go to places like this for me; sometimes Jeff doesn’t even order.  Luckily, he likes plain hamburgers, so we didn’t have a problem there.  Kristin really doesn’t eat hamburgers, and they didn’t have her staple, chicken strips.  We decided to get some chips with queso which we probably wouldn’t have ordered if there was something else on the menu we knew she’d like. They even made the queso plain for her and put some pico de gallo on the side for me.

Poe's Tavern Chips and Queso with Pico on the side

After I had a few nibbles of the chips, I decided to check out the inside of the tavern while I waited for my hamburger.

Poe's Tavern on Sullivan's Island in South Carolina

Poe is everywhere!

Poe's Taven table at Sullivan's Island in South Carolina

He’s above the fireplace.

Poe's Taven Fireplace on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina

He’s in the dark.

Inside Poe's Tavern on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina

He’s even in the bathroom!  The wallpaper is Poe, and you can hear a recording of someone reading Poe’s works while you’re there.

Poe's Tavern Restroom on Sullivan's Island in South Carolina

See, I told you he was everywhere.

Poe's Tavern on Sullivan's Island in South Carolina

This place is so cool!

Bar at Poe's Tavern

The Hamburgers

After I wandered around and convinced Jeff to check out the men’s room and report back, our food was ready.  I ordered a Gold Bug hamburger.  I added Ranch to go with my fries.  And no, I couldn’t finish it.  Not even close.

Gold Bug hamburger at Poe's Tavern

Jeff got a plain hamburger cooked medium-well the way he likes it.  Poe’s Tavern is pretty accommodating.

Poe's Tavern plain hamburger

Kristin had a plate of fries.  I know.  I’m a great mother.  I promise we don’t eat this way all the time!

fries at Poe's Tavern

When we’d had our fill, it was time to make a t-shirt purchase.  I couldn’t resist.  They have several colors and sizes to choose from.

Poe's Tavern t-shirt

Until Next Time

Soon it was time to leave.  Poe's Tavern Sullivan's Island, South Carolina

And head back to the car.

Poe's Tavern

After dinner, we did take a stroll on the beach.  I don’t know if we caught it at a bad time or what, but gnats followed us everywhere!  When I got back to the hotel, I saw I had gnats stuck in my hair!  The water also didn’t beckon us to wade in it like I’d thought.  Maybe Florida spoiled us, but I’m not sure I’d plan a beach day at this particular place on Sullivan’s Island. Just a little FYI.

Besides that, our evening was wonderful!  The drive back to the hotel was magical as the sun set on the Low Country of South Carolina.  I fell in love with the area, and I can’t wait to go back!

Poe's Tavern
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33 Comments

    • Stacey Reply

      It really is a fun place. I knew I had to visit as soon as I heard about it!

  1. The bathroom is my favorite, but I’m obsessed with adorable water closets! I love the Poe wallpaper and recordings of people reading Poe.

    • Stacey Reply

      This probably is the coolest bathroom I’ve ever been in.

    • Stacey Reply

      Thank you! I know you’ll have a great time when you go!

    • Stacey Reply

      It really was a great place! We love making memories at places like this!

  2. We just went to Charleston! We didn’t make it to Poe’s Tavern, but I will add it to our list of places to hit up next time because we already decided that we loved Charleston so much that we want to go back!

    • Stacey Reply

      We loved it, too! There’s so much more I want to do. We stayed a little over 24 hours. We did Patriot’s Point and the Boone Hall Plantation plus tried some South Carolina BBQ. We also did Fort Sumter and explored the old area in town. I have a lot of blog posts to do!

  3. This looks like such a cool place to visit. I love that they have a restaurant there that follows along with the theme.

  4. This place looks great! I lived in Baltimore for a few years, lots of Poe stuff there, but nothing this nice. Thank you for sharing!

    • Stacey Reply

      I hope to go to Baltimore someday. I hope within the next two years!

  5. I visit Charleston quite often but have never been here. I will make sure to stop in next time I am there, looks great!!

  6. Oh, this place fascinates me!!!! I’m putting it on the bucket list and having my high schooler brush up on his Poe. LOL. Thanks for sharing ~ what a find!

    • Stacey Reply

      It really is a cool place! I love finding places like this, too!

  7. This looks really neat! Charleston is on my bucket list. I love how they’ve turn his house into a real “Poe” experience.

  8. Looks like this place has tons of character and looks like a hidden gem.

  9. Now I know where to go when I get to Charleston. Thank you for the context: history, food, and fun.

  10. This sounds like a fun place to eat! I like it when themed places are not obnoxiously over the top and Poe’s Tavern sounds like the perfect balance!

  11. This looks like a fun historical place to visit. There would be some good history about Poe that would be fun to learn about.

  12. What a great way to introduce my kids to a great poet. We would have some very interesting conversations at this restaurant!

  13. I don’t have any trips to Charleston planned at the moment, but I think I need to plan one just to visit Poe’s Tavern! What a cool place!

    • Stacey Reply

      It is a cool place. Charleston is a lot of fun; I hope you get to go soon!

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