Club Charles

Big jukebox request: Please add the greatest hits of ABBA !
Thank You !

As a long time aficionado of dive bars, Club Charles is right up there in my national top ten. It’s got everything a good dive bar needs, friendly bartenders, cheap/​strong drinks, an eclectic jukebox (from Dusty Springfield to The Clash and back again) and lighting low enuf to hide all the façade flaws, dirty corners and broken furniture. There’s the main, downstairs bar, and on busy nights an equal sized upstairs bar. It’s located in a cool neighbourhood as well with lots of good places to eat nearby and nice city walking, if you should so desire.
My only complaint was about the music, not that it was bad, but that it was nonexistent when I first got there. Just a dozen or so early drinkers and NO tunes. When I asked the bartender about it, she said that they just waited till patrons got tired of no music and ponied up for the jukebox themselves. This is a mistake bar owner, whoever you are, you should most surely splurge the few bucks it takes to get the clientele to start buying songs. A good dive bar without music is just a sad bar.
As for all the so-​called John Waters sightings, nope never seen him here, but if I do, I will definitely ask him about his solo cross country hitchhiking experience. Oh John, you rebel.

My favorite bar of all time. Heavy pours and always a great blend of people. Stellar jukebox and the best bartenders. I’ve been coming here for many years and it always feels like home. Here’s to many more!

If you have a vertical drivers license, you will not be let in. Even if you are 23. Apparently the place is a good place to go but if you have a vertical ID, don’t even try to get in. This makes zero sense to me.

Perfect balance of dive bar and hipster and retro. Service was perfectly solicitous but not too hovercrafty, gin and tonic was fine. Felt totally comfortable there from the minute I walked in.

Fun bar that’s «divey» in a good way! The service was great. I went over with my friend before a show. We were also able to get our tarot cards read for fun, just leave a tip! All around fun experience.

Club Chuck is bar none (Haha! Get it? «Bar» none? Because it’s, well, you know…) my favorite bar in Baltimore. Actually, it was the first bar I visited in the city after moving here from Portland and six months and about six dozen bars later, it’s still my favorite.
The atmosphere is cozy, dark and divey. The clientele is pretty diverse and apparently includes John Waters.
They have a great jukebox and the bartenders here are all really sweet and genuinely happy to see you when you visit.
The tap beer selection is pretty small, but good. They at least have Loose Cannon IPA on draft.
They no longer serve food which would be a huge bummer if it wasn’t for Royal Farms’ fried chicken, which is pretty much the best drunk food on the planet.
It gets a little crowded around nine or ten but if you get there earlier you can sit at the bar, chat with the bartender, do a crossword and play whatever you want at the jukebox – generally for free. (I’m not the only person in the world who does crosswords at the bar, surely.)
I’ve taken to calling it Love Chuck. Let’s make a trend here.

If you’re looking for a club that will give you night terrors, in a good way, for the next 40 years, look no further. Baltimores hottest new club is Club Charles. Opened in 2003 by ginger pornstar Charlie Faplin, this club will have you yelling. «ANGELA?» THIS CLUB HAS EVERYTHING! pee pants music, chum from the goonies, and the grandson of the Taco Bell dog smoking a Newport cigarette. You’ll never want to leave this place, and you can’t because the doors lock from the outside.

I love Club Charles. It has become my favorite bar in Baltimore hands down. The atmosphere alone is reason to go. They have these great Art Deco murals on the walls. I almost feel like they belong on the cover of an Ayn Rand novel. If you think about them too hard they can be a little creepy, but I love them. There is also a jukebox in the corner that plays mostly 70s and 80s albums. Good picks in my opinion. I usually go on week nights, so I’m not sure how busy it gets on Friday or Saturday, but for me it never gets too crowded.

When it comes to Baltimore dive bars, Club Charles (Club «Chuck» if your a local), is arguably the most legendary one of them all. It’s also a semi frequent watering hole for Charm City’s most celebrated and colorful film director, screenwriter, and actor, John Waters.
The most spot on description I’ve ever heard of Club Charles’ interior is «1920s Art Deco meets The Shining»… Deco mural’ed walls, Dimly lit, Red hued lighting, that bathes everyone and everything inside… Red leather booths & chairs… At any moment you kinda expect little Danny Torrance to come running through the bar yelling «Redrum ! Redrum !»
But it’s also got all the characteristics of a great dive bar. Located in a slightly seedy part of town, cheap but strong drinks, wobbly bar stools, a jukebox with a wide selection from Ray Charles to Dan Deacon, and always friendly bartenders.
The size and mix of the crowd seems to depend on the night, it can be anything from artsy film student types to blue collar locals from the neighborhood. But if dive bars are your thing, a single visit to Club Charles will probably be enough to ensure it a spot in your regular rotation of favorite dives.

Our favorite dive bar in Baltimore. Strong drinks and good music. What more can u ask for?

Not bad for a dive. We came here for a drink after dining at Tapas Teatro. As with most dives, very dimly lit, pretty loud, a little dirty, okay drinks at decent prices. The lower level bar was pretty crowded, but the upstairs one was fairly empty. We sat in the tiny red room, which wasn’t bad– just a little crowded with 6 people. Some of the beers tasted very watered down or a bit off, but no big deal as they were cheap. The hipster bartenders seemed pretty nice.

A pretty hip spot! While it isn’t exactly my «style», Club Charles is an interesting enough place that I would bring a friend who likes to drink out here. I wish I took more pictures because the ones posted here really don’t give you a great idea of what the place feels like. You do have to like red neon though.
The reason why I have given this place 5-​stars is because the place exudes an unpretentious swankiness with absurdly low drink prices… this combination creates an unparalleled bang-​for-​the-​buck value. The barmaid who served us was witty and sassy. Although my friends didn’t enjoy it as much as I did, I still rate it perfect.

Location is ideal for the 2^nd date trifecta: dinner (Tapas Teatro); movie (Charles Theater); drinks, if all is going well (Club Charles). Pretty stiff drinks, usually at room temp (they seem to have an aversion to ice), at pretty reasonable prices, but also hard to come by (service is disaffected and will hostily ignore you). You might feel like you’re not hip enough to be here and there’s no one here who will disagree. Surfaces are sticky, vibe is divey. If you’re lucky, you might get to spill a drink on John Waters.

Club Chuck is a great place to go drown your sorrows. Lots of room, central to the movie theater, train station and close to all of the good stuff on North Av. This is typically where I end my Saturday nights. Typical Baltimore bar scene for better or worse.

There is a little nook of a room with 4 — 5 chairs and a little table. You can keep intimate company and all the conversations right outside. It’s pretty erie. I’m not sure they all knew that I could hear every word they were saying like they were sitting right next to me but it echos in there.
This is a cute little divey bar right near Charles Theatre, Single Carrot Theatre and Teatro Tapas. There’s a main bar and then one on the upper level. They may not have Natty Boh, but Miller Lite will do.

Oh, Club Charles. Or «The Chuck» as some like to say. This is a typical dive bar with a hipster-​vibe. The bartenders have never been particularly friendly or attentive, but there’s still something I like about it and I’m not sure why. Whenever I first step in, I chuckle a bit on the inside. I think this feeling will last as long as I don’t go more than twice… okay, maybe once… a month.
They offer one cider, comes in a bottle, I believe it’s strongbow.

This place reminded me of home (Brooklyn). It’s your quintessential hipster dive joint. I approve.

Club Charles is definitely a dive spot, but it is still one of my favorite bars in Baltimore. Great, cheap drinks, fun music and a lot of different seating areas. The bathrooms are kind of gross, but the rest of the great parts of this bar far outweigh the less than clean restrooms.
I lived in Baltimore for four years, and I cannot recall one time when my friends and I were bored here.

I lived a about a block away from Club Charles for about two years before I moved to Denver… and it was one of my favorite places to hang out in the city.
It’s dark, sometimes crowded, with decent music, okay food, strong drinks, and, almost always, a diverse crowd. But, really, I always loved seeing the bartenders. They’re always so friendly and attentive.
I’ve spent way too much money at this place…