
Bessinger's Barbecue
$Where South Carolina's mustard-sauce tradition was codified

“Smoked plates into the early hours on Savannah Highway”
Southern Roots Smokehouse fills a gap most of West Ashley leaves open: real smoked plates served long after the other pits have shut down. This Savannah Highway spot runs its kitchen and taps well past midnight on weekends, pairing pulled pork, ribs, brisket, and smoked wings with a full bar and a casual sports-bar energy. It is the answer to a late craving that a drive-thru cannot satisfy — a smokehouse built for the hours other smokehouses skip. The plate covers the Carolina spectrum. Pulled pork anchors it, the smoked wings are the natural bar order, brisket gives the menu a beef option, and the ribs bring the chew. House sauces span the state's traditions so the table can build each plate its own way. Nothing here is precious — it is generous, casual barbecue meant to be eaten late with a full glass. For anyone who has ever wanted real wood-smoke at an hour when nothing else is open, this is the West Ashley address to remember.
**One of the only Charleston pits serving real smoked plates into the early morning.** Pulled pork, brisket, ribs, and smoked wings come with a full bar and taps running past midnight, across the Carolina sauce spectrum, on Savannah Highway.
6 dimensions, each scored 0-10
Regulars point to Pulled Pork, Smoked Wings, Brisket, and Ribs.
Sun–Thu 11am–12am, Fri–Sat 11am–2am
Southern Roots Smokehouse is mid-range ($$).
Southern Roots Smokehouse serves Lowcountry / South Carolina Style barbecue — South Carolina BBQ centers on whole hog cooking, with the state uniquely home to four distinct sauce traditions: mustard-based (Midlands), vinegar-pepper (Pee Dee), light tomato, and heavy tomato. Charleston's Lowcountry spin adds Gullah-Geechee influences.

Where South Carolina's mustard-sauce tradition was codified

The West Ashley original where the Home Team story began

A Rodney Scott protege's whole hog, pop-up turned permanent