Best:
- Tiger Town Tavern. This is definitively the best place to meet new people downtown. Is it the best place to meet people, period? No. But it’s significantly better than the rest of the places on this list and certainly the best place downtown to do so. The people here are relatively normal college students since it’s the go-to bar downtown. You still have your run-of-the-mill weirdos and creeps, but you run into fewer of them here, in my humble opinion. Plus, there are plenty of spaces to sit and plenty of pool tables that open up semi-regularly.
- Itsurweiner. Don’t get me wrong, this is still absolutely the freshmen bar, but they have the best weekly events. Bingo, Trivia, live music and mimosas make this a great place to hang out or meet people. There’s also never a shortage of drink options that are more laid out than other bars. However, it gets second because, unless you’re also a freshman, the people you meet are likely going to be much younger than you. This place also gets swarmed by the police after dark, so watch out.
- TD’s. The worst of the best would be TD’s. It’s a great place to hang out with friends, and they have great seating options, but it isn’t the best place to meet people. The crowd at TD’s is very 50/50. Some of the people here are either completely normal or absolutely insane. The social events are much more limited than in previous bars as well. However, they get a spot among the best for their karaoke nights. Nothing beats watching people you barely know completely embarrass themselves in front of a crowd of overly hyped people.
Worst:
- Study Hall. Yes, they have some really cool live music, and they have great opportunities for dancing, but this is absolutely not where you want to meet new people. Besides the funk smell that seems to creep from every corner, you can’t really hear people, even if they’re right next to you. Study Hall is still the best place to go dance with friends in Clemson, but it’s just not the best place to meet people by far.
- Loose Change. A great place to grab a greasy burger and some fries but not a great place to meet new people. The environment during the day is more like a sit-down restaurant, but at night it just gets plain crowded. It’s not the worst place to hang out at night with a close group of friends, but it’s not conducive to meeting people.
- Nick’s. I’ll be honest, I love going to Nick’s, but it’s just not the place to meet people. The bar itself is much smaller than the others on the list, and there isn’t much booth seating. However, it’s a lot easier to hang out with people, and its atmosphere is similar to that of TTT’s. The people here, however, are either beer bros or girl groups that got lost on their way to Study Hall.