Rockaway Athletic Club in Columbia SC, is known nationally for The Rockaway Pimento Cheeseburger, Pimento Cheese Fries, and its main bar, The South Carolina Liquor Library, which hosts one of the largest selections of liquor in the southeast and a robust selection of beer and wine. Rockaway does not have a sign, but that doesn’t stop college students, locals, and tourists from finding this local favorite.
Lively watering hole known for its pimento cheeseburger & pub grub, plus a patio & sports on TV. Based on 874 reviews, the restaurant has received a rating of 4.3 stars. Price $
✔️ Dine-in ✔️ Takeout ✔️ No delivery
Address:
2719 Rosewood Dr, Columbia, SC 29205
Phone: (803) 256-1075
Website: http://www.rockawayathleticclub.com/
Social Profile: 
Hours
| Wednesday | 11 AM–1 AM |
| Thursday | 11 AM–1 AM |
| Friday | 11 AM–1 AM |
| Saturday | 11 AM–1 AM |
| Sunday | 11 AM–12 AM |
| Monday | 11 AM–12 AM |
| Tuesday | 11 AM–12 AM |
Menu
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Reviews
Chris Johnson
The place is amazing to behold. Wonderful feeling. Music is kept low enough to hold conversations. Televisions are not obnoxious but available if you’re inclined to that. Bar is luxuriously long. Liquor selection is incredible. They keep good beer on tap with a nice well rounded selection. They also have bottles and wine for good prices. The menu is perfect, not too large as to be obnoxious, and with the right blend of good pub fare.
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Mark Skeen
This place has been a fixture in Columbia as long as I can remember. The old building burned down in the late 90s and with the new building there are still no signs on the exterior. Can be tricky to find, but is the home to some of the best food in town. Great cocktails and service, highly recommend the pimento cheese burger. Is one of the best you will find anywhere!
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James Johnson
The food and service were excellent. My only issue, long Islands are already a strong drink. The bartender needs to work on their finess of stronger drinks. There was more tequila than anything present. If you are looking for really strong almost undrinkable ,6 out of 10, this is the spot for you! But like I said the food was amazing. Mac and cheese bites are awesome bacon cheese burger was phenomenal absolutely recommend . 10 out of 10.
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Jeffrey Dickey
Chili CB and pimento cheese fries were both very good. Service was fine, my only complaint would be $9 was a little pricey for the size of the fries.
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T. Collins
Man this place just isn’t what it used to be. I’m sorry to say we did not have a great experience last time. The menu is small and includes burgers and fried fish as the main staples. The pimento cheese on the burger wasn’t good and the fish came with cocktail sauce. When I asked for tartar, they brought me pre-made, purchased, packets. If fish is a staple of a small menu, then fresh tarter sauce should be made in house.
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Cary Zeberlein
We went in for supper on a Friday night. Waited at our table for a while. Someone came out of the kitchen, looked at us and walked back in. We waited some more. Finally I realized this has happened to us the last two times we went there. It was hard to get someone to wait on us and that just continued to our food taking forever and the check taking forever. Love the pimento cheeseburger. If you have all the time in the world, sit at a table and wait to order that burger. We left.
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Ben Williams
Cool place, the bar has hundreds of different liquors in the “liquor library”. Great service and the burgers were phenomenal. I see this place pop up frequently in the “best burger in Columbia” discussions and now I see why. Will definitely be back.
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Savy Clayton
We were recommended to come here for lunch and did not know it was a bar and not a restaurant with a bar. First thing we did was ask if they had a highchair because we figured if they had highchair they were probably more of a restaurant with a bar. A disgruntled employee handed me a highchair. We sat at a booth and wait for a good bit and no one came over. We left without ordering. I totally understand not wanting kids in your establishment, but just be upfront about it. Handing us a highchair then ignoring us was pretty rude. Had they simply said something along the lines of this is a bar and not a restaurant with a bar we would have been happily on our way, not leaving a review. Communication is the key to life.
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Michelle Baughman
I like the food here. It’s not a huge menu but what I’ve eaten is good. Pimento burger is my fave. We typically go at lunch because we have kids. If you have small children, the menu may be difficult for them. I’m glad mine are older. Our server went out of her way to make sure we had what we needed in a timely fashion. She kept our drinks filled. I hate that everything is a la carte, but it is what it is. All that being said, I used to consider Rockaway’s a restaurant with a bar. At this point, it is more of a bar. That doesn’t really bother me except that they have taken away alot of the seating and added alot of games. I don’t know if there are ten tables in the place now and only one accommodates a party of six (maybe patio seating in still available in nice weather). Also, they will not allow you to push tables together as most places will. Someone in our party of six was going to do that and a guy who worked there took a very nasty tone with her. She told him we needed a table for six and he didn’t seem to care. Will I return? Probably. However, I will only go back if we are a party of four or less and I’ll be picky about the time. I can imagine that it could be difficult to get a table at all if it was right at lunch or dinnertime.
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Lisa Prince
I had the pleasure of dining in at this lovely place. The food was spectacular. I had the rockaway pimento burger and the spicy fried cauliflower. The service was phenomenal. The bartender was super well mannered and attentive. I will definitely be returning!
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