Savannah – Day Drinking, Accidental Drunks, and Killer Eats

We’ve covered some of the amazing things to do in Savannah here, now we are all about the food & drink!

Savannah Basics

If you are a day drinker or a fan of fantastic food, I’m going to give Savannah, Georgia a 4.5 out of 5 stars.  For the most part, tourists are going to stick to the historic district of Savannah, so from here on out when I say Savannah just assume that I am talking Historic District. Here are our recommendations for you to find a little of everything to fit your mood. Upscale classy bars, dive bars, walk-up bar, basement bar, speakeasys.

Generally, if we have a few days in a new city, we dedicate an entire afternoon to day drinking, shareable snacks, and an early bedtime.

Savannah is a very walkable, so perfect for day drinkers to not to have to worry about catching a cab, and convenient for walking off those fantastic meals.  Also, a plus for Savannah Historic District is the open container laws, that allow you to walk around with a beverage of choice, “To-Go-sa” is a thing, and plastic cups are available in plenty of bars to take your drink to go. Apparently, this is not a city-wide ordinance, so do not try this in the residential areas.

Brunch Choices

The Ordinary Pub

Our choice for starting off the day is The Ordinary Pub.  Downstairs in a building basement.  They have the best way to start off a day:  bottomless mimosas.  They also have a fantastic brunch menu, with the absolutely not-to-miss Pork Belly Donut sliders.  Hands down the best thing we ate during our entire trip. 

We were also impressed that unlike many other bottomless mimosa joints, they were not stingy with the refills.  In fact, servers circulated the room with carafes of mimosas, topping people off on their way by, one of the few places you actually get your money’s worth on the deal.

Sister Side Note (ssn) – we would have gone back for these sliders over and over! So good! Plus this bar is so much fun – amazing energy & staff!

Collins Quarter

After a morning at Bonaventure Cemetery, we stopped at Forsythe Park and scored outdoor patio seating at The Collins Quarter.  The lavender mocha and avocado toast were as good as all the reviews said. We were concerned that it may have merely been overhyped, but nope!

ssn – we really wanted to check out items on their brunch and dinner menu as well, but didn’t get time. There is a second location on Bull Street in the Historic Downtown.

The Grey

After an early start to walking the historical sights in Savannah, we had been looking forward to The Grey! Our goal was to get there as it was about to open and hope to get in without a reservation!  And we did!  The Grey is a really cool restaurant built in an old Greyhound bus station.  Themed as such, refurbished and yet left with a lot of the interior décor but with high end finishes.  It was fantastic, Peggy discovered her new favorite drink, The Passionfruit Spritz. We shared crab beignet (yes, I said crab beignet)!

ssn – Again…there is a reason this gets mentioned in most related blogs. Highly recommend! Great service, great breakfast cocktails & those crab beignets!

Wandering & Day Drinking

Sorry Charlie’s

Staying down on Congress Street is where you will find the most walkable pub crawl area.  We needed to hit up Sorry Charlie’s as a pretty standard drinking spot in Savannah, but mostly for the oysters.  Doing great southern food, with a little Savannah charm, Sorry Charlies is a multi-level restaurant and bar.  This means you can pick what you are feeling.  As we were walking in, a bunch of “woo-hoo”ers were headed up to the rooftop bar, so naturally we decided to stay on the ground level.

There is a full oyster bar and a full restaurant, we opted for bar seating.  A fairly standard service item in Savannah is the frozen cocktail, which I’m sure speak volumes about the heat in Savannah; however, we hit on a chillier day, so passed on the brain freeze, and had the Georgia peach tea vodka and lemonade.  Most bars have this stocked, and I can’t recommend it enough. Peach tea vodka is just a boozy, peachy Arnold Palmer.

Oysters!

We had the sampler dozen of oysters, since we are more familiar with west coast varieties of oysters, they had a wide variety of regional styles, and the garlic and parmesan roasted oysters. Another round and we were ready to face the rooftop.

God loves a good rooftop bar, and this one was pretty fantastic.  Suddenly packed with the newly found sun, it had a great atmosphere of happy guests and great booze.  We lucked into a perfect corner couch seating (first come, first serve on the roof), a nice little fire pit, and great service.  And, then we lucked into a first date couple to our left, and a trio of Lululemon girls to our right, so at least the people watching was good.

When places are packed, we really try not to hold our table too long. It prevents the servers from getting good turnover, so after an hour we decided we needed to see more of Congress Street.

City Market

We popped by Wet Willies, because honestly, I fell in love with their cute little plastic To-Go cups on their website.  But after a brief discussion we just couldn’t do the frozen drinks just yet.  And Wet Willies has a wall of frozen drink concoctions to choose from, it makes me think of Vegas or New Orleans in this sense. 

Around the corner was Jen’s & Friends.  If you are planning nothing but day drinking, definitely hit up Jen and Friends walk up bar.  Big long cocktail list, but we also hit prime time for a big long line! HA, maybe next time Jen (and friends).

Rail Pub

We were about to start getting thirsty, but there was plenty more bars on the list to choose from.  As we wandered down, we hear it. . . the soulful smooth sounds of John Legend filling the streets. We had hit one spot that was high up on my list:  The Rail Pub.

It’s a complete dive bar, which we love, and was featured on Booze Traveler (The Travel Channel). I loved that episode so I had to go.  It is over 100 years old and has one of those checkered pasts that some of us have. It was a boarding house and a brothel, and was favorited by the old timey railroad folks, hence the name.

It’s divey to the point of you can still buy a 40 oz beer for $5, they actually have pickled eggs at the bar and peanuts on the floor.  They also have a jukebox…and a fantastic “Rule #8” of “when people around you are having a good time, please don’t play Pink Floyd on the jukebox”.

Outdoor Karaoke

But now, I digress, we were lured in by John Legend.  Which I am sure you are now thinking ‘WTF, we can’t play Pink Floyd, but they can play (yawn) John Legend syrup”? Well you are probably also thinking “WTF is Pink Floyd even on the jukebox if we can’t play it?” but ask them, I have no idea.  So, turns out John Legend was coming from the side patio, where we stumbled on Karaoke, OUTSIDE!!!  I mean, come on, this is my new camping spot, throw out my sleeping bag, I can be here all night.

Until…we discover the complete lack of acceptable restrooms, and only port-a-potties.  I mean, not that I blame them given the surrounding clientele at the time, but I’m a hard NOPE on drunkenly used port-a-potties.  So, one drink in, and the 21^st birthday girls got up for Love Shack and we are OUT.  Next time Rail Bar, next time, you and me, we gotta thing!

ssn – this was a damn good time! Karaoke — outside —- yes!!!

Congress Street Social Club

Down towards the end of the block we found Congress St. Social Club.  With a great patio, and a huge indoor space, all wood. It was pretty awesome.  And it was relatively dead, but I had to gooooo.  Something about the inside of this place smelled like Portland, OR, must have been all the wood.  Another Peach Sweet Tea Vodka, the bartender was funny and we should have come back to this place.  The patio had sofas around fire tables, and an outside bar.  Next visit we will be back for more.  Really loved this place.

Broughton Street

Savannah Seafood Company

It was actually time for real food, so we stopped in to Savannah Seafood Company because it had such high ratings online.  Tiny little, order at the counter, hole in the wall.  Grabbed a beer, and an oyster po’boy.  Wasn’t what I was looking for, but Peggy loved it, cuz even though it wasn’t crispy enough, the oysters were still amazing! 

Common

Then we walked by Common, and their BOGO Happy Hour and 50 cent oysters sign.  This is our typical, upscale bar. Great décor, loved the ambiance.  Unfortunately, the bartenders had two fucks left to give and they were saved for the young pretty girls down at the end of the bar.  So, hey, here’s a strategy, older ladies have more money to tip with and are more flattered by the attention, know where to put your energy.

ssn – I don’t know what she’s talking about…I don’t recall any “older ladies” there. The decor drew me into this one but it was just a pretty face.

Alley Cat Lounge

As evening was upon us, I found my newest obsession though a quick Google search of what’s next.  I don’t even remember what drew my focus in on this one, but The Alley Cat had to happen.  And I know the next SSN is going to tell you how completely right this choice was.

We took a little wander, and by that I mean, we were attempting to follow Google’s walking directions and happened past The Grove, which had amazing looking food, but we were completely swayed by the outside bar.  While not completely outside, it was a long bar with big open to the street French doors, and a super friendly staff that just invited us right on in. How could we say no to that level of Southern Hospitality? 

ssn – I had forgotten about the Grove. It was so cute & very New Orleansy to me!

Ok, so back to The Alley Cat.  We go back to Broughton Street, we go left.  We walk a few blocks.  Google says we passed it.  We go back, nope, passed it again, we cannot find this place.  It is right by The Ordinary, we see The Ordinary, we cannot find The Alley Cat!!  Ok, we give up, we decide to start walking back off Brighton, and I am frustrated.  We get a block over, I check Google again, and it says we are 250 feet away, so WTF…

Finally Found It

Turn around, turn around, turn around, and OOOOoooh, I get it, it’s in the back alley…it’s The ALLEY Cat.  One sign, one chair outside a door, total speakeasy vibe. Maybe that’s why I was obsessed.  So, open the door to a staircase, go down the stairs. I think we are at the back of the place, but maybe we are at the front, but who cares, there are two seats at the bar. 

The bartender hands us each an old timey looking newspaper that is their drink menu.  Pages of nothing but completely original, well thought out craft cocktails.  We could have stayed here all night. The stories behind each style, info on Savannah.  Someone put some thought and attention-to-detail into The Alley Cat. And we loved every second of it.  But it was the end of the night for us, and we had one last stop to make.

ssn – Patti nailed it with this choice! Hands down, my favorite bar of the trip. LOVE the genius & creativity! Plus, the vibe was on-point!

Abe’s on Lincoln

Abe’s on Lincoln was Peggy’s favorite bar on her previous trip.  So, she was insistent that I see it.  And it was actually super cute little bar.  Love the play on the name.  Inside is wall to wall and ceiling to ceiling cocktail napkin drawings of Abe Lincoln.  I get it, I see her love, I feel her vibe on this one. 

ssn – nothing to add here, just restating that this is indeed, my favorite stop!

Other Worthy Mentions

River Street

River Street, like most of the downtown area, it is just a block away from the Hop On/Hop Off (which you can’t take a drink on, BTW).  So, a swing down to the river front district found us at Boar’s Head. It’s a staple, and a must. Super authentic, dark wood & brass pub. After a couple of local drink specials, we moved on.

Tubby’s is upstairs and overlooking the river.  Loved the people, loved the drinks, loved the view.  Even loved the horn blowing Busker who seemed to only know 3 songs.  The riverfront is also home to another Wet Willies (which we still passed on), and we definitely want to check out the rooftop bars next time.

The Cotton Exchange looked amazing, but more like a place I would go if I wanted real food, which we did not at this point.

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Pirates’ House

The Pirates’ House is one of the oldest buildings in Georgia, and it’s haunted (as we find out most places in Savannah are), AND they used to kidnap drunken men, shove them into the basement and then shove them onto pirate ships as deckhands against their will.

Of course, we have to stop for a rum punch, and ordered this amazing pecan honey fried chicken which has been covered by several food/travel shows, and was actually pretty amazing.

ssn – the Pirates’ House is one of those must-see Savannah establishments. It is touristy but it is worthy! And although the Honey Pecan Fried Chicken is their most popular dish, I think the Low Country Spring Rolls were the star of the show!

Hitch

Hitch was a drink and a snack stop we had to hit! We attempted to get brunch at one of the other Treylor Park properties but could not get in. This location absolutely did us right. We had fantastic service, and loved the shrimp and grits tacos!

ssn – So glad we had the chance to stop here. The Chicken & Pancake Tacos were amazing!

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The Peregrin

We highly recommend catching sunset on the rooftop at The Peregrin! There was a firepit, and great company in the form of fellow travelers, and The Peregrine provided blankets, which was a nice touch.

ssn – even though sunset didn’t wow us on this particular night, it was one of my favorite evenings. Beautiful views, interesting people and a cozy fire with blankies! Plus Patti got her coveted Tiki drink!

Sixpence Pub

This was the starting point for our Creepy Crawl Haunted Pub Tour. Super fun pub to start the night. Grab some drinks and wander!

McDonough’s

McDonough’s was another stop on our Ghost Tour. It had a great vibe, a mix of locals and tourists! And Karaoke! As their website says, “Many a good night has started, or ended, or both, at McDonough’s”.

The Original Pinky Masters

The Original Pinky Masters stop on our Ghost Tour was a fun one! Very 70s, very nostalgic. Pinkie’s is known as a place to get cheap PBR’s, listen to great music from the juke box, and visit with some really colorful patrons.

ssn – there was something super funky and comfortable about this place for me. Even though it was a challenge for them to accommodate our tour group, it worked for me!

Honorable Mention

The Honorable Mention on our Savannah drinking tour has to go to Better than Sex.  If you are in Savannah on a date (or Key West), get a reservation here!  It is late night only, cocktails and desserts only.  And it is romantic af.  The glass rims are lined with homemade caramel sauce, the drinks are divine, and the desserts are amazing.  It was fantastic.  This place gets an A+ and I can’t wait to bring my husband instead of my sister next time (no offense to the sister, she’s still an amazing date).

ssn – Dessert & drinks here were over the top. Patti had something rimmed with caramel. I had the Love Potion 69 – with housemade Amaretto! Giggle-worthy for sure….

Checkout the others in our Day Drinking series

• Boise
• Seattle – part 1
• Seattle – part 2
• Dallas