The top half of the old city, from Bay Street down through the squares to about Liberty Street. Most of the hidden rooms are here: a bar down a back lane, a tavern in a cellar, a speakeasy behind a bookcase. Nearly all of it sits inside the to-go cup zone.
A side-street bar a block off Bay Street. Eat It and Like It (14 May 2024): 'This bar's claim to fame? Art. In the form of hundreds of renditions of Abraham Lincoln drawn (by locals and tourists alike) on cocktail napkins.' The same piece says it has seating inside and out and is dog-friendly.
The address is a lane, not a street ... Broughton Lane runs behind the shops on West Broughton. The bar calls itself 'a classy 1870's hidden gem basement bar highlighting Savannah's deepest library collection of fine spirits and cocktails.' Visit Savannah says the cocktail menu is large enough to fill a newspaper. In Savannah Magazine (13 April 2026) bar manager Chris Schofield called it just a bar in a basement with good vibes and better cocktails.
Eat It and Like It (14 January 2024) calls it 'Bay Street's only dive bar' and 'Savannah's only dive bar located ON the parade route'. It wrote that 'the locals will tell you they try to avoid touristy Bay Street. They don't avoid Bay Street Blues.' The bar had just turned 20, and is known for karaoke and $1 jello shots the owner makes weekly. It opens at 8pm and only four nights a week.
Hitch is the sister room to Treylor Park, the Savannah-born group that also runs Double Wide Diner, Pizza Party and Beach Party on Tybee. The group describes the room as reminiscent of a whisky library or a chic, modern saloon, with wood ceilings and copper accents. It stays open until 1am every night and has its own brunch menu.
A below-street-level tapas and martini bar near Ellis Square that calls itself 'swank, sexy & sophisticated.' Live music runs Fridays and Saturdays ... blues, swing, jazz, classic rock and Americana ... and the bar says it plans to add more nights. Connect Savannah readers named it a finalist for best martini in 2022.
A second room at the back of Mint to Be Mojito Bar and Bites. Connect Savannah covered the room when it opened as the Mint To Be Bubbly Bar: it is reached through 'a custom-made bookcase doorway', built by owner Alton Brecker, who opened the mojito bar with Mary Githens of Latin Chicks. Visit Savannah now lists the room as La Aparicion: 'by night, La Aparición transforms into something entirely moody and otherworldly'.
A dessert bar that pairs baking with bartending: cakes, chocolates, coffee drinks and cocktails late into the evening. Rebecca Radovich and Janine Finn opened it in 2007, and the bar says it has won a local best desserts award 16 years in a row. A second, smaller Lulu's is on Whitemarsh Island at 4700 US Hwy 80 E.
Savannah's karaoke pub. McDonough's says it has been voted best karaoke in the city for more than a decade, and it runs every day starting at 9pm. Savannah Magazine describes the shamrock green awning, two bars, 32 televisions and decades of guest photos on the walls. Visit Savannah counts 'three unique destinations under one historic roof': the bar, a steakhouse called Billy's Place and The Inn at McDonough's. The kitchen cooks until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.
A small Irish pub owned by Dan O'Connell. Savannah Magazine describes a room built for talking, with no TVs and no DJ, Gaelic football jerseys and Irish road signs on the walls, a five dollar pint of Guinness and visits from traditional fiddle players. Visit Savannah points to its 'traditional snugs and an impressive display of Irish sports memorabilia.'
A cocktail bar on Liberty Street that Visit Savannah describes as a 'retro-cool lounge' serving 'classic cocktails and sophisticated bites.' It takes reservations, sells its own merchandise and caters. Savannah Magazine readers voted it best signature cocktails in 2026, and Connect Savannah readers named it a finalist for best martini in 2022.
A bar inside an escape-room business. Savannah Magazine (13 April 2026) lists The Hideaway as the company's speakeasy bar, beside its 'Savannah Speakeasy' escape room, and quotes bartender Nefeli Feyd. The company's own site says people without a game booking are welcome: 'whether you are waiting for your group to finish or just passing through you are more than welcome to hang up front with us!' It has board games.
The Hot Eye is the lower-level bar of the Municipal Grand hotel, and it publishes a lane address rather than the hotel's street address. Savannah Magazine (13 April 2026) called it the newest of the city's underground lounges, with 'a sleek black bar and red walls', and quoted head bartender Alexis Cooper saying it is meant to be a place for Savannah, naming the SCAD community and people who work in the industry. It opens four nights a week only.
This is the original Treylor Park, the Bay Street room that grew into a Savannah-born group with Hitch, Double Wide Diner, Pizza Party and Beach Party on Tybee, plus rooms in Florida. The bar top is made from reclaimed bowling lane wood, and there is a beer garden out back ... the site's line is business in the front with the party out back. No reservations. Savannah Magazine readers voted its fries the best in the city in 2026.
