1540 Room is the dining room of The DeSoto hotel on Madison Square. The name points to Hernando de Soto's expedition through the Southeast in 1540 and the spice trade that followed. Chef Collin Clemons cooks seasonal Lowcountry menus from local farms, and the hotel says he was named the city's best chef less than a year after opening. Savannah Magazine readers voted it the best fine dining room in the city for 2026.
An inn with a dining room and a separate tavern that keeps its own hours. The inn says the tavern opens daily at 4pm and closes by 11pm, with food during kitchen hours.
A Bay Street wine bar named for its street number. The bar adds that 208 'symbolizes manifesting wealth and abundance' and then admits, 'It's also our address.' Wednesday nights are Bubbles & Blues with singer Laiken Love, and Tuesdays bring five dollar tapas toppers. Readers voted it best wine bar in Connect Savannah (2022) and in Savannah Magazine (2026).
Live music some nights. Go before the band starts if you want to talk.
45 Bistro has been the dining room of The Marshall House hotel since 2001, the third home of a restaurant Sandy Hollander has run since the mid 1980s. Eat It and Like It reported on September 14, 2026 that it will leave the hotel when the year ends ... the last service is December 31, 2026. The hotel sold on June 1, 2026 and its new owners plan to remake the space in 2027. The team has said it hopes to reopen elsewhere in Savannah. 45 Bistro is open now and has said it will leave The Marshall House on 31 December 2026.
BellyUp Savannah / Over 50
Good places to eat and drink in Savannah, minus the nightclubs. When a spot gets loud later or draws a lot of kids, the card tells you.
The same over 50 spots, sorted by the reasons people actually pick them.
6 spots
Desposito's is the fish shack under the Thunderbolt bridge, serving since the 1960s. Connect Savannah traces it to a market run by the Walton family that Carlo Desposito bought in 1968 and put his name on; after he died in 1982, Walton Boone ran it with his son David for more than 30 years. Michelle Smith bought it in October 2020, rebuilt it over two years and reopened on August 28, 2023 with a riverside pavilion and room for about 130. The front bar is still lined with beer bottles found during the renovation. In December 2025 it closed after a staff walkout over unpaid wages, and parent company River Street Hospitality set a reopening for January 10, 2026 with new management and a menu it says goes back to fresh, local seafood.
Driftaway has been in Sandfly since 2001, run by the husband-and-wife team of Robyn and Michele Quattlebaum. They call the cooking 'Casual Coastal Cuisine' ... fresh catch specials with some Caribbean influence ... and the motto is 'good food, good company, Savannah style'. There are patios, live music, brunch, and a private room for gatherings.
Live music some nights. Go before the band starts if you want to talk.
Fiddler's has been family owned and run since 1999 and belongs to Live Oak Restaurant Group, the Savannah company Ansley Williams started when he co-founded Spanky's on River Street in 1976. The oysters are shucked by hand to order, and the outdoor balcony looks over the river. Savannah Magazine readers named Live Oak the best hospitality group and Williams the best restaurateur in 2026.
Savannah native Mike McMahon opened the Flying Fish in 2007 after years in the seafood business, aiming for local traditional flavors in a relaxed room. It sits on US 80 on the way to the beach with a patio and live music on weekends. Savannah Magazine lists it for families whose children are happy with fried shrimp, the screens and the patio.
Live music some nights. Go before the band starts if you want to talk.
Gallery Espresso opened around 1993 and calls itself Savannah's oldest coffee shop. It spent its first ten years in a basement, then moved in 2003 into a circa 1859 building at the south end of Chippewa Square. The walls work as a gallery ... the fall 2026 show is 'The Reckoning' by Mr Mahaffey, up through Halloween. There is seating outside and fireplaces inside.
Kelli Pearson and Kristin Russell opened The Sentient Bean in 2001 at the south end of Forsyth Park, and the cafe's motto is brewing coffee and community since then. All of the coffee is organic and fair trade, the kitchen buys from local farmers, and the shop composts, recycles glass and is an EPA Green Power Partner. At night it turns into a small stage for live music, drag and burlesque shows, film nights, and an open mic on the first and third Tuesday run with Savannah Pride Center.
This is a music venue. It is loud when a show is on.
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