Artillery Bar — Restaurant in Savannah

I must preface by saying that I and my wife, locals both, have been going to Artillery for over 4 years. We have spent countless time and money here and have recommended this establishment to probably hundreds of people for not just the craft cocktail experience they have built, but the exemplary customer service as well. Tonight, my wife and I got married and had been planning for over 10 months on taking ~6 close family members who have traveled from across the globe to be here to Artillery and arrived before 11:00 PM tonight. We went inside and were told, despite the number of patrons inside, that they were closed. I asked the bartender if there was any way we could grab a quick drink, as we just wed and have been planning this journey for some time. The response was a cold, "Congratulations, but we're actually closed." When I asked about the odd timing and no updated calendar hours, I was told, coldly again, "it's the week before Thanksgiving, so we are closing early tonight, sorry." Before the bartender swiftly walked away and left from view without hardly looking us in the eye.

As I said, I have been a continued local patron of Artillery for years, and I have never once before tonight felt coldly treated or anything off about the service. It was the one location I wanted to bring my people who have traveled from as far as Australia to be here in Savannah as an example of the best that coastal Georgia has to offer in the way of excellent cocktails and excellent service. That's why I have changed my review.

Tonight seemed to defy my normal expectation of the most consistently excellent bar in Savannah, and most importantly, broke my trust as a long-term customer on an extremely...

Nov 4,2023. Used to love love love this place, but the last 3 visits have done it in for me. I will NEVER go there again. Which makes me sad. We have been regulars for the last 9 years. Always highly recommended the place but now I will go out of my way to tell everyone not to patronize this business. Cool atmosphere but the staff can make or break an experience. The current staff is the worst. I understand their policies, but it's all about how you present your company rules. After showing our i.d.'s we were quickly told that we were not allowed to stand, everyone must have a seat. No we couldn't put four people where there was area for four people. No you couldn't ask a patron to move down the bar to another stool because as he put it to my husband, "That is incredibly rude". The bouncers attitude was just that, the attitude that we were lucky they were even allowing us in. Not, hey I know you guys would like to sit together so, when this large table in the back becomes open I will let you know, in the meantime why not enjoy a drink here. He was so aggressive that half our party left and said they would wait outside for us. How embarrassing to have invited friends to enjoy a drink together before going to a wedding reception only have the staff make them feel absolutely unwelcome and unworthy. And btw the drinks we had were just okay. I will go to Alley Cat or St. Bibiana's and never look back at...

Full disclosure: I moved back to Savannah in spring 2016 after a twelve-year hiatus and have only recently partaken of the splendor that is Artillery Bar. Yikes, was I missing out!!!

Artillery features high-end craft cocktails created by some of the city’s most knowledgeable and dedicated bartenders.

A person beside me at the bar ordered this dramatic production of a drink with lit pipe tobacco and whiskey. Its presentation alone prompted me to order one for myself.

It was wonderful—smooth, complex and left me wanting another. I then tried “A Night in the Garden” which also did not disappoint.

Artillery serves cocktails and a limited selection of finger food snacks, which is perfect because next door is Public Kitchen and Bar. They serve fresh salads and gourmet burgers that will leave you sated, happy and ready for another round at Artillery.

Lastly, every Wednesday night Artillery Bar hosts live acoustic music from 6 to 9p. A great spot to catch locals hanging on a...