There was a time when Savannah had no true rooftop bars. Then there were two. Then three. From three it feels like we jumped to twelve. It may only look that way, but it seems like every time a new venue opens downtown Savannah, there is a rooftop bar/deck element involved.
I paid a visit to the new deck at Sorry Charlie’s on Ellis Square last week. They’d been open for roughly 19 days before the Covid-19 shutdown in March. They waited it out like everyone else and have now re-opened to rave reviews. Including mine.
If you follow along what we do here at Eat It and Like It, then you know we never do traditional ‘reviews’ and we certainly aren’t going to start now with a rooftop deck.
That out of the way, I will say that the rooftop at Sorry Charlie’s is sooner rather than later about to become a downtown destination. It’s almost impossible for it not to be.
For starters, the location. It is the only rooftop overlooking Savannah’s Ellis Square. Fortunately for them, it faces West. Do you know what happens in the West? That is correct, the sun sets. The sunset views from the roof at Sorry Charlie’s right now are the best in the city. It will be hard to see anyone topping that.
From my seat, Peregrin at The Perry Lane Hotel offers an impeccable view of “Savannah.” At twilight, there is nothing more beautiful. At the same time, The Lost Square at The Alida Hotel offers the best sweeping view of the Savannah River. That may soon be rivaled by the rooftops coming at the new Plant Riverside Project, but that’s a discussion for another time.
If you want a perfect sunset view, you go to Sorry Charlie’s.
Another reason this will attract the masses is the new 3rd floor Tiki Bar. It’s huge, it’s dark and it’s the perfect place to cool off on a hot Savannah afternoon or evening. The drinks are what you’d expect at a Tiki Bar, yes tasty, and the food is-you guessed it-Polynesian themed.
Which brings us to the food. I saved it for last because it was important to mention The Bamboo Room when you discuss the food on the rooftop. The two floors share one kitchen. The kitchen is on the roof level. What does that mean? Yes, of course you can have raw oysters and Rockefeller (wonderful by the way) but the menu on the roof is the same Polyneisan items you find on the third floor. Shrimp and Pineapple skewers, Crab Rangoon, Pot Stickers, you get the drift. See the full menu here.
We very much enjoyed the food we had, but the big draw here is the venue. The roof, the third floor and the views.
It won’t be long before people will be lining up along Congress for that elevator ride to grab a Champagne cocktail and a Savannah sunset. Does it get much better than that?
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