Congress Street Social Club

411 W Congress Street, Savannah

912-238-1985

The sign out front

Live music/DJ stage

I’ve visited the Congress Street Social Club several times before, usually during a weekend tour of bars downtown, but I had never brought the dogs with me before. The establishment allows dogs on their patio until 9:00 p.m., but Hefner, Charlie, and I visited Social Club in the early afternoon, giving us plenty of time to enjoy the dog-friendly atmosphere.

One of the bars inside

Social Club offers a variety of activities on its two levels, including billiards, darts, live music, DJs, and trivia nights, with three different bars at which to procure your alcohol.

Social Club’s outdoor patio and bar

We were able to secure a table near the fence (a perfect place to tie the leashes). Social Club’s patio is mostly shaded by a large tree rooted in the center, which was only a problem when leaves would occasionally blow into our drinks/food. There are other covered areas, including the outdoor bar, to escape the hot Savannah sun. The staff allowed us to set ourselves up and then brought us food and drink menus. Though our waitress was aware of the dogs, we had to ask for a bowl of water for them.

Hefner and Charlie enjoyed the people-watching by the fence.

Since Social Club is more of a drinking environment (there were other dogs on the patio, but no children present), the alcohol menu was my main focus. The drink menu is extensive, with a large selection of beer, bourbon, ryes, and whiskeys, but we decided to sample the four signature mixed drinks.

Social Club has quite an extensive drink and food menu

Social Club also has a couple of signature shots, including a house-made lemon-infused vodka they keep on tap ($5). The other shot, called the “Wild Chipmunk” ($6), is a blend of Rumpleminze and Jägermeister the menu deems “gentle” (gentle as a chainsaw lobotomy, I’m sure). I decided not to try either of these, as I was afraid I would lose not only my dogs, but also my faculties and bladder control.

The Social Tea (left) and the frozen Jack and Coke

I’m always game for an ICEE, so the signature frozen alcohol drinks drew my liver’s attention first. Social Club has a frozen Jack and Coke and a frozen Red Bull and vodka (both $7.50). Both promise a brain freeze when you drink them and a brain pain when you wake up the next morning. If you’ve ever had either of these mixed classics, the frozen versions taste much as you would expect. Just don’t drink them too quickly.

The Red Mule (left) and the frozen Red Bull and vodka

The other two signature drinks on the menu are the Social Tea (sweet tea vodka, peach, lemon and mint – $6) and the Red Mule (Deep Eddy Ruby Red vodka, ginger beer, and lime – $8). Too many of the Social Teas will probably cause trouble, because it’s hard to taste the alcohol in that one. It reminds me of the peach iced tea from your grandmother’s house. The Red Mule was pretty good, similar to most any other Moscow mule from any bar, minus the copper mug.

The Famous Failure Bowl

Social Club offers food in an attempt to soak up some of that alcohol, including my favorite food groups, mac and cheese and nachos. Social Club gives you the option to build your own mac and cheese bowl, but I decided to order something called the “Famous Failure Bowl” ($9.50), which is homemade mac and cheese topped with fried chicken fingers, bacon, barbecue and buffalo sauce, and fresh scallions (which I don’t enjoy, so I asked they leave off). I didn’t notice a lot of sauce in there, but there was plenty of the meat to compliment the cheese and pasta. I’m not sure whether I would prefer it more to prevent or heal a hangover, but it was good.

Brisket nachos

We also tried the brisket nachos ($9.95), chips topped with smoked brisket, queso, pico, guacamole, sour cream, jalapenos, and cilantro. The chips were a little too saturated with cheese dip, which made it a somewhat hard to eat, but nachos are good even if you have to use a fork.

More people-watching

Social Club’s food menu also offers chicken fingers, grilled steak, sandwiches, salads, barbecue, tacos, quesadilla, wings, and various sides.

Dogs on the patio

This guy’s name was Chubby (I didn’t bother getting the human’s)

Social Club’s patio is definitely dog-friendly, and there were several other dogs that came and went while we were enjoying ourselves. As I mentioned earlier, there is a sign by the entrance that states the patio is dog-friendly until 9:00 p.m. I’ve heard from a witness that rule is enforced, and they will ask you and your dog to vacate the premises at that time.

Hefner and Charlie relaxing on the patio

On our visit, there were no canine evictions, as we were there well before the curfew. I doubt exposing your dogs to the drunken late-night atmosphere would be a good idea anyway. My dogs already give me judgmental looks when I come home from the bar in the early-morning hours; they don’t need to witness how I got into that state.