Crystal Beer Parlor

Bar, Eatery

301 W Jones St
Savannah, Georgia, 31401-4252
United States

(912) 349-1000 | map
crystalbeerparlor.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.04
Reviews:
10
Ratings:
24
pDev:
11.39%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by dbrauneis:
Photo of dbrauneis
Rated by dbrauneis from North Carolina

4.04/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4

Oct 05, 2015
More User Ratings:
Photo of cmb
Rated by cmb

4.75/5  rDev +17.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5
Extensive draft and bottled/canned list. Good food. Longtime local restaurant and bar. Highly recommend.
Mar 13, 2022
 
Rated: 4.29 by puftdank from Illinois

Oct 10, 2019
 
Rated: 4.18 by nwhittin from Indiana

May 30, 2018
 
Rated: 4.3 by coombski from Maine

Apr 26, 2018
Photo of Slack
Reviewed by Slack from Virginia

4.26/5  rDev +5.4%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.5
An unassuming building holds this bar / restaurant. The inside, not surprisingly, looks like a bar / restaurant. We got here and we're immediately greeted and offered a table but opted for the bar. The bartender gave us drink and food menus, offering a taste of any draft line. Beer selection was mostly local with the remainder in state. I was looking for Two Tides and they had 3 draft lines iirc. Full pours were fairly priced and small pours (5 oz?) were $3 each (of any draft line, unlike The Distillery). Food was standard pub fair however the duck wings and pretzel (with beer cheese) were awesome. Service was all around fantastic. Highly recommended.
Apr 01, 2018
 
Rated: 3.89 by kevintaraross from Maryland

Aug 04, 2017
 
Rated: 4.06 by JamesLeung from Florida

Sep 23, 2016
 
Rated: 3.78 by costanzo_mike from Massachusetts

Mar 12, 2016
 
Rated: 5 by tfsimpkins from Florida

Feb 15, 2016
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Reviewed by JNForsyth from Pennsylvania

4.46/5  rDev +10.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.75
Nice tap selection, focused on local beers with a few others from across the country thrown in for good measure. Bartender seemed fairly knowledgable. Kind of place I would frequent regularly if I lived nearby. Food was top notch.
Sep 05, 2015
Photo of myelo
Reviewed by myelo from Tennessee

4.03/5  rDev -0.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.25
Arrived at around 6:30 pm on a Saturday night and the place was packed. The hostess said it would be 1 hr 45 minute wait -- we were seated in 1 hr. 30 minutes. It's located in an older building, as is typical for this part of Savannah. Up front is a nice long bar and some tables and towards the back are several rooms with tables. Patrons seems to be a mix of local and tourists, mostly middle-aged and casually dressed.

First things first ... the beer. About 25 choices on tap ranging from local (Coastal Empire, Moon River) to regional (Sweetwater, Creature Comforts, Jekyll) to craft breweries further afield (Bell's, Dogfish Head, Green Flash). There was a bit of every style-- pilsners, IPA, stouts, Saisons, wheats, Belgians, and a barley wine. There was also a selection of American lagers ranging from the typical macros (Coors, Miller) to some smaller breweries (Dixie, Ballantine). Finally were a number of bottle selections. There wasn't really a focus on any particular style and there was a mix of low to high gravity selections. Apparently the selection rotates frequently so check their website.

I put a pretty good whoopin on the tap selections and they were all served in the appropriate glass, which was nice, but some were a bit too cold, like an imperial stout. I love trying local beers but have to say that none of the local selections were terribly impressive. But I really enjoyed a Mother Earth Dunkel and a Bell's imperial stout. Overall, thumbs up for the beer.

The food was very good. I had a tasty burger. They are apparently known for their crab soup but on the waiter's advice I tried the gumbo which was good but not great. My daughter had a gyro, which was excellent.

Service was excellent and prompt with the exception of the above mentioned wait to be seated. The waiter was familiar with most of the beers. Prices were reasonable.

Overall, this is a nice place for casual food with a good beer selection. If you don't like waiting, I would call ahead.
Jan 19, 2015
 
Rated: 4.31 by Beerando from Georgia

Jan 07, 2015
Photo of NeroFiddled
Reviewed by NeroFiddled from Pennsylvania

4.16/5  rDev +3%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4 | food: 4
The Crystal Beer Parlor has some history to it, which makes it a kind of destination spot for many. It's one of those places that serves a lot of tourists but also has a strong local clientele - always a very good sign! It's fairly interesting in that even though quite a bit of it is new (you can't save everything) it does have a historic look to it. The food is good, and reasonable for the area, and the draft list is exceptional (only The Distillery beats it, and no one else rivals it). Probably my second favorite beer spot in Savannah.
Dec 23, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Davepoolesque from Massachusetts

Oct 20, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by kell50 from North Carolina

Jul 21, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Rochefort10nh from New Hampshire

Jul 16, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by boogs from Iowa

Jun 27, 2014
Photo of LukeMarson
Reviewed by LukeMarson from Texas

3.53/5  rDev -12.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.75
A pretty good bar. Good interior, excellent local beer selection (plus a few Belgian imports and old-skool US beers), and an interesting food menu. The service was a bit lacklustre in terms of getting our food order right, but at least we got beers quickly and efficiently - although we were sitting at the bar. They have some special local beers on sometimes that sell out quickly, but I really enjoyed the ones I tried. This is a bar I would visit again next time I'm in town.
Jun 21, 2014
Photo of jakehesting
Reviewed by jakehesting from Georgia

3.7/5  rDev -8.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3.75 | food: 3.5
Best beer joint in Savannah if you don't want to run into a bunch of drunk assholes, smell hippies, or feel underdressed. Great bar with great food and a great beer selection that rotates. I been a couple of time and keep going back. Last experience wasn't great, got my food a little late, however it was 10 o'clock on a Friday night. They served a Dunkel by Mother Earth Brewing that made up for it.
Mar 10, 2014
Photo of shadyside
Reviewed by shadyside from Georgia

4.75/5  rDev +17.6%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.75
Classic, old place away from most of the tourist hangouts in Savannah. Been there many times. Food, service and price are all good. Beer selection is better than most places around and they support the local/Georgia breweries (Southbound, Service, Eagle Creek, Orpheus, etc.) on tap. Can get very crowded at lunch and on the weekends.
Feb 26, 2014
Photo of mynie
Reviewed by mynie from Maryland

3/5  rDev -25.7%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 3
"Beer Parlor" is a fancy-ish evocation of a pre-prohibition drinking establishment. Accordingly, their website promises that they stock a full selection of "retro" beer. The list was said to include Ballantine, which I covet, but sadly it wasn't available when I arrived. Damn.

They had a pretty decent tap selection, although it wasn't as expansive as even the Mellow Mushroom down the way. The decor was woody and glit in a way seems old, not pretentious. The crowd was almost entirely white and moneyed and the bartenders were nice.

Nothing much to say about this place; it's about as average as it gets for a beer destination. Beer's not the main focus, like it is at The Distillery. But if you're looking for a solid meal the company of an older demographic then this place is worth stopping by.
Jul 30, 2013
Photo of shivtim
Reviewed by shivtim from Georgia

3.18/5  rDev -21.3%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5
Stopped in for dinner on a Friday night. It was pretty hopping, and we had to wait a bit before getting a high top. This is in some sort of an old building on the edge of the historic district. Its got a dining room and a large bar area with a few booths and TVs. Pretty loud and relatively dark, as there aren't any big windows.

The beer selection was large but unimpressive. There were a couple good ones, but mostly it was cans of Stroh's, PBR, High Life, Old Milwaukee, etc. Quantity over quality. They did have one local beer from Moon River.

The food was hit and miss. I had a very tasty BBQ sandwich. The accompanying house-made potato chips were way overdone and kind of gross. My friend got gumbo which was average. Our service was at first slow trying to get seated, but then our waitress was very efficient and our food came out surprisingly fast.

Overall it's not a bad stop, but don't go expecting a beer destination. Try the Distillery or Moon River first.
May 10, 2010
Photo of asabreed
Reviewed by asabreed from New York

4/5  rDev -1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5
Apparently this place was closed down for a while and then reopened again? Not sure of the story exactly, but it was open when we were there, which I guess means they're good to go now.

We got there around 1 o'clock, and it was pretty packed. The front, where the bar is, is mostly booths and a few tables.In the back, beyond the bar, there are a lot more tables. The bar is long and decorous and old-looking with a ton of seats, so even though it was crowded, my brother and I managed to find two. The bartenders were pretty quick and diligent, which was great to see. Whether it was a cocktail, a beer, or a soft drink, they were running around for a bit before it died down and managed to tend to everyone very quickly.

I was slightly disappointed with the fact that only about 10 taps were working, and most, for a "Beer Parlor," weren't doing it for me. I did get a Dead Guy and a Southampton Double White (served in its proper glass, which was a nice touch), which are both great on tap, but there weren't a ton of choices I was dying to have that seemed different or far from the norm. Same with the bottle selection. All bottles are lined along the very top of the liquor bottles, so though they're in plain sight, again, I wasn't thrilled with the selection, and I'm not sure there was one bottle up there that I hadn't tasted before. Maybe it's just me, but I was hoping for some cooler and local regional stuff, in addition to the standards, and I really didn't get that.

We were going to eat but decided to eat later. The food did look good, though, and the portion sizes, if that's your thing, looked pretty huge for the prices.

A relaxing spot with decent beer and reasonable prices is something I'm always down for again in the future, and this is one of those places.
Apr 04, 2010
Crystal Beer Parlor in Savannah, GA
Place rating: 4.04 out of 5 with 24 ratings