This is going to be a tourist attraction.
You don’t need a four-year degree in “Savannah” to know and understand how deep its Irish heritage runs. We all know how big St. Patrick’s Day is around here, yes? That’s the lowest of low hanging fruit whenever the Irish and Savannah come up. What most people don’t know is how deep the ties run between the Hostess City of the South and Ireland. Unless you ran a google deep dive, there wasn’t really a place to see what those ties were all about.
Now you can, while enjoying a pint, some food, or a good book inside Savannah’s newest pub. It’s called Wexford Pub and it is equal parts Irish pub and history lesson. It promises to be one of the most popular stops for any visitor for many, many years. Yes, it’s that beautiful. Yes, it’s that well thought out.
Wexford Pub opened to the public in July in the City Market space formerly occupied by Wild Wing Cafe. The 14,000-square-foot (not a typo) restaurant and live music venue has been a project four years in the making. July 2020 is when it was agreed that the business partners involved would go for it and make this restaurant as much of a museum and homage to Irish heritage as they possibly could.
They’ve spared no expense. It’s a home run.
Jesse Blanco
The journey began with a visit to a historian at Georgia Southern University, someone who knew how deep the ties run between Savannah and County Wexford, Ireland. They were overjoyed that someone was looking into bringing this chapter of Savannah’s history to the masses.
The story, you see, goes back to the Great Potato Famine of 1845. Roughly a million people died as a result of the famine, and 2 million more fled the country. Many of those landed in Savannah, to start a new life. The relationship has been intertwined ever since.
Wexford Pub’s walls are adorned with as much of the history as they could find. If they couldn’t use an original artifact, they had replicas made. A Dublin-based design firm was hired to create what has become known in the industry as a “Super Pub.” We are told there are fewer than five such pubs in America. The newest one in the heart of Savannah.
There’s no wasted space. Anything you see on a wall or in a cabinet has a story or a tie to the history. The furnishings are simply beautiful. It’s a warm, inviting, and beautifully appointed pub. It’s a tighter squeeze, frankly, than I thought it would be, but that is part of its charm. Two bars on the ground floor dominate the space. Tables and booths are everywhere else. I loved it.
The food is what you would expect. Fish and chips, shepherd’s pie, pot roast, and many other classics. There’s a burger, of course, and wings and chicken tenders. Salads and shareables. Everything I had I very much enjoyed. The Bailey’s Irish Cream Cheesecake is made locally and will leave you talking about it for hours. Exceptional. I cannot recommend it enough.
The ground floor pub is welcoming and lively. Televisions are scattered. It’s not a sports bar, but you can figure a big game will be on when the need arises. In the interim? They have a livestream feed of the Temple Bar in the heart of Dublin. Quite clever and fascinating, frankly.
Those televisions will also be able to show the music going on upstairs. Live music will be a big part of this project. Acoustic sing-along types will be out front seven days a week downstairs. On the weekends upstairs there will be more formal musical enjoyment.
There’s also another bar on the second floor as well as any number of well appointed “snugs,” sections of the space that offer a little more privacy. I think it’s perfect. Beautiful as well.
I’m surprised no one took a stab at anything like this sooner. No matter, it’s done now and waiting for you to enjoy it. And I believe everyone will. What I’ve come to learn in my now 20 years in this beautiful city is that, yes, the Irish roots are cause for a good time here, especially in March. But beyond all of that, it’s the love and the passion that the families bring to the equation that make Savannah’s ties to Ireland felt as strongly as they are. And now they have a new gathering place to enjoy year-round.
A visit to Wexford Pub should be on your day trip plans across the Savannah River. Come see it for yourself.
