Cotton Exchange Tavern & Restaurant

Great restaurant and great service.
I came here one night a few years ago when visiting and remembered I really liked this place and the food.

This place was excellent! I ordered blackened chicken Alfredo and it was amazing! Best I’ve ever had. The server, Justin, was excellent. Next time I’m in Savannah, I will definitely be back by!

Food: 3.5
Service: 5
Ambience: 4
Daye/​Time: 3÷7÷2016 6:30pm
This place is right on the river with great views but unfortunately there was only 1 small window so you can’t really see much. It’s tight in the bar area with booths around it. Décor is nice with stone walls and wood booths and bar.
Service is great with Katz who was very friendly and accommodating. She checked in us frequently.
The food was decent. The blackened grilled chicken wrap was tasty but the fries were very bland (crinkle fries with no seasoning).
If you’re looking for basic grill and bar food, it’s worth a stop in. The non-​sandwich items may be more seasoned.

We had a late lunch here and although it was crowded the service was very quick and VERY friendly!
The food and beer was absolutely amazing — your typical southern food was better than you could ever imagine!
Definitely eat here if you have the chance!

Cotton Exchange is very busy on a Saturday morning and early afternoon. Stop in and grab a bloody mary to go… you won’t regret it.

Got the Garlic Shrimp and it was OK. It wasn’t awful but i’ve definitely had better. My boyfriend got the Gyro and wasn’t a huge fan. Service was very good and our waitress was attentive.

The food was good and that bourbon pecan pie and the salted Carmel chessescake were crazy delishes. Can’t stop thinking about it

I was pleasantly surprised by the quantity and quality of the seafood served. Looks can be deceiving and I am glad I checked them out on my way to the candy store. Nice portions, good flavors. Money very well spent for an excellent lunch.

Had a late dinner here with family recently while staying at the Hyatt. Service was very friendly and good and the food was really good and reasonable priced. We sat in the bar area (in a booth) and the bartender was talking to us and our girls occasionally. Very friendly atmosphere. The shrimp and grits were outstanding, really creamy/​rich sauce and the grits were actually a fried grit cake, so the taste and texture were really nice. The shrimp was large and fresh. Everyone else in our party enjoyed their food. This is a really good option if you are looking for good food that is reasonably priced. This is definitely not upscale, but the food was very good and they have plenty of variety.
Positives: Really good food, some southern/​local selections, reasonable priced, friendly service.
Negatives: Below a bar with live music (so could hear it in the background).

My go to place to grab a to go beer on River Street. They have reasonable prices and a good drink menu. It’s easy to stop in and just grab one before you walk around. I can’t speak for the food, but the place has a quaint colonial tavern feel that seems like a fun spot to eat.

Fast fun service. Very good sandwiches and gator tail poppers. Large sweet tea. Full bar. Right on the river walk.

Great, fast service. Try the Cajun tortellini dish; it’s marvelous! They usually only serve it for dinner but if you find yourself there during lunchtime, all you have to do is ask, and they’ll make it.
We also had the beef brisket BBQ sandwich, the sweet tea vodka cocktail and Georgia peach sangria. All delicious and just what we needed to kick off our tastebuds after driving to Savannah from Charleston for two hours.

My boyfriend and I bought bloody mayr’s at many of the bars in Savannah to see who had the best one. His #1 was the Cotton Exchange (mine was Bud’s down the street since it’s tangy).
Blood Mary– they clearly make their own mix. It’s delicious and spicy, just the way my boyfriend likes them. Make sure you take it to go and enjoy the scenery, it’s what open container laws are for.

Such a cute place! Definitely want to go back to explore the menu a little more. Fried gator tail? Yum. Cajun tortellini? Still yum. The chicken piccata looked good (generous portion). Decent beer list with seasonal specials.
Everyone can find something to eat here. They let you have your drinks outside on the sidewalk which is cool. Service was excellent on a busy Friday night.
Check this place out for sure. They’ll probably have a wait but they get through the list quickly.

If you’re looking for seafood comfort food, fried appetizers, burgers and sandwiches, I think Cotton Exchange would be a great place to start. When we visited Savannah, it was a pretty rainy day and didn’t feel like venturing too far outside our hotel near the river. Decided Cotton Exchange would be good enough for lunch and the wait was only about 5 minutes.
We weren’t planning to have a large meal, but our entrees were portioned enough to split. Hubby got the CRAB CAKE SANDWICH, which was exactly as you’d expect: crab cake flat grilled on a bun with lettuce, tomato and tartar sauce. It tasted exactly as you’d expect as well. Good and filling.
I ordered FISH AND CHIPS and received three large pieces of delicately fried fish. The batter was crispy and so disgustingly good. I mean, lick your fingers good. I would order this again in a heartbeat.
No this restaurant did not blow us away. But they serve diner favorites and classic dishes, and price wasn’t too bad either. We’d go back for sure.

My son and I stopped here for lunch. We were seated up stairs in the corner and it smelled like urine. At first I thought it was the old carpet but no, it was definitely something more than carpet. My son had the cowboy Rueben which was better than my gyro. The food was hot but pretty generic. Nothing exciting or «have to order» at the cotton exchange. On another note the service was fast but in the middle of lunch our awkward waiter came to the table and propositioned my son to fix his cell phone screen for $ 60 or sell us one of his used phones… odd? Anyway I doubt I’ll return, there are other place that blow this place out of the water and aren’t as expensive.

Cotton Exchange Tavern & Restaurant occupies pleasant waterfront location in the redeveloped Historic Savannah District. The structure is definitely old, historic and having both upstairs and downstairs dinning, affords a rather pleasant atmosphere. The service, though polite, can be somewhat slow if you are dinning upstairs as the waitress seems to have to run downstairs with the orders, then carry everything upstairs using her best estimations of when the food is ready to be served. The upstairs, however, provides the better riverfront views.
I had their clam chowder, which was good, but really nothing more than a simple New England style. I found their fried green tomatoes OK, nothing special and of the sandwiches we had, good but again nothing exceptional.
The one thing that I really thought that they did a good job with was their Peach Sangria, which I one item I would definitely recommend and my main reason for going Three Stars instead of Two Stars for Cotton Exchange Tavern & Restaurant

It’s a good place to have lunch over looking the Riverwalk in the great views from the second floor part of the restaurant clam chowder is pretty good try the shrimp salad or a light lunch but try the peach sangria it’s to die for there is no parking except up street-​level you have to walk down steps

Oh gosh I’m so happy there’s a place that doesn’t rely on location alone to bring in the $$$. Being in a touristy spot, I wasn’t expecting much but after chowing down on their creamy crab soup, I instantly regretted looking down upon this place.
I’ll admit, we settled on this place because of pure starvation and a lack of motivation to move along any further and while the chowder and (friggin awesome) alligator tail bites satiated me, both were so good I had to try the special of the day while my husband had the house favorite Shrimp and Grits.
We made a deal: he hates grits and would take my grouper if it tasted as bad as he remembered. Our server was so insistent on the popularity of this dish that he had to give in. And oh boy did he. I got maybe one bite in myself while he practically licked his plate clean. I myself very neatly scraped fish and sauce and bread all over the plate even though my skin felt stretched beyond their comfort levels.
We were both just that happy with our entrees that I ordered one to go so we could take it with us for our car ride back the next day.

Family-​friendly joint with good grub — my first dining experience in Savannah was definitely a positive one!
First off, dude, it’s hard to pick just one place to eat in Savannah. Everywhere you turn, there are great 4* and 4.5* rated places! However long you have to spend in this amazing city, it ain’t long enough. But at least with my 2-​year-​old niece in tow, we were able to narrow down potential spots somewhat. We needed somewhere not too schmancy, where we could get some good ol’ Southern cooking, and Cotton Exchange Tavern hit the spot!
The restaurant is right on River Street, overlooking the awesome riverboats and cobblestone pavement. The upstairs is perfect for family dining, with more of a bar-​vibe on the first floor. We started with the fried green tomatoes (couldn’t resist!) and the Savannah crab dip. Both were delicious! Especially putting the crab dip ON the tomatoes… just sayin’.
For my entrée, I got the shrimp and crab legs, which were boiled and doused in cajun seasoning — and served with corn & cole slaw. Delicious! The portion was ENORMOUS, too, so there were definitely leftovers. I also got to try the shrimp & grits (amazing, absolutely worth the hype) and the cajun tortellini (the scallops were TO DIE FOR in this dish, mmm.)
We unfortunately didn’t get to try dessert, although they sounded amazing (and all desserts were only $ 6! Amazing!) but I did try the Peach Sangria and I swear I could have eaten an entire bucketful.
The kid’s menu is also great, as my niece’s mac ‘n’ cheese was served in this super cute alligator plastic bowl that she tried to take home with her.
If you’re in Savannah and looking for a casual joint with some solid food to take the entire family, I definitely recommend Cotton Exchange!