Savannah Smiles Dueling Pianos

Savannah Smiles is in the midst of tourist traffic, but here’s why locals should come here: the bar staff and managers are amazing. If you’re looking for a Cheers type bar with live music, come here, and expect a great time. If you don’t know the deal, there are two piano players, belting out hits. They do take requests, so if you don’t want to be stuck with the bachelorette party playlist all night, make your way to the pianos and ask them for a song!
Ask for Brice and Vinnie at the bar. They’re amazing managers, and always pour great drinks. Do yourselves a favor, and reclaim this spot as a stop on your nightlife lineup.

Went here on New Years once and had a blast what of it I could remember our waitress was REALLY friendly! I’d like to go back and check out what a typical night is like without all the New Years crowd. The drinks were good and for it being extremely busy we didn’t have a problem getting service.

Great surprise in Savannah! Got to the place by complete accident — but what a wonderful surprise!!! It’s a piano request bar, you just write the song on a napkin and pass it forward (with a tip) to the band. Awesome musicians, great ambiance and cheap drinks… FUN.

Very fun atmosphere, even for a Wednesday night. Got the crowd involved, which was nice. Good beer selection. We ordered from the bar, bur there was also a server that was very attentative to our needs. Did not love the $ 5 cover on a Wednesday night. Would definitely go again.

We’ve been to a few different dueling piano bars from San Antonio, TX to Austin, TX and now Savannah, GA. We had a great time and loved the atmosphere. Wish it were a lot bigger, fills up quickly and ends up standing room only. I loved the variety of people; ages 21 – 80!
Fun place to party and meet people!

Not your typical Piano bar!
Be prepared for very big space and a rowdy crowd. Lots of bachelor & bachelorette parties, people of ALL ages. The people at the pianos were very good, always trying to get the crowd going. We got there after midnight and everyone was pretty drunk so it wasn’t too hard. $ 5 cover charge. We went on a Saturday. The bar prices were pretty decent.
They played a lot of pop music and old classics. Journey, Queen etc. No show-​tunes, unless you request it, I imagine.
Basically a Spring Break vibe. Good fun.

We went right when they opened, while we waited for our river boat cruise. It’s right behind River Street, so great location.
The pianists were great. They played well and their attitude, energy, and knowledge matched if not superseded the crowd.
It’s a lively place once we returned after the river boat cruise. Any song you can think of, they knew and played well.
The only thing that made me very unhappy and gave them a 4* is that, we closed out our tab prior to heading to the river boat. When we returned, and opened a new tab, we were unable to because the original tab was never closed out.
We showed them receipts from the first tab and received no help. We were just told to watch our bank account… Turns out, it ended up being correct after pending for 4 days.
We will go back… with cash only.

Savannah Smiles is simply a super-​fun place to go when you’re out late celebrating, whether a bachelor/​ette party, a 21^st birthday, a girls’ or guys’ night out, etc. Don’t come here expecting classical piano, a subdued audience, or a lack of general debauchery and craziness. Seriously, I don’t understand reviews that indicate that Savannah Smiles (or other downtown establishments) are «full of annoying {insert type of celebration here} attendees.» That’s part of makes Savannah so fun!
Back on point, yes, I did come here for a friend’s bachelorette party, and the 8 of us had a blast! The $ 5 entry was completely reasonable, and even when arriving at midnight, there was still one table remaining that was large enough to accommodate those in our party who either wanted to sit or take a break from dancing!
Beyond the $ 5 entry fee, the drink prices are pretty reasonable. Love the South and their cheap drinks (especially compared to DC and NY). Step on up to the beer bucket (or whatever it’s called), their cash-​only bar, and grab a quick couple of liquor drinks and two shots of Fireball for only $ 20 or so! Shot Girls walking around with Jell-​O shot injectors and test tube shots are super-​friendly and their drinks are cheap, too. It’s loud in here, but not «thump thump rave club» loud. You can still attempt to carry on quick conversations, but your time is better spent dancing or people-​watching.
Pony up some cash and make a show of delivering your song request to one of the piano players, written on a napkin. If you’re feeling really liquid with cash, pay up to have one of the band members write your message on the giant mirror, which is fun when opposing southern schools get into rivalries and pay up to have «{Insert SEC school here} is the best! {insert opposing SEC school here} sucks!» Just relax and have fun if you think the idea of paying for a song is stupid! The singers, drummers, pianists are all quite talented and have a hugely-​impressive repertoire of songs from all musical genres, from Motown to classic rock to rap to pop!
I like that they’re open until 3 AM, so it’s great to come here after the regular bars close, some around 11 or midnight. The crowd is still going and the pianists/​drummers/​entertainers don’t seem to lose their spunk, either. The bouncers and bartenders are all pretty friendly, too, as long as you’re behaving. What I almost couldn’t believe was that the bathrooms were stocked and not disgusting, which is quite the opposite of what you’ve probably experienced at other bars/​nightclubs/​Savannah in general (what is it with Savannah and gross bathrooms?).

I «loved» this bar every time I came to savannah I would go. But this last time I went was crazy. The drinks were expensive and in tiny cups. You have to pay a cover charge and also to get any of your request on the mirror you have to pay the bucks to get it. Also checked my bank account this morning and they charged our card $ 50 when we deff didn’t spend 50 dollars there. We only got 2 drinks. Definitely won’t be going back

My family and I were visiting Savannah on vacation and looking for something fun to do after dinner. We heard about Savannah Smiles and thought a dueling piano bar would do the trick. It was a Friday night, so we each had to pay a $ 5 cover. I’m not a fan of cover charges but since there was live music and we were in a different city, we went along. The venue is very large, but even on a Friday night, the bar was less than half full. That was fine with us since we didn’t feel like rubbing shoulders with the four annoying bachelorette parties that were going on at the same time. Apparently, this place is bachelorette party mecca so if you’re a single guy on the prowl looking to hit on drunk girls, this is the place for you! If you’re not a single dude and that’s not your scene, well, you’ve been warned.
The dueling pianos were a bit corny for my taste. There’s a rotating bunch of piano players/​singers who come in throughout the night. Three out of the four singers we heard were so off-​key while singing it was comical. They played a random selection of pop and country songs based on the requests they received from the crowd. If you put a few dollars into the tip jar sitting on the pianos, you get to hear the song of your choice. Another way they generated money was to write whatever phrase you wanted on a mirror for money. Everything going onto the mirrors was so juvenile that my family and I couldn’t help but laugh. For example, one person paid $ 30!!! to write something along the lines of «my friend is an ass.» $ 30 for that? Really? Wow. That money could have gone towards several beers. What a waste, but to each their own. Overall, it was an entertaining night out for all the aforementioned reasons but it’s nothing to write home about.

I have to go with 4 stars, the service was incredible. The food was fried and acceptable but the menu was limited, the beer was cold and the selection was good. The dueling pianos were a lot of fun and the artists were keel versed and entertaining,

Always a fun time, whether it’s the cheap drinks, the dueling pianos, watching ppl make a fool of themselves, or laugh at the funny phrases that pop on the board throughout the night. $ 5 cover hasn’t changed in as long as I can remember, still kinda seedy, but just nice enough and good enough of a time that you’ll wanna go back. Also a huge plus now that smoking is no longer allowed inside. One word of warning, if you come with a group and want a table, you better show up real early.

Arrive early, but not too early, otherwise it’s painfully lonely. Crowds start showing up around 8:30, when the piano players start warming up. It’s normally filled with bachelorette parties (and the single guys that follow them around in the hopes of scoring). The musicians range from «meh» to great, and they know almost any song that you request. However, the aspect of «dueling» is something that was lost on me. I’ve been to other dueling piano bars, and the musicians actually battle to see who can play the song better. This isn’t the case, from what I saw a few nights ago.
The waitresses are friendly and attentive. I wasn’t expecting table service, but they do this, and they do it well. However, the drinks are rather expensive, and you don’t get that much. I ordered a Guinness, and it was served to me in a tiny plastic cup (less than a pint), and it was more than $ 4. I don’t know the exact cost because I also ordered a Royal Flush shot (which was the normal shot size), and my grand total was $ 12. The prices of these items weren’t on the menu, from what I saw. Needless to say, I didn’t drink much because you can drink in Savannah for significantly less money elsewhere.
To enter the bar, you have to pay a $ 5 cover charge, and it appeared to be cash only. Also, make sure you bring cash if you want to hear your song being played — you have to tip the musicians when you request a song, and the more money you tip, the more likely you are to hear your song. As the night goes on, they up the ante, and you will be paying upwards of $ 5-​$ 10 to hear your song.
Overall, I don’t think I would go back. It’s something that every visitor should do at least once, but it really is a cash cow and, towards the end of the night, all you’re seeing is drunk bachelorettes stumbling around. Not my scene, but hey, I know I’m probably in the minority on that one.

One of my favorite places to go downtown. It’s great for getting the night started and letting it wind back down. We always stop by and listen to a few songs before we go out dancing. Once we’ve danced our feet off we come back and sit down, maybe watch a few people be silly and request a song or two

Wonderful place to go in Savannah! The bartender, Kevin, is one of the best! The atmosphere and entertainment is incomparable to any we’ve visited here! This was my husband’s and my first, and probably, only trip to Savannah and we had a blast here! We want to thank all the employees at Savannah Smiles for being so friendly and welcoming! Hopefully we’ll get to visit again!!! Keep up the good work Kevin… and thank you for everything!

There’s a $ 5 cover. It’s full of bachelorette parties. Great place to sing along. It’s a huge bar so lots of room for everyone to do whatever. You may sit down and watch the show and just chill or you can stand up and dance! They do have shot girls, is that what you would call the girls who are walking around selling shots? Anyway, the music was fantastic! The entertainers played country, rock, oldies, everything! I was a little annoyed at first with the amount of country they were playing but it got better.
I didn’t quite understand the phrases on the mirror and how people got to up on stage. I observed for a while but I still couldn’t get it. There was a female performer and a male performer. It was impressive, not gonna lie. My friends and I ended up staying for a while because we enjoyed the atmosphere and music so much. We didn’t close it down but it was starting to dwindle.
Definitely worth the $ 5.

Great place for a night out in Savannah! There were a ton of bachelorette parties on a Saturday night, and I was there for a bachelorette party as well, and a it was a $ 5 cover. The musicians were great — I requested a song and a back up song and with a $ 10 bill and asked to say congrats to the bride. They played my backup song within 10 minutes AND did my original request song later in the night, both times mentioning the bride.
The music went from pop to country to classics. Great place of you have people with a variety of music interests.

Definitely have not been to a place like this. I thought the talent was great.
i wouldn’t go often — it was crowded, not an easy place to talk and I wanted to sit down, but the competition for those front tables is fierce, the kind where you turn into a different person just so you can sit down. But definitely an experience!
And don’t worry — they have an ATM so they can take any of your song requests! And then write your personalized message on the mirror in white marker of some sort! Easy way to embarrass someone — for the right price. Evil laugh
Good for events and large parties.

I came to Savannah for my sister’s bachelorette party, and after reading tons of blogs, decided to add this to our list of things to do. I was unfortunately underwhelmed.
Coming from Orlando, I am used to piano bars such as Howl at the Moon. I knew as soon as I walked in that I was definitely not in Orlando.
The piano players were okay but nothing to write home about. In the span of 3 hours, they played the same 2 songs twice. Really?!? The music was also geared towards an older crowd which was weird because there were literally 8+ other bachelorette parties there that night. Don’t get me wrong, I love my throwback songs, but I feel like my mother would’ve enjoyed it more than a bunch of 20 something’s.
The bar also brought i an interesting crowd. The image of a not-​so-​classy bachelorette «twerking» on stage in next to nothing will forever be burned in my memory. I am no prude, but it seemed close to a scene one would find in the «adult film» section at the local motel 6.
I would suggest passing up this bar and hitting up a few of the local bars instead.

While the dueling pianos are not going to be on many people’s list of «must visit» places when you’re in Savannah, they are certainly a place that you can go to kill a couple of hours — and probably a few IQ points as well, just by walking in the door.
This isn’t history, there aren’t any ghosts, this is just a way to spend a couple of hours, and a good chunk of change for overpriced drinks while you listen to what passes for songs and watch people who have no business being out in public while they are drinking. In fact, they are probably more entertaining than the paid entertainers on stage.
When you go to some of these places, you’ll find some good talent on stage — here, they are so-​so, but they are better than you’ll find at others. Just like many places, the service is best if you’re in the bachelor/​bachelorette parties up front. If you’re in the dregs of society in the back, your best bet is probably to go to the bar yourself.