A small town of its own on the Wilmington River, where the shrimp boats dock. Desposito's, the fish shack under the bridge, shut in December 2025 and reopened the next month.
Savannah's perennial sports bar winner: Savannah Magazine readers voted it best sports bar in 2017 and again in 2026, and Connect Savannah readers did the same in 2022. Visit Savannah describes it as a place with 'numerous screens, memorabilia and a menu that'll satisfy any game-day craving.'
Desposito's is the fish shack under the Thunderbolt bridge, serving since the 1960s. Connect Savannah traces it to a market run by the Walton family that Carlo Desposito bought in 1968 and put his name on; after he died in 1982, Walton Boone ran it with his son David for more than 30 years. Michelle Smith bought it in October 2020, rebuilt it over two years and reopened on August 28, 2023 with a riverside pavilion and room for about 130. The front bar is still lined with beer bottles found during the renovation. In December 2025 it closed after a staff walkout over unpaid wages, and parent company River Street Hospitality set a reopening for January 10, 2026 with new management and a menu it says goes back to fresh, local seafood.
Tubby's sits on River Drive in Thunderbolt, looking across at the Wilmington River where the shrimp boats dock. The kitchen is known for fried shrimp and fresh catch done grilled, fried, blackened, broiled or steamed. The week has a rhythm of its own: live music Thursday through Sunday, line dancing on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5, bingo on Wednesdays at 7. It belongs to Savannah's Live Oak Restaurant Group, which also runs Molly McGuire's on Wilmington Island.
