From thousands of reader surveys comes our inimitable Best of Everything list. Categories run from appetizers to desserts, bike shops to barbershops. Here, the year’s best bakeries, candy shops, ice cream and more.
Bakery
Baker’s Pride
840 E. DeRenne Ave.
Krispy who? Mention Baker’s Pride to Savannahians and their mouths begin to water. This family bakery is as famous for sweet service as for its cakes, cookies, fritters and pies, each the perfect excuse to postpone your diet another day.
Runner up: Back in the Day
Candy Shop
River Street Sweets
13 E. River St.
The aroma of fresh pralines greets you at the door of the original River Street Sweets, along with a free sample rolled out on a giant marble slab. The nostalgically decorated candy shop’s gourmet Southern treats, like hand-stretched peanut brittle, glazed pecans and saltwater taffy, are made in store and shipped all over the world.
Runner up: Savannah Candy Kitchen
Custom Cakes
Wicked Cakes
38 Whitaker St.
Wicked Cakes owner Abby Longwater elevates family recipes with sugar skills acquired during her training alongside master pastry chef Nicholas Lodge. From its downtown storefront, Wicked Cakes offers buttercream or fondant wedding-day confections, as well as sinfully delicious custom cakes.
Runner up: Baker’s Pride
Desserts
Lulu’s Chocolate Bar
42 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Lulu’s made-from-scratch desserts change weekly, with sweet treats like tortes, tarts, mousse towers and crème brûlée in rotation, as well as the date-perfect fondue for two. Menu mainstays include the chocolate-topped Strawberry Suspension cake or, if you prefer your desserts spiked, an array of syrup-laced martinis.
Runner up: Leopold’s
Ice Cream
Leopold’s Ice Cream
212 E. Broughton St.
A local and international favorite for more than 98 years, Leopold’s celebrates the place where it all began with six homegrown flavors, like ginger, incorporating Verdant Kitchen’s singular product. Owner Stratton Leopold’s favorite flavor changes frequently, but if he had to choose? Vanilla. “You can’t hide anything in vanilla,” Stratton says. “One bite, and you know it’s good ice cream.”
Runner up: Ben and Jerry’s, locally owned by Chad and Meri Scribner
