Savannah Restaurants

The Shrimp Factory is located on River Street in the historic district of Savannah. It had a good review from Fodor's (?? - one of our travel books) and our trolley tour guide, so we thought we would give it a try for lunch. We stopped in around 2pm on a Wednesday, and were promptly seated. All of the folks there were adequately friendly.

However: Food was over-priced (especially kid's menu items), and the food quality was well below average. On a scale of 1 to 10, we would rate the food quality a 3 -- and that's maybe being a bit generous.

The restaurant itself did not seem especially clean, and an unpleasant odor wafted across the entire dining area throughout our meal. BTW, the odor _was_ coming from inside the restaurant, not outside. The restrooms (men's & women's) were a filthy, stinking mess -- usually a decent indication of how well the rest of the restaurant is maintained.

In short, The Shrimp Factory was a MAJOR disappointment. There are many better options in this area of town.

Favorite Dish: nothing/nada/nichts

It is pet friendly (all the cats tell you that) and an awesome place.
The low country boil is among the best I have had, and the service is wonderful.
We where there for about 2 hours total just enjoying it all.

Favorite Dish: Low country boil of course

Kevin Barry's is an Irish pub and restaurant. We ate on the first floor. Great Irish food, but a little croweded and loud (it is a bar, after all). Service was okay, other than our waitress gave the wrong drinks to the right people. We figured it out.

What we thought was absolutely the best part of KB is the "museum" upstairs. There is an amazing array of memorabilia and pictures of America's warriors. Many of the more recent wars are represented by autographed pictures and notes. Apparently, from the experiences of the members of our organization, the owner is a strong supporter of the members of the US Armed Forces.

Favorite Dish: I had the corned beef and cabbage. It was great. My husband had something with sausage, but we can't remember what. It was good, too.

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I wanted to like this place more than I actually did. The decor was darling, the offerings were reasonably priced, the staff was genial... I ordered the cheese plate with a glass of wine for $9.99. Unfortunately, the cheese plate was pre-packaged and kept cold, which isn't the best for brie and camembert. The four cheeses came with apples, grapes and walnuts. She was kind enough to slice some brioche (I believe) to go along with it. The house chardonnay was just so-so. To end my snack, I had a strawberry macaron ($1.75). That, however, was wonderful. A bit bigger than most that are offered in San Francisco, and very flavorful. I'd still go back to try their croque monsieur or a crepe.

I wandered into this cute little place one morning craving something small and sweet to eat. I perused their cupcake offerings and settled on one with pistachio frosting. I liked it, but didn't find it particularly better than other cupcakes I've eaten. Service was very friendly, though.

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I'd heard and seen so much about Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House that I was determined to eat there upon arrival in Savannah. Mrs. Wilkes is located in a lovely residential neighborhood and specializes in Southern "low country" cuisine. I'd heard that it's typical to wait in a long line, so arrived extra early in order to avoid that, for the most part. When I arrived about 10:15 a.m. on a Thursday morning, I was the first person in line. A few benches are provided to sit on, as they don't open until 11:00 a.m. Once the doors were opened, each guest was directed to sit at a certain table. Each table seems to seat between 8 and 12 people. Before the meal begins, an employee says grace. From that point on, bowls and platters of food are passed around the table. Once you're finished eating, you bus your own plate, utensils and glass to the kitchen, then pay $16 at the front (cash only) on your way out.

Favorite Dish: On the Thursday that I was there, they served fried chicken, beef stew, chicken and dumplings, collard greens, black eyed peas, succotash, macaroni and cheese, squash, mashed potatoes, candied yams, macaroni salad, lima beans, wild rice and too many other dishes to mention. Dessert choices were either cherry cobbler or banana pudding. Beverages were coffee, sweet tea or unsweetened tea. I though the fried chicken was good, but not as good as my Grandma's!! I really liked the beef stew, though. As for the other dishes, they were average. Even so, I will definitely return to Mrs. Wilkes. The experience was wonderful. Most of the people at my table or who were standing in line had been there many times before, even though they were from out of state. Two of the gentlemen at my table were Savannah residents; one of whom told me that he dines there at least three times per week!

Huge menu, huge portions and affordable prices. I was impressed with the number of different egg fu yungs on offer. I currently live in San Francisco and am hard pressed to find a Chinese restaurant that serves regular egg fu yung, while they have regular, roast pork, beef and shrimp. The restaurant itself is spartan, to say the least. You'll find a bench, as well as a table with two chairs -- not really conducive to eating there.

Favorite Dish: I ordered beef egg fu yung and a shrimp egg roll. My order was ready quickly and came with steamed rice and fortune cookies. In my opinion, the food was solid, but not spectacular. However, the sauce that accompanied the egg fu yung was the BOMB! Also, the egg fu yung consisted of three nice size pancakes. My bill was around $7 or $8. I would eat here again in a pinch.

Since Il Pasticcio was one of the top rated Italian restaurants in Savannah, as well as being one of the top rated Italian restaurants in the U.S. in the not so distant past, I thought I'd give it a try. The space is huge. The lounge & bar area are particularly nice, in my opinion. The flat screen T.V. showing sports, however, always mars that "chill" feeling in a lounge.

Favorite Dish: I went with the spaghettini with scallops, shrimp, mushrooms & tomatoes ($22.00) and a soda ($2.25). The pasta was good; nothing more, nothing less. It was filling. Service, by Edwin, was excellent.

Ladies should return on Thursdays for Endless Bubbles (i.e. unlimited $1 glasses of champagne for the ladies all evening). Edwin recognized me when I returned the following evening to indulge in a little bubbly. Whatever kind of champagne it was, I liked it. When I eventually had to go due to a previous engagement, they happily packed my champagne up in a plastic "to go" cup. I couldn't have been happier!