Savannah Restaurants

The Pirate's house is a casual restaurant that caters to tourists. If you want fancy cuisine, it's not the place to go. However, if you're in Savannah with your kids, its a fun place to go. The building was actually a pirate hideout in the 1800's, and it was fun to learn about its history. The food was fine - typical bar food done decently. Anna enjoyed making and wearing her pirate hat, and we enjoyed a couple of good beers.

I'm not one to watch cooking shows on TV, but I guess Paula Deen is all the rage now. If you go anywhere near the restaurant you'll see a line on the street waiting for reservations... hoping to eat some of the southern belle's finest.
We stopped in her store which is just about next door... but frankly I didn't understand the hype and didn't see anything of interest for the kitchen.
Don't take my word for it, tho... I'm not one to play in the kitchen for hours and hours with a smile on my face.

Leopold's is a legendary ice cream shop in downtown Savannah that has been serving up scoops to the locals and tourists for about 80 years. In addition to ice cream, Leopold's also has a lunch menu featuring a variety of sandwiches. Leopold's is currently owned by one of the founder's descendants, Stratton Leopold, who made his fortune in Hollywood as a movie producer (Mission Impossible 3, The Sum of All Fears, etc.). The inside of the restaurant is decorated with posters from films that Stratton Leopold worked on over the years.

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The Gryphon was a great stop for lunch and a good cup of tea. I ordered one of their fresh and scrumptious salads.. the service was excellent... and I had a very pleasant window seat. The building was a pharmacy originally. There are all sorts of reminders of that inside. The black and white tile floor, stained glass pharmacy symbols, dark wood pannelling and the old soda fountain are just a few of the details that remain from its former life. Highly recommend the combination of a tour at Sorrel-Weed House, stop in at the art school's store, and then have lunch at the Gryphon. Maybe a short sit in the park is in order as well.
In the same block as the Gryphon you will see a lovely piece of architecture which houses the Masonic Scottish Rites Temple. This is also a fairly prominent organization throughout this Savannah district.

We thought we had found a good restaurant...right along the River Street with nice views of the waterfront activity. Well some of that was true. The service was so bad I thought my son was going to pay for our drinks and leave. The food was ordinary at best... the management and staff were lax and unaware of their shortcomings.
Enough said.

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My son, Christopher enjoyed this restaurant. He had been to dinner on one of the nights before I arrived in town, so I didn't want him to have to repeat the visit. We tried to try something different each time we had lunch or dinner.
He was very clear about the vegetables being cooked exactly right.. everything fresh... and totally satisfying. He's a good food critic... being married to a wonderful cook.

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Voted best pub food in Savannah.... this little spot is typically British. They have captured every detail right down to the English phone booth on the sidewalk. I was sorry we didn't get a chance to stop in for a drink or supper. I would return to this one if I had another opportunity.

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Here is another neighborhood restaurant that is something you discover almost by accident. Lots of little sparkling lights are the give away... but you won't find a big neon sign to alert you. We had a delicious dinner here. It is obviously not a secret with the locals. Very busy place...so much so that a few people sat outside on the sidewalk under umbrella tables in spite of it being a very rainy night! The waitress was having quite a time trying to get to them without getting drenched.
Our dinner, wine and desert were all wonderful...altho I'll leave the food descriptions to Deecat the master of restaurant reviews. :-)