Savannah Restaurants

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In 1825 Henry and Polly Hagy claimed the land on this site for a farm along the Tennessee River. Their son built a storage shed that was used to store goods, then was occupied by Union soldiers during the Battle of Shiloh, and later was used to cook up tasty catfish and hush puppies. The shack became the original Catfish Hotel.

The restaurant opened in 1938 as a family business. The restaurant gained a large following and was expanded over the years, but burned to the ground in 1975. A year later the present building was finished and the restaurant reopened with the same great fish and ribs.

We had dinner here over Memorial Day Weekend in 2009. The wait when we arrived was at least an hour, maybe longer; luckily we had reservations and we just waited five minutes. We had a round of beers, then ordered our meals. We started with salads and tasty coleslaw with some kind of tasty sauce on the side. Three of us had the "Hotel Combo" which included a half rack of barbecued ribs and a filet of fried catfish with french fries for $19. The two other meals we had were barbecued ribs and the catfish dinner (two filets). All you can eat catfish is just $12! All meals come with a free basket of outstanding hushpuppies.

Our meal was great, the ribs tender, and the fish crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Perfection!