The Resy Guide to Savannah’s Best Restaurants for 2024

The Grey has become the center of attention for Savannah dining, drawing well-deserved national and international accolades for partners executive chef Mashama Bailey and Johno Morisano. The team restored a formerly segregated, 1930’s, Greyhound Bus Terminal into a restaurant that gracefully bridges Southern cuisine and regional ingredients with global, mostly African, flavors, and techniques. Chef Bailey takes the traditions of her childhood and expands nearby ingredients into heady dishes such as foie gras and grits with vibrant blueberry glaze, a twist on the breakfast staple, liver and grits. Or Sapelo Island clam dumplings, a current take on chicken and dumplings. Bailey literally closes dinner with a “thrill,” a simple but wholly refreshing frozen juice treat made for kids on hot summer days.

There are two dining options at this wildly popular restaurant: opt for the main bar, where Bailey’s menu “will vary not only from evening to evening but, often, within the course of an evening’s service,” or the diner bar, where smaller plates are meant to complement one the Grey’s many excellent cocktails.

For more than 40 years, Elizabeth on 37^th has been serving up coastal favorites in Savannah’s eclectic Starland District. Executive chef Kelly Yambor keeps the culinary momentum moving forward with contemporary and refined plates that bear the renowned wine list (more than 10,000 bottles) in mind. The seven-course prix fixe menu offers fresh seafood like pan seared scallops, James River oysters alongside local vegetables and greens. Like many restaurants in Savannah, the dining room is housed in a former mansion, where the Butches maintain a stately garden and chef Yambor reaps a steady supply of hyper-fresh herbs.

Call 912-236-5547 for more info.

The ever-changing menu at this lunch-only historic restaurant is a greatest hits collection of Southern cuisine staples from fried chicken and black-eyed peas to collards greens and okra, all served family-style in abundant portions befitting this former boardinghouse.

There are no gastronomic fireworks, but just about every dish has a wholesome Thanksgiving-ish comfort about it, such as the braised turnip greens with bits of salt pork and yam soufflé complete with marshmallows. There are no reservations, thus there’s often a bit of a wait to get into this 80-year-old favorite. If you aren’t with a family or group, make acquaintances with the folks in line: the tables are communal and the tabs are paid in cash or Venmo only.

More info at mrswilkes.com.

The people of Savannah have been celebrating special occasions in this celebrated former mansion for decades, enjoying the seafood-centric menu which is mostly updates on traditional Southern cookery. Take Southern Sushi, which could have been a campy mistake, instead of silky bites of smoked shrimp and grits, rolled within coconut-studded nori. The crispy cornbread fried oysters offer the totally satisfying crunch of hot, well-fried shellfish with a cool dollop of herbaceous green goddess dressing. Entrees, too, are inventive, but don’t stray too far afield: the pecan-crusted chicken with blackberry-bourbon glaze and sweet potatoes hits the spot.

The dining room, rumored to be haunted by friendly ghosts, is a warren of small rooms lending to privacy for special occasion ambience. The bartenders know what they’re doing, especially with bourbon, and the basement bar below jumps after dark with live music.

Call 912-232-4286 for reservations.

Set in a former bank, the shiny white tiled dining room accented with burnished metal creates an air of a clean slate, creating anticipation for what executive chef Caleb Ayers has in store. Yes, you’ll find many of the usual suspects of Southern dining on the menu, but here, the cornmeal for those grits comes from a local grist mill and the shrimp and tomatoes not far from the mill. The wings (award-winning, by the way), are all at once hot, juicy, and crispy, coated with spiced honey, sour sumac, a welcome sting of heat from smoked morita peppers, and a chewy bite of kitchen-cured bacon. Most of the meats on the thoughtful charcuterie platter are cured in-house, anything pickled on the menu was fermented on site — no surprise the bread comes from their ovens as well.

This sister restaurant of the popular Farm restaurant in Bluffton, South Carolina has made a name for itself in recent years. Shadowing their sibling’s legacy, they look close to home for staple ingredients to which they add international accents, while not losing sight of the better traditions of Southern cuisine. Oysters served two ways—one with strawberry mignonette and chili, another with preserved lemon and turmeric—brings fun spins on a low country staple. Hearty swordfish comes alongside roasted corn, sugar snaps, cucumbers and a salsa verde. And don’t forget the hushpuppies, jazzed up with Cajun spice, Austrian green peas, smoked redfish and herb yogurt.

Shuk Savannah brings the Mediterranean to the Starland District. This casual restaurant delivers a taste of Israeli foods like falafels, shawarma, kebabs and fattoush as well as a coffee and espresso bar with freshly baked pastries. The restaurant doesn’t take reservations, but with plenty of seating and stools, give it a few minutes and you’ll be diving into cloud-like pita in no time.

https://www.shuksavannah.com/

After training alongside culinary rock star Hugh Acheson and pizzaiolo masters in Italy, chef Kyle Jacovino has mastered traditional Neapolitan pizza. His masterful pies start with a three-day fermented dough (naturally leavened and made from heritage grains from small mills) and are charred to lightly-bubbled perfection in a screaming-hot oven imported from Italy. The Margherita pizza, the standard by which Neapolitans judge, has a stain of sweet and umami-charged tomato, alongside creamy, earthy fresh mozzarella and pleasingly bitter basil. La Diavola (the devil), his signature pie, is afire with soppressata sausage and chiles from Calabria, garlicky marinara sauce, mozzarella, and Parm. If somehow pizza is not your thing, the sandwiches, particularly the meatball Parm, is a handheld beauty made with provolone and ricotta cheese and of course, meatballs.

More info at vittoriapizzeria.com.

Look no further for waterfront dining. Located in the heart of historic downtown, Vic’s River Grill sits beside its renowned sister restaurant, Vic’s on the River. The old cotton warehouse is now a modern dining and social establishment serving fresh seafood, updated favorite low country dishes like blue crab beignets and catfish and grits. For lunch, don’t miss the Fried Catfish Rachel, a catfish sandwich with Tasso ham, slaw, and gruyere served on rye bread.

Make a reservation here.

Dottie’s has it all, without trying to be it all. This grab-and-go market is also a coffee shop is also an intimate café where you’ll find everything done right. At the market, you’ll find local and regional specialties, fresh coffee, pastries and breakfast sandwiches. For dinner, start with Dottie’s Totties, with veal jus, pimento cheese, and pancetta before moving on to BBQ spare ribs with Carolina gold sauce, cornbread and slaw.

Make a reservation here.