Savannah, Georgia

Savannah is an old, coastal Southern town, and its restaurants reflect this in the traditional southern cuisine and numerous seafood dishes. Local seafood specialties include crab cakes and crab stew, shrimp, and oysters. A traditional low country boil, found on many menus, consists of boiled shrimp or crawfish with smoked sausage, corn on the cob and potatoes.

Pecans, grown in Georgia, find themselves in a variety of main dishes, especially in desserts. If you have room, try a slice of pecan pie, or drop by one of the candy shops on River Street for some sugared or glazed pecans.

In the south, the phrase “iced tea” means “sweet tea” pre-sweetened with sugar. Restaurants take pride in the quality of their sweet tea; however, for a person unaccustomed to the taste, sweet tea may seem at first, too sweet. While in Savannah, try a glass. Most restaurants offer both and will clarify whether you prefer sweet or un-sweet tea.

A Taste of the South

Most Savannah restaurants express at least some southern influence in the dishes offered. A few establishments commit to providing patrons with a true southern dining experience. The Lady and Sons offers southern food for lunch or dinner on a full buffet or from a menu. People line up daily for the home-style southern food and family style dining at Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room .

Places with a Past

While many of Savannah's establishments operate in historic buildings, some have particularly interesting pastas, which makes the experience all the more memorable. The famous Pirates' House was once an Inn that hosted seamen from ships docked at the nearby River Street port. Fifteen unique dining rooms preserve the old port tavern atmosphere. The Boar's Head Tavern & Grill , is the oldest restaurant on River Street, established in 1962 when the city began giving a facelift to the old cotton warehouses along the river. The Moon River Brewing Company , Savannah's only microbrewery, operates in what was once the City Hotel, which operated until the end of the Civil War. The Olde Pink House Restaurant , a romantic Savannah favorite on Reynolds Square, is located in a mansion, circa 1796, which served as the headquarters for General York, after General Sherman and Union troops took the city.

Great Views

Any coastal town guarantees restaurants offering pleasant views, and Savannah is no different. The variety of waterfront views makes Savannah special. Establishments along River Street provide views of the Savannah River. Here you can watch the huge ships and barges pass by on their way to Savannah's international port. Savannah allows restaurants to sell alcoholic drinks in plastic cups that patrons may take with them. River Street is a perfect place to grab a drink or an ice cream cone and sit to watch the activity on the water. If you want to get even closer to the river while you dine, the Savannah River Queen offers lunch and dinner cruises in addition to tours.

The Tybee Island area offers restaurants with views of the expansive salt marshes and rivers that wind through them. The Crab Shack , a dockside restaurant and bar, sits on Chimney Creek. Every table on the deck or the screened porch gets a great view of the marsh. On Tybee Island beach, The Dolphin Reef Oceanfront Restaurant at the Ocean Plaza Beach Resort and the North Beach Grill , near the Tybee Island Lighthouse , provide excellent beach and ocean views.

Ethnic Flair

Dining in Savannah is not limited to southern cooking and seafood dishes, though you may find that most restaurants offer fresh seafood. For something a little different, browse the restaurants on Broughton Street. The area is home to traditional Italian fare at II Pasticcio , and Japanese food and sushi at Sakura. Also on Broughton Street is the Casbah Morroccan Restaurant , offering authentic Mediterranean food and belly dancing entertainment nightly.

Olympia on River Street serves Greek cuisine. A local favorite Italian restaurant, Garibaldi's , offers nightly specials in a Victorian-style dining room. Jalapeno's Mexican Restaurant in the Southside area is only a short drive from the historic district, and well worth it for those in the mood for Mexican food.

Relatively new to Savannah, the Sapphire Grill developed quickly into a local favorite. For an interesting, casual atmosphere and superb pizza, drop by Vinnie Van Go Go's in City Market. Sit outside on the patio and watch the passers by as they roam through City Market, once the heart of commerce in Savannah. The Cafe at City Market offers a more upscale dining experience, and has patio seating as well.

Bars, Pubs, and Taverns

Most bars in Savannah serve meals as well, and many serve food well into the evening hours for revelers with an appetite. Bernie's on River Street offers, among other things, seafood, and serves its signature Blood Mary drinks in mason jars topped with pickled okra. Kevin Barry's , a large Irish pub on River Street, has a full menu and serves food into the wee hours. Live Irish music plays downstairs, and upstairs is a cigar bar. A sign at the Warehouse Bar and Grill boasts the coldest, cheapest beer in town. The Warehouse has a large bar and pool tables and opens up onto River Street.

Truly, the only way to get a taste of all that Savannah has to offer, you must either stay for a few days, or be sure to return soon for more.

A Walk Through Time

One of the magical aspects of Savannah is that no matter where you are, you're just a short walk from something spectacular. The easy grid pattern and tree-canopied streets make this a great town for strolling, and no neighborhood is better for a stroll than the Historic District.

One caveat, though. Savannah is firmly set in a semi-tropical clime, and the city can get very warm even in the spring and fall. So if you're hitting the streets on foot, it's a good idea to head out in the early morning or early evening, and avoid the steaming heat of midday and the afternoon. Walk slowly, nodding to your fellow sidewalk travelers, and bring along a water bottle or even a parasol—you'll fit right in.

A good place to start your tour is at City Hall at Broad and Meeting Streets. This is the site of the first settlement of Savannah, and it's where founding father James Oglethorpe first put ashore in 1733. From City Hall, cross the picturesque Washington Square, and pause among the low-draping Spanish moss to look for Forrest Gump's bench.

When you reach the other side, pick up Houston Street for a block, cross Bay Street and enter the deep shade of Emmet Park. Cross the verdant lawn to the small thoroughfare on the other side known as Factor's Walk. Named for the officials who graded and set the price for cotton during the city's glory days, this three-block stretch between Bay and River Streets is now home to a wonderful array of quaint shops. From here on the palisade, you can look down over the Savannah River and the busy tourists of River Street as they move between restaurants, pubs and antique stores that have been carved out of the mammoth brick cotton warehouses of the 1800s. If you're hungry, this is a good time to descend the precarious stone steps and immerse yourself in the center of Savannah's feeding and nightlife district.

The stones used to pave the narrow alleys and stairs that lead down to the river are not technically cobblestones, as any local will gladly tell you. Rather, they're rubble of various compositions that crossed the ocean in frigates, serving as ballast in holds that would return bearing cotton, the venerated “white gold.”

If you're not hungry yet, continue along the bluff on Factor's Walk until you hit the Savannah Cotton Exchange. This 1887 structure was once the capital of the cotton world, but today is home to a lodge of Freemasons. Turn left on Drayton Street and wander two blocks to Congress before turning left toward green Johnson Square. Pause to examine the intricate ironwork and gingerbread trim on the commercial buildings and residences, many of which pre-date the Civil War by a good many years.

Another two blocks will land you at Ellis Square, named for Sir Henry Ellis, Georgia's second governor under the crown. You've now entered City Market, a roughly four-square-block neighborhood that's been restored to reflect the Savannah of the glorious cotton days. Browse the many antique and local craft shops, stop for a cold drink at one of the sidewalk cafes, or simply admire the artwork that lines the streets.

When you've taken your fill, return to Ellis Square, smile at the royal governor, and head left down Barnard for two blocks to Telfair Square. The majestic manor facing the square on the right was the home of old Governor Ellis until the Revolution ended badly for his team. It now houses the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences, the oldest art museum in the South. Treat yourself to an air-conditioned spell amid these stately walls, handsomely adorned with a fine collection of American and European oils. End your journey with a visit to the “Bird Girl,” the cherubic sculpture whose appearance on the cover of John Berendt's “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” caused such heavy tourist traffic at Bonaventure Cemetery that she was moved to the Telfair out of respect for the graveyard's not-so-famous.

A Walk Through the Sand

When it's time to shake the cobwebs of the past from your vacation, you'll find plenty of sun and sand to take their place at Tybee Island. The playground of Savannah's ocean-loving denizens for over a century, this small coastal island lies a mere fifteen miles directly east of the city. Simply get yourself on Highway 80 and drive. When you sight the hulking battlements of Fort Pulaski National Monument , bear left. If you drive into the Atlantic, you've gone too far.

A quick history fix can be had at the fort, and a chuckle as well. Completed in 1847, the structure was very soon bombarded into obsolescence when Union forces on Tybee introduced rifled artillery shells to its thick walls in 1862. After thirty hours, Pulaski was out of commission, and Savannah was out of the war.

Another few miles will land you in the heart of Tybee. In recent days, much of the commercial district at the far tip of the island has been given over to loud beachside bars, kitsch shops and cheap restaurants, but the outlying areas have retained much of their low country flavor. In town, be sure to visit the time-honored MacElwee's seafood restaurant, where generations of faithful flock summer after summer. If you plan to stay the night, you'll have your pick of a virtual armada of upscale hotels, gritty motels, condominiums and beach houses.

For a bird's eye view, head for the Tybee Island Lighthouse . Dating to 1742, this is the third oldest lighthouse in America, and a short climb to the top of the 154-foot structure yields a remarkable panorama of the low country, marshlands and ocean. On the way back to town, stop by the Tybee Island Museum located nearby to satisfy your appetite for island history, or satisfy your more visceral appetites, don't miss the Crab Shack just off Highway 80 as you leave the island. This rustic joint piles the shellfish high in a ramshackle, open-air shanty right on the marsh. Happy crackin'.