My wife’s cousin recommended The Olde Pink House in Savannah, Georgia, and therefore chose the restaurant for our anniversary dinner while visiting. The menu is very impressive with fish, meat, and vegetarian entrees.
The restaurant is located inside Savanna’s Historic District across from Reynolds Square and two blocks south of East Bay Street. The walk from our hotel was approximately 15 minutes, and is likely similar for most hotels that tourists stay at.
The Meal
Appetizer
Unfortunately we weren’t starving or famished, so we skipped the appetizers, though “Southern Sushi” Smoked Shrimp and Grits Rolled in Coconut Crusted Nori and Shrimp, Crab and Sausage Spring Roll, Honey Mustard Drizzle were both tempting. The appetizers delivered to nearby tables looked tasty, so some regrets; however, by the end of our meal it was obvious that appetizers would have been overkill.
Soup & Salad
Our waitress, Caitlyn, described the Chilled Gazpacho in exquisite detail but ultimately I went for boring and known Caesar Salad and Country Croutons: tasty and fine, but nothing to write home about or get excited about.
My wife ordered the Low Country She Crab Soup which tasted fine but isn’t my favorite in general. According to Caitlyn, the meat of female crabs are sweeter/more savory than male crabs. My wife loved it, if you want to take that as a recommendation.
Entree
I ordered the Crispy Scored Flounder with Apricot Shallot Sauce, Creamy Stone Ground Grits, Collard Greens.
Initially I was hesitant because I don’t usually enjoy dealing with fish bones, but the scoring – with helpful hints from Caitlyn – made it remarkably easy: using your fork, pull from upper-left to lower-right on the score marks and, voila, fish without bones!
[Caitlyn suggested eating the tail as well, but that seemed like a stretch.]
The apricot sauce provides a nice accent taste without overwhelming the fish, not too sweet or fruity, but very tasty. You flip the fish over after finishing the top side and repeat. The bottom side sits in the sauce longer, so the flavor is more infused and a little stronger but still very tasty. The fish itself is very light and flaky, well-prepared, fortunately not over-baked or mushy or whatever,
Caitlyn allowed us to swap out sides, so I chose green beans instead of collard greens. Both the grits and green beans were well prepared and tastyl, though I wouldn’t say they stood out on their own, especially when compared to the fish.
Dessert
As we were full the main meal, we decided against dessert. However, Caitlyn decided that our anniversary deserved more, so she light a tall candle and brought out a single scoop of their home-made raspberry sorbet, absolutely delicious. Nice conclusion.
Service
Caitlyn’s ability to describe, in extreme detail, each of the choices on the menu – the ingredients, the preparations, the tastes – is on par with the two Michelin-starred restaurants we’ve eaten at. She asked insightful questions about our tastes and preferences, allowing her to advocate selections she thought we’d enjoy while steering us away from others. She said she’s probably eaten every dish on the menu, internalizing what she experienced so she could help us. And in that she did a remarkable job.
The Building
The facade of the building does not adequately convey the restaurant’s overall size, as the building is rather deep and has multiple floors, broken into individual rooms of different sizes as well as an outdoor patio (which I imagine is only used during fall and winter when the temperatures are more moderate).
The basement bar and wine cellar feels like a 1930’s speakeasy (or what I imagine a speakeasy to be) with low ceilings, dark lighting, loud, and filled with energy.
The staff encourages you to walk around and see more of the restaurant than just your room, so make sure you do so before or after your meal.
Closing Thoughts
If you’re ever in Savannah, I would definitely recommend attempting to go.
Online reservations may be tough, we only found 9pm and later, which is much later than we normally eat. As the evening progressed, early slots opened up, and ultimately I called and was able to get our reservation moved up to a better time for us.
Image Credits
All images © 2024 Scott C Sosna
