Savannah Tourism Guide

Best Savannah Restaurants for First-Time Visitors

The streamlined blue and white former Greyhound terminal that houses The Grey, one of the best Savannah restaurants for first-time visitors
The Grey serves dinner in Savannah’s former Greyhound bus terminal on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

The best Savannah restaurants for first-time visitors are the ones that could only be in Savannah: a boardinghouse lunch at Mrs. Wilkes’ Dining Room, dinner in a 1771 mansion at The Olde Pink House, James Beard Award-winning chef Mashama Bailey’s cooking at The Grey, and a scoop at Leopold’s on Broughton Street. Add Husk Savannah or Alligator Soul for a modern Southern night, The Collins Quarter for brunch and Zunzi’s for a cheap lunch, and you’ll have eaten across the city’s whole range in a few days.

This shortlist is for a first trip of two to four days, based in or near the Historic District. The caveat that matters is booking: The Grey and The Olde Pink House fill up, and Mrs. Wilkes’ takes no reservations, serves weekday lunches only and accepts only cash or checks. Every restaurant here was confirmed as operating on October 1, 2026, from its own website or an official tourism listing, and hours and booking rules come from the restaurants themselves. For the full picture, from shrimp and grits to coffee shops, see our complete guide to Savannah restaurants and local food.

The First-Timer’s Shortlist at a Glance

Price bands are broad: splurge means upscale dinner prices, mid-range a casual sit-down meal, and budget counter service or takeout.

RestaurantWhy goPrice bandBooking
Mrs. Wilkes’ Dining RoomFamily-style Southern lunch at shared tables$35 flat for 13 and up, cash or checkNo reservations; line from about 9:30am
The Olde Pink HouseSouthern classics in a 1771 mansionSplurgeReservations strongly advised
The GreyChef Mashama Bailey’s Southern cooking in a former bus stationSplurgeResy or phone
Husk SavannahModern Southern built on coastal Georgia ingredientsSplurgeBook ahead; weekend brunch
Alligator SoulAdventurous Southern cooking and a chef’s tasting roomSplurgeOnline; closed Sundays
The Collins QuarterAll-day brunch and good coffeeMid-rangeBrunch is first come, first served
Sisters of the New SouthSoul food platesBudget to mid-rangeCasual; open daily 11am to 9pm
Zunzi’sA downtown takeout counter with a devoted followingBudgetOrder online to skip the line
Leopold’s Ice CreamSavannah’s old-fashioned ice cream parlorBudgetExpect a line on summer evenings
River Street SweetsPralines on River StreetBudgetWalk in

What Savannah Food Is, in One Paragraph

Savannah eats like the coast it sits on. Shrimp, crab and oysters come from the marshes and sounds, rice and okra run through the old Lowcountry dishes, and much of that cooking owes a deep debt to the West African and Gullah Geechee cooks who shaped it over centuries. Add Southern home cooking, the fried chicken, greens and biscuits of the boardinghouse table, and a newer wave of chefs reworking all of it, and you have the range a first visit should sample: one traditional meal, one modern one, something from the water and something sweet.

Book These First: Savannah’s Three Classics

If you’re only in town for a couple of days, lock these in before anything else. They’re the meals people come back talking about, and they’re the hardest to get on short notice.

Mrs. Wilkes’ Dining Room

Diners passing bowls of Southern side dishes around a shared table at Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room in Savannah
Bowls go around the shared tables at Mrs. Wilkes’, as they did when this photo was taken in 2017.

Mrs. Wilkes’ is a boardinghouse lunch in the old style: you sit at a big shared table with strangers, and bowls of fried chicken and a long run of Southern sides come to you, to be passed around until nobody can eat more. It’s on West Jones Street in a quiet residential block, and the line that forms outside is part of the ritual.

Is it worth the wait? For a first visit, yes, once. Nothing else in town feels quite like it, and the fixed price is fair for what arrives. Go knowing the rules: the line forms around 9:30am for the 11am opening, there are no reservations, and it closes at 2pm.

Plan it: Monday to Friday, 11am to 2pm, lunch only. $35 for ages 13 and up and $17.50 for children 12 and under, tax included. Cash or check only; there’s an ATM on site. Closed for a winter break from January 1 to about mid-February and on six holidays, including St. Patrick’s Day.

The Olde Pink House

The Olde Pink House fills a pink stucco mansion built in 1771 on Reynolds Square, and dinner there is a Savannah set piece: historic dining rooms and a menu of Southern classics. Downstairs, Planters Tavern is the more casual way in. It’s the restaurant most first-timers have already heard of, which is exactly why you need a booking.

Honest verdict: you come for the house and the occasion as much as the food. If that’s what you want from one big dinner, it delivers. If you care most about cooking, look at The Grey or Husk Savannah first.

Plan it: 23 Abercorn Street, (912) 232-4286. Reservations strongly advised, especially at weekends. Lunch is served on some days; check the restaurant’s site for current hours.

The Grey

The Grey occupies the restored former Greyhound bus terminal on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and chef and partner Mashama Bailey’s cooking has made it one of the most talked-about restaurants in the South. The cooking is Southern, personal and precise, and the restored streamline-era room is half the pleasure. It’s the dinner to book if you want one meal that shows where Savannah’s food is going, not just where it’s been.

Plan it: 109 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Dinner Tuesday to Saturday, 5 to 10pm; Sunday brunch 11am to 3pm and Sunday dinner 5 to 9pm; closed Mondays. Book through Resy or call 912-662-5999.

Can’t choose between the three? Mrs. Wilkes’ is lunch, so it doesn’t compete with the other two. For dinner, pick The Olde Pink House for atmosphere and The Grey for cooking, and book whichever one you choose before you book your hotel.

Modern Southern Dinners Worth Planning Around

Husk Savannah

Husk Savannah, an outpost of the Husk restaurants that started in Charleston, builds its menus around heirloom ingredients and the coast’s farms and fishing boats. The cooking is polished and seasonal; expect Southern ideas rather than Southern standards. Weekend brunch is the easier and cheaper way to try it.

Plan it: In the Landmark Historic District. Dinner from 5 to 10pm; brunch Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 2pm; happy hour Monday to Friday, 5 to 6pm. Call (912) 349-2600.

Alligator Soul

Alligator Soul is the downtown dinner for adventurous eaters: inventive Southern cooking, with a chef’s tasting menu served in its separate Marsou Room. It’s a special-occasion place rather than a casual one, and it rewards people who like to order the strangest thing on the menu.

Plan it: Monday to Saturday, 5 to 10pm; closed Sundays. Reservations online.

Brunch, Lunch and Cheap Eats

Outdoor tables, planters and red brick warehouses in the pedestrian courtyard of City Market, Savannah
City Market’s courtyard is the easiest place downtown to find a casual table without a plan.

The Collins Quarter

The Collins Quarter is where Savannah does brunch: an all-day menu and serious coffee. There are two locations, one downtown and a café in Forsyth Park, which makes a good first stop on a walk through the park. Go early, especially at weekends, because brunch is first come, first served.

Plan it: Downtown, brunch daily from 8am to 3pm with no reservations; dinner Wednesday and Sunday 4 to 9pm and Thursday to Saturday 4 to 10pm, bookable through OpenTable or at (912) 777-4147.

Zunzi’s

Zunzi’s is a downtown takeout counter with a devoted following for its big, saucy sandwiches. It’s the lunch to grab and carry to a square on a sightseeing day. The line can be long at noon, so order ahead online and walk past it.

Sisters of the New South

For soul food plates, Sisters of the New South opens every day from 11am to 9pm at 2605 Skidaway Road. It’s outside the Historic District, a short drive or rideshare east, and well worth the ride if you want Southern home cooking away from the tourist blocks.

Pizza, barbecue and food trucks

Vinnie Van GoGo’s, the long-running pizza place in City Market, is the easy answer for a cheap dinner or a group that can’t agree. Sandfly BBQ is the local barbecue name to know. And for a casual night out of the center, Starland Yard at 2411 De Soto Avenue gathers a bar, three built-in kitchens and rotating food trucks in the Starland District; it opens Monday to Thursday 5 to 10pm, Friday and Saturday noon to 10pm and Sunday noon to 9pm.

Seafood and the Lowcountry Boil

A metal bowl of seafood boil with crab, clams, mussels, sausage, corn and potatoes
A Lowcountry boil throws shellfish, sausage, corn and potatoes into one pot.

You’re on the coast, and shrimp, crab and oysters turn up on almost every Savannah menu, from shrimp and grits at brunch to whole boils at dinner. For first-timers, the simplest rule is this: eat shrimp and grits downtown, and save the full Lowcountry boil for a casual waterfront spot. The best-known is The Crab Shack on Lazaretto Creek, on the way to Tybee Island, known for its Lowcountry boils. It makes a natural lunch or sunset stop on a beach day; our Tybee Island guide covers the drive and the island’s other places to eat.

River Street has seafood restaurants too, and the view over the ships is real. Just pick them for the setting rather than expecting the best cooking in town.

Rooftops and River Views

Savannah’s skyline is low, so a rooftop doesn’t have to be high to feel like a view. The newer riverfront hotels lead here: the JW Marriott Savannah Plant Riverside District has a rooftop lounge over the river among its dozen or so bars and restaurants, and the Thompson Savannah at Eastern Wharf runs the rooftop Bar Julian. Our advice for a first trip is to treat them as the place for a sunset drink and to book dinner wherever the cooking is the point. River Street’s waterfront restaurants offer the same trade at street level: the ships and the bridge are the show.

Sweets: Leopold’s and River Street Pralines

Red neon Leopold's Ice Cream sign glowing above customers lining up outside the shop on Broughton Street at night
Evenings bring a line outside Leopold’s on Broughton Street.

Leopold’s Ice Cream has been a Savannah family business since 1919, and the Broughton Street parlor, with its soda-fountain look and neon sign, is a first-timer ritual. Tutti frutti is the house classic, alongside seasonal flavors. Expect a line on summer evenings.

Plan it: 212 East Broughton Street. Sunday to Thursday, noon to 9pm; Friday and Saturday, 11am to 10pm.

Pralines are Savannah’s other sweet souvenir, and River Street is where to buy them. River Street Sweets’ flagship at 13 East River Street opens daily from 9am, until 10pm Sunday to Thursday and 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays; Savannah’s Candy Kitchen also has a store on River Street, so you can compare the two on one walk.

Historic Taverns and Ghost Stories

The Pirates’ House, at the east edge of the Historic District, dates its origins to 1753 and leans hard into its pirate and ghost lore, with staff happy to tell the stories. Treat those tales as entertainment rather than history. Come for the building and the stories; the warren of old rooms makes it a fun lunch with kids or a group. It opens daily at 11am for lunch and dinner. For the documented history behind the city’s ghost stories, see our haunted Savannah guide.

Where to Eat Near the Big Sights

On a first trip, the best meal is often the one that’s on your route. Here’s where to eat near the places you’re most likely to be at mealtimes.

If you’re atEat atWhy it works
The Owens-Thomas House or Reynolds SquareThe Olde Pink House or Planters TavernOn Reynolds Square, a couple of blocks north of the house museum
Forsyth ParkCollins Quarter at ForsythA cafe inside the park itself
City Market and Ellis SquareVinnie Van GoGo’s or the courtyard’s restaurantsCasual tables in the market itself
The visitor center and Savannah History MuseumThe GreyOn the same boulevard, Martin Luther King Jr., closer to the river
River StreetRiver Street Sweets or Savannah’s Candy KitchenPralines by the water; save dinner for inland
Broughton Street shoppingLeopold’s Ice CreamAt 212 East Broughton, open from noon (11am Fridays and Saturdays)
Wormsloe or Skidaway RoadSisters of the New SouthOn Skidaway Road, on your way back downtown
Fort Pulaski or Tybee IslandThe Crab ShackOn Lazaretto Creek, just off US 80
The Starland DistrictStarland YardFood trucks and a bar, south of Forsyth Park
Plant Riverside DistrictThe JW Marriott’s restaurants and rooftop loungeAbout a dozen choices under one roof

Closed: Restaurants Older Guides Still Recommend

Savannah’s restaurant scene changes, and many online lists haven’t caught up. Two names still appear on plenty of them:

  • The Lady & Sons. Paula Deen’s restaurant closed on July 31, 2025.
  • Back in the Day Bakery. The beloved bakery closed on February 14, 2024.

Before you plan around any restaurant from an older list, check that its own website shows current hours.

How to Get a Table

Savannah isn’t a city where every dinner needs a reservation, but its best-known rooms do, and weekends are when they fill. A few habits make the difference:

  • Book the big dinners when you book your trip. The Grey takes reservations through Resy, The Olde Pink House strongly advises them, and Alligator Soul books online. Friday and Saturday nights go first.
  • Use lunch and brunch as the side door. Husk’s weekend brunch, The Grey’s Sunday brunch and lunch at The Olde Pink House on the days it serves it are easier to get than dinner.
  • Arrive early for walk-in places. Join the Mrs. Wilkes’ line by about 9:30am, and get to The Collins Quarter early at weekends.
  • Mind the calendar. Mrs. Wilkes’ is closed on weekends, from January 1 to about mid-February and on St. Patrick’s Day, and The Grey is closed on Mondays. Around St. Patrick’s Day, the whole downtown is packed; book everything weeks out.
  • Carry a little cash. Mrs. Wilkes’ takes only cash or checks.

Drinks, Happy Hours and To-Go Cups

Savannah lets you carry an alcoholic drink in a to-go cup on the street within a zone that runs from the river south to Jones Street, west to the Talmadge Bridge and east past Savannah River Landing. Monterey Square and Forsyth Park are outside it. In practice that makes a pre-dinner stroll from a River Street bar to a table near City Market easy, and it’s one reason the northern blocks stay lively late.

A few cheaper ways into the city’s bigger names: Husk runs happy hour Monday to Friday from 5 to 6pm, and Planters Tavern, downstairs at The Olde Pink House, lets you sit in that building without a dinner booking. In City Market, the American Prohibition Museum sells a museum-plus-drink ticket from $29.92, which pairs a history lesson with a cocktail in its speakeasy.

Tipping, Tax and What Meals Cost

Visitors from outside the US should know the local customs. Sit-down restaurants expect a tip of about 18 to 20% of the bill, counter-service spots usually have a tip jar or a screen prompt, and some restaurants add an automatic gratuity for large groups, so check the bill before you add more. Menu prices in Savannah don’t include the 7% sales tax, which is added at the end. Mrs. Wilkes’ is the exception that proves the rule, with its $35 price including tax.

Eating Out With Dietary Needs

Southern cooking leans on pork, butter and the fryer. Greens and beans are often cooked with pork, gravies are usually made with flour, and family-style service makes substitutions hard. If you’re vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free or managing an allergy, call ahead rather than relying on online menus, and favor the modern kitchens, which tend to have more room to adapt dishes than a set family-style meal. We haven’t listed specific dietary claims here because menus change; confirm them with the restaurant when you book.

Family-Friendly Picks

Children change the shortlist more than you’d think, because long waits and late tables are the enemy. The easiest family meals are the casual ones: pizza at Vinnie Van GoGo’s in City Market, a picnic of Zunzi’s takeout in a square, the food trucks and open space at Starland Yard, a cafe stop at Collins Quarter at Forsyth between the playground and the fountain, and Leopold’s for dessert. The Pirates’ House, with its maze of old rooms and pirate tales, is a good bet for a sit-down lunch. For more, see our Savannah with kids guide.

A Two-Day Eating Plan for First-Timers

MealDay oneDay two
Breakfast or brunchThe Collins Quarter, before 10amHusk’s brunch at weekends, or The Grey’s on Sunday
LunchMrs. Wilkes’ Dining Room (weekdays)Zunzi’s, eaten on a bench in a square
AfternoonLeopold’s on Broughton StreetPralines on River Street
DinnerThe Olde Pink HouseThe Grey or Alligator Soul

It slots neatly into our two-day Savannah itinerary, which puts the Mrs. Wilkes’ lunch and the river at dusk on day one.

What First-Timers Can Skip

  • Eating every meal on River Street. You’re paying for the view. Have a drink by the water and eat dinner inland.
  • A two-hour brunch wait. Arrive at opening or eat at 1:30pm instead.
  • Anything a list calls “iconic” without current hours. If a restaurant’s own website doesn’t show it open, assume it isn’t.
  • Three splurge dinners in three nights. Mix in Zunzi’s, Vinnie Van GoGo’s or Starland Yard; Savannah’s casual food is part of the point.

How We Chose

We named only restaurants whose own websites or official tourism listings showed them operating in October 2026, and we took hours, prices and booking rules from the restaurants’ own sites. Picks reflect what a first visit needs: one great Southern lunch, one or two memorable dinners, an easy brunch, cheap eats and the sweets Savannah is known for. We don’t claim to have eaten at these restaurants, we take no payment or free meals, and no restaurant asked to be included.

Savannah Restaurants FAQ

Do I need reservations at Savannah restaurants?

For the best-known dinners, yes. Book The Grey through Resy and reserve The Olde Pink House as soon as your dates are set, especially for Friday and Saturday. Casual counters like Zunzi’s run on walk-ups and online orders, and Mrs. Wilkes’ takes no reservations at all; you queue.

Is Mrs. Wilkes’ worth the wait?

Once, on a first visit, yes. Shared tables, family-style bowls and fried chicken make it a Savannah experience rather than just a lunch. Join the line by about 9:30am for the 11am opening, bring cash or a check, and remember it’s weekdays only and closed from January 1 to about mid-February. The price is $35 for ages 13 and up.

The Grey or The Olde Pink House: which is better for a first visit?

They answer different questions. The Olde Pink House is the atmosphere dinner, Southern classics in a candlelit 1771 mansion on Reynolds Square. The Grey is the cooking dinner, chef Mashama Bailey’s food in a restored Greyhound terminal. If you can manage both, do. If not, choose by whether the room or the plate matters more to you.

Is The Lady & Sons still open?

No. Paula Deen’s The Lady & Sons closed on July 31, 2025, though many older guides and maps still list it. Back in the Day Bakery, another longtime favorite, closed on February 14, 2024. For a Southern buffet-style experience today, Mrs. Wilkes’ Dining Room is the classic alternative.

What food is Savannah known for?

Shrimp and grits, fried chicken, collards and other Southern sides, Lowcountry boils of shrimp, sausage, corn and potatoes, and pralines. Leopold’s ice cream counts too. A first visit can cover all of it in two or three days: one boardinghouse lunch, one seafood meal, one dinner at a chef-driven kitchen and a stop for something sweet.

Where can I eat cheaply in Savannah?

Zunzi’s for takeout sandwiches, Vinnie Van GoGo’s in City Market for pizza, and Sisters of the New South for soul food plates are the easy budget answers. Starland Yard’s food trucks are another, south of Forsyth Park. Lunch is also the cheap way into pricier kitchens: brunch at Husk or The Grey costs less than dinner.

Can I get a good meal in Savannah on a Sunday or Monday?

Yes, with a little planning. On Sunday, The Grey serves brunch and dinner, Husk and The Collins Quarter serve brunch, and Leopold’s opens at noon, but Mrs. Wilkes’ and Alligator Soul are closed. On Monday, The Grey is closed while Mrs. Wilkes’ and Alligator Soul are open. Book The Grey’s Sunday brunch ahead, and get to The Collins Quarter early, since it takes no brunch reservations.

Related Savannah Guides

Sources and How We Checked

Operating status, hours, prices and booking rules were checked on October 1, 2026, using each restaurant’s own website. This guide is compiled from those sites and from news reports on closures, not from other restaurant lists, and we claim no first-hand meals. Hours change with the seasons, so confirm before you go.

Savannah Tourism Guide is an independent publication. We are not affiliated with Visit Savannah, the City of Savannah or any restaurant or attraction listed here, and no one paid to be included.

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