The Hostess City’s dining landscape is expanding with new restaurants and fresh menu items.
Written by Mary Cornetta, Kiki Dy, and Kathryn Drury Wagner
Savannah’s dining landscape has been changing faster than a chalkboard of daily specials. Even for devoted foodies, it’s been hard to keep up. It’s a whirl of faces and places and spaces, revamped menus, and chefs coming and going. There are now anchovies in our martinis, y’all. Above all, there’s a sense that the Hostess City is seriously upping her game. In this story, we catch you up on some of the latest news, but it’s by no means a comprehensive list because this scene is hot, hot, hot.
Photo by Andrew Cebulka
Sunday Sunday
It’s hard to beat the sun-drenched mid-morning scene at Sunday Sunday (116 Whitaker St.). The restaurant opened last year and is owned by Savannah-based Rhino Hospitality Group, which has 12 restaurants in the city, including crowd pleasers like Little Duck Diner and Flying Monk Noodle Bar. Sunday Sunday offers brunch and dinner, though brunch is where it’s really finding its stride.
“Brunch is certainly our most sought-after time,” says Willa Conway, a server assistant at Sunday Sunday. “Our most popular dish by a landslide is our banh xeo crepe. It is our take on a traditional Vietnamese savory crepe, pan fried to perfection, topped with fresh ingredients, and served with a side of seafood vinaigrette otherwise known as ‘Grandma’s sauce.’”
Conway says that “like any brand-new restaurant, we had challenges acclimating to our new space and facilities at the very beginning. As a team we were able to come together to create our united front; we all work together to assist when someone may need support. We’ve become a tight-knit bunch, and we harbor an environment that is passionate about inclusivity, cooperation, respect, and, most importantly, kindness.”
What to pair with the brunch food? “My personal favorite cocktail is our Blood Orange Martini, with Absolut peach vodka, fresh blood-orange juice, and a hint of cranberry and lime juice,” says Conway. The results are a martini that is balanced: not too sweet and not too citrusy. “It’s unlike any other martini I’ve ever tried,” she says. “It’s better!” — Kathryn Drury Wagner
Untitled
An opaque bubble wiggles atop six ube coquitos as Untitled’s co-owner Mark Acasio presents a surprise on-the-house round to our table of fellow AAPI service-industry folk. Behind the bar, Yasser Amer — another proprietor of Clever Fox Hospitality, which runs the restaurant — gives us a megawatt smile.
“Mark has been a welcoming presence since the moment [the restaurant opened],” Sasha Nasrabadi, Fishbar’s general manager and fellow Filipina, tells me. “If you’ve been there recently, you know — especially the Spam musubi. It genuinely reminded me of home.”
Housed in the former Whitaker’s Bar (10 Whitaker St.), Untitled doesn’t announce itself. The room is dark and a little enigmatic by design — sexy in a way Savannah rarely attempts. It’s where you bring your big-city industry friend when they visit. Where you stay longer than planned. Where the night quietly rearranges itself around you.
The food mirrors the room’s confidence: precise, playful, and unshowy — with a menu of Japanese-inspired small plates, including sushi — and well-prepared cocktails. Untitled recently deepened its pull with omakase (chef’s choice) service, making it the only spot in Savannah offering the experience.
Acasio sends another round without asking. It’s an inuman — the Filipino tradition of drinking together — that’s unfolding organically, no explanation required. — Kiki Dy
Sexton Pub and Provisions
The Sexton Pub and Provisions (9 W. 43rd St.) isn’t just Irish by theme; it’s Irish by lineage. Owned by brothers Michael and Joshua Sexton, whose family has spent generations in the service industry, the space strikes the right balance of hardscrabble and sleek. By the bar — made from materials salvaged from an old church — a photograph of the brothers’ grandfather in his pub gazes on as regulars rip into spice bags (a street food offering of fried chicken bites, grilled peppers and onions, fries, and curry) and nosh on sausage rolls.
“We’re industry people and for industry people,” says Joshua. That sentiment has been symbiotic. “Everyone’s been really supportive — our friends from The Lone Wolf, the whole neighborhood,” he says. “We’re happy to be here.” In Starland, that sentiment feels less
like a platitude and more like a pint and a promise kept. — Kiki Dy
Urban Café
The atrium at Telfair Museums’ Jepson Center has a new eatery, Urban Café. An offshoot of Urban Deli, the café offers a refreshing menu of sandwiches (including some tasty breakfast versions), as well as soups, coffee drinks, and kid favorites like grilled cheese. You can also find vegan options such as a falafel sandwich. Urban Café is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, and visitors do not need to purchase museum admission to dine there. — Kathryn Drury Wagner
Sela
Murmurs of Daniel Reed Hospitality’s newest offering, Sela, have been swirling around the scene like a glass of tempranillo.
Set to open this year at 250 Bull St., the intimate Spanish tapas spot will be helmed by Chef Marco Quiroz, who will manage the day-to-day operations, and Executive Chef Jake Rogers, who will split his time between Sela and Local 11ten. The focus here is narrow by design: Spanish tapas, beer and wine only, and a dining room small enough to keep the attention where it belongs — on good croquettes and good company.
Rogers describes the menu as an extension of what he already does well: hyper-seasonal and simple, translated through Spanish technique rather than spectacle. “We’re bringing what we do here — very local, very seasonal — and applying that to tapas,” he explains. The result is meant to feel intimate and unfussy, a place where creativity shows up quietly.
The concept, he says, emerged organically once the team saw the space itself. “It just made sense,” Rogers recalls, noting the room’s natural European proportions and rustic potential. At roughly 60 seats, with hopes for outdoor dining pending permits, Sela is designed to feel approachable rather than precious.
Rogers, who cut his teeth in New England kitchens before moving south during the pandemic, points to Savannah’s agricultural abundance as a constant source of inspiration. The city’s dining scene, he says, is ready for restaurants that feed into its reclamation of a port city identity — where curiosity and exchange matter more than pomp. — Kiki Dy
Photo by Andrew Cebulka
Photo by Andrew Cebulka
Garden Square
Since opening in November 2025, Garden Square has been growing and evolving. The space, located at 2400 Bull St., is what first attracted owner Jake Grier and his business partner, David Winer. It shares a courtyard entrance area with Brochu’s Family Tradition and boasts outdoor seating as well as high ceilings inside. The concept has evolved from a creative cocktail bar with a menu of veg-forward bites, to a full-service restaurant with a garden twist, explains Grier.
The cocktails have been very successful, with bar manager Natasha Conyers leading the charge. She’s one to watch, known for her unusual, vibrant, and delicious cocktails. Take, for example, the Affogato Expression, with ice cream fat-washed Tito’s vodka, espresso, and coconut cold foam. Or consider her flight of Bloody Marys, with classic, carrot ginger, and verde versions served as a trio. She even does a boiled peanut garden shot — it’s hard to explain but sure goes down well.
Conyers excels at nonalcoholic cocktails as well, making her own NA gin and tequila facsimiles. The restaurant also uses Cotton & Reed, a craft rum Grier is an investor in, in many of the cocktails.
Now, says Grier, they are working to strengthen the food components. They’ve added brunch and heartier foods, such as braised short ribs served with velvet mashed potatoes or butter chicken meatballs served with jasmine rice. For spring, Grier says, they will pivot toward in-season veggies like fresh peas. “There’s a candied bacon BLT on the brunch menu that is out of this world,” he adds. The restaurant also offers cocktail classes led by Conyers and will soon be rolling out wine tasting evenings. — Kathryn Drury Wagner
Bull & Barrel Steakhouse
In its 128 years, the sprawling pink house at 119 E. 37th St. has lived many lives. It’s been a convent for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, a florist, an attorney’s office, and, most recently, La Scala, the Italian restaurant lovingly restored and operated for six years by husbands Donald Lubowicki and Jeffrey Downer.
Lubowicki and Downer spent years (and more than a million dollars) navigating historic reviews and city permits, determined to honor the home’s past lives rather than rush it toward usefulness. At one point, nine months were devoted to the roof alone. Their work ensured that the building was not just resurrected but inimitable and ready for another 128 years.
This year, Statesboro’s Bull & Barrel Steakhouse will fill every floor with fine china and the din of laughter once more. Savannah doesn’t have many true steakhouses and fewer still housed in spaces that boast such history. — Kiki Dy
West Broad Bandshell
West Broad Bandshell sits at 514 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. on a stretch of road with a long musical memory. Nearly a century ago, West Broad Street was Savannah’s stop on the Chitlin’ Circuit, hosting Black musicians shut out of downtown stages.
West Broad Bandshell, which opened in 2025, gives a nod to this era, leaving up a mural from one of the space’s previous tenants, King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Bar. The mural honors jazz bandleader Joseph Nathan “King” Oliver, who taught Louis Armstrong how to play and who died in Savannah in 1938.
Today, the space is equal parts restaurant, live music venue, and cocktail bar. “When we came into this space, we had a vision rooted in culture,” says West Broad Bandshell co-owner Tanika Hamilton. “Our food reflects my heritage — Korean and African American — but music has always been at the heart of West Broad Bandshell. It brings people together and tells stories that feel singularly Savannah.”
Feeding the renaissance is co-owner and chef Romie Cummings, who dishes out shrimp and creamy grits, slow-braised short ribs, Korean corn dogs, and much more. Seoul meets soul on a reasonably priced menu that executes Southern comfort food and Korean street food with equal fidelity. If you’re looking to try something new, stop by, because when’s the last time you chased some fried chicken with a kimchi martini? — Kiki Dy
Photo by Andrew Cebulka
The Darling Oyster Bar
One of the most hotly anticipated restaurants of fall 2025 was Charleston staple The Darling Oyster Bar’s new Savannah location, housed in a historic building at 27 Montgomery St.
Chef Daniel Witwer, who came to Savannah to open The Darling Oyster Bar here, shares some behind-the-scenes insights into what makes opening any new restaurant formidable. “With a new place, you often don’t know what your problems are until they are in your face, like the growing pains,” he explains. “You have to think on your feet and be solution-oriented.”
Figuring out what to put on the menu also takes some finesse. “If you have a restaurant that has been open two years, five years, 10 years, you have the sales data you can look back on and say, ‘Oh, we sold X amount of shrimp and grits,’ where with a new restaurant, you don’t know if the fried fish basket is going to be more popular than the shrimp,” Witwer says, adding that different markets have different tastes and balances of locals and tourists. “That means you are more in the dark with ordering supplies and figuring out cost control. And, you don’t want to run out [of a certain dish]. That’s not a good look.”
Lastly, he notes that consistency is key with any restaurant but especially when it’s new. “You want to ensure you have the same quality product day in and out and that people who come in at the end of the night get the same experience as people who came in at 4 p.m,” he says.
Witwer oversees two menus: a white menu that features go-to, favorite food items that are available in both Savannah and Charleston and a pink menu that is unique to Savannah and for more adventurous eaters. “We always want to keep The Darling as The Darling,” he says, “But Savannah and Charleston are similar but totally different markets.” — Kathryn Drury Wagner
Photo courtesy Southern Cross Hospitality
Fishbar and La Vetta
Southern Cross Hospitality owner Anthony Debreceny first came to Savannah by way of the port, working along Savannah’s shipping arteries before turning his attention to hospitality. Australian by birth, he brought a global sensibility with him — one that helped usher in a new era of dining here with the restaurants The Collins Quarter, The Deck Beach Bar and Kitchen, Doki Doki Ice Creamery, Ukiyo Izakaya & Ramen Bar, and The Fitzroy.
With Southern Cross’ latest, Fishbar, the dining scene continues to unfurl with gusto. The immaculately reimagined interior of 2218 Bull St. is lit up by laughter and the open hearth firing grouper cheeks, whole snapper, or, for the fish-phobic, dry-aged New York strip steak.
Fishbar, which took over a spot previously housing Squirrel’s Pizza, operates like a collective nervous system — everyone tuned in, everyone invested. As team member Victoria Fils-Aime puts it, “We’re all in it together. Every team member is excited to be here right now, and everyone’s idea is considered.”
The decor at Fishbar wears its intentionality lightly. Look closely and you’ll see fish-scale screens lining the open kitchen’s metal shelving, crafted locally by Futurum Design and Metal Fabrication. Sightlines from the entry frame a courtyard fountain just so. Overhead, a koi light — air-freighted in from Vietnam — hovers as both art and metaphor. In many Asian cultures, koi represent perseverance and strength, “a reminder,” says general manager Sasha Nasrabadi, “that the hospitality industry often means swimming upstream.”
On the menu, seafood is alchemized in ways Savannah hasn’t quite seen before — bottarga-dusted potatoes, for example, or lead bartender Maren Gudmundsson’s anchovy oil fat-washed gin cocktail. It seemed like a gamble, but it is the most-ordered drink in the house. Best of luck to the wallets of all those who live within walking distance of this new gem.
Next up is La Vetta. Long before it had a dining room, it had a direction. The name, Italian for “the peak,” has served as a north star for Southern Cross Hospitality while the project quietly developed over several years. When it opens at 15 W. Broughton St., it will mark the group’s most ambitious effort yet.
La Vetta builds on the groundwork Debreceny and his team have already laid. Designed by Studio Tho, the space invokes Italian Futurism: dramatic, intentional, and a little otherworldly. The chef (though confirmed) has not yet been revealed. “We ran an exhaustive campaign and have recruited a chef from Italy with a pedigree, accustomed to culinary awards, and one who will have eyes of envy locking in on the progress of our ever-evolving culinary scene,” says Debreceny.
George Vedder, a local food writer and line cook at The Grey, sees projects like La Vetta as part of a larger recalibration. Savannah in 2026, he says, “is remembering what it means to be a port city — one that absorbs ideas, techniques, and philosophies as they pass through, incorporating them thoughtfully rather than performing them for effect.” — Kiki Dy
Photo by Andrew Cebulka / Courtesy Marbled & Fin
Marbled & Fin
“There’s a lot of young, up-and-coming artistic energy in Savannah, which is different from other Southern cities its size,” says Kenny Lyons, president of the Neighborhood Dining Group. Marbled & Fin has been very successful in Charleston, he reports, and the Savannah location is slated to open in spring 2026 in a new building at 520 E. Oglethorpe Ave.
NDG also operates Husk here and, in addition to Charleston, also has restaurants in Nashville and Atlanta. Most of these are tourist-driven markets, Lyons notes, and the key is appealing to both visitors and locals. The company will provide 650 jobs in total once Marbled & Fin is staffed in Savannah.
Marbled & Fin is “a classic American steakhouse but more modernized — less country-clubby wood-paneled walls and instead more chef driven,” says Lyons. You’ll find prime steaks year-round, as well as seasonally changing salads, seafoods, and vegetable sides. “It’s not a stagnant menu,” says Lyons, who also says the restaurant’s design will be modern, open, and airy. “It’s not a boy’s club where 90% of the clientele are guys. We like to have offerings for everyone and make everyone feel welcome.”
About 30–40% of the menu seen in Charleston will be different for Savannah’s location. But some dishes are too good to not bring in. One popular dish features toasted brioche topped with bone marrow and chimichurri then finished with a broiled oyster. “It’s got it all: the crunch, salt, fat — everything you need in one bite,” says Lyons. “It’s over the top.”
Creating a menu, he notes, is “a democratic and collaborative process. It’s a lot of work, and you get a lot of opinions, but for us, we don’t want to experiment on the guests. We try it all on ourselves and then can rest our heads easily at night, knowing we gave it our collective best.” — Kathryn Drury Wagner
Photo courtesy Jay Trikha
The Triple Threat: Jay Trikha
Jay Trikha is co-owner of Savannah Taphouse and a driving force behind three new projects, including Pritchard & Co. (currently open), Nico Angelo’s Italiano (slated for April), and Elsewhere (by the end of the year). Each concept shares commonalities: Their locations are in close proximity to one another, all of their menu items are made from scratch, and the owners are present. Trikha shares the scoop on what to expect with each establishment.
Pritchard & Co.
For years, Starland Cafe was one of the few places where Peter Patel (a friend and co-owner of Savannah Taphouse with Trikha) could reliably find a vegetarian meal. Patel developed a relationship with longtime owner Michael Pritchard, and when word of his retirement started circulating, Patel offered to take over the reins. Pritchard declined at first, but as the January 2025 closing date approached, he reconsidered.
Meanwhile, Patel had looped in Trikha, who remembers the timing as kismet. Twenty minutes after Patel pitched the idea, Trikha got a call about a vacant restaurant space at 207 W. Broughton St. — the former Dottie’s Market, which had also closed in early 2025. The synchronicity wasn’t lost on him. “So many decisions in my life have happened because it felt like the universe was telling me to,” Trikha says.
Within weeks, the three sat down to map the future of what would become Pritchard & Co., with Pritchard serving as a consultant. The spirit of Starland Cafe would remain intact, but the new restaurant would evolve for its new neighborhood. “We didn’t want to change his baby,” Trikha says. “But at the same time, if we were bringing it to Broughton, it needed a refresh.”
The team decided to keep the existing bar area in the former Dottie’s but made some changes in the space, including adding more seating, opening up the kitchen, installing new tilework, and renovating the bathrooms. They held onto some heavy hitters from Starland Cafe’s menu, such as the Kitchen Sink Salad, and brought in Chef Derek Fullmer to build a menu that fuses Pritchard’s classics with Fullmer’s own specialties. The result is a fresh breakfast and lunch space (open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) that fills what Trikha says was a dining gap in the Historic District: a true sandwich spot.
Pritchard & Co. also leans hard into coffee, sourcing beans from family farms around the world, roasting them in Statesboro, and blending them in-house. Patrons can purchase pound bags or grab a unique seasonal latte to sip while shopping along Broughton Street.
A soft opening phase continues while they perfect the cafe and its menu items, with a grand opening slated for spring 2026. Keep an eye on their Instagram (@pritchardcosav) for more information.
Nico Angelo’s Italiano
One of Trikha’s first meals after moving to Savannah in 2013 was at Leoci’s Trattoria (in the space now occupied by Veratina). He was so impressed with the tiramisu that he insisted on meeting the chef: Roberto Leoci.
The two became fast friends. “I knew we were going to work on something together at some point,” Trikha says. That moment arrived in July 2025, just one month after the Pritchard & Co. lease was signed. The former a.Lure space at 309 W. Congress St. became available, and Trikha called Leoci, who claimed he was ready to retire. Trikha joked, asking him, “Are you sure?” He walked Leoci through the space, and retirement was no longer on the table.
The resulting concept, named for Leoci’s son, will be an authentic Italian restaurant featuring classic staples, brick-oven pizza, and a menu that changes quarterly. While the buildout wraps up, the team has been hosting a dinner series around town, featuring multicourse meals by Leoci paired with wine to give locals a preview of what’s to come at Nico Angelo’s Italiano. Expect a soft opening in April 2026, and follow their Instagram (@nicoangelossav) for updates.
Elsewhere
Elsewhere, slated for a late 2026 opening on Bay Street, is easily the most unique of the three, teaming Trikha with business partners Dan Patel and Peter Patel. A multicultural menu — including Middle Eastern, Moroccan, French, and Turkish influences — will be featured, created by different chefs brought in to put their unique stamps on the kitchen. Aesthetically, Trikha says to envision “Dubai luxury,” with a membership-only room tucked into the design. While his other restaurants emphasize comfort, Elsewhere is set to skew high-end, exclusive, and unapologetically late-night. Dinner service will start around 7 p.m., and the space will remain open until 1 or 2 a.m. — Mary Cornetta
Now Hiring
With all these new eateries opening up, is it difficult to find the right skilled labor? It can be. Nationally, the restaurant business is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. During that era, “We lost at least 20% of workers, conservatively, industry-wide who left for other industries,” according to well-known restaurateur David Winer, of EatWell DC and now a co-owner of Garden Square in Savannah. Winer has been in the restaurant business for 40 years and has opened about 15 restaurants over the course of his career. The hardest positions to fill are kitchen staff, such as line cooks, while servers are a bit easier to find.
Creating a pipeline of young professionals, such as via Savannah Technical College’s Savannah Culinary Institute, will benefit both restaurants and the local workforce. Winer notes that a career in restaurants can be a lucrative path: “A chef can easily start at $70,000 and way up.”
The cost of housing is another factor in hiring; Savannah is still fairly affordable as coastal cities go. “We’ve been doing interviews [for Marbled & Fin], and the amount of talented food and beverage professionals has been great,” says Kenny Lyons, president of the Neighborhood Dining Group. In Charleston, he notes, it’s harder to hire because the cost of living has risen so high that workers can’t afford to live near the restaurants. — Kathryn Drury Wagner
