Olde Pink House Restaurant: Savannah, GA

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• The Olde Pink House is serving up southern charm and delicious food.
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• IT'S CONSIDERED ONE OF THE FINEST EXAMPLES OF GEORGIAN-STYLE ARCHITECTURE
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The appropriately-named Olde Pink House is easy to find, with its iconic shade of pink, right across from Reynolds Square. Located next to the iconic Planter’s Inn, this 18th-century Georgian mansion has the reputation for serving the best food in the city. Its entrée-quality appetizers include Cheerwine Barbeque Pork Sliders, blackened oysters on the half shell, and a pan seared jumbo crab cake with fried green tomatoes and remoulade sauce.

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Completed in 1771, the stately structure was commissioned by James Habersham Jr., a prominent leader who helped establish Savannah as a center of politics and commerce in those early post-colonial days. An almost-identical house was built in 1928[21] at 102 East Gaston Street,[22] just beyond the northeastern corner of Forsyth Park.

The Olde Pink House is serving up southern charm and delicious food.

Our experts personally appraise each choice in terms of their overall enthusiasm for it. The seafood choices connect back to Savannah's traditions as a port city that has long drawn bounty from the Atlantic. When renovations were complete, the Habersham-Clay house had emerged as the Olde Pink House restaurant. By the early 20th century, the aging but still-stately former Habersham mansion had passed through many uses and owners.

Plus, how to celebrate Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, and other holidays this month.

The kitchen fries the green tomatoes to perfection so diners can experience this Southern staple at its finest. Crisp fried green tomatoes offer another taste of regional delicacies transformed by the Olde Pink House into appetizing works of art. Dishes like the creamy shrimp and grits or silky she-crab soup allow diners to savor two of the Lowcountry’s quintessential flavors. With a vision to revive the mansion to its former elegance, the Strongs commissioned meticulous restorations of the original floorplan, doors, windows, and interior details. The banking offices situated upstairs in the former bedrooms, while the ornate dining and drawing rooms of the Clay family became the public-facing spaces for bank transactions.

For over two centuries, the mansion has welcomed Savannah's elite through its doors, from the lavish parties of Habersham's era to the distinguished gentlemen's club operated out of the house in the 19th century. Through painstaking technique and time-honored family wisdom, the Olde Pink House kitchen channels history onto every plate. The kitchen’s expertise with these Satisfying coastal classics comes through in every bite. Yet preparation still remains faithful to the way grandmothers and great-grandmothers cooked throughout Savannah’s history. During this period, the mansion was less a family home or even hotel—it now bustled daily with patrons conducting business transactions and employees obediently working in their offices. The Habersham-Clay mansion led a utilitarian existence for many decades following Savannah's antebellum era.

Sign up to unlock our digital magazines and also receive the latest news, events, offers and partner promotions. That’s what history deserves, that what’s the community deserves, and that’s what the many guests that are going to visit us in the future deserve,” said Jeffress. Exceptional local flavors thus converge within the historic rooms where Georgia's leaders once dined centuries ago.

At a time when Savannah society was flourishing, the Clay family used the house to host elegant soirees and entertainments befitting their station. Its brick walls, burled wood accents, and dim atmosphere evoke 19th century revelry, likely not so different from when city leaders and planners would discuss business over cards and whiskey. Standing stately in Reynolds Square, the Olde Pink House restaurant inhabits one of Savannah's finest examples of Georgian-style architecture.

As the Civil War plunged the nation into chaos, the grand house transitioned into more practical uses aligned with tumultuous times. The ornate brick and pink stucco edifice with its symmetrical layout exemplified the Georgian style then fashionable throughout the colonies. Arched windows flanked by columns, iron-railed balconies, and a signature white ornamental iron fence cast in Savannah all exuded an air of refinement.

Chatham County restaurant inspections, conducted Nov. 29–Dec. 5, 2023 - Savannah Morning News

Chatham County restaurant inspections, conducted Nov. 29–Dec. 5, 2023.

Posted: Tue, 05 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

During Clay's tenure as mayor of Savannah from 1805 to 1806, he and his family took up residence in the mansion. As Savannah progressed into the 19th century, the stately Habersham house passed into the hands of prominent political leader Joseph Clay. With their low ceilings, fireplaces, and limited seating, they resemble the type of formal but cozy spaces where Georgia's early aristocracy would have entertained friends for elaborate dinners. As one tours the storied halls of the Olde Pink House today, it becomes easy to imagine the mansion as it was during Savannah's earlier days. The legacy of James Habersham is still honored through the surviving Habersham house, now the Olde Pink House restaurant.

The Olde Pink House to Host annual Fundraiser on Thursday - Eat It & Like It - EatitandLikeit.com

The Olde Pink House to Host annual Fundraiser on Thursday - Eat It & Like It.

Posted: Tue, 29 Nov 2022 19:12:51 GMT [source]

The food draws from regional tradition, but underneath the surface of fried green tomatoes and shrimp and grits lies a storied landmark that has watched over Savannah from Reynolds Square for nearly 250 years. Just as in 1771, the Olde Pink House remains a destination for those who seek to experience Georgian Savannah's splendor. The stately mansion surely felt livelier during the Clay's residency than in its previous incarnation as a more staid family estate for James Habersham Jr. But the Clays upheld the home's refined atmosphere, using its grand spaces as the backdrop for some of Savannah's most memorable early 19th century social events. Joseph's wife Mary was known as a consummate hostess who masterfully planned lavish dinners, musical evenings, and holiday balls in the mansion's spaces. Guests delighted in dancing the evening away in the grand first floor ballroom or discussing politics and business in the dining room over sumptuous meals.

The Olde Pink House transports modern patrons back through centuries of memories made within those walls. If only the walls could speak of Habersham's grand parties, the Clays' lively gatherings, or the bustle of Victorian bank tellers - all long gone but not forgotten. The mansion's parlors and bedrooms now served as guest lodging, losing the elegance of their previous incarnations. The war had taken its toll on Savannah, so operating the old house as a hotel provided much needed accommodations.

The sauteed shrimp and scallops or the crispy fried lobster tail washes down well with a wine selection from their Arches Bar, and the Green Chile Bloody Mary will get you right after a long night. One of Savannah’s great culinary experiences, adjacent to the Planters Inn, this local institution remains extremely popular. The property itself dates way back to 1771, and is indeed covered in a layer of pink stucco. Today, diners can still experience that refined grace as they step inside the Olde Pink House restaurant and enjoy Southern cuisine in spaces that have hosted Savannah society since the city's settlement.

The menu draws deeply from traditions and recipes perfected in local kitchens across generations. The Strongs filled the dining rooms with fine antiques and opened the restored cellar as a tavern. Their passion revealed the mansion's beauty once more, while retaining its 18th and 19th century character. This practical chapter, though far removed from the structure's original purpose, became an important part of the historic mansion's story and connection to Savannah's past. Footsteps, voices, and moving objects remind visitors that while the Olde Pink House offers a glimpse into the past, some aspects of its bygone eras may continue to inhabit the present day. Between the food, decor, and architecture, the senses pick up on the echoes of Georgian and antebellum life that still linger within the Olde Pink House.

The basement Planters Tavern transports guests back to 1855, when it first opened as an underground bar and billiards hall frequented by Savannah's gentlemen. Patrons dine immersed in the architecture and atmosphere of 18th century Savannah brought to life by one of its earliest leading citizens. Over 250 years later, the mansion remains one of the premier illustrations of Georgian architecture in Savannah. The striking pink facade also rendered the mansion instantly recognizable in the local landscape, with the color chosen as a proud nod to Habersham's English heritage. In exploring the history of the Olde Pink House, we peel back the layers of this Southern icon to reveal its origins, illustrious inhabitants, and evolving identity across centuries at the heart of Savannah.

With its pink stucco facade and white ornamental ironwork, the mansion emanates the elegance of 18th century life when it was first erected in 1771 for James Habersham Jr. Servants smoothly attended to every guest's needs and Mary Clay ensured the food and wine were of the finest quality. News of the Clays' parties often appeared in Savannah's society pages, further elevating the family's social status. Through meticulous restoration and devotion to regional cuisine, the restaurant has revived this aristocratic dwelling, allowing modern diners and history aficionados alike to step inside Savannah’s gilded past. Stepping into the Olde Pink House today, patrons can embark on a culinary journey through Savannah's regional fare thanks to the restaurant’s meticulous attention to heritage Southern cuisine.