We caught up with one of the old timers in and around Savannah, his name is Jason Restivo. He is co-owner of one of Savannah’s more popular small restaurants called Sobremesa. Known for its selections of wines and some small plates, Sobremesa has become a favorite for locals looking for something great without fighting the downtown Savannah crowds or traffic.

Jason and Jesse talk about the State of Savannah’s food scene, the holidays and what 2025 has felt like in general.

Jesse Blanco: All right, welcome back to the Eat In Like A Podcast. Joining me now is an old friend of the program, an old friend here in Savannah. His name is Jason Restivo. He is owner– co-owner, I think–of one of Savannah’s finer dining establishments called Sobremesa. First of all, how are you?

Jason Restivo: I’m fantastic, Jesse, it’s great to see you again. Always great to chat with you and thanks for reaching out. So I’m doing great. 

JB: Happy holidays to you. 

JR: Happy holidays. Merry Christmas. Yeah, this is great.

JB: Yes, indeed. So here we are, we’re approaching the end of 2025, and there are so many people I’d love to have chats with, practically every day in this town, but you’re one of them I’ve been wanting to talk to for a while. You took over Sobremesa there on Abercorn… what’s the cross street? 

JR: 40th.

JB: 40th, right across from Russo Seafood.

JR: That’s correct.

JB: Three Christmases ago, you’re telling me, it’s been three years already?

JR: That’s right. In September, 2023 I joined on, Ryan Ribero is my business partner. I took over operations and I’ve been having a blast ever since.

JB: That’s awesome. Now, for those who are familiar, Sobremesa started out as a wine bar, then you guys partnered up and you kind of evolved it into a full-blown restaurant. How did that transition go? And where do you think you are in all of that? Now you laugh, because I can only imagine what that was like.

JR: (laughing) Well, you know, it’s like… Jason Restivo should never be bored. No, I’m not bored. I’m very blessed. One, to be able to team up with a friend of mine and, he fell in love with Atlantic, and I think that’s really why the whole conversation and the partnership started, due to the fact that he and I were dreaming about, or wanting to do the same thing, which is showcase as much wine as possible. So when I had an opportunity to join on in 2023, you know, I don’t really know anything about a wine bar, but I know what it is to welcome people and treat them like if they’re in my home, and you’ve got to feed them. And I saw these great things that were happening at Sobremesa before I came in, it was a lot of good business at like six o’clock, 6:30, and then it kind of dropped, and then it’d get a little better later, and I was like, man, we’re the pregame and postgame, but it’s like, I want to be all the game. So we did, we converted the idea of the space to yield itself for if somebody wanted small bites, they wanted a board, they wanted a hot plate, a cold plate, they wanted to share it with two people, ten people… so now we’re in a position where anybody—you can call us whatever you want to, now that I know that we have the flexibility to be whatever we need to for that guest when they come in. And at the end of the day, people still come here for the wine, which is obviously very important.

JB: Yes. Yes, that has been–for those who don’t know, we assume that everybody here in Savannah, we all know each other and we’ve known each other forever, but your background is largely in wine, correct?

JR: Yes sir. In Savannah, I started a couple years at Palmetto Bluff, but in 2011 I joined on with the Pink House, and then Garibaldi, and then I launched Atlantic and was out at Marshwood as a sommelier, and it’s all I’ve really known, taking care of people through the vessels of five ounce pours of great wine.

JB: Yes. Yes, and I can attest to that, some of the holiday parties you used to have in your house are still legend.

JR: Yeah, there’s a handful. I think there was a couple of times that you were there, about 140 people crammed in that house drinking everyone’s best wine they could find. But that’s what’s great about this city, you know, it’s just like, the amount of people that now have wonderful relationships because it was over a scenario–whether it’s this restaurant… but wine is generally involved in it.

JB: Yeah, those–I gotta do a quick share of a story, one of those wine parties at your house, there was one time I was standing in a hallway talking to somebody, and somebody else came up to me—I’m describing this, Jason, obviously you know, but for those who have never [and] will never see that scene, we’re talking a couple of hundred people to-ing and fro-ing, you’re standing in a corner having a conversation with somebody, and another person comes up and whispers to you, “hey, they just opened some blah, blah, blah, blah in the kitchen, you might wanna go try it.” And then you’re trying to figure out a way to get out of this conversation so you can make your way into the kitchen to make sure you get a little bit of whatever amazing thing had just been opened. That’s the kind of parties they were. That was a good time. Yeah, very, very good times.

JR: Yeah, great times. It was, it was. And I’m glad to have shared that with you, that’s a great story. I think it could have been the half bottle of 85 Opus, I believe, if I’m not mistaken, that’s the first vintages that they made those projects. So I think that night there was half bottles…

JB: It might’ve been! 

JR: 85 and 87 half bottles were there. So I can’t remember what people tell me to do, but I can remember flavor profiles and moments of opening great wine.

JB: Yeah, yeah, and then, last thing we’ll say about the party, there was a big ole–I believe it was a bathtub on the front porch, full of ice and water for the whites and rosés.

JR: Yep. There sure was.

JB: Yeah, good times. 

JR: No, it was great. For everyone out there, it was like Halley’s Comet. If you saw it, you saw it. If you didn’t, it will come around again.

JB: Yes, yes, yes, yes. And a lot of people I’m sure that are listening to this were part of that, and they’re saying, yeah, those were legendary. But Sobremesa, you have turned it into a favorite, I know you’re full, every time I drive by in the evening, it’s full practically all through the week, the reception has got to have been exceeding anything you had hoped for, yeah?

JR: It is, because any time you take something that–you know, changing something in the middle of a stride can be a challenge. You risk losing those who enjoyed the space, or enjoyed the concept, or just really wanted to go there because they didn’t want to be in a restaurant. You take the chance of doing that, but we saw an opportunity–especially with this neighborhood, because a lot of people assume that we are Starland, but if you really start to look at the map, Starland is just to the west of us. So in uncharted territory–we do have Common Thread, which is our neighbor, and then we have Over Yonder, so it’s kind of like one extreme to the next. But as this neighborhood starts to evolve into more places to purchase a solid, like a food, you know, we saw an opportunity with the space that we had to maximize it. Because that was one thing that really encouraged me to move forward in a restaurant, there was too much real estate here not being utilized properly—or, to his advantage, I would not say properly, just, we had an opportunity and so we took it. You know, we don’t have a traditional hood and gas, and so we use induction, and so we have to be very smart and keen on what it is to first of all compliment the person that’s there, you know, we’re not Americana, we’re not European, we’re just local ingredients, small plates, mid plates, and creative, very innocent, like clean and contemporary. And so some people would say we’re bougie but we’re just, we’re having a good time.

JB: Eh. You’re about to get that steakhouse as a neighbor too, which is going to raise the tide a little bit, which is good.

JR: That is, oh gosh, I mean, if more people would start to recognize the whole Abercorn– because it is, I remember when people said, when we opened Atlantic and I was going to put a dining room on Victory, they’re like, “no one will ever eat out there. No one will, it’s just too fast.” And you know, there is a little bit of that speed here on Abercorn, so it is a little too fast, but I do believe the more neighbors that we get, the more people will want to be on foot. And I think that’s the key right there.

JB: Yes, I don’t disagree. Speaking of that, kind of a perfect way to segue into this question. You’ve been here a long time, almost as long as me, I think. What is your 30,000 foot opinion of what has become, and is becoming, of our food scene overall?

JR: I think it’s exciting. I remember working at the Pink House in 2010 and 11 and 12 right there, and meeting people who are coming in from New York and I was like, “oh, so first time here?” and they’re like, “yeah”, and I’m like, “so where are you staying?” They’re like, “oh, we’re in Charleston, but we drove down here because someone said we had to eat at the Pink House,” and then they would drive back. And it was just, at that time, I was also playing around with some vacation rentals downtown, and my average–I think the average night guest was like 1.4 nights people were staying here. So the fact that where we are today in 2025, where we’re no longer like, the stepchild to a destination like Charleston… we are a destination. And it’s crazy how far we’ve come since I moved here in 2006. I think that the famous first, kind of like, piercing of the veil with 109 Montgomery–I think that’s the address–when John Omasama put their Titan–I think it’s called a Titan–right into the ground, that really allowed a lot of us to sit there and go, oh, we can dream. We can do this too. And so it really kind of paved the way.

JB: Yeah. Yeah, I don’t disagree with all that. You said Montgomery, it’s MLK, but I knew what you meant.

JR: Oh, MLK, forgive me, yes. So to go back and then, I couldn’t help but listen to one of your podcasts, we have a lot of new opportunity and things opening in this next year. And it could be a little daunting, but you also look at–I don’t know, I mean, not to get too business, definitely not a business degree holder, but I’m sure a lot of people just don’t build out all these logistic buildings, the apartments, the build out, and just say, “well, I hope it works.” I think there’s other people doing studies and numbers that something’s coming. We may not be able to see it today because we’re like, “well, no one’s answered that one ad”, or like, “we still can’t find this person for this role”, but something’s coming. And I think there’s some really big thinkers out there, and I’m really excited to be a part of an opportunity.

JB: Yeah, I don’t disagree with all of that. We are certainly growing. I like to tell people when I talk about the food scene here, there are people who show up at our doorstep from Portland, Oregon or Austin, Texas or New Orleans, and say, “this isn’t a food town. I was promised ABCDE.” But those of us who’ve been here two decades know what we used to be. And we look around now and go, “man, this is pretty awesome.”

JR:

Yeah. It really is, it really is. I think Savannah’s culinary scene has a healthy identity. I think we are in line with our identity. There’s no one now trying to do something they’re not capable of doing. I think everyone’s performing exactly how they should be performing.

JB: Yeah, yeah. And for the people who think, ‘well, you know, what else do we do?’ There’s so much more room to grow. Every time I have a conversation like this with someone for the podcast, we all agree that we need some more street food. It’s either a little bit on the higher end, or too far on the lower end. We need some middle of the road street food that people can grab and go. And, you know, like you’re from California, correct?

JR: That’s correct, yeah, and you’re not wrong.

JB: Yeah, so that kind of stuff I think would enhance us. But if we got everything we wished for right away, the world would be a very different place, right?

JR: I really, you’re absolutely correct, because also if we got everything we wanted right away, I don’t know if we would be able to sustain it. You know, I think the last two decades–the hard work of everyone the last two decades has allowed us to be perfectly poised right now, because what got us here is not going to take us there. And I think it’s–I mean, you look at the people who are coming on board now, I mean, the Darling opening in 2011 and 12, it may not be the experience that people are receiving now, if that makes sense. You know, Sobremesa opening in this neighborhood in 2005 may not have been the experience for people to be able to grow. So everything’s for a reason. And I do agree with you, more street food, because I eat the majority of my food standing up on my feet in the restaurant. I mean, I have 42 seats that welcome everyone, and I rarely sit down in my own restaurant. I eat standing up, (laughing) all restaurauteurs do.

JB: Yeah, I know how that goes. know how that goes. Going back to something existing in 2011 or ‘12, I’m gonna use a tiny example of that, because you–we all witnessed it when The Florence opened in 2014. It had its troubles getting in the groove here in this town, lasted three years, but now Kyle has opened Lucia Pasta Bar, he was the same chef as The Florence. And yes, he changed some things, it’s a smaller space, it’s a warmer space, it has a lot of the same things he was doing just right down the road. But it’s also, what now? Eight years later? Which goes to your point that Savannah’s in a better position to embrace some of the things that that very same chef is doing.

JR: Yep. I mean, I think about the caterpillar that becomes a chrysalis that becomes a butterfly, you know, and I think at the end of the day, it’s like, there’s a lot of things that have come and gone, but the individuals are still here. Those are just the concepts. I mean, there’s so many restaurateurs that just, we do whatever it takes to push through. And it may not be in the same address, it may not be under the same P&L, but you know, very few have left. We’ve all kind of had to re-identify ourselves.

JB: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I agree. So you got a couple of events coming up this month celebrating the holidays. One is on the 16th and one is New Year’s Day, correct?

JR: I do, that’s correct. So we’ll start with the 16th since that’s first, so what we’ll do is we’ll move all the tables out of the restaurant and we’ll set up four stations, and each station will probably have about eight wines. And this is open to the public tickets, there is no prepaid tickets, it’s just show up at the door. You pay the fee of $85 plus tax and gratuity, you collect the glass, you go around, you taste up to 30 wines. 90% of the wines that you’ll taste aren’t available by the glass in programs, whether it’s mine, or in other great programs or everyday programs. And these are wines, when I do this event four times a year, I go and I search through wines that I enjoy tasting that should be in the glass of friends or new people around. There’ll be plenty of food on the bar. So it’s a mingling event. There’ll be a couple of seats if you need to sit and take a rest, and a lot of people just take a picture of their favorite bottle of wine and then they go to their favorite retailer and they’re like, “hey, I tried this wine, can you order a bottle?” You know, and it’s perfect timing, because if they’re sharp enough, they can get that bottle of wine before Christmas. So it’s a really good opportunity, one, to do something different. I love shaking things up, I love the sit down, I love the bustling, but if anything, I just love opening copious amounts of bottles of wine. So that’s on the 16th.

One of the favorite–I’ve had a lot of great moments in Atlantic, and I think what I do recall from a lot of locals is after New Year’s Eve, the real troopers love to just get up on New Year’s Day and just be like, “where’s a glass of champagne? Where’s my Hoppin’ John?” So I’m gonna throw a party. So this is a limited seating, we are gonna be taking–all of our intel says to email us or to call me directly, we’ll probably put a resi button out there, but it’ll be $175 plus tax and gratuity. It’ll be between 11:30 to 4 p.m. on New Year’s Day. Champagne all day. If you want to try to drink seven bottles of champagne, make sure you rewrite your will, but bring it on. We’ll have caviar, lobster rolls, filet mignon sandwiches… we’re just going to have a good time. We’re still working on the entertainment, but at the end of the day, it’s going to be a time of just gathering together and being like, all right, here we are, 50 people, we are seeing each other for the first day of the year, what’s our year going to look like? And let’s celebrate life.

JB: Yes, yes, I like it. I like it. And a fine time will be had by all.

JR: Yeah, most definitely, most definitely.

JB: All right, the same question I ask everybody that is here in Savannah that I chat with. A couple of two, three places that you love to eat that are not your own.

JR: Just in my neighborhood and I probably pop in there probably about once a week now is The Laundry. I’ll have a good little fast breakfast at The Laundry. I’ve been a resident of that neighborhood for a long time and there’s just so much commercial potential over there, so, I don’t think it all should be restaurants, so I’m really excited to see what the masses have done there. You know, I took a little bit of break, I started kind of popping back over to Brochu’s, I love that little gem salad there. Los Campos (Las Compas) over on 17, a little taqueria. Oh my god, I love me some carnitas tacos over there! I just, I find a reason to go over there, a dear friend of mine Sam Spencer has a business over there, so I’ll sit there and use their–you know I was like, “oh I’ll go see Sam,” and then I’ll use that to kind of like, circle around and just go grab a couple, and they got great horchata, so that’s where I’ve been snacking. And then I’ve been cooking a lot at home lately.

JB: Yes! I don’t know if you’ve had them, best black beans in the city at that place, over on 17. 

JR: All right, guess what? It’s pretty darn cold today, today’s a good black bean day, so I might go back over there. (laughing) 

JB: There you go. Do it! Do it, and if you have them, text me. 

JR: (laughing) Yeah, I’ll take a picture and I’ll send it. 

JB: Yep, yep, yep. Best black beans in Savannah. Alright, two events, one on the 16th, one on New Year’s Day. What’s your website?

JR: Yep. So if you’re not on our mailing list, you can go to our website, sobremesasav.com, join our mailing list. We’re putting out newsletters [in the] next couple days, it talks about the events. It talks about some closures of like private parties. And we’re posting stories on Instagram and Facebook, so there’s plenty of opportunity to get to me, and then if you know me, also my business cards have my cell phone number, you can always just text me. Some people are little nervous, like ‘oh my God there’s so many texts coming through!’, but I don’t care. I enjoy it, I love the city I’m in. This is a great town. 

JB: Very good, as do I.

JR: And thank you for everything you’ve always done, Jesse. I think you’re a great voice of getting a lot of information out there.

JB: Thank you. Thank you, I appreciate that. Thank you, sir. Well, Merry Christmas, and we will see you. Take care.