On January 31st of this year, I pulled into a parking lot of what looked like a smallish strip mall in Charleston. We looked around, saw a dry cleaners in the corner next to the restaurant we were headed to for dinner. The parking lot was appropriately lit, but it was still very quiet.  I was expecting to see a beautiful restaurant, of course, but as soon I pulled on the door, and took one step toward the hostess stand, there was one thing that grabbed me.  The energy in this room was palpable.  Before I even said hello I quickly scanned the room and thought

“Savannah is in for a treat with this one.”

I was there that night to kick the tires on what is about to become not only Savannah’s next steakhouse, but also Savannah’s next great restaurant.

Marbled and Fin opens tonight in downtown Savannah at Houston and Oglethorpe.   And with that, our city will take what I believe, is the first of a series of ‘next steps forward’ in our ever evolving food scene.  

There are a flurry of eateries on the horizon, that when combined with existing spots like FishBar Savannah and Lucia Pasta Bar that very well could be the next class to bring the likes of Garden and Gun or the New York Times through town.  Marbled and Fin fits that mold.

This restaurant is unequivocally the ‘Modern Steakhouse’ they describe themselves as.  There is no dark wood or tufted seating.  There are no old framed newspapers on the walls.  You will see bartenders wearing ‘old school’ green jackets (which I loved by the way) but that’s about where the comparisons to those iconic steakhouses you find in New York City end.

I got a look inside this 180 or so seat restaurant here in Savannah last week. Yes, it was before noon, and yes, the room was bright and empty except for the crew knocking out punch lists before they pull back the curtain, but it wasn’t hard at all to envision what this place will look like one evening very soon.   A beautiful glowing eatery on Downtown Savannah’s East end in a fairly residential neighborhood, even if it is directly across Oglethorpe from E-Tang and Screamin’ Mimi’s Pizza.

Much like what we saw in Charleston, I expect that to continue to be a very quiet street corner in Savannah’s Historic District. What you will find inside, though, you will love.

The menu features steaks for steak lovers.  Wet and Dry aged cuts.  6 ounce filets, 28 ounce porterhouses, 36 ounce tomahawks and anything and everything in between.  There are both Australian and Japanese Wagyu cuts. 

On the seafood side, hot as well as cold seafood towers are a feature. Lobster, scallops, caviar, shrimp.  You know the drill. 

If you are feeling feisty, you can enjoy “The Marbled and Fin” a 28 ounce porterhouse and a whole broiled lobster. That’s meant to be shared with someone else. It’s served with potato puree and asparagus.   All of that can be yours for $230.  Which is the only thing I’m going to say about prices at this restaurant.  Great steaks are not inexpensive. And yes, like all the great steakhouses out there, sides-and there are many here-are extra.

Speaking of sides, we enjoyed a few.  We’d been told the creamed corn is a legendary offering at Marbled and Fin and yes, it was. The whole roasted mushrooms I could eat every day. Just that, yes, for dinner.  Delicious.  I’m looking forward to the truffle Mac and Cheese next time as well as their triple fried French fries.

The wine list should have its own article another time after a chat with their Somm.  It’s massive.

Have I gotten your attention yet?  Our meal was exceptional top to bottom. Service impeccable, with attention to detail you don’t see too often around here.  But you will soon.

The other thing I love about what they are doing here in Savannah is the fact that this restaurant, unlike their Charleston space, is two stories.  In Charleston, the bar is on the left, the main dining room on the right.  There is bar seating and a few booths to enjoy a full dinner in the bar area, but Savannah’s main dining room is upstairs.  I suspect there could be a fairly different vibe upstairs, with the downstairs area dominated by those guests looking for anything from a glass of wine and some oysters all the way to a full dinner with a very different energy about them.

In the big picture, I can’t help but smile when I see what is happening on our food scene. A few short years ago, I had a quick post Brunch chat with someone at Hall’s Chophouse in Charleston. I asked them if they had ever seriously considered expanding to Savannah.  I was told they had looked around quite a bit, but weren’t convinced there was enough traffic through town mid-week to satisfy the kinds of numbers they’d expect in Savannah.  I found that to be a very fair explanation of where The Hostess City stood at the time. 

Clearly, the Neighborhood Dining Group, who also owns Husk by the way, doesn’t think that’s an issue anymore, and it’s hard to disagree.  The landscape is changing around here fairly quickly. Not only with the restaurants that are open or coming soon, but also with the people moving to this area to enjoy them.

I suspect a lot of Savannah will consider Marbled and Fin to be a special occasion restaurant.  But I also expect to see a good amount of regulars rolling through there, particularly on a weekend evening.  Either way, we are in for a treat. I can’t wait for you to try it.

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