Gottlieb’s Begins Dinner Service

For the last handful of years, Michael Gottlieb has wanted to do something. Something more. What that looked like has proven elusive. He knows it, he laughs about it. He sometimes gets frustrated by it, but he knows whatever it is will come.

Michael and his brother Laurence, own and operate Gottlieb’s Bakery near the corner of Eisenhower and Waters Avenue in Savannah. The name is instantly recognizable to Savannah’s old guard. Gottlieb’s Bakery downtown on Bull Street was a Savannah institution for years.

Originally dating back to 1884, Gottlieb’s Bakery has that kind of cache in Savannah. The baked goods are among the best in the city.

“The bakery is doing great.” Michael says during a recent chat “But I wanted to do something else in here. Something different than what anyone else is doing in Savannah.”

He spent some time looking around at different spaces in Savannah. Some may have been permanent, some were considered pop ups. He was going to find something somewhere. He just needed to connect the dots.

Now he thinks he has. In the space right under his nose.

Gottlieb’s has begun weekend dinner service in their bakery. As in, literally. Inside of their baking operation.

“We have this long production table, it’s perfect. We are going to cover it with wood to create a table and everyone will eat surrounded by all our equipment.”  We have a few seats at the counter on the retail side and even a few seats outside if you want to sit there.”

The only certainty with this dinner service is change. Michael plans to change the menu every single week.  “Whatever I want to make that week will be on the menu. But nothing will be over $15.”

There are some shareable plates-including Smoked Salmon and Chopped Chicken Liver, but there are also some heavy hitting sandwiches like Crispy BBQ Lamb Buns and a Grilled Charleston Cheese Curd Sandwich. Week one dessert offerings include a Turtle: Chocolate Chewie Ice Cream, Caramel and Candied Pecans.

The apple fritter I nibbled on this week is one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. Yes, a bold statement.  But it’s true.  It’s also being offered for dessert.

Michael likes to tinker. Sure, you can probably expect some popular dishes to return regularly week to week, but that won’t guarantee them.  The menu next week may look similar to this week, it may look very different. That’s part of the beauty of what Michael believes they are doing with these “Dining in the Bakery” experiences.  He hasn’t told me so, but I’m guessing he’d entertain inquires about private events. It’s a no-brainer.

Twenty-Five seats. No reservations. Oh yeah, until they line up their paper work, it’s BYOB.

The plan for now is Friday and Saturday nights.  Some Thursdays as well. But not more. It’s just a way for the Gottlieb brothers to mix it up a little, keep some fresh ideas on the table and offer you a few more opportunities to  Eat It and Like It.

Which I believe you will.

# # #