It wasn’t the first time I took a phone call from someone suggesting I check out something they had just experienced. Of course, it is usually a restaurant or a bar. Sometimes, it’s a recommendation on a particular dish a friend has enjoyed. Those, however, are downgraded to a text. “Hey Jesse! Have you had the Lion Fish Appetizer at (insert name of restaurant)?” Frankly, how excited I get about the recommendation depends on who is comes from. This one stood out.

It was a phone call from a gal pal who rarely, and I mean hardly ever, calls or suggests anything to me. So, naturally, it got my attention.

“Have you seen the new rooftop at the AC Hotel?” I said no.

“It is absolutely beautiful. I just came from there. You have to check it out. They opened today.” she said.

Armed with a recommendation I held in fairly high regard, I made a point to stop in. I had an event nearby that evening, so it made it very convenient.

I share all of that because I walked in to Lavender, Savannah’s newest rooftop venue/restaurant, with high hopes. I expected to see something fairly spectacular. And I did. For starters, I found an 8th floor rooftop venue that was designed and built to take every advantage of the wrap around vistas from one end of downtown Savannah to the other. The veranda, if you will, wraps around the entire span of the building. There is seating facing North, which allows you a sweeping view of Downtown Savannah, from left to right. Cathedral of St. John the Baptist on the left, all the way around to Plant Riverside and the Talmadge Bridge to the Westin and the still under construction boat docks at Savannah Harbor on the right.

That same veranda continuously wraps around and runs along the length of the Savannah River. The Westin now in front of you across the river. Soft seating and tables for dining line that veranda. The real estate is largely occupied. It’s not an observation deck.

Now, if you know me, then you know I am a sucker for a pretty view. From my seat, these are stunning. Sunset and the bridge behind it? Check. A full look at downtown Savannah and tree line directly in front of you? Check. What I like most is that it’s only 8 stories high. Bar Julian at the Thompson is-I believe-14 stories up and offers amazing vistas. I love them. But the fact that this is only 8 stories up and much closer in to the water makes a huge difference. The AC Hotel sits literally ON River Street. If the right person tossed a golf ball off of the deck, it’s likely going into the water. Think about that when a ship is rolling by either up or down river. Not to mention the fact that a lot of these cargo ships are taller than 8 stories.

I hope you get the picture, because as far as views go downtown, this is special. That’s a hell of a review of the view given that I was there for 15 minutes, isn’t it?

I promised myself to come back for dinner.

Two days later, I made it back for dinner with no preconceived notions other than it was a Spanish concept. “We want to be Savannah’s only Spanish cuisine restaurant.” is I believe what I was told on opening night. Fair enough.

I spent 2 days looking forward to tapas. I expected Gambas al Ajillo, I expected Tortillas, Chorizo and Jamón Iberico. Two out of four ain’t bad, I suppose. There is a tortilla on the appetizer menu. There is also a double cheeseburger, a short rib with mashed potatoes, a pasta dish, some tacos, a grilled steak and a slow roasted pork tenderloin. I called it “Savannah friendly.”

Given how excited I was about the venue, I had high hopes for the menu, only to get something completely unexpected. I was a little confused until it was explained to me. Then it all made sense.

“We were all ready to go with a lot of options.” is how chef put it. “But corporate came in and asked us to dial it down quite a bit at the beginning. So the plan is to roll out more and more of the Spanish influences as we move forward.”

For the record, chef offered us a special on the menu that night, handmade chicken croquettes, a Spanish classic. They were exceptional. Pound for pound, the best bite I had that night. I had to ask.

“You made those yourself, didn’t you?” I asked. “yes, about 2 hours ago.” They were crazy good.

We also had an ‘off menu’ Mussels and Chorizo dish (photo above) that will roll out soon. It was very good.

The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. This wasn’t built to be another rooftop in Savannah that is pushing any envelopes with cuisine. You won’t find any super high end wines on the list here. Three bottles on their opening list topped $100. On the other end of the spectrum, the tall boy PBR will set you back a very reasonable 5 bucks. Do you get the picture? The AC Hotel is a beautiful hotel, but it is not the Ritz, it is not the Four Seasons. And I’m guessing more than a few of you are quite OK with that for a change.

The food we had was good. Paired with the views and the reasonable prices, it was better. There’s no pastry chef whipping up to- die-for original creations for dessert. There’s a special edition Lavender/Honey Ice Cream provided by Leopold’s-which is exceptional-and a couple of other desserts as well.

I’m looking forward to what chef will be doing as they get rolling into Summer and the Fall. What the menu offers now is more than good enough to choose Lavender for a happy hour cocktail or a sunset dinner. I suspect it will become very popular for both as well as a steady diet of ‘Whoo hoo girls” fairly soon. Govern yourselves accordingly. I’ll see you there.

One week in, and my expectations reeled in a little bit, I actually love this place.

One thing to note, The AC is ONLY accessible via River Street. There’s a stairway next to it to get down there, but if you are up on Bay Street, you are going to need to figure out a way to get down to River Street level for access for now. As we write this, the brand new elevator they have off the sidewalk isn’t working yet.

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